Coalition told to simplify planning rules
A MIDLAND business property consultant has challenged the new Government to simplify planning laws and kick out unnecessary red tape to help boost the commercial property market.
John Truslove said he feared early statements of intent by the coalition could be watered down once civil servants got the chance to revise proposals for a far reaching overhaul of the planning system.
Mr Truslove, head of a commercial property practice in Redditch since 1981, said: “I welcome the stated intentions to scrap regional planning bodies, regional spatial strategies and regional housing targets as they have simply been talking shops that have hindered rather than helped.
“Similarly, the Infrastructure Planning Commission is another body that could be scrapped to advantage.”
He has called on the Government to act immediately on one planning aspect he said was crippling initiative and regeneration.
“The first thing to do, without question, is to stop all Moratoria, and pass legislation preventing planning authorities from ever using this pointless undemocratic weapon again,” he said.
Moratoria and interim zoning are techniques used by local governments to preserve the status quo or limit change while local government creates and adopts a new plan.
He said he viewed coalition support for local decision making with caution as this would increase the power of local residents to object to developments and introduce third party rights of appeal.
Mr Truslove said he was also wary of proposals to cut down on ‘garden grabbing’, where small plots of land behind existing homes are developed, as this could impact small scale development projects.
“When a recession is easing and new home buyers start to put their heads above the parapet, it is very often the smaller developer who is producing smaller numbers of houses or apartments who can respond quickest to an improving market,” he said.
“It is far easier to build four to eight homes with the likelihood of selling them with some certainty, than expect a major developer to commit to new housing estates of 200 plus homes.”
Mr Truslove said the proposed changes, if enacted, were a warning to developers, both residential and commercial, that they must communicate more openly with their potential neighbours.
“They need to ensure they are in sync with local opinion and are working in a clear and transparent manner, communicating their intentions and the benefits these will bring, at every stage of the planning and development or they will find they may well struggle to secure new development opportunities.
“Developers who do not invest more time and money explaining their plans to local residents and local authorities will only have themselves to blame if those who live and govern in the area simply turn round and throw out their initial proposals,” he said.
