David Tredinnick has welcomed the action of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP, in today abolishing the bureaucracy of regional planning and revoking the red tape of Regional Strategies that envelop councils across England.

In a letter to the Bosworth MP, Eric Pickles wrote, “John Prescott’s legacy of Regional Strategies added unnecessary bureaucracy to the planning system. They were a failure. They were expensive and time-consuming. They alienated people, pitting them against development instead of encouraging people to build in their local area. It is no surprise that house building is now at its lowest peacetime rate since 1924.

“Our new planning system will be clear, efficient and will put greater power in the hands of local people, rather than unelected regional bodies. Labour’s central and regional targets will be replaced with powerful incentives so that people see the benefits of building. This will ensure that those councils which take action now to back and support the construction of new homes will receive direct and substantial benefit from their actions.

“Because we are committed to building more homes, introducing these incentives will be a priority and we aim to do so early in the Spending Review period. We will consult on the detail later this year. These incentives will encourage councils and communities to increase their aspirations for housing and economic growth, and to deliver sustainable development in keeping with the wishes of local villages, towns and cities.

“Moving forward, we will make it easier for local councils, working with their communities, to agree and amend local plans in a way that maximises the involvement of neighbourhoods.

“The final nail in the coffin of Regional Strategies will require legislation in the Localism Bill which we are introducing later this year. However, given the clear Coalition commitment to abolish Regional Strategies, it is important to avoid a period of uncertainty over planning policy, until the final legislation is enacted. So I am revoking Regional Strategies today in order to give clarity to local residents, developers and planners.”

David Tredinnick said, “I welcome the Secretary of State’s move to abolish Regional Strategies and allow more long-term planning decisions to be made at a local level as this was an important Conservative Party manifesto commitment at the General Election and very much a key issue in my constituency. 

“Here in Hinckley and Bosworth many residents are unhappy at the Borough Council’s indecent haste to identify housing and travellers’ sites as part of Labour’s flawed planning process and the new Government has now given the Council an opportunity to draw back from their unacceptable proposals to develop Greenfield land in many areas of the Borough.”