Rural MP to seek assurances over planning shake-up

CONTROVERSIAL plans to shake up planning laws must be clarified to reassure Yorkshire’s rural communities that swathes of green land will not be concreted over, Skipton and Ripon Tory MP Julian Smith has warned.

Mr Smith welcomed yesterday’s intervention by the Prime Minister, who wrote to the National Trust saying the new laws were designed to “achieve a balance” between the environmental, social and economic dimensions of developments, but said he still intends to write to Ministers seeking greater clarity over the legislation.

The Government is pushing through a policy to replace more than 1,000 pages of planning regulations with just 52 in the National Planning Policy Framework.

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The change prompted an outcry because it includes a “presumption in favour of sustainable development” which campaigners fear will leave large areas of the countryside vulnerable to urban expansion.

Mr Smith said: “While I am delighted that the Prime Minister has made the comments that he has made I will still be writing to Ministers to seek much greater clarity.

“There are a number of really strong protections within the current draft but we do need to reassure communities, particularly such as those I represent, that green fields will be protected.

“There are some good ideas in the document, but I am seeking clarification to make sure we will conserve areas like North Yorkshire which has some of the most beautiful countryside in the country.”

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Mr Cameron’s letter to the Trust states: “Let me say at the outset that I absolutely share and admire your commitment to the countryside, and wholeheartedly agree that policymakers have an enormous responsibility to our environment.

“Both as Prime Minister, as a rural constituency MP, and as an individual, I have always believed that our beautiful British landscape is a national treasure.

“We should cherish and protect it for everyone’s benefit.”

Fiona Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, said: “Our primary concern for the planning system is that it should be a neutral framework which balances the needs of society, the environment, as well as the economy.

“It is a great relief to hear from the Prime Minister that there is no intention to change this over-riding purpose. We will now do everything in our power to help shape the National Planning Policy Framework into a robust system which enables the people making the decisions to guide good development to the right places.”