“… Mr Osborne will today ‘sweep away’ planning rules on so-called ‘brownfield’ sites that have been developed before. A source said ripping up the rules would ‘increase the supply of homes for sale’.
The Chancellor will also announce an extra £5 billion for infrastructure spending from the proceeds of government asset sales. Mr Osborne is privately furious with the attitude of some local authorities who have frustrated progress on major infrastructure projects for years. Critics point to the example of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 which took almost 20 years to get off the drawing board.
He will tell activists: ‘Where would Britain be if we had never built railways or runways, power stations or new homes? Where will we be in the future if we stop building them now? …
… “The move will revive grassroots Tory fears that the Chancellor is plotting a fresh assault on the planning system, just three years after a bitter battle with the National Trust and other campaigners. The new National Planning Policy Framework was meant to be the final word on reform when it was introduced in 2012, but ministers have been dismayed by continuing delays in the system.
The Chancellor has said previously that Britain’s Green Belt will be protected in the push for new housing and infrastructure.
But new figures revealed last week that almost 5,000 acres of Green Belt land were lost to the bulldozer last year – the largest amount for five years. The Campaign to Protect Rural England described the figures as ‘the tip of the iceberg’.
In a separate warning, the National Trust said much of the country’s most beautiful scenery was threatened by inappropriate development, as planning rules were not being applied properly.” …
East Devon Watch 