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New planning rules will silence local voices - Labour New planning rules will silence local voices - Labour
(about 4 hours later)
New planning laws for England will "silence local voices and kill off our high streets", Labour said as it urged Tory MPs to vote them down. New planning laws for England will "silence local voices and kill off our high streets", Labour said as it urged Conservative MPs to vote them down.
Labour says the new rules would allow developers to convert shops into homes without planning permission.Labour says the new rules would allow developers to convert shops into homes without planning permission.
It is the first stage of sweeping changes to the planning system aimed at speeding up development.It is the first stage of sweeping changes to the planning system aimed at speeding up development.
The government insisted its plans would make the system "more democratic" while building the "homes communities need".The government insisted its plans would make the system "more democratic" while building the "homes communities need".
Labour has secured a vote in the Commons on Wednesday in a bid to overturn the first stage of the reforms, made by ministers before the summer recess. Labour has secured a vote in the Commons on Wednesday as it attempts to overturn the first stage of the reforms, announced before the summer recess.
Under these changes, empty high street shops could be converted into housing and up to two storeys added to blocks of flats without the need for planning permission. Under this, empty high street shops could be converted into housing and up to two storeys added to blocks of flats without the need for planning permission.
Labour's shadow housing minister Mike Amesbury said: "This is the first stage of an atrocious new developers' charter, which will wrench power away from local people and into the hands of the developers that bankroll the Tories. For Labour, shadow housing minister Mike Amesbury said: "This is the first stage of an atrocious new developers' charter, which will wrench power away from local people and into the hands of the developers that bankroll the Tories.
"Passing this legislation will kill off our high streets, hobble leaseholders and create a new generation of slum housing - and there will be nothing local people can do to stop it.""Passing this legislation will kill off our high streets, hobble leaseholders and create a new generation of slum housing - and there will be nothing local people can do to stop it."
'Crackers''Crackers'
Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley has described the new rules as "crackers", adding: "It allows landlords to shove a two storey block on top of a building with total disregard for how inappropriate it might be in the local neighbourhood." There is widespread concern among Conservative MPs about the wider reforms.
The government wants to make it quicker and easier to build new homes in what it has described as the biggest shake-up of England's planning system in a generation. One of them, Sir Peter Bottomley, has described the new rules as "crackers", adding that they would allow landlords "to shove a two-storey block on top of a building with total disregard for how inappropriate it might be in the local neighbourhood".
But there is widespread concern among many Conservative MPs about the government's proposed planning reforms. At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Conservative MP Harriet Baldwin said the formula suggested in the white paper to allocate homes to different areas had "overshot in terms of numbers", while investment would go into "concreting down rather than levelling up".
Speaking last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the changes would help developers complete projects in a "more timely way" and help young people onto the housing ladder. She urged Boris Johnson to "change some of the elements of this".
The prime minister replied: "We are going to ensure we have a planning system that is fit for purpose, that allows us to give young people for the first time in a generation the chance of home ownership, which currently millions and millions of people are shut out from."
He added that it was possible to do so without "desecrating our beautiful countryside".
Under the government's wider proposals, which have gone out to consultation, land will be divided into three categories - "growth", "renewal" or "protected".Under the government's wider proposals, which have gone out to consultation, land will be divided into three categories - "growth", "renewal" or "protected".
If land is designated for "renewal" councils would have to look favourably on new developments. In "growth" areas, new homes, hospitals and schools will be allowed automatically.If land is designated for "renewal" councils would have to look favourably on new developments. In "growth" areas, new homes, hospitals and schools will be allowed automatically.
Areas of outstanding natural beauty and the green belt will come under the "protected" category and "beautiful buildings" will be fast-tracked through the system.Areas of outstanding natural beauty and the green belt will come under the "protected" category and "beautiful buildings" will be fast-tracked through the system.
A spokesperson for the Housing, Communities and Local Government Department described Labour's claims as "misguided".A spokesperson for the Housing, Communities and Local Government Department described Labour's claims as "misguided".
"We're overhauling the country's outdated planning system to deliver the high-quality, sustainable homes communities need," the spokesperson said. "Community involvement and control is at the centre of our proposals so local people will be consulted from the very beginning when local plans are developed - making the system more democratic," they added.
"Community involvement and control is at the centre of our proposals so local people will be consulted from the very beginning when local plans are developed - making the system more democratic.
"They will also help our economy recover from the pandemic by supporting our high streets to adapt and encouraging the regeneration of disused buildings."