The Tory peer Lord Deben perpetuates the PPG reform myth that ‘swathes of the countryside will be ruined’, which Lord Rogers blathered on about on the radio last week as well. The CPRE and National Trust have opposed the simplification of our planning process to even higher profile. But surely, the simple catch-all is that development has to be sustainable, and few greenfield sites are?
All of the other planning and environmental tests are still in place in the proposed reform and whilst I have some sympathy with Lord Deben’s desire for a brownfield/greenfield sequential test, it really isn’t as bad as the lobbyists and press would have us believe.
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