Tory plan will put homes and infrastructure under threat, say planners
Developers hit out at planned localism bill
Plans to do away with a regional planning system could put homes and infrastructure under threat, planning groups and developers have said.
The decentralisation and localism bill, announced in Tuesday’s Queen’s Speech, pledges to get rid of regional spatial strategies and hand control of housing numbers to local authorities.
However, the summary of the bill did not outline when this would happen or how a new system would be introduced to replace regional planning.
The measures were part of the Conservative Party’s green paper on planning which caused a furore when it was published in February.
Now planning groups and house builders say the abolition of regional planning could cause a drop in housing numbers unless the transition into the new system is carefully managed. They also warned that the loss of the regional planning tier would make it harder to coordinate development and infrastructure across council boundaries.
A spokesperson for the Home Builders Federation said: ‘A transition plan to bridge the gap between the radically different policies of the last and the current government is absolutely essential if we are to avert a slump in house building - already at its lowest level since World War Two.’
Ann Skippers, president of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: ‘The hasty abolition of regional planning will leave a vacuum in terms of the policy needed to give the certainty to take major investment decisions that will help get us out of recession.’
The bill also promised a review of the housing revenue account but it is not clear how much this will be based on previous consultations on reform of the system.
The bill also abolishes home information packs (see Analysis, page 12), but retains energy performance certificates.
Meanwhile, housing minister Grant Shapps is expected to confirm the government’s commitment to the 2016 zero carbon housing target next week after it was left out of the government’s list of policies agreed by the coalition.
Policy pipeline: what the coalition government has planned for housing
Public spending
- Councils to make £1.165 billion of savings in 2010/11; lift ring fence on £1.7 billion of council grants
- CLG to cut £780 million of general spend and £405 million of local government spend
- HCA to cut £230 million and freeze £380 million of 2010/11 spending until emergency Budget on 22 June
Planning
- Abolish regional housing targets
- Establish new local housing trusts
- Abolish home information packs
Sustainability
- Continue to improve energy efficiency of new housing
- Create incentives for councils to deliver sustainable development
- Consider creation of a green investment bank
Local government
- Review housing revenue account
- Devolve power to local government and community groups and review local government finance
- Consider phase out ring-fencing of grants to local government
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Readers' comments (1)
Anonymous | 15/07/2010 9:10 pm
Localisation is generally used to get the Government off of the hook and gives them the ability to duck awkward question by saying 'Its the responsibility of your local council, not us' ! This is of course is going to lead to different standards everywhere as some councils are prepared to support certain items and others are not
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