Alas, poor Localism! What cries are committed in thy name! As the Localism Bill makes it way towards royal assent the principle that local communities should be entrusted with determining what they want to happen in their localities is under attack from all sides – because it turns out political parties can’t bear to empower people in case they make the “wrong” decisions. Fresh on the heels of the draft NPPF – which suggests that neighbourhood plans are only Good Things if they want even more growth than any other planning policy under the sun – Labour’s shadow housing spokesman Jack Dromey (the man selected from an all-woman shortlist) has suggested that regional strategies centrally imposed need to be brought back (apparently the empirical evidence of their lack of success last time round doesn’t matter).
A more creative use of politicians’ time might be to identify ways of financing infrastructure investment so that it can precede growth rather than follow it (“we don’t mind more homes but we can’t cope with the numbers we’ve already got” has to be one of the commonly used phrases among councillors) and finding the courage to lead from the front in local areas and make a positive case for more growth (something the draft NPPF had the courage to do).
Nick Stanton, Lib Dem consultant, Curtin&Co
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