Growth and Infrastructure Bill

Baroness Eaton Excerpts

Tuesday 8th January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Eaton]

My Lords, I begin by declaring an interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association. I have also represented the council ward of Bingley Rural in West Yorkshire since 1986. I rise to speak with some unease, since I take no real pleasure in criticising any government legislation. I am a strong supporter of the coalition’s endeavours to correct our economic situation and return us to a safe financial footing, and I firmly believe that the Government are making great strides in that direction. However, sadly, I see this legislation as a step in the wrong direction, which will not deliver its main objective of widespread economic growth but rather move us dangerously on a narrow winding path away from the golden road of localism down which we have, to date, made much progress.

My main concern is that the Bill focuses on something which is not proving itself to be a barrier: the planning system. We have heard from the Minister and the noble Lords, Lord Adonis and Lord Tope, of the 10-year record success rate for planning applications and the fact that 87% of planning applications were approved in 2011-12. People will note the 87%, but we all need to recognise that some planning applications jolly well deserve to be refused.

We have heard also that there is a building backlog of some 400,000 new homes across the country, all of which have planning permission but are waiting to be built by developers. I hope my noble friend the Minister will agree that such evidence indicates that the only recently introduced National Planning Policy Framework, which she and her ministerial colleagues should be complimented on introducing, is starting to do its job of delivering sustainable development. Would it not be better to allow the NPPF to bed in before we once again redraw the lines around the planning system? Why is it always local government that is blamed for delays—and all the ills—when there is no evidence for this, as we have heard already from the noble Lord, Lord Tope?

With regard to democratic accountability, my successor at the LGA, Councillor Sir Merrick Cockell, made the point very well when he described the legislation as,

“a blow to local democracy”.

This Bill takes authority away from locally elected representatives and gives it instead to a national, unelected quango, the Planning Inspectorate, based in Bristol. I fail to see how the inspectorate can appreciate the local individualities that impact upon planning and the built environment of, say, Bradford—or any other authority—better than the local council. Can the Minister indicate how much additional resource the inspectorate will be given and why the funding is not devolved instead to the local level to properly resource those planning authorities that are struggling or, according to the Government, deemed to be failing? Surely this could address the Government’s concerns.

There is a very real threat that the Bill will be counterproductive, since the removal of local decision-making risks denting public trust. This could mean that some communities will be increasingly reluctant to accept new development. I would welcome the Minister’s thoughts on this threat, since the last thing we want from the legislation is increased delays. The criteria for measuring performance under the Bill are also counterproductive as they focus on time taken to assess applications and the number of approvals given. Such a focus on blunt targets could result in rushed decisions and, perversely, more rejected applications. There are a number of questions about how the new system can work; for instance, how would an authority regain its decision-making powers once they have been taken away? I would welcome my noble friend’s thoughts on how any council can demonstrate improvement of its performance if it is no longer dealing with planning applications.

I support the link in Clause 8 between fast broadband access and economic growth. Indeed, we are now in a world where the latter is simply not possible without the former. We will all be aware, I am sure, of the concerns raised by campaign groups that the proposals could open the floodgates to broadband infrastructure boxes popping up across the countryside—not just the masts but the large boxes—in a very unregulated fashion. Moreover, this clause applies to all telecoms infrastructure, not just broadband. Perhaps my noble friend can explain how it will be limited to the declared policy.

I would welcome my noble friend’s views on how an assurance can be provided on this matter, what evidence exists to support the clause, and how local planning authorities will maintain control over the placement of infrastructure in order to reflect the wishes of the local residents and the businesses they represent. The issue of broadband boxes obviously links to the wider debate on permitted development. I offer my support for the points made earlier by my noble friend Lord Tope and the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton.

This Bill presents a welcome opportunity to empower local areas to drive economic growth but, as currently drafted, it will miss that opportunity. To really have any impact, it must look to address the real barriers to growth and much needed housebuilding, such as access to finance to both build and buy.

One way to do this would be through the removal of the housing borrowing cap currently imposed on councils. I read with interest a report published last month by a group of organisations including the National Federation of ALMOs and the Local Government Association. This research demonstrates that removing the borrowing cap could deliver 60,000 homes over the next five years and increase UK GDP by 0.6%. That is the sort of proposal that we need within the Bill, one that will have a tangible impact on a real economic barrier.

I hope my noble friend will be pleased to hear that my final point is a positive one. I welcome the inclusion of clauses within the Bill on the town and village green registration system, specifically ensuring that discussions about the future of sites take place primarily through the democratically accountable planning system. Traditional and genuine greens are vital elements of sustainable and vibrant communities. I am pleased that these clauses will not endanger such sites. I understand that the Home Builders Federation, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Local Government Association, the British Property Federation, the National Farmers’ Union and many other organisations all support the clauses, which I hope will survive the scrutiny of this House.

I hope that the Minister is able to respond to some of my concerns. It is the role of this Chamber to offer an honest assessment of the measures put before us. I am sure that, across the House, we can improve the Bill in the way that we need to.