Planning reforms 'will increase car use', MPs told

26 Oct 11
The government’s reforms to the planning system could 'choke' economic growth, transport campaigners have warned MPs.
By Richard Johnstone | 26 October 2011

The government’s reforms to the planning system could ‘choke’ economic growth, transport campaigners have warned MPs.

Giving evidence to the communities and local government select committee, the Campaign for Better Transport said the changes could produce more developments centred on car use.

The committee is examining the draft National Planning Policy Framework, which will introduce a number of changes. Although these include a presumption to approve sustainable development, the CBT is concerned by the negative effect of another of the proposals.

Chief executive Stephen Joseph told MPs on Monday that the removal of the need for developers to consider ‘town centre first’ developments for commercial properties and offices could hit growth by increasing congestion.

‘If you get large amounts of car travel to out-of-town places, then you get a large increase in congestion,’ he said. ‘The NPPF will choke economic growth by producing more car-based development.’

He also warned that the draft NPPF contained too high a test for councils to reject a development on transport grounds, as councils would have to prove that the negative impact would be ‘significantly and demonstrably severe’.

Asked if the plan for England would lead to an increase in car journeys and carbon emissions, he said: ‘I agree with that.’

The committee also heard calls for ‘a fundamental rewrite’ of the reforms from the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Chief executive Shaun Spiers said it was ‘regrettable’ that the draft framework had been issued without much discussion. The CPRE is campaigning against the changes, which it says will undermine the planning system and its ability to protect the countryside.

Spiers told MPs that the CPRE welcomed the aspiration in the plan for more localist planning.

But he said the ability for local authorities to take decisions in their local area would be limited if the presumption to approve schemes effectively overruled local plans.

‘If the local plan has to be in line with the NPPF and the NPPF is weighted towards development, then the scope for local authorities to take the decisions that they might want to take is curtailed,’ he said.

The consultation on the framework closed on October 17, but Spiers called for the government to undertake another consultation round once it has analysed the responses.

The committee also heard from housing charity Shelter. Roger Harding, head of policy, research and public affairs, told MPs that the current system was ‘failing with unmet housing need’.

He added: ‘More needs to happen and the overall system is failing. But it’s not fair to place that all on planning, and we do need stability and a long-term commitment to housing.

‘While some planning changes could make an important difference, what we need is more investment,’ he added.

He also called for cross-party support on the need to build more homes. ‘We’re not going to solve this in a Parliament and we’re not going to solve it if [every government] has a different planning framework.’

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