Civic Voice - TrustNews Jun 13
In the March edition of TrustNews, the Trust's concern about the Government's legislative changes to the planning system was expressed in my Civic Voice article and in Michael Carden's report on a meeting with our MP.
That concern continues as the majority of Civic Voice's work in recent weeks has concentrated on opposition to the Government's proposals to allow much larger extensions to dwellings without needing to apply for planning permission. This turned into a tussle between the House of Commons and Lords as reported in the media. Civic Voice through its member societies lobbied nearly 400 MPs and encouraged us to contact peers in the Upper House as well. The Lord's amendment carried sufficient support in both Houses that the Government proposed a compromise which was accepted. This now gives immediate neighbours to the property to be extended the right to object and require the proposal to be considered by the local authority, but without a formal planning application being made. How all this will work in practice is unclear. We understand from Steve Brine that Winchester City Council is seeking clari?cation through him and has raised ten questions - which suggests it is going to be difficult to administer.
The motivation for the Government's proposal was to stimulate the economy and the Trust's view remains that this is misguided, particularly in Winchester where the economy is reasonably healthy, and that the planning system is a vital safeguard for ensuring that development is in character with its neighbourhood.
As the political parties prepare manifestos for the next general election, Civic Voice will take opportunities which arise to influence the areas of interest to civic societies. It is interesting to see a report that the Labour Party may be proposing to give discretion to local authorities to decide which changes of use for buildings require planning permission and which do not. The report refers only to the use of shops for betting and pay day lenders on the High Street but it may be wider than this. ln any case this suggestion is in line with the Trust’s view that different communities have different needs and problems and therefore that local authorities should have the discretion to decide what restrictions are relevant for their own area, instead of having a national policy which ignores local variations.