Post by warriorwitch on May 20, 2007 21:12:06 GMT
Planning rules overhauled to beat climate change
By Jeremy Lovell Reuters - 1 hour 4 minutes agoLONDON (Reuters) - Both sides will be making green arguments on Monday when Britain announces plans to dramatically change its planning rules and speed up projects large and small.
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Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly will present parliament with the Planning White Paper, hailing it as the most thorough overhaul of the planning system in decades, aimed at spurring development by ripping up red tape.
The measures are expected to speed up the approval of nuclear power stations and wind farms which the government says are key parts of the plan to fight global warming by cutting back the need to burn fossil fuels that release carbon gases.
But environmentalists fear the planning policy paper will lead to a rash of developments from road to retail, airport, power and waste disposal projects including nuclear waste.
"The planning White Paper will give the green light to massive new developments while stripping away opportunities for affected communities or the wider public to input on the decisions," said Hugh Ellis of Friends of the Earth.
"This is policy making at its worse -- it will destroy local communities and exacerbate climate change," he added.
It will include the creation of an Independent Planning Commission to have the final say in all but the most sensitive projects and the principle of "presumption in favour" of major projects as long as they conform to a declared national need.
Homeowners could face an easier time making green improvements. Kelly said earlier this year the White Paper would make it easier to add roof-top wind turbines and solar panels as long as they did not provoke major complaints from neighbours.
Faster planning could clear away obstacles to private investment in the new nuclear power stations the government says are vital both to secure energy supplies and to cut emissions.
Environmentalists say there could be strong legal challenges to projects if the government's declaration of national need was deemed to override environmental protection measures like the EU's Habitat Directive that demand impact assessments.
Planners welcomed the well-flagged changes to a system that, for example, delayed Britain's most recent nuclear power station for nearly a decade and is currently holding up several major wind farm developments.
"Currently, the planning system is extremely bureaucratic and often repetitive in terms of the guidance offered. The leads to inefficiency and delay, wasting both time and money," said a spokesman for the British Property Federation.
By Jeremy Lovell Reuters - 1 hour 4 minutes agoLONDON (Reuters) - Both sides will be making green arguments on Monday when Britain announces plans to dramatically change its planning rules and speed up projects large and small.
(Advertisement)
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly will present parliament with the Planning White Paper, hailing it as the most thorough overhaul of the planning system in decades, aimed at spurring development by ripping up red tape.
The measures are expected to speed up the approval of nuclear power stations and wind farms which the government says are key parts of the plan to fight global warming by cutting back the need to burn fossil fuels that release carbon gases.
But environmentalists fear the planning policy paper will lead to a rash of developments from road to retail, airport, power and waste disposal projects including nuclear waste.
"The planning White Paper will give the green light to massive new developments while stripping away opportunities for affected communities or the wider public to input on the decisions," said Hugh Ellis of Friends of the Earth.
"This is policy making at its worse -- it will destroy local communities and exacerbate climate change," he added.
It will include the creation of an Independent Planning Commission to have the final say in all but the most sensitive projects and the principle of "presumption in favour" of major projects as long as they conform to a declared national need.
Homeowners could face an easier time making green improvements. Kelly said earlier this year the White Paper would make it easier to add roof-top wind turbines and solar panels as long as they did not provoke major complaints from neighbours.
Faster planning could clear away obstacles to private investment in the new nuclear power stations the government says are vital both to secure energy supplies and to cut emissions.
Environmentalists say there could be strong legal challenges to projects if the government's declaration of national need was deemed to override environmental protection measures like the EU's Habitat Directive that demand impact assessments.
Planners welcomed the well-flagged changes to a system that, for example, delayed Britain's most recent nuclear power station for nearly a decade and is currently holding up several major wind farm developments.
"Currently, the planning system is extremely bureaucratic and often repetitive in terms of the guidance offered. The leads to inefficiency and delay, wasting both time and money," said a spokesman for the British Property Federation.