Chris Heaton-Harris
Main Page: Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative - Daventry)
Chris Heaton-Harris (Daventry) (Con)
8. If he will bring forward proposals to ensure that people are able to prevent major planning proposals proceeding in their areas.
The Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark)
All planning decisions should be democratically legitimate. Following the revocation of the regional spatial strategies, local communities will determine most planning applications. For major infrastructure projects, decisions will be taken on the basis of national planning statements, ratified by this House, by Ministers accountable to this House.
Chris Heaton-Harris
One of the things that have brought together communities in Daventry is their campaigns against wind farm developments. Does the Minister accept that disempowering local communities is profoundly counter-productive and actually deepens planning disputes, rather than helps to resolve them?
Greg Clark
My hon. Friend is exactly right. If we want to increase the contribution from renewable energy in this country—as we do—we should look at what happens on the continent, where they do not have the poison in the planning system I mentioned. Those countries have community-owned renewable energy developments and they allow people to share in the proceeds. That is exactly what we will do.