Essex-born Bob Neill MP, a Parliamentary under Secretary of State in Communities and Local Government, is expected to be named as planning minister after shadowing the role in Opposition.
He was a barrister specialising in criminal law before election as the member for Bromley and Chislehurst in June 2006 following the death of Eric Forth. After a year in Parliament Neill was appointed shadow London minister and took over the shadow planning brief last year.
He has wide local authority experience having represented communities around London for nearly 30 years. Before the creation of the Greater London Authority (GLA), he served on the former GLC, representing Romford. He was also a councillor in the London Borough of Havering for 16 years, chairing the environment and social services committees.
Before entering Parliament Neill was London Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley where he served as leader of the GLA’s Conservative Group until June 2006. As MP for Bromley and Chislehurst he has consistently raised issues surrounding Green Belt, over-development and planning policy and the quality and cost of rail services into central London.
In a recent comment piece 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.”
He added: “Our incentives, such as council tax match funding, would also help to foster a pro-development culture, as communities would be able to see tangible benefits of growth, instead of seeing development as a drain on existing resources.”
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