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Planning reforms a threat to local democracy

Posted: 05/12/2006

Environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth have expressed concern that the Barker Review on English land use planning will have a devastating impact on the environment and local democracy. Kate Barker's report, due to be published this week, is expected to recommend major reforms to England's planning system that will give business, in particular supermarket chains, a greater say in planning decisions.

The interim report, which was released in July, paved the way for the further deregulation of the planning system, suggesting that the planning system should be based on market forces rather than delivering sustainable development. The report particularly identified local community interests as a specific problem in making the system deliver for business.

The Review, which was commissioned by the Treasury, focuses exclusively on how recent planning reforms affect business and how the system can be improved for their benefit. The review team was not asked to consider other functions of planning such as protection of the environment or ensuring communities have a say on local developments.

An increasing number of businesses recognise the role the planning system plays in creating certainty and transparency in the development process and are concerned that further deregulation of the planning system will lead to chaos.

The Government has already committed to a new White Paper on planning in March that will implement the Barker Review's recommendations. Friends of the Earth's Planning Advisor, Hugh Ellis, said: "Local communities will be the big loser if the Barker Review is implemented. Barker's vision of uncontrolled development will mean communities have little or no say in how their local area is developed. The Government must ensure that people have a say on the future of their communities and their environment."

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