Local Plan Queries

The Charnwood Local Plan (1996-2006) is now completed. Over the next year the borough council will be consulting across the community on its successor, the Local Planning Framework.

Local Plans always cause anxiety for a number of residents. It is always difficult for planners to find enough suitable sites for development. Quite rightly residents likely to be affected have strong feelings about why a particular site is unsuitable.

The process has been in place since the mid 1990's when the original allocations were made for this plan period (up to 2006).

I have no direct role in the Local Plan process and must leave the decisions to the locally elected Councillors, who have been elected to deal with local issues such as these.

Planning in Context

As a general comment about planning I would offer the following:

Planning and building are one of the most contentious issues facing most local communities. The effect of planning permission and development are immediate and obvious to neighbours. However, every application and development has to be seen in the much wider context of land use planning and housing policy.

At present in Britain we are building too few houses for the demographic changes that are taking place. This is one fo the fundamental reasons for the rise in House prices we have seen in recent years. As our population ages and people live longer (often in single person households) and we marry later (again first living in single person households) our demand for the amount of haousing has increased. Our expectations have also changed over the last generation.

Some people estimate that we need anothe 4.5 million homes over the next 20-30 years. They have to go somewhere.

Locally the houses alloacted to Charnwood in the last round of discussions took place in the mid 1990's. The Charnwood Local Plan is still being finalised, although many of the sites identified are being allocated on the basis that this Plan needs to deliver by 2006.

Since 1997 there are have been some important changes in planning and housing policy which have made things better:

* 60% of development should now be on Brown Field sites (there are many examples in the Loughborough constituency of former factory sites now providing housing)

* density of sites has increased. This means that less greenfield is taken up on new developments

* there is a presumption against out of town shopping centres. This is leading to a revitalisation of traditional town and City centres for shopping leisure and housing.

To local residents any changes locally quite understandibly cause concern, but I always think it is important to understand the wider picture and look beyond our own backyard. Planners have the very difficult task of finding suitable sites in all corners of their own local authority area. In Charnwood we have seen both in filling and large scale developments created to generate the housing we need to meet the increasing demand.