The Government’s Planning for the Future consultation has drawn a lot of attention from across many different sectors, much of it critical of the proposals to undertake significant reform of the English planning system. The Institute itself held a round-table on the topic, and the debate there informed our own response to the consultation which we submitted at the end of October. In our response, whilst we cautiously welcomed some of the proposed simplifications of the system, we highlighted that the plans seem to reduce significantly actual opportunities for consultation and engagement with local people, and expressed concerns about the Government’s intentions towards the distribution of power between planners, communities and developers.

We’re far from the only ones who have expressed worries, and today the CPRE (once the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England) has published an open letter to the Secretary of State for Housing Community and Local Government, inviting local officials to sign it, urging him to reconsider the proposals. The letter expresses concerns about environmental protections and similar democratic issues that we highlighted in our own response.

In light of the likely results of the proposals, were they to go ahead, they were always likely to have a rough ride through the legislative process, and this might only be the first shot across the bows. For those who would like to read it, the letter can be found here.