Government insists press reports claiming revised National Planning Policy Framework makes it easier to approve unauthorised Traveller sites are “wrong”

In a statement the MHCLG said the claims in the media had “misinterpreted the policy and the important changes we have made”.

Sir James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, told The Telegraph earlier this week: “Communities across the country are being forced to tolerate lawbreaking from a small minority of travellers.

“But instead of siding with those who play by the rules, Labour are making it easier for travellers to set up illegal sites and get them rubber-stamped afterwards – often when they’ve already erected permanent structures.”

He added: “Andy Burnham talks about devolution, but once again he is stopping councils from making their own decisions about what’s best for their areas."

Cleverly said: "With the freedoms we gain from leaving the European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR], we will crack down on unauthorised sites, end the two-tier system where travellers get special treatment, and stand up for local residents abandoned by Burnham.”

However, in its statement the MHCLG said:

• We have strengthened the rules on intentional unauthorised development. For the first time, the NPPF is clear that where someone has deliberately developed a site without permission, councils should give this substantial weight when deciding retrospective planning applications.
• There is no weakening of environmental protections. Traveller site applications remain subject to the same policies on environmental impacts, flooding, transport and environmental quality as other forms of development.
• We have removed duplication, not protections. The updated framework streamlines policies and ensures Traveller site applications are judged consistently alongside other planning applications.
• Councils remain in control of local decisions. Local planning authorities are responsible for identifying need, allocating sites and deciding planning applications in their areas.
• Councils retain strong enforcement powers. Local authorities can already take enforcement action, including seeking injunctions where a breach of planning control appears likely.

The statement added: “Put simply, the reforms do not make it easier to secure permission for unauthorised development. In fact, they make the planning framework clearer and stronger by giving greater weight to intentional breaches of planning rules.”

An MHCLG spokesperson said: “The government is cracking down on illegal traveller sites and it is completely misleading to suggest otherwise.

“Our new planning rules explicitly tackle any potential environmental damage and transport impacts, and make it harder for people to get retrospective permission for development that were built without approval.”