NEW PLANNING MINISTER

2010-05-21 10:48:57

Bob Neill MP looks set to become the new planning minister in the new coalition government. Here at property planning consultants, we like this because the rhetoric and core beliefs of Bob Neill fit with our own and probable the entire development and construction industries, why. Here is an example of the sort of thinking we like so much, in the journal Public Finance Neill explained his party’s planning philosophy in these terms: “We are unashamedly pro-development. That is why we would introduce a presumption in favour of sustainable development. We want more homes to be built but it’s vital to ensure that the right homes are built in the right places.

“It is wrong to believe that the distant bureaucrats who dream up Regional Spatial Strategies and housing targets are those best placed to decide where development should happen.

“That role should be taken by local communities and local authorities, working in collaboration to derive, from the bottom up, local plans that clearly define where and what future developments they want. If you treat people like adults and give them a real say in shaping their communities, they will see the benefits of – and be much more likely to support – appropriate and sustainable development. The top-down target regime is a cause of Nimbyism, not an answer to it, and it needs to go.”
For too long local development plans have been laid out from above, hopefully the end is nigh!