The Planning Minister, Nick Boles has caused strong reactions amongst environmental campaigners and groups with his radical plans to increase the number of houses across the UK, particularly on Greenfield sites.
New reforms to planning permission laws are due to come into effect today. In particular the rules have been relaxed to allow home owners to build some extensions without the need for full planning permission.
The caveat is that the adjoining neighbours must not object to the development. Plans will still need to be submitted to the council to ensure the dimensions are within the permitted development allowances and details of neighbours must be given.
The council will then notify the neighbours and if no objection is received within 21 days, the development will be permitted.
In addition councils have been instructed to consider new build projects on Greenfield land with a more favourable eye, especially self build projects. The idea being that new and beautiful homes will be developed rather than as Mr Boles describes them, “soulless identikit rabbit hutches”. Not only are environmental campaigners concerned about the protection of the countryside and Greenfield sites, but also whether these new builds will become ‘monsters’ of design on the landscape.
However Mr Boles does not stop there, he also is trying to ease street planning legislation to convert shops back to residential use and allowing more agricultural barns to be converted to homes. Although it is plain to see that the high street today is gradually declining, allowing a free for all with regard to converting shops back to homes does not build the case for local communities to thrive again.
Conservationists are worried that with a relaxation on Greenfield sites that villages and towns will simply sprawl out into our beautiful countryside.
I can understand Nick Boles is trying to look for different solutions to our housing deficit but are his ideas the only way. I don’t think so; there are still plenty of areas within towns and cities which are ripe for redevelopment. The UK still has a plethora of Brownfield sites yet to be taken advantage of.
In my view it is important to redevelop areas which have already been built upon than churning up fields to establish lots of little pockets of houses.