Communities minister Don Foster has said that recently-announced proposals to streamline the planning system are ‘not a done deal’ as Liberal Democrat members backed an emergency motion opposing the measures.
Lib Dem delegates at their autumn conference in Brighton have called for the Government to scrap relaxed planning regulations around home extensions.
Increasing the size of planning permission-free extensions to 26ft is a high-profile Government effort to stimulate the construction industry. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has declared himself ‘surprised’ at the lack of support among local authorities and has made it clear that councils who opt out of relaxed regulations could be sued for compensation by local residents.
Local councillors from across the country rose to speak against the reforms. Catharine Smart, a delegate from Cambridge, asked ‘what planet these people are on’. Others argued that the Government should listen to local councils; ‘the little people who know what [they are] doing’. Concerns were raised about ‘ugly’ extensions damaging the local environment or creating tensions between neighbours.
Many Tory councils have already voiced their opposition, with flagship borough Richmond-on-Thames leading the charge.
However, conservation areas will continue to operate under the existing planning permission framework.
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