|
|||||
|
The Commons Committee report on the draft NPPF is out today. The interest is mainly going to be on what is said about the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Let’s start at the Committee website. It opens saying that the default answer of ‘yes’ to development should be removed (and predictably, that is the […] There are several planning related issues in the Autumn Statement, and I will comment on them over the next few days. I want to start with the powerful presumption in favour of sustainable development, announced in the Budget on 23rd March. The Chancellor said: “Yes, local communities should have a greater say in planning, but […] So on Monday the Localism Bill was finally approved by the Commons, accepting all the amendments made in the Lords. That includes the abandonment of the requirement to hold referendums on any and everything, though they are still in place for neighbourhood development orders and specific planning provisions. The amendment sought by the Law Society […] “Framework” – a frame or skeleton (OED).
The closing date for responses is Monday 17th. In a spirit of openness, transparency and adventure, I have posted my response which you can read in this link. I offer the following comments (in italic) on the list issued today. The National Trust’s ten asks of the NPPF are: 1. Confirmation that the planning system should not be used as a blunt tool to ‘proactively drive development’. Planning is a sophisticated tool, and it is able to drive economic development proactively. That was […] This morning saw a very interesting debate at the offices of Berwin Leighton Paisner, organised by the British Property Federation. I am grateful to BLP for allowing me to be there. What were the significant points? Greg Clark – the intent is to put power into the hands of local communities who […] I have been pointing out for some time that the presumption is not new, and dates from 1923. This point was made by Michael Harrison QC (who became a distinguished High Court judge) in a 1992 article in the Journal of Planning and Environmental Law, and by Professor Michael Purdue in his analysis (also published […] Yesterday the Government issued its “Myth-buster” on the National Planning Policy Framework. Readers of this blog and other articles by me will know that I have been pointing out for some time that the presumption in favour of development is nothing new and can be traced back to 1923 (see for example my article on […] |
|||||
