Ben Stafford: After the mudslinging, there’s a chance Ministers will listen on planning laws

Just in case, instead of reading these broad pages in the Broad Acres, you have been hiding out in an isolated patch of the Amazonian rain forest or sojourning at the South Pole, I will remind you that the Government published its proposals for reform of the planning system – the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) – in July, and invited people to comment.

The new Framework cuts around 1,000 pages of planning guidance down to little more than 50, and aims, according to Ministers, to make the system simpler, swifter and easier to understand.

As I argued here before, simplification is fine. But our concern at the Campaign to Protect Rural England is that, in slimming down, we should not lose the essence of what planning is about, which is to consider our different needs as a society and make sure that land is used and developed (or not) in the long-term public interest.

CPRE is deeply concerned that the Government has characterised planning as an obstacle to growth. It talks about the need for a default “yes” to development and, in the detail of the NPPF, weakens protection for the countryside outside designated areas like National Parks and drops an explicit commitment to develop previously used, brownfield sites before considering green fields. Such changes could make a real difference in Yorkshire, and not for the better.

Despite the siren voices urging Ministers (some of whom are far too easily seduced by their song) to gut the planning system to deliver a boost to the economy, there is little evidence that weaker planning brings long-term, sustainable economic growth – just look at Ireland.

In fact the opposite has often been the case. A “brownfield-first” approach has contributed to urban regeneration in cities such as Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield while protecting precious countryside close to these great centres.

National Park status safeguards the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, and the new Framework promises to protect Green Belts and the best wildlife sites (although legal advice for both CPRE and the RSPB suggests these commitments may not be as watertight as Ministers might wish).

But there is much countryside which – while “ordinary” for the dry purposes of land classification – is truly extraordinary to those who live in, visit and draw inspiration from it.

No one is saying we should preserve it in aspic – development can and does happen in the countryside now – but we need to think carefully and consider alternatives before we build over green fields. Nature is far more difficult to restore than to destroy.

The last few months have shown that our concerns are widely shared. Hundreds of thousands of people have written letters, signed petitions and confronted MPs and Ministers to say that, while it is important that we build houses and support economic growth, the planning system must also protect the countryside.

Some of the debate has not been polite, and a certain amount of mud has been thrown around.

We were surprised when, soon after the NPPF was published, our objections to it, and those of the National Trust, were described by one Government Minister as “a carefully choreographed smear campaign by left-wingers based within the national headquarters of pressure groups”.

In fact it has often been our members pushing us to be even more vocal in our criticism of what they see as dangerously unbalanced reforms. This does not mean that the shires of England are suddenly riddled with dangerous Trotskyites – their concerns, and ours, are widely shared in towns, villages and cities across the land.

Thankfully, the tone of the discussion has got a bit more civil as time has gone on, and we hope the result will be a significantly changed final NPPF.

So what happens next?

Well, the public consultation on the NPPF closed recently, and the Government is beginning to consider the responses. The aim is that the new planning system will begin operating next spring. But you can still contact your MP to ask them to ensure that the Government Ministers who will be refining and – we hope – reshaping these proposals reflect your views.

In his speech to the Conservative Conference earlier this month, David Cameron said: “Let me tell you: I love our countryside and there’s nothing I would do to put it at risk.”

He also said he and his colleagues are open to constructive suggestions. Heartening words, we hope. Now is our last chance to ensure he receives a clear message – perhaps even a bluntly-spoken Yorkshire message, so there’s no room for doubt – that getting it right means protecting the countryside as well as revitalising the economy.

For more information on CPRE’s campaign on the Government’s planning reforms, visit www.cpre.org.uk.