MP’s have asked the planning minister to explain how the latest administration proposes to reform the legislative and local plan making process.
The chair on the Commons Communities and Local Government Committee, Clive Betts, has cornered Gavin Barwell (the new planning minister) regarding the new administration’s legislative and local plan reform proposals.
Barwell has been contacted by Betts enquiring if the not yet introduced neighborhood planning and infrastructure bill would be published in its draft form to start with, as well as weather or not the department plans to use the legislation to make changes to the local plan regime in accordance with the advices of the expert group’s report.
Included in the letter was Bretts queering weather or not the new planning minister planed on follow his predecessors’ intention to intervene in the production of local plans where councils do not have them in place by March 2017.
It was written:
“If so, how many local authorities do you anticipate might need such intervention, and what form might it take?”
Betts reiterated to Barwell that the current situation regarding local planning is at the present moment, “complex and burdensome” for the local authorities. It was asked…
“What measures will you put in place to simplify the process?”
“In the longer term, if you do not accept or implement the expert group’s recommendation for a statutory duty to prepare and maintain local plans, how will you ensure that local authorities keep them up to date?”
In order to objectively assess a house’s needs, Barwell was asked by Betts if the National Planning Policy Guidance would be modified with a standard methodology.
The minister was also asked questions regarding what will be done to guarantee councils cooperation when preparing local plans.
In an unconnected but still related move, Barwell informant the Parliament that it will be the autumn before the consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework is published by the government.
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