Vandermeer sees no need for radical change
The planning inspector behind the Heathrow Terminal 5 inquiry has submitted to parliament his own plans for improving major planning inspections.
In an unpublished report sent to the House of Commons’ procedure committee, Roy Vandermeer states that radical reforms to the system, which the government is considering, are not necessary to prevent another T5-style drawn-out inquiry.
Vandermeer’s proposals include: permitting inspectors to discuss the terms of reference for the inquiry with the secretary of state; bringing relevant parties to the discussion table at the environmental impact assessment stage; and having technical details presented only as written evidence.
His proposals suggest thatup-to-date planning guidance would have shaved 18 months off the T5 inquiry. The inquiry into the £3.7bn terminal ran from May 1995 to March 1999 at the cost of £80m, but it was another two years before former transport secretary Stephen Byers announced the verdict, in November 2001.
Vandermeer told Estates Gazette: “You can’t go about making the system work better by assuming that everything is wrong with it.”
But the government used the lengthy inquiry to justify legislation (later dropped) that would hand control over infrastructure proposals to a Commons select committee.
“There were a lot of knee-jerk reactions without any real understanding of what the problem was,” said Vandermeer.
The government is considering further reforms to the system of planning inspections for major infrastructure projects, hoping to avoid T5-style problems with upcoming projects such as the Thames Gateway regeneration.
The Commons committee has handed the report to the ODPM, but ministers have not commented on the findings.
Analysis, p42
