On 10th November 2010, a High Court decision ruled that the plans of Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to abolish regional housing and planning strategies, were unlawful. The ruling stated that he was acting outside his statutory powers and failed to consider the environmental consequences.
As a result, the regional strategies are now back and need to be considered before planning decisions are made. But how important are they and for how long are they around? Has this ruling cleared the air or made the position even more confusing?
The coalition Government came to power over six months ago and localism has started to shape the way that local and central government carry out their business. The Queen’s Speech on 25th May 2010 announced that a Decentralisation and Localism Bill would be brought forward to “devolve greater power of councils and neighbourhoods and give local communities control over housing and planning decisions.”
This would empower local people, free local Government from central and regional control and give local communities a real share in local growth.
On 27th May 2010, Eric Pickles wrote to all Local Authorities setting out his intention to abolish regional strategies which was then confirmed on 6th July. In the South East this would mean the abolition of the South East Plan which provided the strategic guidance for the region and included targets for housing and economic growth. Whilst unpopular, the plan still provided an evidence based target for local authorities to meet. These targets were however seen as “imposed” rather than negotiated. This is not “localism” says the coalition Government – targets should be locally agreed. Many argued that this would lead to planning chaos. Some Councils would undoubtedly adopt a ‘nimby’ approach and resist anything but the bare minimum of new development. This would probably not result in anything like the number of dwellings needed to meet demand.
So are the regional strategies going to stay and what will happen next?
Local authorities have been struggling with the new localism agenda. The plan to remove spatial strategies left many Local Authorities in a “policy vacuum” and some have simply placed an embargo on developing some of the larger sites for housing as they were only selected for development to meet strategic targets in the regional strategies.
The Government’s response to the High Court ruling is that “it changes very little” and that legislation to remove regional strategies will begin its passage through Parliament before Christmas. Pickles concluded that “the coalition government remains firmly resolved to scrap the last Government’s imposition of confusing and bureaucratic red tape”.
But there is still confusion as to what happens next and a feeling that it is all moving too fast.
The High Court decision should mean that the Government takes stock of what has happened and begins a more orderly and planned switch from the “top down” system of notification to the localism approach. The transition from one to another still leaves a period of uncertainty and there is a real concern that the bigger picture will be missed if decisions are made locally. These decisions could have implications for investors, infrastructure providers, community initiatives and developers; all of whom help secure a prosperous and sustainable future for the economy.
