Prime minister David Cameron has waded in to try to save the Government's increasingly shaky planning reforms which include a bonfire of brownfield-first policy and much else, as the opposition campaign mounts.
The campaign gathers support
The campaign against the Government's planning reforms may have begun with conservation groups' fears about urban sprawl, but recognition that promoting brownfield-first, town centres and urban regeneration is rapidly gaining acceptance.
Eight busy weeks in the fight back
A timeline of the brownfield-first events.
Benyon offers some technical Part 2A support
DEFRA has undertaken to provide further technical support for Part 2A policy as part of statutory guidance on "background" levels of contamination and a national advisory group to help councils take the first decisions under the new regime.
DEFRA's fresh attack on regulation...
DEFRA has asked for ideas to further erode environmental regulation as the Government's "red tape challenge" turns its attention to the sector, with the Department citing contaminated land guidance and environmental permits as examples of regulations "already being simplified or scrapped".
...turns red tape into red rag
DEFRA's new "red tape challenge" calls for more deregulation and its claim environmental permits and contaminated land guidance had been "simplified or scrapped" provoked further disquiet.
A time for action - and strong words
The brownfield sector is uniquely placed to provide the detailed evidence to show why planning policies must continue to support it. The time to provide this evidence is now.
