BBC: "Planning system overhaul 'damage' feared"

Link to BBC web site

"The new framework streamlines more than 1,000 pages of policy into just 52, transforming a system whose 'volume and complexity have made planning increasingly inaccessible to all but specialists', according to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

"Main points include:

• A commitment to public transport, as well as encouraging provision of charging points for electric cars and welcoming other low-emission vehicles
• Emphasis on tackling noise pollution, as well as light pollution 'affecting the beauty of the night sky'
• Facilitation of a new generation of renewable energy projects, as part of an acknowledgment of the role of planning in tackling climate change."

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"Dramatic simplification of planning guidance to encourage sustainable growth"

Link to DCLG web site

"A new, simpler framework for the planning system that safeguards the environment while meeting the need for sustainable growth has been published for consultation today by Planning Minister Greg Clark.

"National planning policy, which is the basis for every local plan and decision, has accumulated to over one thousand pages during the last decade. Its volume and complexity have made planning increasingly inaccessible to all but specialists.

"The Government in the Coalition Agreement committed to turning this thicket of national planning policy into a clear, tightly focused document, setting out national priorities and rules.

"Today Ministers are inviting views on the draft National Planning Policy Framework - which streamlines national policy from over 1,000 pages to just 52 pages of policy - as part of a consultation to get the planning system right for current and future generations. The draft Framework draws on responses to an initial call for evidence earlier in the year. The Government intends to consult on simplifying other guidance on national policy as the next step."