ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on the content of the Planning Bill.

Stakeholder response: Freight Transport Association



To send a comment to the FTA click here

Christopher Snelling, FTA's head of rail freight and global supply chain policy, said: "This is an excellent set of proposals. For far too long, developments of national economic significance have had to go through the same planning system as a local housing project.

"The current inefficient and cumbersome planning system is a major reason why, for example, Britain lacks the major port capacity it requires. It is not about more things being approved – it is about making the system quicker and less expensive.

"The national policy statements will, for the first time, give developers of infrastructure a clear basis from which to plan investment.  The Infrastructure Planning Commission should be an effective body for deciding on the appropriateness of individual developments. It will give a proper balance to local interests and the wider economic needs of the country."
 
Snelling also said: "FTA had called for the inclusion of rail under the new planning system, as it is of vital significance to the national supply chain. This decision to include rail should help rail freight continue to grow and be more competitive with road, with all the environmental benefits that go with that."


Stakeholder response: The Royal Institure of Chartered Surveyors

To send a comment to the RICS click here

Andrew Warner, RICS spokesperson, said: "We applaud the government's decision to extend permitted development rights to include microgeneration of renewable energy.

"This is a major step in enabling citizens to take control of their carbon footprint and shows that government is taking seriously its carbon reduction commitments. However, care will need to be taken to ensure that the local conditions are such that the micros are energy efficient.

Furthermore, by ensuring that permitted development rights are extended for common householder projects local authority planning officers will be free to make decisions on more strategic projects. The planning system is extremely overstretched and under-resourced and these small-scale applications have clogged the system for far too long."

He added: "The government's failure to include a national spatial framework for the proposed infrastructure plans is extremely disappointing. A framework would supply a link into the regional spatial strategies and provide the bedrock for national policy statements. Without this map, government policy could ignore regional inequalities, leaving many regions neglected. In planning terms, this policy is like a map without reference points."


Stakeholder response: Campaign to Protect Rural England



To send a comment to the CPRE click here

Paul Miner, CPRE's planning officer, said: "Ministers have made some welcome moves on a right to be heard but there has not been enough assurance that promoters will be cross-examined at public inquiries.

"Ministers have given a commitment to pursuing sustainable development in national policy statements, but there is a big discrepancy between this and their commitment to incorporate the 2003 air transport white paper into the policy on transport.

"The IPC is still proposed as a decision-making body, but it is interesting that the government now proposes ministers will still need to make final decisions in 'very exceptional circumstances', such as when a national policy statement becomes out of date."