July 2007
An application to build a waste
incinerator on the site of London's beloved St. Paul's Cathedral was
delivered to the Corporation of London's Planning Office on Monday. The
application was made by Planning Disaster, a coalition of British
environmental organizations representing more than two million people.
The application was withdrawn on Tuesday. Its sole purpose was to make the
point that the public's right to have a say on major new developments is
under threat from government proposals to reform the planning system.
The government is proposing to change the planning system to speed up
major developments – such as power stations. New developments as large as
nuclear power stations and airport runways could soon be forced through
without public input as part of a major overhaul of planning.
Plans for the overhaul are detailed in a White Paper published May 21 by
the government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"Today, the public can still have the right to object to barmy planning
applications which could damage our environment or our communities - such
as the application we made to build an incinerator on the site of St
Paul's Cathedral," said Owen Espley, coordinator of Planning Disaster.
"If the Planning White Paper goes ahead in its current form, the public
will effectively lose their right to a say," he warned.
Proposals in the Government's White Paper would remove the public's
democratic right to challenge projects at public inquiry.
Planning decisions would be taken out of the hands of accountable
politicians and handed over to an unelected, unaccountable new body called
the Infrastructure Planning Commission.
"We are asking people to act now at www.planningdisaster.co.uk or lose
their voice on what happens in their area," Espley urged.
In the 199 page White Paper, public comment is mentioned only once, to
explain "the guidance role of the infrastructure planning commission at
the scheme development stage."
It says the commission "might recommend that where appropriate, promoters
carry out both an early consultation on options for the development and a
further consultation on a preferred option."
"We believe that once a promoter has selected its preferred option, it
should carry out further consultation to inform the public of its choice
and gather their views on the preferred option," the White Paper states.
The commission might also recommend "a minimum time for which the promoter
should consult, to ensure that members of the public, affected landowners
and It local communities have a fair opportunity to comment," states the
White Paper.
The White Paper was presented by the former heads of four government
agencies - Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Govenment; Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry;
David Miliband, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs; and Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport.
None of these officials is in the same position today that they occupied
in the Blair government when the White Paper was presented, but they are
all still in the Cabinet. Kelly is now Transport Secretary, Darling is now
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Miliband is now Foreign Secretary, and
Alexander is now Secretary of International Development.
Members of the Planning Disaster Coalition were hopeful that under the new
government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the White Paper will be
shelved.
But the Prime Minister told the House of Commons Wednesday that the
forthcoming Planning Bill would, "implement the Barker and Eddington
reports to speed up the development of major infrastructure projects ...
and speed up planning generally."
Ben Stafford, CPRE’s Head of Campaigns, said, "There is an ongoing
consultation on the Government’s Planning White Paper. Environmental NGOs
are united in saying that many of the proposals in the White Paper will be
a disaster for the environment and for local democracy. We fear the Prime
Minister may be pre-empting the outcome of this consultation."
If the planning proposal does get the green light, the NGOs warn that up
to 10 nuclear power plants around the UK, including reactors at Sizewell
in Suffolk, Calderhall in Cumbria and Hartlepool, could be approved
without public input.
Other developments that the public would not be able to comment on include
super-incinerators at Deptford in South East London and Colnbrook in
Slough; as well as airport expansions at Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol,
East Midlands, Heathrow and Stansted.
Major road schemes including a bypass between Hastings and Bexhill in the
South East, M6 widening between Staffordshire and Cheshire, and a new road
bridge across the Mersey would also be off-limits to public comment if the
new planning proposal is approved.
The Planning Disaster Coalition, whose members include, Airport Watch, the
Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of The Earth, nef, the
Ramblers' Association, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds,
Transport 2000, The Wildlife Trusts, and The Woodland Trust is publishing
a complete list of major developments in England over which the public's
right to have a say could be threatened.
The Coalition has made it easy for members of the public to make their
voices heard in the government consultation. All they need to do is send
the government an email via www.planningdisaster.co.uk. The deadline for
public comment on the White Paper is August 17.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England, CPRE, says, "We fear the proposals
for Major Infrastructure Projects will reduce the level of real community
involvement in deciding what gets built in their local area.
"It has the potential to result in a twin track approach where scheme
promoters and large environmental organizations will engage in
consultation but individuals and communities will find it difficult to
have their voices heard," the CPRE says.
CPRE is also worried that the proposed Independent Planning Commission's
membership will be too much influenced by economics and won't have enough
people "with a robust environmental background."
CPRE is holding a Planning White Paper Seminar next Thursday from 10:30 am
to 4.30 pm at the Resource Centre in London. People can find out about the
government’s proposals for planning reform and what this means for towns
and cities, and the environment. To find out more or reserve a place,
email: campaigns@cpre.org.uk
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