Sponsored by
Planning matters should be decided by councils says MP
THE power to decide planning matters should be left entirely up to local councils and not the government, Hailsham's MP has said.
Charles Hendry told Wealden Conservatives on Friday that he backed the party's planned reforms of England's planning system.
He said the Tories would scrap Whitehall targets and unelected quangos and replace them with a commitment to collaborative working and new incentives to promote and reward local homes and jobs.
His comments came as official Government surveys showed only one in three people felt they could influence decisions in their local area, and just one in five believed they had influence over national decisions.
Speaking at the annual general meeting of Wealden Conservative Associations, Mr Hendry said, "Labour's planning system is bad for democracy, bad for the environment and bad for business.
"Too many decisions are taken by unelected quangos, there is too much unnecessary red tape and there are no incentives for local residents to back sustainable development schemes.
"We will put local communities in the driving seat, creating a planning system that promotes new homes and jobs to the benefit of the economy, local democracy and the environment.
"It is people and local communities that should have power over planning issues, not Whitehall."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Eastbourne
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 2 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
