Western Morning News (Saturday)
Make planning fit for the people
Planning, post-pandemic needs to take local views into account, says Cornwall CPRE which wants a new approach
CORNWALL CPRE is putting pressure on the Government and local MPs to make changes to the Government’s White Paper, ‘A Vision for Planning’.
A series of other environmental organisations have linked with the CPRE to create a new joint vision, calling on the Government to rethink its proposed planning laws.
The countryside charity Cornwall CPRE says its joint Vision for Planning is being put forward in partnership with a group of other environmental organisations. It gives a powerful lead to creating a locallyled, democratic planning system for new homes that puts people, the countryside and nature at its heart.
The shared vision comes from a united coalition of eighteen housing, planning, transport, environmental, heritage and public health organisations, including the countryside charity CPRE. It sets out a series of key measures for how the government can maximise the potential of planning as we recover from Covid.
The organisations have worked together to forge an alternative to the government’s controversial Planning White Paper, published last August. Their joint vision calls on the government to rethink major elements of its proposals and work with stakeholders to deliver a planning system fit for the 21st century.
Cornwall CPRE Chair Richard Stubbs says, “We all deserve a home we can afford to live in, to have a say in shaping the communities around us and the right to be consulted on the impact of development on our countryside and precious landscapes. Nowhere is this more important than in a beautiful part of the country and popular tourist destination like ours.
“But as things stand, under the Government’s current proposals, the opportunity to influence building development in our communities would be reduced even further”. He adds: “Cornwall CPRE believes this joint initiative is the best vision yet for the future of planning with the potential to create thriving communities and stimulate the economy whilst caring for nature and respecting the countryside. It sets out a tool box of policies which address the weaknesses of the proposed planning system.”
Among the new planning policies welcomed by Cornwall CPRE:
Giving communities, not just Cornwall Council, a legally guaranteed say on specific local planning issues, as well as involving them in wider planning of their areas
Central government should support local authorities to ensure they have the tools and resources to keep the Local Plan relevant and that its environmental safeguards are properly enforced
Legislation to put sustainable development at the heart of planning, to ensure delivery of new housing is sound environmentally, economically and socially
Delivering good quality affordable homes in the right places, to meet local needs
Enhancement of our current level of protection for wildlife habitats
Prioritising the use of brownfield sites, such as previously built on or industrial land, to protect our fields, countryside and wildlife
Better location of new houses and a greatly improved public transport system, to reduce our dependency on cars
Before Christmas, the government announced a welcome revision of its housing numbers ‘algorithm’, used to decide the targets for new housing throughout the country. However, this was only one of a range of potentially damaging proposals put forward by the Government last year. They are expected to make a further announcement in March 2021 about the extent to which it will modify the original proposals in the White Paper.
For details of the Cornwall CPRE submission on the Government’s planning proposals, to join or donate, visit www.protectcornwall. com