The National Trust [Alliance Member] and Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) has launched new evidence which points to a lack of local democracy in the English planning system.
In a survey of 1,200 ward councillors across England, conducted by LGiU, 72% of councillors say that the system is too weighted in favour of developers at the expense of local communities.
Other key findings are:
- Half of councillors say sites that are not in line with the local plan are being approved for new housing
- Half of councillors believe planning departments are not adequately resourced
- 58% of councillors with Green Belt in their area think that their council will allocate Green Belt land for housing in the next five years
- The National Planning Policy Framework does not appear to be having the positive impact it was intended to have on design quality – with only 18% of councillors feeling design has improved since the NPPF was drawn up, and only 12% of councillors think that the loosening of planning restrictions has had a positive effect
As the Government puts the final touches to the Housing White Paper, the National Trust and LGiU hope that Ministers will take a number of sensible steps to improve the confidence that councillors have in the way the planning system works,