British 'disaster' planning law opposed

BBC: Environmental groups are campaigning against planning laws they claim will lead to "faceless bureaucrats" taking decisions on major projects. Opponents of the government's Planning Bill say it sweeps away local accountability for developments such as motorways and airports. Instead, they want people to have more say on the decisions that affect them.

The government says planning laws need reform to meet long-term challenges, such as those posed by climate change. The bill, currently going through Parliament, aims to replace the current system of holding a sometimes lengthy and expensive public inquiry each time a major infrastructure project is proposed, such as an airport or a power station.

…People living near the proposed projects would have limited opportunities to object. The government argues that the reform is needed to ensure the planning system can "meet the long-term challenges we face as a society."

…But the Planning Disaster Coalition, which include Friends of the Earth, the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England says the change will make a "mockery" of democracy, by taking away the rights of people to have their say on developments in their local area….

The 1297 version of the Magna Carta, Wikimedia Commons