Local people to lose say on new developments

Jason Sugarman, the Conservatives' Parliamentary Spokesman for the consitutency of Lewes, today criticised proposed changes to planning laws, laid out in a report commissioned by Chancellor Gordon Brown.

The controversial proposals in the Barker Review, published last week, include:

• A central planning quango: A planning commission will be created to decide major planning applications. The commission will not be accountable to local councils or ministers. It will rule on waste sites, incinerators, power stations and even some large-scale housing estates. This represents a major centralisation of planning policy and the abandonment of local and national democratic input in planning.
• Regional assemblies to rip up the green belt: The regional assemblies will be directed to 'review' England's green belts, irrespective of the wishes of local people and giving the green light to concrete over them. The regional assemblies are unelected and voters have no democratic ability to challenge their decisions.
• Weaking controls on out-of-town developments: Currently, local councils can reject proposals for new supermarkets and retail developments outside towns on the basis of a lack of demand for new sites. This power of discretion is to be removed, weakening urban regeneration and undermining small shops in local high streets.

"We do need to build more homes and speed up the planning system. But I am strongly opposed to Gordon Brown's plans for a new undemocratic government quango to impose developments on local communities," said Jason.

"With major local developments like the Newhaven incinerator and the Phoenix Quarter in Lewes on the horizon it is vital local people do not lose their voice in planning matters."

"If Gordon Brown wanted to cut planning red tape, abolishing the whole tier of regional planning and the scrapping the South East England Regional Assembly should be his first step. But instead, I fear Gordon Brown wants to consign local democracy to the scrapheap."

12th December 2006

The Townspeople's Opinion

Lewes Matters exists so that the people of Lewes can tell those who are responsible for shaping our town’s future exactly what they think. And now, in the weeks immediately before Angel Property submits it far-reaching plan for Lewes’ Phoenix industrial estate, we bring you the results of our survey.

This tells us that Lewes does welcome development in principle...

• Exciting, sustainable development that will enhance our town.
• That will integrate with the historic town centre, rather than dominate it.
• That will bring affordable housing within the grasp of our young people rather than send them out of the area.
• That will create and safeguard existing employment, rather than undermine it.
• That will have as a key principle, the inclusion of a wide range of sustainable technologies and targets, rather than pay lip service to them.
• That will improve the infrastructure, rather than burden it.
• That will complement our specialist retail base rather than overshadow it.

So Lewes Planning Authority, these are the factors which the town believe you should take into account when you assess the Phoenix application.

The people of Lewes are speaking. Please listen.

To learn about the survey results in full, click the following link for the Adobe Acrobat .pdf file -  PHOENIX DEVELOPMENT EXHIBITION SURVEY RESULTS.

Results at a glance...

• Almost equal numbers felt the exhibition was informative as uninformative.
• The same ratio felt they either understood or did not understand the proposals.
• 3 out of  4 believe that the area should  be a mixed use of residential, live-work and retail.
• Over 8 out of 10 people believe that fewer homes than the 800 proposed should be permitted.
• 9 out of 10 believe that a least 25% of these homes should be built as affordable.
• 9 out of 10 would like to see a maximum of 5 storeys for all buildings, with 5 out of 10 preferring a maximum of 3 storeys.
• Nearly 8 out of 10 do not want to see leading brand stores in this development and believe that these would have a major impact on local traders.
• 9 out of ten wish to see a 10% renewable energy policy insisted on for a development of this scale.
• 9 out of 10  people feel it crucial or important that water saving technologies are incorporated.
• 8 out of ten people believe that the traffic management and parking facilities are poor in Lewes and are likely to become worse as a result of this proposed evelopment.
• Over 2/3 of all respondents believe that the proposed development will make Lewes either worse or much worse.