Janice Small: LDF - Mike Wood’s proposals are too little too late by a government that has imposed concrete creep by Whitehall diktats.

Responding to MP Mike Wood’s comments on the proposed housing numbers for Batley and Spen, Janice Small, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary candidate said: “Mr Wood is quoting Mr Prescott. It was Mr Prescott who took planning decisions away from local people and locally elected representatives by centralising planning in Whitehall and unelected regional quangos.

“The result under ten years of Labour has been concrete creep on the cheap, garden grabbing infill, inappropriate housing by building more flats than needed and not family homes.

“There is a simple answer to this problem. Kirklees Council needs to adopt elements of the Sustainable Communities Act”

The Act, which was a Conservative Private Members Bill, supported by David Cameron, if adopted locally, will allow our locally elected representatives to:

That government change the planning system so that developers can not appeal to central government to overturn a local planning decision.
That government give councils the power to use the planning system to stop developers from demolishing public services (for example public houses) that they own so that they can then apply for planning permission to develop the site.
That government allow councils to keep all the rent collected on council properties to be spent on improving council housing, reducing those houses environmental impact and investing in new affordable housing.
That government give councils the power to designate land for ‘self build’ and for community land trusts.

he Government is asking councils to consult and make recommendations of the areas of the Act they wish to implement with a deadline of end July