Shadow DTLR secretary Theresa May has attacked the Government’s imminent green paper on planning, saying it will rob local communities of their voice and regionalise England via the back door.
May said: “Local people will be robbed of their voice on large developments like new airports, incinerators and power stations. Labour are effectively giving the green light to greenfield destruction on a massive scale.”
She added that plans to remove county councils from the planning equation were simply “another step in Labour’s regional agenda”. She added: “They are steadily eroding the role of the counties to make way for a new tier of regional politicians.”
May claimed that the move was being made because the Government “cannot stomach the fact that Conservative county councils across the country have opposed Labour’s unpopular housebuilding targets”.
May warned: “People will become even more disillusioned with the political process if they lose the power to influence decisions affecting their own back yard.”
EGi News 11/12/01
