Eric Pickles has today signalled a real belief in localism by rejecting the advice of a planning inspector and upholding Winchester council’s rejection of a large-scale development. Although the council has an inadequate supply of housing land, Pickles has determined that it should be allowed to conclude its core strategy process.
Time will tell whether this is a victory for nimbyism, a well-placed belief in the competence of local government to make difficult decisions without needing to be second-guessed by Whitehall or a strategic decision designed to take some of the heat off the current draft NPPF debate (the logic of the draft NPPF might have been thought to have favoured the developers in this particular case).
What’s also clear is that some developers will need to adopt a different approach to strategically important planning applications. Instead of assuming that “everything will be alright on appeal”, time spent in genuine stakeholder engagement and community consultation may prove to be beneficial in helping applications clear the hurdle of planning committees – this decision could be a real portent that the Secretary of State is not prepared to second guess the locally elected politicians who are paid to make these decisions.
Nick Stanton, Lib Dem consultant, Curtin&Co
No comments:
Post a Comment