MPs challenge keystone of planning reforms
Committee opposes proposal to approve all applications unless adverse effects 'demonstrably' outweigh benefits
The keystone policy of the government's proposed planning reforms should be scrapped because it risks allowing "poorly planned or unsustainable development", a committee of MPs has warned.
The Commons select committee on communities and local government said a proposal to approve all planning applications unless their adverse effects "significantly and demonstrably" outweigh the benefits should be removed.
The committee's report represents the most comprehensive cross-party criticism so far of the government's draft plan to slim down more than 1,000 pages of planning policy to just 52.
Greg Clark, the planning minister, has described the presumption in favour of sustainable development as the "golden thread" running through the reforms.
But it has caused uproar among environmentalists and countryside groups, which fear the government's aim of relaxing the planning system to boost the economy could see swaths of countryside turned over to development.
In a sign that the Department for Communities may be willing to soften its position, Clark said he would "carefully consider" a new definition of sustainable development produced by the committee. The policy is believed to be the subject of wrangling in government, with the Treasury pushing hard for reforms that it believes could boost the economy.
"The way the framework is drafted currently gives the impression that greater emphasis should be given in planning decisions to economic growth," said Clive Betts, committee chairman. "This undermines the equally important environmental and social elements of the planning system. As currently drafted, the 'default yes' to development also carries the risk of the planning system being used to implement unsustainable development."
Housebuilders were among those who called for the presumption in favour of development and urged the government to "s! tand fir m". in the face of the criticism.
The Home Builders Federation released figures showing permissions for new homes were down 10% on last year, with 32,900 awarded from July to September, when 60,000 were needed to meet demand which, it claims, could create half a million jobs.
The select committee did not deny the need to reform the planning system but said the policy too often conflated "sustainable development" and "sustainable economic growth".
The MPs also warned that the brevity of the new policy has not achieved improved clarity, but has left gaps which could lead to more planning applications being determined on appeal and in the courts as lawyers line up to interpret ambiguous policy statements.
"The government will consider carefully each of the suggestions that have been made, along with all responses to the consultation," said Clark.
"We are determined that the national planning policy framework will put power into the hands of local people, through a simpler, clearer system, which safeguards our natural and historic environment while allowing the jobs and homes to be created that our country needs."
Friends of the Earth called on the government to accept the proposals and "make sure the planning system is a level playing field, not rigged in favour of developers".
The committee received 130 written submissions and took evidence from representatives of the property and business sectors, environmental groups, planning specialists, councils and academia.
It said the new system should put the burden on developers to prove that a scheme will not do significant harm, rather than on the local planning authority to prove it will.
The committee welcomed the government's openness to reinstating a reference to favouring development on "brownfield" land first, currently missing from the proposed reforms, and to improving the definition of sustainable development.
The MPs also called for a sensible transition period to the new planning syst! em, with a realistic timetable to allow councils to get "local plans" in place which will guide development in their areas.
The policy is expected to be published in its final form early next year.
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