The Conservatives have published their proposals for UK planning in a ‘green paper’ that calls for a more responsive and accountable system.

Today, Tory leader David Cameron unveiled the much-anticipated green paper called Open Source Planning with a speech in London. He called it the “biggest shift in power for decades”.

At the paper’s heart is the concept of more involvement from local people in planning decisions – called ‘localism’ – with a view to encouraging more sustainable development. It takes its name from the computer concept in which IT companies allow users to develop and modify their software. The Tories would aim to replicate this by allowing individuals to have more say in local planning.

Key proposals in the paper include:

• Scrapping the Planning Inspectorate
• Abolishing regional development agencies
• Giving councils and communities financial incentives to encourage building new homes and businesses
• Maintaining national ‘green belt’ protection and other special protections for wildlife and the countryside
• Using new local infrastructure blueprints to coordinate strategic matters crossing boundaries, with a new duty on public authorities such as the Highways Agency to cooperate with local councils
• Abolishing the Infrastructure Planning Commission while retaining a fast-track process to avoid long-running planning inquiries
• Giving Parliament a new role to vote on and ratify national planning policy

David Cameron said the party’s planning policy was radical: “Suddenly, you can see how a system that was controlled by a few can be run by the many,” he said.

“You can see how it’s possible to get neighbourhoods to come together to solve problems together. So this won’t just help to improve our broken planning system – it will help to build stronger communities and help to mend our broken society too.”

Caroline Spelman, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said: “Labour’s planning system is bad for democracy, bad for the environment and bad for business.

“Too many decisions taken by unelected quangos, there is too much unnecessary red tape and there are no incentives for local residents to back sustainable development.”

Ian Anderson, senior director in the planning at CB Richard Ellis, said there was “much to be welcomed in the proposals” such as incentives to encourage development.

“This is tempered though by the focus on localism and decentralisation. Strategic direction is needed to balance entrenched local opposition to development, including for much needed housing. Without this we could face worsening housing shortages and return to planning by appeal,” said Anderson.

He said one major concern was the prospect of third party rights of appeal that can encourage delays and impropriety, if a rival developer can de-rail a scheme by opposing it.

To read the full ‘green paper’ click here: Open Source Planning green paper

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