Are councils aware of the ramifications of Gove’s Bill?

Letter published by the West Sussex Gazette 6 July 2022 and West Sussex County Times 7 July.

Sir,

Are councils aware of the ramifications of Gove’s Bill?

Michael Gove’s Levelling-Up & Regeneration Bill “radically centralises planning decision-making and substantially erodes public participation in the planning system”.

In a letter to Michael Gove, dated 21 Jun 22, Clive Betts MP, Chair, Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, summarises legal opinion as follows, quote:

“a) The Bill represents a significant change to the existing planning system. It undermines an important planning principle, the primacy of the development plan, by elevating national development management policies to the top of the planning hierarchy;

1. b) Unlike development plans, which are produced locally via a statutory process that involves considerable public participation, the Bill contains no obligation to allow the public to participate in the development of national development management policies;
2. c) The Bill also introduces two new development plan documents, spatial development strategies and supplementary plans. The Bill provides for very limited opportunities for public participation in the production of these documents;
3. d) The Bill introduces a new mechanism to allow the Secretary of State to grant planning permission for controversial developments, bypassing the planning system entirely. There is no right for the public to be consulted as part of this process;
4. e) Overall, in our view the Bill radically centralises planning decision-making and substantially erodes public participation in the planning system”.

Clearly there is cause for considerable concern though worryingly none has been expressed by Sussex’s MPs.

Hansard records show that only two Sussex MPs spoke at the Commons debate of the Bill, 8 June 22. They were Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion, Green) and Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne, Conservative), but apparently neither was aware of the issues detailed in the letter quoted above.

Has any Sussex MP examined the Bill in the detail?  Are councils, councillors and communities aware of the consequences for them?

Yours faithfully,

Dr R F Smith

Trustee CPRE Sussex