Decentralisation and Localism Bill
In the Queen's speech of 25 May, it was announced that a "Bill will be introduced to devolve greater powers to councils and neighbourhoods and give local communities control over housing and planning decisions.”
The Bill is to be called the Decentralisation and Localism Bill and whose purpose is to "devolve greater powers to councils and neighbourhoods and give local communities control over housing and planning decisions."
The new coalition Government states that the main benefits of the Bill would be:
- Empowering local people.
- Freeing local government from central and regional control.
- Giving local communities a real share in local growth.
- A more efficient and more local planning system.
The main planning related elements of the Bill are:
- Abolish Regional Spatial Strategies.
- Return decision-making powers on housing and planning to local councils.
- Abolish the Infrastructure Planning Commission and replace it with an efficient and democratically accountable system that provides a fast-track process for major infrastructure projects.
- New powers to help save local facilities and services threatened with closure, and give communities the right to bid to take over local state-run services.
- Give residents the power to instigate local referendums on any local issue and the power to veto excessive council tax increases.
- Greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups.
- Create Local Enterprise Partnerships (to replace Regional Development Agencies) – joint local authority-business bodies brought forward by local authorities to promote local economic development.
- Form plans to deliver a genuine and lasting Olympic legacy.
These measures therefore reflect the Government's proposed changes to the planning system as outlined in Section 4 of "The Coalition - Our Programme for Government" and "Building the Big Society Document "as reported in our Election News bulletin of 20 May
The Government also announced in the Queen's speech a High Speed Rail Bill to be produced "in due course" for the development of the High Speed 2 link between London and Birmingham.
For further information please contact Mike Straw
