Ministers promise planning reform

BUSINESS leaders are urging the Government to be far-reaching in the way it overhauls the planning system.

Ministers yesterday promised to streamline planning as they responded to the proposals put forward in the review by Adrian Penfold.

The Government pledged to extend its “one-in, one-out” approach to regulation to the planning system, to give further thought to how consents can be streamlined and make a further announcement in the spring.

Alexander Ehmann, head of regulation at the Institute of Directors, said: “The IoD welcomes a renewed focus on planning deregulation as a means of stimulating economic growth. It remains to be seen whether proposals will be far reaching enough to deliver the sort of stimulus the building industry needs.

“Deregulation is one of the key ‘building-blocks’ of the Government’s plans to foster economic growth. It is central to supporting private sector investment.”

The Penfold Review, published in July, made a series of recommendations including merging conservation area consent with planning permission, combining listed building consent with scheduled monument consent and taking more small developments out of the non-planning consent regime are among the ideas.

Business Minister Mark Prisk said: “We must stop putting obstacles in the way of British businesses. They will be the driving force behind our future economic growth.

“Adrian Penfold recognised the complex web of red tape and procedures that were a real hindrance to our construction and development sectors. Today we’re announcing real practical steps to cut out this unnecessary extra bureaucracy.

“Over the coming months, as part of this Government’s culture change away from regulation, I will be working closely with my colleagues across Government to streamline the planning and consents system to make sure that Britain is open for business.”