Fighting to protect local green spaces
Taunton and Wellington’s MP, Gideon Amos, has called for a Parliamentary debate on the proposed new planning policy framework.
Gideon, who is the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on housing, says the Government’s planning changes mean local people will get far less say.
Speaking during housing questions in the Commons on Monday, he said: “What many people see as the Government’s developer-led planning approach is draining local communities’ trust in the planning system.
“The new national planning policy framework proposes the most centralising changes in planning in my lifetime.
“It will mandate granting permissions under wider than ever presumptions in favour, which for the first time will overrule local plans.
“With no statutory protection available to them, even the most precious green spaces - not just national landscapes, not just land around railway stations - and the nature they support are under threat, including land near Wellington Monument in my constituency.
“As the National Trust launches its ‘Nature = Future’ campaign, will the Government allow this House to debate and vote on the proposed new national planning policy framework, which according to the Town and Country Planning Association signifies an ‘unprecedentedly permissive planning regime’?”
In reply, the Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, said: “I have heard Liberal Democrats recognise that we have a housing crisis, recognise that the number of families in temporary accommodation doubled under the previous Government, and recognise that the number of people left sleeping on our streets doubled under the previous Government and that young people cannot find anywhere they can afford to rent or buy.
“We fix that by getting a fair balance between the rights of people who need a home to buy and the rights of local people over their local area.
“They need local plan proposals to give local people the framework within which they can express their views, but we have to speed up the slowest planning system in the western world if we want to get people the homes they deserve and have a right to live in.”
The National Trust, which owns Wellington Monument, says its ‘Nature = Future’ aims to spark a national conversation about the essential role nature plays in the UK’s wellbeing, prosperity and long‑term future.
It is asking the Government for things:
- Restore nature now – the Government must honour the UK’s commitment to manage 30% of land for nature by 2030. That means designating more space for nature and paying our farmers properly to help nature thrive
- Defend nature and wildlife – stop weakening the laws that protect them. Introduce a strong Water Reform Bill to clean up our rivers, streams and seas, and make polluters pay
- Build places to be proud of – demand that neighbourhoods are rich in nature and end unfair access to green space, starting by publishing the Government’s long-promised action plan by the end of the year.
The National Trust is asking its members and the general public to write their MPs to show their support.