29 November 2010
Local Authorities should actively consider pooling planning powers, sharing planning staff and carrying out much more joint working, Communities Minister Greg Clark has urged. The call came in a speech which charted key elements of the soon-to-be published Localism Bill.
The Minister pointed out that if Local Authorities wanted to come together to pool planning powers they could already do so. He stated that some of the Local Authorities who have come together in Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are already considering doing just that.
Mr Clark also added that the Government wants all Local Authorities to think about the opportunities of pooling planning powers in a considered way pointing out that the Localism Bill would include a new “duty to co-operate” that would require neighbouring Authorities to be ready to join forces in the interest of the people that they represent. The Minister said that the Department was committed to plans for a clearer set of policy guidance at the heart of which would be a presumption in favour of sustainable development.
The coalition Government wanted to enable neighbourhoods to exert more influence in the planning system than is currently possible. The aim is to create a means for people to formulate their own plans about what their area should look like in five, ten, 20 years’ time. It was stated that a new breed of neighbourhood plans would not replace wider local plans. Furthermore the Localism Bill will make it easier for Local Authorities to involve local communities and draw up local plans and to give them greater discretion to do it in the way they want, by cutting out excessive central prescription.
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/general/news/stories/2010/november2010/25nov2010/251110_1