The Conservative Party have released their long awaited ‘Open Source Planning’ green paper which lays out plans to scrap large elements of the planning system and replace them with a new system where local authorities set their own housing targets. In effect the Tories are going to try and fix Labour’s broken planning system!
The Conservative leader claimed the party’s green paper contained policies which would see “one of the biggest shifts in power for decades. Suddenly, you can see how a system that was controlled by a few can be run by the many. You can see how it’s possible to get neighbourhoods to come together to solve problems together.”
Initiatives in the green paper include:
1. Reward councils and communities through incentives to encourage building new homes and businesses
2. Amend the Use Classes Order so that people can use land and buildings for any purpose allowed in the local plan
3. Faster approvals process for planning applications to which a significant majority of the immediate residential neighbours raise no objection
4. Abolish the “undemocratic and ineffective” tier of regional planning overseen by “unelected regional quangos”
5. Scrap the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) whilst retaining a fast track process to avoid planning inquiries taking years
What the experts say;
Royal Town Planning Institute
“We welcome the publication of the Conservatives’ planning green paper, which demonstrates that the party takes very seriously the important role of planning in addressing the issues facing communities today, and we are particularly pleased that they are proposing a National Planning Framework, a key RTPI policy which we have campaigned for over many years.” Matt Thomson, acting director Policy & Partnerships
National Federation of Housing
“We welcome many aspects of the green paper… we applaud the proposed shift in the planning system towards a presumption in favour of sustainable development and the greater scope for local communities to shape development in their area.”
Taylor Wimpey
Taylor Wimpey is the first major house builder to endorse the Conservative Party’s planning green paper, with chief executive Peter Redfern saying the company could “work with” the proposals.
UK Land Agent
Here at UK Land Agent we’ve been hoping for a major shift in how the planning process works and we’re very pleased with the policies outlined in the ‘Open Source Planning’ system the Conservatives have outlined this week.
With the population set to rise by 4 million people over the next decade there is a desperate need for the Government to simplify the planning process and incentivise local communities to accept the growth of their communities and the large developers to build more homes quickly. The policies the Tories outline would see an end to the current complicated bureaucratic one size fits all system and reduce the time and cost involved when applying for planning permission.
If the Conservative Party is successful at the next election investors, developers and self builders etc will potentially make more profit, see a reduction in costs and also see their planning applications approved in a timely fashion with minimal complications.
One Comment
This is a great post and may be one that needs to be followed up to see what are the results
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