Government insists countryside safe as planning reformed

Ministers say changes to the planning system, which will see more than 1,000 pages of guidance slimmed down to around 50 and focus on a “presumption in favour of sustainable development”, are necessary to boost growth.

Countryside campaigners had reacted angrily to draft plans published last year, worried that they could lead to inappropriate development in the countryside – particularly in areas not protected by existing designations.

But yesterday’s announcement from Communities Minister Greg Clark was met with a more muted response, with recognition that proposed protections for rural areas now appeared stronger. However some campaign groups remained strongly opposed.

Mr Clark said the new guidance recognised the “intrinsic value of the countryside” and it could not override existing protections for green belt, national parks or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

He outlined a number of changes from the draft framework published, including an explicit return to “brownfield first”, which requires councils to favour previously used land for new development, and a clearer definition of “sustainable development”.

Mr Clark said the presumption in favour of sustainable development meant building would not be held up unless it went against the “collective interest”.

Sustainable development strikes a balance between “social and environmental as well as economic objectives”, he said. He said changes would allow the building of more homes, held up in part by the “sclerosis” of the planning system.

He insisted: “The framework guarantees robust protections for our natural and historic environment, and goes further by requiring net improvements to put right some of the neglect that has been visited on us.”

Business hails shake-up: Page 7.