‘We want to use every tool and every available resource to lessen the impact’
Around thirty town and parish councillors from across Devon have attended a special seminar to arm them with the knowledge to respond effectively to planning proposals that impact their communities.
Devon CPRE has held workshops for local councils for several years. It says that a raft of new government proposals means councillors need to know their way around the complex and ever-changing planning system.
This year’s workshop looked at the new draft Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the progress of the English Devolution White Paper and its implications for local planning.
Discussion included an examination of the impact of the forthcoming National Land Use Framework. The event was held for the first time in Tiverton.
‘It was heartening to see the room packed to bursting with representatives of town and parish councils from across Devon as our Planning Workshops are specifically to help steer councillors through the complex planning process,’ says Steve Crowther, Devon CPRE Chairman.
‘How town and parish councils respond, as statutory consultees, can make a real difference to what the local planning authority ultimately decides.’
‘The planning reforms heading our way are openly designed to clear obstacles from the path of the big housebuilders by reducing democratic scrutiny.’
Devon CPRE Chairman Steve Crowther addresses the planning seminar. Image Sharon Goble / IF Media.
‘We want to use every tool and every available resource’
‘The local government reforms are going to make planning authorities a great deal more remote from the communities they affect, and the proposed National Land Use Framework declares that it will remove more than 10% of our farmland from food production.’
‘All this against the background of increased inheritance tax on farmers, which threatens to decimate farms that have been in family hands for generations.’
The workshop was led by Independent Planning Consultant Jo Widdecombe. She helps Devon CPRE prepare many of its responses to significant planning applications.
Her goal for the day was to guide attendees through the complexities of the planning process and explain to them what’s important for them to know when they respond to applications to achieve the best outcomes for their local community.
‘It’s been well worth coming along to this seminar. We want to use every tool and every available resource to lessen the impact on the residents and dwellings within our parish,’ says Jerry Bird from Farringdon Parish Council in East Devon.
‘What we’re seeing already is that central government is getting more and more disconnected from the local area and unitary authorities will also take away the impact from our communities.’
‘We’re going to feel that we are being dictated to rather than consulted with in the future.’
A local campaign is underway against plans to build more than 10,000 homes in the locale of the small rural community.
Devon CPRE’s planning workshop was attended by around 30 representatives of town and parish councils. Image: Sharon Goble / IF Media.
‘I feel very strongly about taking care of the countryside’
‘We always have a lot of problems responding to planning applications,’ says Eirene Williams from Georgeham Parish Council in North Devon.
‘We’ve been on various training courses, but we still need to know more about the details of what we can and cannot comment on.’
‘I think the information on devolution and the various reforms that are proposed has been particularly useful because it’s hard to keep up to date with that.’
CPRE is set to celebrate its centenary next year. The group’s aim is to protect rural England through the local planning system and by expert lobbying of Parliament.
‘We live in a very rural area,’ explains Rebecca Squire from Dunsford Parish Council, a village that sits within the Teign Valley just inside Dartmoor National Park.
‘I think we need to look after what we’ve got and be aware of things we need, like affordable housing. I feel very strongly about taking care of the countryside that we have.’
Members of Devon CPRE can attend annual planning workshops for free and receive additional advice and planning support.
