GOVERNMENT MUST STAND FIRM AND REFORM OUR ‘ARCHAIC AND MORIBUND’ PLANNING SYSTEM
21/05/07 | 09:04
In a letter to Ruth Kelly MP, Secretary of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government, David Frost, Director General of the BCC, welcomes the Government’s willingness to reform the Planning system with an independent national planning body. By taking major decisions out of the hands of various layers of local government bureaucracy it is hoped that large scale infrastructure projects can be built without seemingly endless delays.
The BCC does have concerns however about the possibility of a Planning Gain Supplement being introduced, which many businesses view as simply another burdensome tax. Section 106 agreements are already delivering on a local level and another layer of costs is not necessary.
ENDS
The letter reads:
The BCC believes that the UK’s planning system needs a complete overhaul and therefore we warmly welcomed many of the recommendations of the Barker Review. We hope the forthcoming White Paper on Planning will be a bold step in improving our archaic and moribund planning system and urge the Government to stand firm against what we anticipate will be sustained and obstructive criticism from some quarters.
The BCC has been a vocal supporter of the recommendations in the Barker review for an independent national planning body and greater clarity of Government priorities through national statement’s of strategic objectives, and hope to see their inclusion in the White Paper. We believe the Government has correctly identified the damage that the current planning regime is doing to economic growth.
While we are supportive of the Government’s general approach in this area, we do have concerns about the possibility of a Planning Gain Supplement which our business members view as simply another burdensome tax. Funding should be raised at a local level and not collected centrally where decisions on how to return 70 per cent of the funds will no longer be transparent. Section 106 agreements are already delivering infrastructure improvements at the local area so the Government must not simply add another layer of costs onto developments through the PGS.
Positive improvements to the planning system offer this country huge opportunities to increase our global competitiveness. The current system is archaic and unhelpful and needs to be reformed so that our transport networks can meet the needs of British business. Failures in the UK’s transport infrastructure are costing UK business £17 billion per year and this is rising.
Key projects are being put back by years on end due to serious delays in the planning system. It is simply not acceptable that businesses are forced to suffer as a result of endless red tape and delays caused by local authorities up and down the UK. We hope the Government does not shy away from taking the tough decisions that will be needed to reform our failing planning system.
MEDIA CONTACT:NOTES TO EDITORS:The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is the National Voice of Local Business.
The BCC sits at the heart of a powerful nationwide network of Accredited Chambers of Commerce serving business across the UK, which employ over five million people.