George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, insists reforms to
planning policy will help stimulate economic growth:
We
will introduce a new presumption in favour of sustainable development, so
that the default answer to development is ‘yes’.
AGAINST THE REFORMS
Dr John Constable, Renewable
Energy Foundation, says the reforms will only be a short-term solution:
It
would be very foolish to distort the planning process as a quick fix for a
broken energy policy or, worse still, to produce unsustainable
flash-in-the-pan economic growth.
FOR
Greg Clark, the planning minister, accuses reform critics of "nihilistic
selfishness" because he says their objections block much-needed homes
for young people:
The
consequences [of blocking the plans] would be to deny our young people the
chance of owning a home and condemn many others to overcrowding and poverty,
driven by soaring rents and house prices.
AGAINST
Dame Fiona Reynolds, director of the National
Trust, says the planning reforms will ruin the countryside:
For
many people it is the places on their doorstep that are threatened – the
ordinary yet special places that people really value. We fear that the
proposals are a green light to develop these. We need to get it right or the
consequences could be disastrous.
FOR
Steve Morgan, founder of housebuilder Redrow, believes the current
system is a "living nightmare" which requires "common sense
and rational thinking" to improve:
If
we build the housing the country requires of 250,000 a year for 25 years
then we would build on only 1pc of English land mass.
AGAINST
Roger Scruton, the philosopher, says the English countryside is a
superb example of how the current system works so well and highlights the
danger of removing objectors' power:
The
astonishing success of the English in conserving their environment
illustrates the principle that the Government is now on the brink of
betraying. Almost none of the work of rescuing our country from the effects
of the Industrial Revolution was initiated by Parliament, and all of it
depended on public-spirited citizens combining in defence of their homes.
FOR
Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, condemns criticism from
environmentalists as "semi-hysterical":
The
planning system far too often has become a mechanism for prolonged and
costly delays in perfectly good, environmentally sustainable developments.
AGAINST
Dr Liam Fox, Defence Secretary, said planning policy needed to be
forward-looking and not just aimed at solving "the here and now":
We
are taking decisions that will affect our environment for the next 50 years.
FOR
William Worsley, president of the Country
Land and Business Association, says the changes will provide a necessary
relaxation of the rules:
Far
from concreting over the countryside, the proposal to provide a "presumption
in favour of sustainable development" means new building which is good
for the economic, social and environmental life of the countryside.
AGAINST
George Monbiot, the commentator, wrote in The Guardian that the
changes will make it impossible for local authorities to halt development,
saying "big developers such as Tesco" will keep applying until
they win permission:
When
you read the small print in the government's draft national planning policy
framework, you find clauses which make it more or less impossible for local
authorities to say no to anything, however inappropriate and destructive it
might be.
FOR
Bob Neill, the Local Government Minister, believes the outcry is merely
an attempt by "vested interests" to use the issue for publicity
rather than for a specific purpose:
This
is a carefully choreographed smear campaign by Left-wingers based within the
national headquarters of pressure groups. This is more about a small number
of interest groups trying to justify their own existence, going out of their
way by picking a fight with Government.
AGAINST
Dominic Lawson, the Sunday Times columnist, says the group of
campaigners united against the plans have a strong chance of making a
difference:
The
combination of left-of-centre environmentalists and property-rich middle
classes desperate to preserve what the Telegraph calls “our land” is one
that can shake a government.
FOR
Stuart Rose, the former Marks & Spencer chairman, joined a
group of businessmen to call on the Government to "tackle the sluggish
pace and disproportionate cost of planning."
Delivering
faster [planning] decisions at a lower cost will help us invest.
AGAINST
Ruth Bond, the chairman of the National Federation of Women’s
Institutes, said there was a “groundswell” of concern among her members.
Write
to your MP, newspaper, where someone will listen, where it might make a
difference, never give up
FOR
Nick Clegg said the Government's proposed planning reforms will not
lead to "anything goes" development and "the death of the
countryside".
The
country needs jobs, and time is no longer on our side. So Whitehall will put
its foot on the accelerator. We will deliver on our commitments
AGAINST
Otto Thoresen, the director general of the Association of British
Insurers, said "planning reforms could pose a threat to any economic
recovery".
It
is essential that the plans to give local communities power to decide what
is built where do not lead to a rise in inappropriate developments in flood
risk areas
AGAINST
Bill Bryson, the US born writer, has warned that England is at risk of
making the same mistakes as his homeland by allowing unchecked urban sprawl
which turns Britain into a suburban nation.
I
come from a country where there is always a presumption in favour of
development, and you can see that all over the landscape. I grew up in the
1950s and 1960s were when the US really became a suburban nation.
