Telegraph - Spiteful irony of Dale Farm: green belt protection to go

Wed Sep 14 12:07:40 BST 2011

The Telegraph is campaigning against radical 
Government reforms to planning laws which 
opponents say pose the greatest threat to the 
countryside since the Second World War. Read 
about the controversy in detail and join in the debate here.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/hands-off-our-land/

Planning reforms: green belt will have 'no 
protection' despite promises of ministers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/hands-off-our-land/8761056/Planning-reforms-green-belt-will-have-no-protection-despite-promises-of-ministers.html
The Governments planning reforms could make it 
easier to build on green belt land, parliamentary advisers have suggested.
Green belt areas will have no protection Photo: ALAMY
By James Kirkup, and Christopher Hope - Telegraph - 13 Sep 2011
Researchers at the independent House of Commons 
library have said that the Governments legal 
presumption in favour of sustainable development 
will apply even within the green belt.
The presumption, set out in the Draft National 
Planning Policy Framework, has led to allegations 
that ministers are trying to slant the system in favour of developers.
Ministers have insisted that the framework will 
provide clear protections for the green belt, 
which makes up 13 per cent of land in England.
But a report from the librarys respected 
researchers has cast doubt on the value of those assurances.
It says: The implications of the presumption in 
favour of sustainable development are unclear.
The report notes that the section of the 
framework setting out the legal presumption makes 
no mention of the green belt, and contains only 
a narrow exception for sites protected by the Birds and Habitats directives.
Other planning documents from the Department for 
Communities and Local Government have offered 
clearer protections for the green belt, the 
library noted, but since those assurances are not 
contained in the main framework, they would 
probably not carry any weight in individual planning decisions.
The frameworks legal presumption tells councils 
to plan positively for new development, and 
approve all individual proposals wherever 
possible. It has led to warnings over 
unrestrained development, and is being opposed by 
groups including the National Trust and the 
Campaign for the Protection of Rural England.
The Daily Telegraph has launched the Hands Off 
Our Land campaign to urge ministers to think again.
Critics fear the presumption will become a 
builders charter, as developers will be able to 
interpret it to win approval for big rural projects.
To allay such fears, MPs on the all-party 
environmental audit committee have asked 
ministers to enshrine in law a definition of 
sustainable development. Ministers this week 
rejected the request, saying such a definition 
was not necessary. Some campaigners have likened 
the row to the planned sale of Forestry 
Commission land, which ended in an embarrassing retreat for the Government.
But ministers say they are adamant there will be 
no about-turn on the planning reforms, which they 
say are vital to helping the economy return to health.
Greg Clark, the planning minister, will today 
meet activists from the CPRE in an attempt to assuage their anger.
The analysis came to light as the Coalition was 
accused in the Commons of misleading Parliament 
and the public over its changes to planning policy.
Jack Dromey, the shadow planning minister, said 
Mr Clark was wrong to tell MPs that the draft 
planning rules would prioritise developing brown 
field sites over green field areas. This was 
wrong, he said, because the commitment was 
actually dropped from the framework.
Labour said there were enough brownfield sites to 
build more than 1.2 million homes. Mr Dromey told 
MPs: The Government must come clean about its 
planning policy and the real impact it will have 
on communities. Thus far the only outcome has been chaos.
Mr Clark has denied misleading MPs over the 
framework, and his department last night insisted 
the green belt would still be protected.
A communities department spokesman said: The 
green belt has a valuable role in stopping urban 
sprawl and providing a green lung around towns 
and cities and this policy is continued in the 
new draft national planning framework.

Hands Off Our Land: have your say
Reforms to planning laws will mean rural towns 
and villages may be forced to accept new building 
developments - even if it means large parts of 
countryside may be lost. What is your view? Comment here.
Hands Off Our Land: areas at risk

Interactive graphic showing rural areas of 
England which could be lost to development if 
tight planning laws are changed. The countryside 
has been protected by tight laws since the 1940s.
Planning reforms

 Rules 'stop locals resisting developers'
 Green belt will have 'no protection'
 No 10 backing for planning minister
 'Housing developers have ruined Ireland'
 £1,000 fee to protect village greens
 Tories given millions by developers
 Planners already adopting new rules
 Planning minister's pact with developers

Hands Off Our Land: the debate

Campaigners against planning reforms
hands off our land: latest
Hands Off Our Land campaign: latest

The Telegraph's Hands Off Our Land campaign is 
calling for the Coalition to look again at 
proposed changes to planning laws which risk 
undermining the safeguards that have protected 
the countryside for almost 70 years. Follow the latest developments here.

14 Sep 2011
New public wood will celebrate Queens Diamond Jubilee

Plans were unveiled today for a new public 
woodland spanning hundreds of acres to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

14 Sep 2011
'No protection' for green belt despite ministers' promises

Governments planning reforms could make it 
easier to build on green belt land, parliamentary advisers suggest.

13 Sep 2011
No 10 backing for minister who told developers to lobby PM

David Cameron has backed the embattled planning 
minister Greg Clark over his dealings with the property industry.

13 Sep 2011
Planning rules 'stop locals resisting developers'

Local residents are not meant to be able to 
resist new developments under the Coalitions 
controversial planning reforms, says planning 
consultant who helped write development framework.

12 Sep 2011
The lobbyist's revealing email supporting minister

The planning minister, Greg Clark, has privately 
urged developers to lobby David Cameron undermine 
his claims of objectivity. Here is the leaked email.

12 Sep 2011
Email leak undermines planning law shake-up

Telegraph View: The revelations that the planning 
minister, Greg Clark, has privately urged 
developers to lobby David Cameron undermine his claims of objectivity.

12 Sep 2011
Landscape that inspired David Hockney threatened by wind turbines

The unique landscape that inspired the latest 
David Hockney paintings is in danger of being swamped by wind turbines.

12 Sep 2011
Planning minister's in pact with developers over reforms

Greg Clark, the planning minister, privately has 
urged property developers to lobby David Cameron 
amid concerns that his planning reforms will be 
blocked, according to a leaked email seen by The Telegraph.

11 Sep 2011
Flight to countryside fuels housing problem

There is plenty of brownfield land to build on, 
but the problems of urban living are adding to 
development pressure on rural areas.

11 Sep 2011
Push for localism is undermined by planning inspectors

The Coalition's pledge to give local communities 
more control over development in their area is 
being undermined by Government inspectors who are 
telling councils to allow more house building.

10 Sep 2011
Ministers block building in their own constituencies

Conservative ministers pushing through 
controversial plans to relax Britain's planning 
laws are facing accusations of "breathtaking 
hypocrisy" after it emerged that they had tried 
to block developments in their own constituencies.

10 Sep 2011
Tories given millions by property developers

Property firms who stand to benefit from 
controversial planning reforms give £3.3m to 
Conservatives over past three years.

09 Sep 2011
Property developers pay for access to Conservatives

Property developers paying thousands of pounds for access to senior MPs.

09 Sep 2011
Hands Off Our Land: timeline of the controversy

The Telegraph's Hands Off Our Land campaign backs 
dozens of environmental and conservation groups 
which are calling for the Coalition to look again 
at its proposed changes to planning laws which 
risk undermining the safeguards that have 
protected the countryside for almost 70 years.

09 Sep 2011
Planning reforms: fee threat to village greens

Communities would have to pay up to £1,000 to 
save greens from developers bulldozers under new planning laws.

08 Sep 2011
Must Englands beauty perish, Mr Cameron?

The Government is betraying the heritage that so 
many have fought to preserve, argues Roger Scruton.

08 Sep 2011
Planning reforms: councils risk free-for-all

Developers could be able to build what they 
like, where they like under new draft planning rules, Tory architect admits.

07 Sep 2011
Business believes planning decisions 'political'

Seven-in-10 UK companies believe planning 
decisions are taken on political grounds rather 
than the quality of the application.

06 Sep 2011
Planning reforms are 'fundamentally wrong'

The Government's proposed contruction reforms 
"could be disastrous" unless they are rewritten, warns the National Trust.

05 Sep 2011
A licence to build isnt in the national interest

Ministers say they want local communities to have 
more power, so why bully them, asks Philip Johnston.

05 Sep 2011
Rural U-turn is essential

Telegraph View: the proposed changes to planning 
regulations leave the Government with a nasty dilemma.

05 Sep 2011
George Osborne 'determined to win battle' over planning

A defiant George Osborne has insisted there will 
be no backdown to the overhaul of planning laws, 
insisting that no one should underestimate our 
determination to win this battle.

05 Sep 2011
Key questions answered on planning reform

As the war of words over the implications of the 
National Planning Policy Framework intensifies, a 
growing number of public bodies are now wading 
into the row with their concerns. We answer some of the key questions

04 Sep 2011
Planning reforms will devastate historic sites

English Heritage fear proposed changes will have "devastating effect".
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