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17 Feb 1998
Friends of the Earth has hailed as “a major victory for environmentalists” the Government's decision to withdraw key clauses (24 to 27) in the Regional Development Agencies Bill.
Roger Higman FOE's Senior Planning Campaigner said today:
“We are delighted that the Government has caved in to pressure
on this dangerous part of the Regional Development Agencies Bill. The
new Agencies were being given sweeping powers to allow building on common
land, green belt and even National Parks. They would have been accountable
neither to Parliament nor to local people. The withdrawal of these clauses
is a major victory for environmentalists and the opposition parties in
Parliament. Now we must make sure that the Government does not simply
bring back a new version of the same discredited plan at the Report stage
of the Bill.”
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Key clauses in the Regional Development Agencies Bill have been attacked for giving sweeping planning powers to new unelected quangos. The Bill sets up nine Regional Development Agencies which will be run by Boards of between 8 and 15 people appointed directly by the Environment Secretary.
Clauses 24 to 27 of the Bill gave the RDAs extensive powers over planning policy in “any part of the area of a regional development agency which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, is suitable for regeneration or development”. This is despite promises from Planning Minister Richard Caborn (in the DETR paper “Modernising Planning”) that“statutory planning at the regional level will have to await a democratically accountable statutory body to undertake it”. The clauses state explicitly that the purposes of RDAs apply as much to rural as to urban parts of each area.
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
Media team
