Planning - Latest News
'Planning reforms will have little or no impact on growth'
February 14th 2012
Is the planning system holding up economic growth?
Not according to a new report called 'Inexpensive Progress?' commissioned jointly by CPRE, the National Trust and the RSPB.
The report, prepared by Vivid Economics, looks into the costs and benefits of the planning system and finds that the Government’s proposed reforms are likely to have little or no effect on growth and could even undermine public wellbeing.
See: CPRE National Office Press Release (13 February)
New maps show 55% of countryside at risk from planning reforms.
February 6th 2012
Maps contained in a new CPRE report show that over 55% of the English countryside could be at increased risk of development as a result of the Government's proposed planning reforms.
For decades English planning policy has recognised the intrinsic value of the wider countryside, including undesignated areas (ie areas not with National Parks, Green Belts etc). The draft National Planning Policy Framework, which is due to be finalised shortly, omits such a policy.
The Prime Minister's own constituency in West Oxfordshire is one of the areas most at risk.
See: CPRE National Office Press Release (6 February)
MPs brand planning reforms unbalanced.
December 27th 2011
CPRE has welcomed the call by a cross-party committee of MPs for ‘significant changes’ to improve the draft National Planning Policy Framework. In the report, the MPs of the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee call the document ‘unbalanced’ in favour of economic growth and call for the removal of a proposed default ‘yes’ to all new development. They also believe that the Government’s proposed ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ could undermine local plans.
See: CPRE National Office Press Release (21 December)
Hook Norton fighting 70-house development.
December 27th 2011
CPRE Banbury District is supporting residents of Hook Norton who are opposing a planning application for 70 houses which would put serious strain on local resources. This is in addition to a further 30 house application likely to come in shortly. Concerns include the impact on services such as power and sewage, the lack of available school spaces and the increase in traffic.
See: Hook Norton parish website
Countryside at risk from planning reforms, says new CPRE report.
December 13th 2011
A new report published by CPRE, 'Building in a Small Island', challenges claims that there is a shortage of brownfield land suitable for housing development. The findings bring into question the Government’s proposed national planning policies that would no longer require developers to use previously developed land for any new development before greenfield sites are considered. The research commissioned by CPRE found that - far from running out - the supply of brownfield land is dynamic and increasing. For every five suitable housing plots becoming available in England between 2001 and 2009, only three homes where built. Even in the South East where housing demand is highest, land supply outpaced demand with one quarter (26 per cent) of suitable brownfield plots going unused.
See: Building_in_a_small_islandNov2011.pdf
The Localism Act - is it really about localism?
November 24th 2011
CPRE South East examines the new Localism Act and asks - is it really about localism? It certainly gives communities new powers and it sweeps away the complexities of the regional tier of planning. But, argues CPRE SE, "none of this amounts to culture change, either in communities or councils, or in the attitude of major developers to communities & consultation."
See: CPRE SE eBulletin Localism Act - Nov 2011.pdf
NPPF Campaign - next steps
November 23rd 2011
The public consultation on the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) closed on 17th October and Ministers are aiming to publish a final version of the NPPF before the end of March next year. Between then and now it is vitally important that CPRE continues to apply pressure to ensure that the concerns we have been raising over the past few months are adequately addressed.
As a branch, we will continue to try and influence decision-makers at every level. Over the coming weeks and months we will be applying pressure to local authorities and local MPs through letters, meetings and local media work.
We would like CPRE members and members of the public to consider following up earlier engagement with MPs if they are unsatisfied with the response they received. To help inform that work CPRE has issued a ‘NPPF - Frequently Asked Questions’ Briefing (Nov 2011).
See: NPPF FAQs.pdf
Leading planning QC exposes flaws in Government planning reforms.
October 16th 2011
The Coalition's controversial planning reforms have come under renewed attack as the consultation on the new guidelines closes. In a succinct yet powerful Legal Opinion the CPRE’s Honorary Standing Counsel, John Hobson QC, has criticised the Government’s draft NPPF for weakening protection of the Green Belt and wider countryside.
Despite consistent reassurances from senior Government Ministers that protection for the Green Belt will remain unchanged, John Hobson states that in his professional legal opinion “this is a significant change which may weaken the protection that applies to Green Belts.” He continues: “if the government do indeed wish to carry forward the protection of the Green Belt to the same degree as at present, the express presumption against inappropriate development in the Green Belt should be reinstated.”
See: CPRE's Legal Advice on draft NPPF.
CPRE issues quality challenge to house builders.
October 12th 2011
The National Office of CPRE has called on the house building industry to commit to five principles that will help minimise local opposition to new housing.
The five principles are:
1. A brownfield-first approach to identifying sites; 2. High design and building standards; 3. New homes with decent space standards; 4. Master planning for better places, not just planning for houses; and 5. Industry support for a democratic planning system.
CPRE Oxfordshire endorses these five principles.
Helen Marshall, Director of CPRE Oxfordshire, says: ‘We firmly believe that Oxfordshire needs more housing, particularly affordable housing in our rural villages to help keep the local communities alive. To achieve this, there is no point characterising the argument as ‘evil’ developers on one side and ‘nimby’ environmentalists on the other. We need to work together on development that meets housing needs without damaging our countryside.
“We are keen to hear local developers’ views on these five principles and to see whether we could work together to have a more constructive dialogue for the future.”
See: CPRE National Office Press Release (12th October)
CPRE Oxfordshire tells government the planning reforms are "weighted too heavily in favour of economic development at the expense of the environment."
October 10th 2011
In its response to the government's consultation on the NPPF, CPRE Oxfordshire says: "we believe that the draft NPPF has been too loosely drafted and will not provide the sustainable approach that it promises. It is weighted too heavily in favour of economic development at the expense of the environment, and very probably will not achieve the aims it claims to meet."
See: CPRE Oxon Response to NPPF.pdf
Silence of the Plans risks building horror story for Oxfordshire.
October 6th 2011
New research published by CPRE Oxfordshire shows that four out of five local authorities in Oxfordshire will be without a planning Core Strategy on 1st April 2012 when changes to the planning system are expected to take effect. This means that when the presumption in favour of sustainable development is rolled out, more than half the county will be vulnerable to unplanned, poor quality development.
The proposed changes to the planning system mean that wherever local plans are “absent, silent, indeterminate or where relevant policies are out of date” councils will be required to approve any development as long as developers can claim the adverse impacts will not “significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole”. In CPRE’s view, the Framework “taken as a whole” provides little protection against sprawling, poor quality development in the countryside. Local authorities without an up to date plan in place will find it very hard to say to say ‘no’ to development.
Helen Marshall, Director of the Oxfordshire Branch of CPRE, says: “This silence of the plans risks a real horror story for Oxfordshire’s unprotected green spaces. When the reforms hit, any area without a local plan will be more or less up for grabs as opportunistic developers make use of the ‘default yes to development’, which will apply when no plan exists."
See: CPRE Oxfordshire Press Release - Silence of the plans - 6th October 2011.pdf"
Government consultation on NPPF - 17 days to go!
September 30th 2011
The government’s consultation on its new planning reforms, set out in the Draft National Planning Policy Framework, ends in 17 days time, on Monday 17th October. If you haven’t already done so, please respond to the consultation.
See: Draft NPPF
Respond: Online
Or email: Planning Framework
Or you can write a letter to: Alan C Scott, National Planning Policy Framework, Department for Communities and Local Government, Eland House Bressenden Place, London, W1E 5DU.
'Government's changes to planning system will undermine purpose of Oxford Green Belt', says Oxfordshire branch of CPRE.
September 21st 2011
The Oxfordshire Branch of CPRE warns in a Press Release issued today, that the Government’s proposed changes to the planning system could put 41 Oxfordshire villages at risk of development, leaving the Oxford Green Belt looking like a piece of Gruyere cheese, full of holes.
Helena Whall, Campaigns Manager for CPRE Oxfordshire, said: “The government is wrong to say that its draft national planning policy framework (NPPF) will not undermine the Green Belt. In fact, it will make it easier for developers to get permission to develop in villages currently protected by the Green Belt, meaning this precious planning tool will suffer the protracted death of a thousand cuts. The new planning guidance will undermine the whole purpose of the Green Belt and make it at the very best a shadow of its former self.”
Research undertaken by the Oxfordshire Branch of the CPRE and the Oxford Green Belt Network, reveals that 41 villages in the Oxford Green Belt are at risk of development under the new proposals.
See: Oxford Green Belt Network website.
See: CPRE in the News
PLANNING REFORMS – PLEASE ACT NOW!
August 2011
The Government is introducing legislation and reforms that will have a major impact on planning rules in the UK.
• The Localism Bill – which is currently going through parliament.
• The National Planning Policy Framework – new planning guidance. The draft is open for consultation until 17 October.
No-one thinks the current system is perfect and there are good ideas contained within these changes. However, there are major issues that will worry anyone concerned with protecting our landscape.
Our main concerns are:
• A ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ - where Local Plans are absent, silent or unclear, then the default answer will be ‘yes’.
• The community can’t say ‘no’! A community can only agree an equal or greater quantity of growth in housing or economic development than in the Local Plan. There is no right to say ‘no’. There is no right to appeal.
• Planning will be at risk of ‘buying and selling’ rather than good, long-term sustainable thinking – the Government has said it will make financial incentives relating to an individual planning application a ‘material consideration’.
• Greenfield sites will be threatened by the removal of a national brownfield target (currently 60% homes should be built on previously developed land).
• The over-allocation of land for new housing –local councils will have to allocate at least 20% additional sites for housing over and above the five year supply.
• A weakening of the ‘town centre first’ policy for offices.
• The abolition of the exceptions policy which allows small scale affordable housing to be built in rural settlements.
• A weakening of controls over outdoor advertisements, including no mention of billboards being inappropriate in the countryside.
• Changes to Green Belt Policy which would allow local communities to support building which would have previously have been restricted.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
1. Write to your MP expressing your concerns – if you like, you can do this through the CPRE National Office website.
2. Join CPRE Oxfordshire – we need your support more than ever to help us fight these changes.
3. Sign up for our monthly campaign e-briefings.
PLEASE ACT NOW AND HELP CPRE PROTECT OUR LANDSCAPE AND OUR COMMUNITIES.
CPRE is appalled by the Government’s proposed changes to the planning system which include a default ‘yes’ to development.
July 2011
The draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published on 25th July and includes measures such as making councils allocate 20% more land for housing than is needed and potential weakening of the Green Belt Policy.
Helen Marshall, Director of CPRE Oxfordshire, said: “This shift towards development at all costs threatens to undermine everything CPRE has worked for in the county over the last 80 years. The language used is all about economic growth with no account taken of protecting the environment for future generations. The current system certainly has its flaws, but it can’t just be made the scapegoat for all our economic problems.”
See: CPRE Press Release - Planning changes threaten 80 year's work - July 26 2011.pdf
CPRE to support communities and neighbourhoods respond to Localism Bill
July 2011
A new CPRE National Office project, 'Supporting Communities and Neighbourhoods in Planning', is being launched in partnership with the National Association of Local Councils, to help local people to respond to the Localism Bill.
CPRE will be producing guidelines and useful publications about the planning system, including the Localism Bill. It has also created a Planning Help website and it has a Planning Help phoneline.
There will also be 50 local events across the country. These will be free to attend and will give essential information about the planning system, why it is important and how to get involved; some events will also help people consider how they might develop a neighbourhood plan.
Dates for these events are yet to be confirmed.
CPRE Oxfordshire is considering how it can get involved in this project to assist communities and neighbourhoods in Oxfordshire to respond to the Localism Bill.
For more information see: CPRE National Office website page
See: CLG A plain English guide to the Localism Bill Update June 2011.pdf (PDF)
Localism Bill - update on progress through House of Commons
June 2011
The Localism Bill has now had its second reading in the House of Lords. CPRE National Office sent a briefing note to 120 peers, and held meetings with nine of these in advance of the debate. Around 12 peers made speeches which focused on the planning aspects of the Bill, with eight peers calling for reform of the planning appeals process, and nine expressing concern about clause 124 of the Bill, which would give material weight to 'local finance considerations' when determining a planning application.
The Committee stage began on 20th June.
Localism Bill - update on progress through House of Commons
May 2011
The Localism Bill is now at the Report stage in the House of Commons, following its first and second reading and Committee stage. Its third reading will be on 17th and 18th May. The Bill will then go to the House of Lords. After there has been due consideration of any proposed amendments, the Bill could get Royal Assent in the summer of 2012.
CPRE National Office has circulated a detailed and well-researched paper produced by the House of Commons Library, which summarises the committee stage debates on the Localism Bill, which concluded on 10 March (see link below).
Amongst other issues, CPRE NO is working to ensure that an amendment is taken forward to place a strong definition of Sustainable Development on the face of the Bill, around which we expect there to be a robust debate about the pro-development agenda outlined in the Budget.
See: House of Commons paper (PDF)
CPRE wins grant to promote public planning engagement
April 2011
CPRE has a long history of promoting and facilitating public engagement with the planning system and to further this aim CPRE National Office, with partners the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), has been awarded a Government grant of £600,000 to promote and enable greater public involvement in the planning system.
Shaun Spiers, CPRE Chief Executive, said: “The Planning system has always been the most powerful tool local people have to shape and care for the places they live. With our partners NALC we look forward to helping people understand the positive role that local and neighbourhood planning can play in bringing about sustainable development, while also protecting our environment."
The grant will contribute to three distinct strands of work:
For more information see: CPRE National Office website page
Archived News
Click below to read archived news regarding this campaign: