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Tory planning system change will lead to new homes in flood zones

Updated: Jun 21, 2022

A radical blueprint put forward as a "once-in-a-generation reform" from the government has the aim of sweeping away "slow and complex" planning laws.

The shake-up, a central part of the prime minister's "build, build, build" agenda, includes automatic planning approval for new homes on land earmarked for growth, however low-lying. The revolution is published in a government consultation paper, Planning For The Future, pushed by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick just weeks after he became embroiled in a planning row.

The changes come after record donations from housebuilders to Conservative Party funds. House building companies wil make up a large portion of the representatives on the planning boards. There are no plans to include climate scientists in those decisions.

A spokesman for a green campaign group said "We fear the plans will lead to new builds that have to be abandoned in just a few decades due to sea level rise. Some of the likely build zones are in extremely dangerous coastal areas, like for example Norfolk or London."

The Labour Party have said they intend to sink this bill at the earliest opportunity.

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