Give locals a stake in planning system

PLANNING decisions cause some of the most controversial conflicts in local communities.

If local authorities aren’t careful, they can turn people against them in a way that can destroy the careers of councillors.

At present, there is concern in many parts of Wales about the way private developers are doing their best to encroach on countryside by securing planning permission to build on greenfield sites.

No one sensible wants to stop housing development. We know there is a shortage of homes and that new ones need to be built.

There are legitimate grounds for debate, however, about the scale of new development, and where it is should be permitted.

Developers favour greenfield sites because many people want to live in a suburban location that is

close to countryside.

Some also have an aversion to living in homes that have been built on brownfield sites, which can often be found in the less desirable parts of cities and towns.

But the Welsh Government is clear that preference should be given to developing brownfield sites that have been properly treated so there is no danger from industrial workings that may have taken place in past times.

In some instances, considerable amounts of public money have been spent to remediate the sites concerned and make them ready for risk-free development.

Yet private sector developers have preferred to seek planning permission to build homes on greenfield sites not far away.

If planning authorities don’t have a robust Local Development Plan (LDP), it is relatively easy for developers to win appeals against decisions that have gone against them.

This can be devastating for local communities in two ways.

The specific planning decision may see a treasured area of open space built over.

Just as significantly, however, it is likely to persuade residents that they have no control over what happens in their local environment, and alienate them from the local authority that either permitted an unwanted development or lost a planning appeal because they didn’t have a strong enough LDP in place.

Of course new housing developments should go ahead on brownfield sites rather than greenfield ones.

But we need to reform the planning system so that local people feel they have a genuine stake in it.