Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Government proposes planning powers for local people
The Government has announced "radical" reforms of the planning system that it says will enable local people to shape the character of the neighbourhoods where they live.
The reforms, which the Government has labelled the "building blocks of the Big Society", hands power down "from Whitehall bureaucrats and down from Town Hall officials to communities" in what is is hoped to "galvanise local democracy" and help to build new homes and plan new development with local support, and reward – not punish – those who want to grow and enhance their neighbourhood.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Planning Minister Greg Clark outlined the proposals to decentralise and streamline the planning system, ahead of the publication of the Localism Bill.
"For far too long local people have had too little say over a planning system that has imposed bureaucratic decisions by distant officials in Whitehall and the town hall," said Pickles. "We need to change things so there is more people-planning and less politician-planning, so there is more direct democracy and less bureaucracy in the system. These reforms will become the building blocks of the Big Society."
The measures include:
Neighbourhood groups to shape where they live: Communities will be able to come together to decide what their area should look like, where new shops, offices or homes should go and what green spaces should be protected. Parish councils and new neighbourhood forums of local people – rather than town hall officials – will lead the way in shaping their community. If local people then vote in favour of new 'Neighbourhood Plans' in local referendums, councils will have to adopt them.
Direct democracy: This new stimulus will be one of the greatest incentives to get people and communities to come together to take control of planning. The new powers will also allow communities to give planning approval to chosen sites on local land. This will mean that urgent development can go ahead quickly once the plan is adopted, short-circuiting lengthy planning applications and making the system more democratic and efficient.
Local benefits from local development: At the heart of the new approach will be a package of powerful incentives, such as the New Homes Bonus, that will encourage the right kind of local development and financially reward those councils and communities that deliver new homes and businesses to their area. Reforms to the Community Infrastructure Levy will also see a meaningful proportion of the levy handed over to the local neighbourhoods where the development takes place.
Vanguards to lead the way: Ministers are calling on communities to get involved now. The Government would like to see about a dozen local areas come forward to act as vanguards that will trial Neighbourhood Plans in their area. This step will help ensure the experience of these 'Neighbourhood Vanguards' is taken into account before the legislation comes into force.
Greg Clark, Minister for Planning and Decentralisation, added: "Most people love where they live, yet the planning system has given them almost no say on how their neighbourhood develops. The Coalition Government will revolutionise the planning process by taking power away from officials and putting it into the hands of those who know most about their neighbourhood – local people themselves. This will be a huge opportunity for communities to exercise genuine influence over what their home town should look like in the future. It will create the freedom and the incentives for those places that want to grow, to do so, and to reap the benefits. It's a reason to say yes."
Tony Burton, director of Civic Voice, said: "Local communities care deeply about where they live and know it better than anyone. Neighbourhood plans will allow civic societies and other community groups to take the lead in setting out what people value, what development is needed and what can change for the better in their area. With the right support, and safeguards to ensure the community voice cannot be ignored, a new era of neighbourhood plans spreading rapidly across the country could transform the ability of people to shape their local area."
The British Property Federation has broadly welcomed the proposals. Liz Peace, chief executive, said: "We understand and support the principle of devolving power to neighbourhoods, but this announcement raises some interesting questions as to how this will work in practice – particularly in urban areas that do not have parish councils. Will there be a minimum or maximum size for a Neighbourhood Forum? And will the referendum process to adopt Neighbourhood Plans also enfranchise businesses? We look forward to working with ministers as more detail emerges in the Localism Bill."
The reforms, which the Government has labelled the "building blocks of the Big Society", hands power down "from Whitehall bureaucrats and down from Town Hall officials to communities" in what is is hoped to "galvanise local democracy" and help to build new homes and plan new development with local support, and reward – not punish – those who want to grow and enhance their neighbourhood.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Planning Minister Greg Clark outlined the proposals to decentralise and streamline the planning system, ahead of the publication of the Localism Bill.
"For far too long local people have had too little say over a planning system that has imposed bureaucratic decisions by distant officials in Whitehall and the town hall," said Pickles. "We need to change things so there is more people-planning and less politician-planning, so there is more direct democracy and less bureaucracy in the system. These reforms will become the building blocks of the Big Society."
The measures include:
Neighbourhood groups to shape where they live: Communities will be able to come together to decide what their area should look like, where new shops, offices or homes should go and what green spaces should be protected. Parish councils and new neighbourhood forums of local people – rather than town hall officials – will lead the way in shaping their community. If local people then vote in favour of new 'Neighbourhood Plans' in local referendums, councils will have to adopt them.
Direct democracy: This new stimulus will be one of the greatest incentives to get people and communities to come together to take control of planning. The new powers will also allow communities to give planning approval to chosen sites on local land. This will mean that urgent development can go ahead quickly once the plan is adopted, short-circuiting lengthy planning applications and making the system more democratic and efficient.
Local benefits from local development: At the heart of the new approach will be a package of powerful incentives, such as the New Homes Bonus, that will encourage the right kind of local development and financially reward those councils and communities that deliver new homes and businesses to their area. Reforms to the Community Infrastructure Levy will also see a meaningful proportion of the levy handed over to the local neighbourhoods where the development takes place.
Vanguards to lead the way: Ministers are calling on communities to get involved now. The Government would like to see about a dozen local areas come forward to act as vanguards that will trial Neighbourhood Plans in their area. This step will help ensure the experience of these 'Neighbourhood Vanguards' is taken into account before the legislation comes into force.
Greg Clark, Minister for Planning and Decentralisation, added: "Most people love where they live, yet the planning system has given them almost no say on how their neighbourhood develops. The Coalition Government will revolutionise the planning process by taking power away from officials and putting it into the hands of those who know most about their neighbourhood – local people themselves. This will be a huge opportunity for communities to exercise genuine influence over what their home town should look like in the future. It will create the freedom and the incentives for those places that want to grow, to do so, and to reap the benefits. It's a reason to say yes."
Tony Burton, director of Civic Voice, said: "Local communities care deeply about where they live and know it better than anyone. Neighbourhood plans will allow civic societies and other community groups to take the lead in setting out what people value, what development is needed and what can change for the better in their area. With the right support, and safeguards to ensure the community voice cannot be ignored, a new era of neighbourhood plans spreading rapidly across the country could transform the ability of people to shape their local area."
The British Property Federation has broadly welcomed the proposals. Liz Peace, chief executive, said: "We understand and support the principle of devolving power to neighbourhoods, but this announcement raises some interesting questions as to how this will work in practice – particularly in urban areas that do not have parish councils. Will there be a minimum or maximum size for a Neighbourhood Forum? And will the referendum process to adopt Neighbourhood Plans also enfranchise businesses? We look forward to working with ministers as more detail emerges in the Localism Bill."
Tags for Forum Posts: neighbourhood planning
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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I wonder if anyone with planning expertise would like to comment on these proposals? (Anonymously if necessary) I'd welcome some planners' views on a number of questions - these for a start.
Will it be easier or harder to:
● Resist the proliferation of betting shops?
● Prevent landlords turning residential properties into people-hutches; to the detriment of the residents in them and often to their neighbours?
● Control and if necessary scale down or prevent out-of-scale out-of-place developments such as the so-called Hale 'Village' at Tottenham Hale?
● Protect conservation areas and enforce against developers who break the rules?
● Move against billboard owners who put-up ever larger and more intrusive and light-polluting advertising hoardings?
Will local communities or neighbourhoods have the powers and resources to:
● Operate effective sanctions to stop developers 'gaming' the system; endlessly prolonging the planning and enforcement process so that they can carry on breaking the rules for as long as possible?
● Respond effectively to developments such as, for example, the growth of a 24 hour club culture in, or close to a residential area which blights people's homes?
Will new laws:
● Reverse the tax position so it makes better financial sense to conserve and renew lovely old buildings?
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Nimby-ism will flourish under these proposals. New power stations, sub-stations, railway lines, depots of all kinds, roads, landfill sites, will be pushed around from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. The planning system could grind to a halt. That's the negative scenario.
The above examples deal largely with bigger infrastructure projects and maybe they won't be included in local decision making. If 'devolving power to neighbourhoods' means dealing with things like billboards, betting shops, cycling lane provision, parks vs urban development then it could be empowering. That's a possible positive scenario.
We could all end up learning something about Scenario Planning. :)
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Nimbyism is used as a dirty word. Should it always be? When does looking after your neighbourhood tip over into Nimbyism?
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See it on this site all the time Hugh, particularly when new housing developments are proposed and we all know housing is needed. House building under Labour was the lowest for decades and the reason why landlords have be doing so well ripping tenants off and providing sub-standard HMO accommodation. Nimby types get themselves so bound up in knots to protect their perception of what their neighbourhood should like that they can end up contradicting themselves (ie. not seeing the wider picture of a particular argument).
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Forgive me Matt, but it seems that you've just rehearsed the 'Nimbys as scourge' speech. What I'm trying to get at is the difference between what you, by implication, refer to as empowered local people, and nimbys.
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What they haven't told you is they're also planning to do away with the need for planning for housing extensions etc. Heard that on the radio.
Also, see this for the latest on the major changes to London's governance within planning, including:
1. the devolution of executive powers over housing investment from the Homes and Communities Agency to the Greater London Authority (GLA) so it can be fully aligned with the Mayor's own funding pot and the London Housing Strategy.
2. the abolition of the London Development Agency, with its city-wide roles on regeneration and management of European funding to be transferred to the GLA so that the Mayor is directly accountable.
3. new powers for the Mayor to create Mayoral Development Corporations to focus regeneration where it's needed most, such as to help secure East London's Olympic legacy, in partnership with London Boroughs.
How powerful would Mayoral Development Corporations be and would they really consult/listen to local communities when they have so much money for development?
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Permalink Reply by Zena Brabazon on
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It all sounds so good and persuasive but these things aren't straightforward. I hope it is positive but we need to have more detail. Some immediate thoughts:
This government has recently made it easier to establish HMOs without planning permission so will local communities be able to control those with their new powers?
And will we be able to reject any more betting shops, social clubs, takeaways?
And even with incentives do communities always want more social housing even if land and sites are available?
There are very sticky issues like the establishment of group homes for vulnerable people which already are big issues in lots of places - developing these may be even trickier, although it is also possible that this may offer the chance for communities to negotiate good neighbour agreements which could lead to better outcomes and more accountability if the communities are open to that approach.
Finally, making this work will demand a lot of time and effort and skilled community work. Is it too much to hope the government will provide the means - the money - as well as legislating the ends?
Zena Brabazon
Cllr, St. Ann's Ward
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