Government silencing local people for property mates

Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to scrap its controversial planning reforms.

Today, the Local Government Association (LGA) and Shelter both gave evidence against the Government's proposed reforms to Permitted Development Rights.

The reforms will make it easier for developers to convert properties to housing without consulting the local community, as well as get out of affordable housing commitments. Developments delivering fewer than 50 units will have no requirement for affordable homes.

Liberal Democrats Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government Tim Farron MP said:

"The Government's planning reforms will rip powers away from local people and give them to wealthy property developers, threatening the delivery of the affordable homes we need and our local environment.

"The Government seems to think that the reason houses are not being built is because local communities have too much say over planning. That isn't true. There are hundreds of thousand new properties with planning permission that developers just haven't built.

"The Conservatives are looking to silence local people and create a developer-led planning system for their corporate property mates. Communities must have the power to decide what gets built, where and that we get the homes we need - not just those that the developers want to build.

"These disastrous reforms are bad for the delivery of the affordable homes we need, bad for the environment and bad for democracy. The Government must scrap them now."

You can watch the Housing Committee back here. LGA outline their opposition at 1604 and Shelter at 1608.