The Hobbs Parker Blogs

Prior to the general election on 6 May, there was much speculation and debate in the planning world as to the possible consequences of a change of Government on the planning system. With the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition Government still wet behind the ears, and the new cabinet beginning to take shape it is time to leave the speculation behind and asses the first signs of what the new Government will mean for the environment and the planning system.

In the past few days it has been announced that Eric Pickles (MP for Brentwood and Ongar, In Essex) has been appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Grant Shapps,  Housing minister and Chris Huhne is to become Energy and Climate Change Secretary.

The property world is eagerly awaiting news on three key areas of policy flagged up by the Conservative party in the run up to the general election. Firstly, the Conservatives proposed the abolition of regional plans, and the accompanying housing targets; the property world was concerned that this would lead to uncertainty, delay in agreeing new plans, and the risk that some local authorities would slash housing figures. However, both David Cameron and Nick Clegg made positive noises in the leadership debate on the need to provide more housing, and this seemingly firm position may change as detailed policy work proceeds.

Secondly, the Conservatives proposed to abolish the Community Infrastructure Levy, and substitute a discretionary local system of tariffs on developers – as a means of achieving funding for public infrastructure necessitated by new development. In the light of the latest news of the budget deficit, it seems highly likely that a new system, in one form or another, will seek to achieve higher payments from developers, to fund essential infrastructure.

Thirdly, the Conservatives proposed greater involvement of the public, in the preparation of plans for communities, at the local level. There is a high degree of accord here, with the Liberal Democrats own approach, and we expect to see this principle followed, although it will perhaps be sometime before its effects are felt on new plans.

Whilst it is still very much early days, some key areas of environmental policy have already been agreed by the two ruling parties, namely:

• The establishment of a high speed rail network
• the cancellation of the third runway at Heathrow and;
• the abandonment of plans for additional runways at Gatwick and Stanstead Airports

Most notably, on the issue of energy, whilst there is an agreement to seek to increase the target for energy from renewable sources (subject to the advice of the Climate Change Committee), the Liberal Democrats have long opposed any new nuclear construction, whilst by contrast the Conservatives are committed to allowing the replacement of existing nuclear power stations provided they are subject to the normal planning process for major projects (under a new planning statement ) and provided also that they receive no public subsidy. A press release by the new coalition Government stated:

“We have agreed a process that will allow Liberal Democrats to maintain their opposition to nuclear power while permitting the government to bring forward the national planning statement for ratification by Parliament so that new nuclear construction becomes possible”.

Whilst the willingness of the two parties to unite on key issues affecting our environment and the planning system is to be welcomed, the effectiveness of the new coalition in passing legislation once the honeymoon period is over, remains to be seen.

David Jarman & Chris Collett

Posted by David Jarman