Archived press release

Public voice in planning process under threat, MPs told

4 July 2006

MPs will be urged to protect the rights of individuals in the planning process at a special briefing today (Tuesday 4 July). The briefing, hosted by Paul Truswell MP and Friends of the Earth, takes place ahead of the interim publication of a new Treasury report considering how the planning system impacts on business and the economy [1].

The Community Voice in Planning: Does it count? will present the case for involving members of the public in the process with evidence from places where communities have played an important role in influencing decisions - for the benefit of developers and local people [2].

Friends of the Earth is concerned that government emphasis on deregulating the planning system will mean that large projects, such as out-of-town retail developments and large power stations, can be pushed through without public consent.

MPs will be shown a specially commissioned short film, "The Village That Wouldn't Die", highlighting the experience of people in Doe Lea in the Derbyshire coalfield, where the community's input into a controversial housing development helped revitalize the village [3].

Friends of the Earth Planning Advisor Hugh Ellis said:

"Communities can make a really valuable contribution to shaping developments and ensuring that they work for everyone. But that role appears to be under threat with increasing pressure to speed up the planning process in response to business demands. MPs all know from their own experience in their constituencies how the planning system has to strike a delicate balance between different interests in society. What is crucial is that members of the public are not excluded from this mix - but are allowed to influence the use of land in the communities where they live."

Paul Truswell, MP for Pudsey, Leeds, said:

Friends of the Earth will launch a new report, Listen Up: Community Involvement in the Planning System at the seminar highlighting seven case studies from around England which demonstrate how planning decisions can be improved when the community is fully involved [4].

Notes

[1] In January 2006, Chancellor Gordon Brown and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott asked economist Kate Barker to examine what impact the English land-use planning system has on business performance in an increasingly globalised economy. An interim report on the review is expected imminently with a final report in December 2006. This follows Kate Barker's earlier review of housing supply. The Treasury will respond in early 2007.

Friends of the Earth response to the Barker 2 review (PDF)

[2] The Community Voice in Planning: Does it count? takes place on Tuesday 4 July 2 - 4pm, Committee room 6, House of Commons. Journalists wishing to attend should contact the press office at Friends of the Earth.

[3] "The Village That Wouldn't Die" uses interviews with residents and archive footage to show how Doe Lea was threatened by an unsympathetic housing development and how the community responded by getting involved in the planning process to improve the proposals. Doe Lea is a former mining village in the Derbyshire coalfield.

[4 Listen Up: Community Involvement in the Planning System (PDF†)

The 7 case studies are: Skelmersdale Landfill site (Lancashire), Dibden Bay port (Hampshire), Doe Lea regeneration (Derbyshire), South Hams housing expansion (Plymouth), Bath Southgate town-centre development (Bath), Calderdale housing (West Yorkshire) and Saffron Walden Tesco (Suffolk).

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust