The RICS has called on the government to draw up a national spatial development strategy as part of its proposals to let parliament decide on major projects.
The Institution said that a comprehensive spatial plan would identify future infrastructure needs and provide a framework for more detailed proposals, which could then be put to parliament.
In a response to the government’s green paper document on changing the planning system for major infrastructure projects, RICS policy officer Ewen Willars said: “It was disappointing not to see the issue of a comprehensive national spatial plan raised in the green paper on reform of the planning system.”
The government’s green paper said that national statements of infrastructure needs should be produced and “individual projects that are considered to be of national importance”, such as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, Cross Rail and Heathrow’s terminal 5, should be delivered quickly using new parliamentary procedures.
But the RICS said: “The proposals to introduce national statements of infrastructure needs is a step in the right direction, but falls short of a more comprehensive and integrated spatial strategy.”
It added that a national spatial development strategy should closely reflect and link together the European spatial development perspective and the new regional spatial strategies.
It also said that the issues decided by parliament, namely the “principle of, need for and location of the project”, should be clearly separated from the detailed issues that would be dealt with by a planning inspector’s inquiry.
The RICS has also called on the government to make it clear that projects will not be passed through parliament on a whipped vote.
In a speech to the RSPB’s Green Alliance last week, planning minister Lord Falconer said: “I have been asked whether the Government will whip the vote. I can see different points of view here but I would expect parliament to demand a free vote and to make a decision based on the merits of the case.”
In addition, the RICS has supported plans to retain the use of Hybrid Bills, Special Development Orders and measures available under Section 9 of the Transport and Works Act (TWA) 1992 for less important projects, but added that the TWA measures should be repealed for more important schemes.
But the RICS’ submission also expressed doubts over whether MPs have the ability or time to look into projects in detail, a fear also raised by CPRE and Friends of the Earth.
The RICS recommended that the government “explore how the representations may be summarised, to allow MPs to assess the points raised. It may be unreasonable to expect individual MPs, with little available time outside of existing duties, to wade through the mass of representations likely to be stimulated by the designation of particularly contentious schemes.”
EGi News 26/03/02
