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English planning shake-up 'will help boost homes' English planning shake-up will protect countryside, says minister
(about 1 hour later)
  
The government says that new planning guidelines for England will "help build the homes the next generation needs", boost jobs and protect the countryside. The government says that new planning guidelines for England will protect the countryside, boost jobs and "help build the homes the next generation needs".
Planning Minister Greg Clark told MPs the old, complex system "sorely needed" reform as it had "ground ever slower".Planning Minister Greg Clark told MPs the old, complex system "sorely needed" reform as it had "ground ever slower".
But he said he had made some changes to the draft plans - which had faced stiff opposition from conservation groups. But he said he had made some changes to the draft plans, which had faced stiff opposition from conservation groups.
Friends of the Earth has said it is worried the new guidelines will "unleash a building free-for-all".Friends of the Earth has said it is worried the new guidelines will "unleash a building free-for-all".
The revised national planning policy framework is due to be published on Tuesday - and will be implemented immediately. The revised national planning policy framework is due to be published on Tuesday - and will be implemented immediately by councils with no local plan. There will be some transitional arrangements for councils with existing local plans.
The draft version of the new guidelines reduced a 1,300-page document to 52 pages - the final booklet is just 50. The draft version of the new guidelines reduced the existing 1,300-page document to 52 pages, and the final booklet is just 50 pages long.
In a statement to MPs, Mr Clark said that under old "top-down" targets, communities had begun to see planning as something that was "done to them, rather than by them".In a statement to MPs, Mr Clark said that under old "top-down" targets, communities had begun to see planning as something that was "done to them, rather than by them".
Meanwhile the average age of first-time buyers was "approaching 40" and with rising rents, families were spending more on housing than on their children, he said. Meanwhile, he said, the average age of first-time homebuyers was "approaching 40" and rents were rising - meaning that families were spending more on housing than on their children.
'Keystone''Keystone'
He said he had accepted, in whole or in part, 30 of 35 recommendations made by the communities and local government select committee - including a reference to local plans, drawn up by councils, remaining "the keystone" of planning rules. Mr Clark said he had accepted, in whole or in part, 30 of 35 recommendations made by the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee - including a reference to local plans, drawn up by councils, remaining "the keystone of the planning edifice".
And he said a controversial reference to a "presumption in favour of sustainable development" made clear that that should work through, not against local plans. And he said a controversial reference to a "presumption in favour of sustainable development" made clear that that should work through, not against, local plans - and should take into account "social and environmental, as well as economic objectives".
He said the new framework "will help build the homes the next generation needs, it supports growth to allow employers to create the jobs our constituencies need, it protects what we hold dear, in our matchless countryside and in the fabric of our history". Powers would be passed from "remote bodies" into the hands of communities, he added. The final version made clear that existing policies such as those protecting the Green Belt, sites of special scientific interest, national parks and other areas "cannot be overridden by the presumption", and it would guarantee "robust protections for our natural and historic environment".
It also made "explicit" that councils' policies must encourage brownfield sites to be brought back into use - and allowed them to protect back gardens, while ensuring that "playing fields continued to benefit from the same protection that they do currently".
He said the new framework "will help build the homes the next generation needs, it supports growth to allow employers to create the jobs our constituencies need, it protects what we hold dear, in our matchless countryside and in the fabric of our history".
Critics of last year's draft plans have argued that the "presumption in favour of sustainable development" amounted to a "developer's charter".Critics of last year's draft plans have argued that the "presumption in favour of sustainable development" amounted to a "developer's charter".
The government has been criticised for being too vague about what amounts to "sustainable development" and for saying in the draft plans that the "default answer to development proposals" should be "yes" - unless it compromised "key sustainable development principles".The government has been criticised for being too vague about what amounts to "sustainable development" and for saying in the draft plans that the "default answer to development proposals" should be "yes" - unless it compromised "key sustainable development principles".
But Chancellor George Osborne has argued that the complex planning system "puts at risk young people's future prosperity and quality of life" and simplifying it is "key to our economic recovery". 'Uncertainty and chaos'
'Garden-grabbing' Labour's Hilary Benn said the government had made "a mess" of the process, which had done nothing to inspire confidence. Thousands of homes had planning permission but had not been built because of what he called the failure of the government's economic policy, he told MPs.
Asked to explain what amounted to sustainable development, Mr Clark told the BBC earlier: "What it means is there is a test as to whether, in effect, it would be in the public interest to approve an application. He welcomed what he called a "U-turn on playing fields and open spaces" but said there should be a national, not local, "brownfield first" policy. He said a planning system should produce homes and jobs but should also protect green spaces, but the new plans "may end up doing neither".
"If there are reasons, for example if it destroys the environment, if it builds on the green belt, if it builds outside a town centre if it's a commercial premises when you want to keep town centres thriving, then that would not be sustainable, it would not be in the public interest and so it should not go ahead." "Far from giving us certainty, there is likely to be delay as developments are held up by appeals and by the courts having to rule on a new and untested approach," Mr Benn said, adding that this would lead to "uncertainty and chaos".
It is understood that the reworked framework will say councils should encourage development on "brownfield" sites first - those already built on in the past. Opponents of last year's draft plan included the National Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and Friends of the Earth.
The first version had been criticised for not doing so - but the presumption in favour of sustainable development remains in the plans. Ahead of Tuesday's publication, Friends of the Earth campaigns director Craig Bennett said: "A strong planning system is vital for building the clean economy promised by government, but there are mounting concerns that ministers will unleash a building free-for-all that will infuriate local communities and devastate our countryside."
It has also been reported that a new clause is likely to be inserted into the paper creating new rules against "garden-grabbing" - the selling of garden land for extra development.
Whitehall sources say they believe there are sufficient assurances for green campaigners in the new plans, but say it will still be an "unashamedly pro-growth document".
Opponents of the draft plan included the National Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and Friends of the Earth.
'Untested approach'
Ahead of Tuesday's publication Friends of the Earth's campaigns director Craig Bennett said: "A strong planning system is vital for building the clean economy promised by government, but there are mounting concerns that ministers will unleash a building free-for-all that will infuriate local communities and devastate our countryside."
He said the new regulations "must spell out what is meant by 'sustainable development' - to ensure the right buildings are built in the right place and in the best interests of local people and our environment".He said the new regulations "must spell out what is meant by 'sustainable development' - to ensure the right buildings are built in the right place and in the best interests of local people and our environment".
The CPRE has also said it feared the planning changes would not deliver enough affordable homes - one of the key benefits supporters say they will provide.The CPRE has also said it feared the planning changes would not deliver enough affordable homes - one of the key benefits supporters say they will provide.
And Roberta Blackman-Woods, for Labour, said: "The government's planning reforms could cause widespread chaos with many developments held up, while the courts decide how to interpret this radically new and untested approach.
"This would both harm the house building we desperately need and put our countryside and green spaces at risk of unwanted development."
But Simon Nunn, from the National Housing Federation, said the new regulations were a step in the right direction: "I don't think it's going to unleash a development free-for-all.But Simon Nunn, from the National Housing Federation, said the new regulations were a step in the right direction: "I don't think it's going to unleash a development free-for-all.
"There's a housing crisis in the country, we're only building half the homes that we need. Planning is part of the jigsaw and I think that a positive planning framework combined with the right investment framework will help us.""There's a housing crisis in the country, we're only building half the homes that we need. Planning is part of the jigsaw and I think that a positive planning framework combined with the right investment framework will help us."