{"id":28797,"date":"2021-01-08T16:31:26","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T16:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=28797"},"modified":"2021-01-08T16:31:26","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T16:31:26","slug":"tci-english-planning-reforms-reduces-residents-rights-to-be-consulted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=28797","title":{"rendered":"TCI: English planning reforms reduces residents\u2019 rights to be consulted!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"logo\"<\/a>The Consultation Institute (TCI) has responded to the Government\u2019s consultation on Planning for the Future in England.<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2026fewer opportunities for residents to be consulted\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

\u2026 attempt to airbrush consultation out of the zoning exercise\u2026<\/span><\/em>avoiding the word \u2018consultation\u2019 and using instead the term, \u2018public comment\u2019\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

The Consultation Institute writes:<\/p>\n

It supports a Government commitment that new arrangements for creating local plans will ensure that\u00a0\u2018communities can engage meaningfully in the process of developing them.\u2019\u00a0<\/em>New local plans will be much simpler than currently, and will be easier for residents to understand.\u00a0 This is because they will have used a zoning system to identify land as being either in a\u00a0Growth<\/em>, a\u00a0Renewal\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0Protected\u00a0<\/em>category. The Institute also supports the aim of making the dialogue more inclusive and using the technology to attract more participation in the plan-making process.<\/p>\n

There are, however, significant problems with the current proposals. Once the zoning process is complete , there will be fewer opportunities for residents to be consulted as planning permission for all\u00a0Growth<\/em>\u00a0areas and some\u00a0Renewal<\/em>\u00a0areas will be automatic. This will be bad news for anyone who wishes to object to a particular scheme, made worse by the Government\u2019s suggestion that the right to be heard before a Planning Inspector may disappear.<\/p>\n

There is also an attempt to airbrush consultation out of the zoning exercise itself. Instead of consulting the local community before the zoning is finalised, all that current proposals allow is for a short period of public comment \u2013 but only after the zoning plan has already been submitted to the Secretary of State.<\/p>\n

By avoiding the word \u2018consultation\u2019 and using instead the term, \u2018public comment\u2019, there is a suggestion that maybe the Government is hoping that, if challenged, Judges would not apply the strict rules known as the Gunning Principles to ensure the process is fair. Clearly it is not anticipating that public views are likely to lead to changes to the local plans, once submitted.<\/p>\n

As so many details are still uncertain, and as primary legislation will be needed, the Institute feels that there will be time to address some of the problems that have emerged in recent months.<\/p>\n

Rhion Jones, Founder Director of the Institute comments:<\/p>\n

\u201cA strong case can be made for improving the planning system, and the Government\u2019s desire to encourage more \u2018digital engagement\u2019 is quite right. But removing the right for local people to be consulted is a major change and we doubt if there is public support for such a radical step. Moreover, we understand the Government\u2019s eagerness to secure more housebuilding. It just seems to the Institute that the current plan will so destabilise the planning system in England that the reverse will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

To access the position paper and formal response – read more….<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Consultation Institute (TCI) has responded to the Government\u2019s consultation on Planning for the Future in England.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28798,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28797\/revisions\/28798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}