Civic Voice, a charity which acts as an umbrella body for civic societies in England, is currently preparing to respond to a government consultation on proposed changes to planning law in England. It is seeking the views of its member civic societies and, apparently, of members of the general public. It fears that the proposals might undermine the character of an area and impact on public participation in the planning system
The government consultation, entitled Planning reform: supporting the high street and increasing the delivery of new homes, runs until 11.45 on 14th January. It is described as a
"Consultation on a package of measures to provide greater planning certainty to support the high street and ensure that we can deliver new homes in the right places, and without delay"
and contains
"proposals that will allow greater change of use to support high streets to adapt and diversify, support extending existing buildings upwards to create additional homes, and speed up the delivery of new homes."
In a press release about the consultation, Civic Voice say that
"The main proposal within this document is to both extend and create additional many Permitted Development Rights (the granting of planning consent without the usual requirements, including consultation). The civic movement is concerned about how any changes to Permitted Development Rights undermine the character of an area and impact on public participation in the planning system."
A tweet from Civic Voice posted on 8th December says that
"In our view, the future of the high street needs to be one of a shared vision set out by the community and council partners etc. This policy, if introduced will undermine the future of high streets when government is again thinking about their future!"
