Mike and I have had several emails from members of the Wildlife Trusts expressing concerns about the Government's White Paper on the Planning System. Last week we attended a meeting at which councillors had a chance to comment on the Council's response to the Consultation before it closed. Among the issues raised were the impact the proposals would have on wildlife and biodiversity, lack of mention of Green Spaces and biodiversity in the proposals for 'Growth' and 'Renewal' areas. The proposals would also undermine local democratic input into the planning process. Mike and I raised these points in our comments.
The White Paper is full of half-baked ideas, not just restricted to wildlife and biodiversity. One of the underlying assumptions is that the failure to build enough houses is due to Local Authorities' management of the planning system. In fact their are over one million houses which have approval, but have not been built yet. HDC's response is full of hard-hitting, constructive criticism. I hope the Governmant takes notice. HDC has a good record of an efficient planning department and has over- delivered on its housing target. Perhaps the Government will take this into account and give extra weight to their comments..
HDC's response has a number of references to 'Green' issues. For instances in response to the question: 'What are the top three priorities for planning in your area? ' No.2 is Addressing Climate Change, No.3 is Protecting and Enhancing biodiversity. Wildlife, biodiversity and green space come up in all the relevant responses.
If you want to see the full response you can find it on HDC's website by following this link: HDC reponse to Planning White Paper
