Joint letter to PM calls for a halt to planning deregulation

‘Deregulatory race to the bottom would erode the foundation of a green and just recovery: the exact opposite of ‘build back better’

In a joint open letter to the Prime Minister issued yesterday, CPRE and seventeen charities including Wildlife and Countryside LINK, The Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB called for a robust, locally led and democratic planning system with people and nature at its heart. The letter, published in The Times, notes:

‘With rising concern, [the] government’s intentions to ‘rip up the red tape’ in the planning system. Further deregulation of the planning system would erode the foundations of any green and just recovery long before the first brick is laid. Nowhere else in the world is such a deregulatory race to the bottom being considered.

It would also be completely out of touch with the public mood, at a time when two thirds of people reported wanting to see greater protection and investment in local green spaces after lockdown.’

The letter goes on to say

‘This surge of appreciation for quality local green spaces is just one indicator of the increased appetite for action to tackle the housing, climate and nature crises head on. As a broad coalition of environment, housing, heritage and planning organisations, we call on you to support a robust, locally led and democratic planning system with people and nature at its heart.

Planning is about choices and your government is at a fork in the road. Investing in locally accountable and democratic planning will deliver the homes and liveable places communities will feel proud to call home. Further deregulation of planning will only result in the exact opposite of ‘building back better’.

CPRE campaigns at a national and local level for a better, more sustainable and locally accountable approach to planning.

Want to do your bit? We’ll keep calling for the best planning systems for people and their communities. Join us as a member to help us keep campaigning locally, and nationally, and sign up to CPRE’s newsletter to be kept informed about progress.

You can read more about the letter here