House of Commons
Debates 15 July 2010
REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGIES
George Hollingbery (Meon Valley) (Con): What
guidance he has issued to local authorities on the procedure for re-examination
of the allocation of strategic development areas and major development areas
under former regional spatial strategies. [8504]
The Minister of State, Department for Communities and
Local Government (Greg Clark): The Government issued advice to
local authorities on 6 July. Following the revocation of the regional spatial
strategies, planning for major development areas is for local communities to
determine, free from interference from unaccountable regional quangos. If local
authorities wish to retain policies on strategic development areas, they are
free to do so in their local plans.
George Hollingbery: I thank the Minister for
his answer. As well as freeing local communities to make real decisions for
themselves about where they live, will he also ensure that the time-wasting,
box-ticking, intrusive and expensive, inspector-led and Government office-led
compliance process that went with those central diktats, is also consigned to
the dustbin?
Greg Clark: My hon. Friend is absolutely
right, and for the benefit of Members, I am today placing in the Library of the
House two items. The first is the documents associated with the south-east
regional plan, which consists of 3,000 pages and weighs 2 stone. That has been
replaced by the second item, which consists of six pages of guidance weighing 1
oz. If anything encapsulates the difference between this Government's approach
and the previous Government's approach, it is that we are freeing local
authorities from that burden.
Mr Nick Raynsford (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab): Does the
Minister recognise that under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004,
the local development plan, by which all planning decisions in an area should
be determined, is defined as comprising two elements: the local development
framework and the regional spatial strategy, which have equal status. Removing
one at a stroke, as the Government propose, leaves most people who think about
this subject very fearful that the Government are creating a situation in which
the local development plans will be unfit for purpose and there will be
litigation and protracted delay, all of which will lead to the halting of
necessary development. How do the Government justify that?
Greg Clark: The right hon. Gentleman is
behind the times. The regional spatial strategies have been revoked: they are
not about to be revoked, they are no more, they are dead, they no longer exist,
they are ex-strategies. When it comes to spatial planning- [ Interruption. ]
The strategies have been revoked under current legislation. It is entirely
possible for progressive local authorities to co-operate, as they are, for
example, in Essex, Manchester and Worcestershire, to ensure that cross-border
issues are properly dealt with. That is exactly what they are doing.
Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD): I thank the Minister for that reply. Will he extend his
guidance to planning inspectorates, so that emerging regional spatial
strategies that have not yet been adopted, and indeed emerging core
strategies that existed merely to comply with RSSs, are considered immaterial
by inspectors?
Greg Clark: I am pleased to confirm to my
hon. Friend that we have indeed done that. It is worth pointing out that
because of that great panoply of regulation and imposition, only 18% of
authorities had actually adopted a regional strategy, years after they were
first required.
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab): I do not
know whether the Minister is aware of or concerned about the damage that his
changes to planning policies are already causing, but has he had the chance to
read a well researched article in the Financial Times at the weekend,
which showed that 7,500 houses in various schemes have already been cancelled
as a result of those changes? Is it not the case that the Government's policies
are already proving damaging to the house building industry and bad for
everyone in desperate need of a home?
Greg Clark: I have great respect for the hon.
Gentleman, who chairs the Communities and Local Government Committee, but I do
not know where he has been for the past few years. He should know that the
number of house completions has been at an historic low-the lowest since the
second world war. Our intention is to increase house building by removing the
imposition that sets people against development. It is a disastrous situation
when people are against developments. By allowing people to create communities
in the way that they want and to share in the economic benefits of that, we can
take the poison out of the planning system.