Britain’s new-build revolution – trees lining every street

But councils to be given less say over development

EVERY new housing development in England will be required by law to have treelined streets as part of the biggest shake-up of planning laws for more than 70 years.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick will today pledge to cut red tape and streamline the planning process, with an insistence that developments are ‘beautiful’.

But local councillors will be stripped of power to decide on individual developments in an attempt to get the country building.

Mr Jenrick will launch a consultation on proposals that include fasttracking approvals of housing projects that are ‘ in keeping with local character and design’. Developers will be able to skip stages of the planning process if buildings are based on designs in official pattern books drawn up by local authorities. There will also be a requirement for all new streets to be tree-lined unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Mr Jenrick last night told the Mail: ‘ We want our communities to get behind our plans to build much needed homes, which is why we fasttracking developments that keep in with local character and design.

‘We will insist development is beautiful – and meets local people’s high standards. Attractive design that fits in with local heritage and character is the best antidote to local objections to building.’

Under the plans, every area in England will be designated for either ‘growth’, ‘renewal’ or ‘protection’. In growth areas individual developments will not require planning permission, so the default position will be that homes can be built.

Renewal areas will have ‘permission in principle’ to build, but all developments will have to be approved. In protected areas such as green belt land,

‘Robust legal guarantees’

most new developments will be banned.

Local councils will decide how to designate all the land in their area. All planning applications will be registered online via an interactive map, intended to help local residents participate in decision making.

However, there are concerns that those living in ‘growth’ areas could be confronted with huge new developments they will get little say over.

As part of the overhaul all councils will be given twoand-a-half years to draw up plans for the building of more homes or will face sanctions that are yet to be decided.

Mr Jenrick last night said the existing ‘complex’ planning system ‘has been a barrier to building the homes people need’. He said the changes would provide a ‘major boost for small building companies across the country’ by making it easier for them to navigate through the planning process.

Thirty years ago small builders were responsible for 40 per cent of new build homes compared with 12 per cent today.

Mr Jenrick will also replace the community infrastructure levy used by councils to secure money from developers to pay for amenities such a new roads with a standard national levy.

But campaigners voiced concerns about how much say residents would have about developments.

Tom Fyans of the Campaign to Protect Rural England said: ‘The key acid test for the planning reforms is community involvement and it’s still not clear how this will work under a zoning system.

‘We also need robust legal guarantees that the public are consulted regarding new development.’

Nikki Williams of The Wildlife Trusts said: ‘It’s critical that government weaves nature into the heart of every housing development. Proposals for “tree-lined streets” are nothing like enough.’

THERE are just 26 days until the start of the school year.

So it is utterly baffling that Nick Gibb, the schools minister, claims he cannot ‘decree’ that every pupil is back when the gates reopen. Isn’t that his job?

Mr Gibb maintains the picture is ‘nuanced’ and insists it be left to local authorities to decide whether it is safe.

He professes that he wants all schools to reopen. But surely the urgent resumption of our children’s education deserves a more robust response than a wish and a prayer.

Most pupils have not set foot inside a classroom since March. Many will never catch up. Parents want their children in school, with polling suggesting 93 per cent are not worried about the Covid risk.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson last night appeared to heed their message, acknowledging that not reopening would ‘fail’ children.

Yes, local coronavirus flare-ups may result in targeted restrictions to ensure pupils can return to school.

If some pubs need to close in those areas, then so be it.

But, with infection rates dwindling, such measures should be few and far between.

Mr Williamson has vowed the Government ‘will succeed’ in reopening schools.

He must deliver or an entire generation will pay the price.

UNDOUBTEDLY, we desperately require more housing. But the need to build should not be viewed as a licence to concrete over the countryside. So the Mail welcomes Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick’s pledge that brownfield sites will be prioritised.

It is concerning, however, that protection for the Green Belt has been pared back and the ability of locals to resist inappropriate developments diminished.

Britain’s landscape is one of our most precious assets. It must not be sacrificed.