Environmental Protection UK has warned that the Draft National Planning Policy Framework for England fails to balance the needs of the environment against economic needs and would disempower communities.
Its initial response to the Government's planning proposals says the Draft would represent a radical slimming down of planning guidance which is already imbalanced and gives little weight to legitimate environmental and health concerns about new development.
It says the new Framework introduces a strong emphasis on economic growth and has secondary goals on carbon emissions and its emphasis on "sustainable development" is loosely defined and would allow development unless adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweigh benefits.
"While the Draft NPPF does acknowledge that consideration should be taken of appropriate use of land, avoidance or mitigation of noise, climate change impacts and compliance with air quality laws, we do not believe that the emphasis of this draft strikes sufficient balance between providing a framework for development, providing healthy sustainable communities and protecting our natural heritage for future generations," said chief executive officer James Grugeon.
He said an equitable planning system would protect the natural environment, mitigate climate change, reduce emissions and promote healthy places, but the Draft fails to do that.
"With the emphasis on sustainable development, much more clarity is needed on how this will be ensured so that short-term economic growth is not prioritised over the long-term viability of development, which is dependent on effective management of its impact on the health of our environment and communities," said Mr Grugeon.
"Imbalances already exist in the current planning system and this new focus threatens to further weigh the system in favour of developers and against any objections from local communities. Proving conclusively that impacts demonstrably outweigh the benefits requires significant amounts of specialist expertise and/ or funding, something that community groups often lack. Local environmental quality and the health of our communities may suffer as a result."
