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RETURN OF HOUSING POLICY TO LOCAL COUNCILS WELCOMED
03 June 2010
South West Bedfordshire MP Andrew Selous has warmly welcomed the return of powers over housing and planning policy to local councils. Andrew Selous said, “I have campaigned for these changes since 2003, long before my party adopted them, and I am delighted to see them brought in. Central Bedfordshire can now build the number of houses that is appropriate to meet local housing need and will have greater powers to deal with unauthorised traveller developments. This is very welcome news indeed.”
The letters from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is below.
ENDS
The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP
Department for Communities and Local Government
To: Local Council Leaders
27 May 2010
Dear Leader
ABOLITION OF REGIONAL STRATEGIES
I am writing to you today to highlight our commitment in the coalition agreements where we very clearly set out our intention to rapidly abolish Regional Strategies and return decision making powers on housing and planning to local councils. Consequently, decisions on housing supply (including the provision of travellers sites) will rest with Local Planning Authorities without the framework of regional numbers and plans.
I will make a formal announcement on this matter soon. However, I expect Local Planning Authorities and the Planning Inspectorate to have regard to this letter as a material planning consideration in any decisions they are currently taking.
Yours ever,
The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
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Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP
HOUSE OF COMMONS
To: Coalition MPs
3 June 2010
Dear Colleague,
COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
I thought you might find it useful to have an outline of some of the changes of government policy that have been delivered by the new Coalition Government in relation to local government, housing and planning.
Scrapping Home Information Packs: I have immediately suspended Home Information Packs (HIPs), whilst keeping Energy Performance Certificates. The new Government will be introducing legislation to abolish this red tape completely. This was a key manifesto pledge of both coalition parties. Already estate agents Countrywide and Rightmove have reported an increase in people looking to market their home for sale. It is now hundreds of pounds cheaper to put up a ‘for sale’ sign if you are looking to move.
Abolition of Regional Planning: The new Government has announced it will abolish Labour’s unelected Regional Assemblies, top-down building targets and unwanted Regional Spatial Strategies. I will be publishing a detailed planning circular within weeks. However, on Friday, I wrote to local authorities and the Planning Inspectorate informing them that our intention to scrap the Regional Strategies is already a ‘material consideration’ that they should take into account when considering current planning applications and appeals. I attach a copy of the letter which is in the public domain and can be given to interested constituents. In contrast to Labour’s regime of targets, we will be seeking to introduce new incentives to reward councils which build more homes and support local business growth.
Tackling unauthorised development: There is considerable public concern about unauthorised development, and a series of high profile cases involving travellers. I believe that Labour’s changes to planning rules have undermined community cohesion and have aggravated tensions between the settled and travelling communities. The British public want to see fair play for all. We will be looking at ways to give councils more power and discretion to tackle unauthorised development and trespass. Our abolition of Regional Strategies will also mean the scrapping of top-down caravan pitch targets and a shift to locally-led assessment and plans. My department will be publishing more detail in due course.
Freedom for local government: The Labour Government has left a ‘scorched earth’ legacy, with ruined public finances and a myriad of spending commitments without proper funding. There will be needed to be savings made across government – including savings to local authority budgets. However, as part of the £6 billion of savings, the new Government has protected the £29 billion of formula grant which funds councils’ frontline services. We have also removed £2 billion of ring-fencing to give councils more freedom to support local priorities. And we are abolishing the bureaucratic red tape of Comprehensive Area Assessment. We are also leading by example in saving money – starting at the top. All Ministers have had their pay cut and I have vetoed a proposed £240,000 salary package for the new Chief Executive of the Audit Commission. Cutting red tape and Whitehall bureaucracy is an opportunity for genuine decentralisation and devolution of power. We will be making more announcements on giving power back to the people.
I hope this is helpful.
Yours truly,
The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP
Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government
