Speaking at the National Planning Forum on 25 June, Neill stressed the Government’s intention that councils and local people should work together with developers and planners to deliver new building in their area.
He said that this would ‘herald a new era in planning’. “People who make planning decisions will no longer be able to avoid reporting back to those whose lives are directly affected by them”, he said. “Communities will be able to come together and take responsibility for solving their own local challenges in a way that makes sense for them. And in return, they will be offered powerful incentives that ensure they see the benefits of the development they welcome. But we can’t return to localism simply by changing the rules. We need your help to make this work. Planning has its roots in a democratic system that engages local communities. You were there at the beginning, and you will be there again to give communities the real power and real influence they deserve.”
Neill stressed that planning policy would be streamlined and simplified, to free up local authorities and communities to make their own decisions. In the future planners would not just be planning experts, but experts at working with communities, and translating their visions into action.
Local plans would be more transparent and spell out how they will benefit the community. Communities will help develop proposals for their neighbourhoods, rather than be consulted on ‘options’ that have already been prepared.
And local, long-term plans would become more important, he said. “If a new development is in the plan that is supported by local people, a proposal in line with that plan will be approved unless there are significant reasons against it,” he added.
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