FROME Town Council’s planning committee has said it will be ‘looking closely’ at the proposed changes to the planning system in England by the UK government.
The committee’s initial reaction has raised concern that the proposed changes could ‘diminish’ the town council’s influence on planning in the local area.
But the committee has said that it needs more time to examine the proposed reform before giving a detailed response.
The town council’s planning committee has spoken out in response to a proposed shake-up by the government to the planning system, which could see new homes given ‘automatic’ permission to be built on land that has been designated as a ‘growth area’.
Industry experts have warned that the changes could lead to ‘bad-quality housing’ and loss of local control. Other proposed changes include: all new homes to be carbon-neutral by 2050; all new streets to be tree-lined; a ‘protected’ category for areas of outstanding natural beauty and the green belt; and the introduction of a national charge for developers to fund projects such as schools, roads and GP surgeries, and a fixed proportion of affordable homes in a development, replacing the existing Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – financial contributions made by developers towards the cost of supporting infrastructure, normally given to the local council for that area.
Chair of the planning committee, cllr Steve Tanner, told Frome Times, “We have noted the government’s desire to reform planning rules and obviously we want to ensure that all developments in Frome conform to our Neighbourhood Plan, our aim to be carbon neutral by 2030 and that developments meet the needs of the local community.
“Initial reactions so far suggest that local scrutiny and influence may be diminished. However as there is a 12-week consultation period, we feel it is too early to comment on specific parts of the of the reform. As a council we will be looking closely at the proposals and intend to respond in more detail in due course.
“Once we have agreed on our response to the consultation and had time to carefully consider the implica- tions of the reforms, we will be a position to comment.”
