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Right to Build 'will free local authorities'
18/08/10
Edited by Tom Bardsley.The government's proposed Community Right to Build will see local authorities "freed" from the constraints of regional and national planning policy and allow councils to fast-track schemes that will meet the particular requirements of their area, an expert has said.
Steve Briggs, a planner and partner at consultancy Smiths Gore, said the measure, which was unveiled last month by housing minister Grant Shapps, will make it easier for builders to deliver residential property in the countryside.
Under the Right to Build, small-scale housing projects will be able to bypass the planning system if at least 90 per cent of local people approve them in a referendum.
Despite concerns that the high approval threshold could hold back development, Mr. Briggs claimed the system will allow towns and villages to return to evolving in "their own unique way".
He added that it is also "vital that the silent majority are heard" in votes on proposed schemes.
Earlier this week, the Federation of Master Builders called for the approval threshold for Right to Build projects to be lowered as it could allow a "tiny minority" of unaccountable people to block the development of much-needed housing.
