A couple of weeks ago I invited the shadow planning minister, Jacqui
Lait MP, to come to Sevenoaks and meet people with an interest in
planning – councillors, architects, and people from the parishes.
This is the first in a series of visits that I hope to organise for
Conservative spokesmen. Why? Because it really does look now as if the
next government will be Conservative, and I want to be sure that future
ministers understand the issues that they will face.
This benefits both sides. It means that local people – at the sharp end
of government decision-making – can explain what needs to be changed.
And the ministers of the future can start to see how their policies
will actually work out on the ground.
Take planning. The current system doesn’t give our elected councillors
enough say. Too often a big decision can be taken out of their hands –
“called in” by the government office of the south east which is a bunch
of unelected officials sitting in Guildford.
Or national guidelines laid down by ministers can ensure that a
planning application rejected by the council is virtually certain to be
overturned on appeal. If the council loses the appeal, it can be made
liable for both sides’ costs. So, in order to protect council
taxpayers, the council has to let it through.
But why should we have national guidelines, telling our councillors how
to consider the redevelopment of West Kent Cold Store, the future of
Fort Halstead, or the case for expanding Tesco in Riverhead? These
aren’t airports or nuclear power plants. They should be decided locally.
Then there are the endlessly protracted appeals by so-called
“travellers” (often people who haven’t actually “travelled” for years)
who create new pitches for their caravans on green belt land –
something nobody else is allowed to do – and then claim “human rights”
when they’re asked to leave.
Some of these cases have been taking years to resolve through the
courts, and Sevenoaks District Council has to waste our money fighting
each one step by step. The system is loaded against councils – and
against those whose homes can be permanently blighted.
Here the next conservative government can make a real difference to
people’s lives. It can change the law to ensure that everybody is
treated equally – developer, traveller, home-owner – and to ensure that
the green belt stays green.
And then let elected councils enforce planning law without further
interference. That means less “guidance” from officials in Whitehall
and Guildford. We elect our councillors. Let them take decisions on our
behalf, and face re-election four years later.
