MPs warn of vacuum created by proposed abolition of regional strategies
MPs have sharply criticised the way in which the government has gone about abolishing regional spatial planning strategies (RSSs), warning that it was leaving a vacuum at the heart of the English planning system.
The Communities and Local Government Committee said this vacuum could “have profound social, economic and environmental consequences” lasting for many years.
In its report the committee pointed out that the Localism Bill – through which the government is seeking to revoke current RSSs and abolish the RSS structure – is not expected to gain Royal Assent until towards the end of 2011.
“Even then, uncertainties will remain about the new planning system until the new plans proposed by the government have themselves been brought into effect,” the MPs said.
The report suggested that significant uncertainties exist over:
- Local authorities’ “duty to co-operate”
- The role of Local Enterprise Partnerships
- The handling of "larger-than-local" issues – such as waste disposal, mineral working and accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers – in the absence of a regional strategy
- Contentious planning issues, and
- The New Homes Bonus.
“It is not clear how the new systems and schemes will be co-ordinated and how they will work in practice,” the MPs said. “There is no consistent method of collecting data and evidence. There is already delay in bringing forward proposals, and consequent delay in the preparation of local authorities’ plans as everyone waits to see what happens. There is in fact a hiatus in planning, which can only have a detrimental effect on the economic recovery.”
The CLG committee called for the drafting of the Bill to be improved, and for the government to ensure that the beneficial and positive aspects of RSSs are retained in any new planning framework.
Committee chair Clive Betts MP said: “Regional Spatial Strategies bridged the gap between those planning issues determined by local policy or concern, and those subject to policy goals defined at a national level – such as those for housing or renewable energy.”
Betts said the hiatus in planning was giving rise to an inertia that was likely to hinder development. “It will make it more difficult to ensure that our national need for new housing is met,” he claimed.
The report also suggested there was a lack of evidence to support the government’s prediction that the New Homes Bonus would help increase housing supply by between 8 and 13%.
It recommended that the bonus be linked explicity to the delivery of homes provided for in the local plan following robust assessments of housing need.
MPs also expressed concern about a lack of evidence to support local development plans.
“It is not acceptable for Ministers to abdicate their responsibilities in this regard by leaving all the responsibility with under-resourced and under-skilled local planning authorities,” the report said.
