Planning Decisions: Local Involvement

Florence Eshalomi Excerpts

Monday 21st June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this debate on such an important issue for my constituents.

Ministers are right to say that fundamental reform is needed. The current planning system is not fit for purpose. As I have said in this House before, it is too distant from the people it most directly impacts. That leads to developments that do not work for the communities who have to live there for years. For too long the system has been unfairly weighted in favour of developers. The Government’s proposals will not increase the ability of local people to have their say; they will dilute it. The proposed introduction of a Whitehall-appointed board of developers will lead to local people no longer having the ability to object to inappropriate developments. It will remove the right of local people and councillors to have a say at key points in the planning process. They will have little opportunity to influence the design of specific planning applications, as most design codes will be site-specific and so no longer subject to local consultation.

As an MP for a central London constituency with some of the highest levels of building in the country, every day I see the negative impact that unsystematic development has on communities in Vauxhall. We have hundreds of tower blocks going up that often block out daylight for neighbours. We see huge telecommunication masts placed in the middle of small streets in conservation areas against the wishes of residents. We see communities disrupted by the introduction of 24-hour businesses that bring little or no benefit to the area.

Planning can be viewed as boring or as a nimby subject. This is often because residents feel powerless to influence local decisions. I pay tribute to the community groups across Vauxhall who work hard to challenge some of the proposed developments, volunteering their time, effort, expertise and knowledge to read through pages of designs, attending consultation meetings and responding by focusing on the needs of the local community. Residents in Vauxhall understand and appreciate the need for growth and regeneration, but that must be done with the consent of the people who have to live with the daily consequences of planning decisions. Everyone wants to see local people and their local elected representatives given a bigger, not a smaller, say over planning decisions. I therefore urge the Government to rethink their proposals.