Dr Ben Spencer today met with constituents online to discuss planning enforcement issues and options to strengthen measures against those who persistently seek to breach planning rules.
When individuals choose to flout planning rules, the impact on their local community can be severe, a loss of our Green Belt, impact on neighbours or even a material impact on the nature of the local area concerned. To discuss the impact this can have, and possible solutions, Dr Spencer met with residents who identify as being affected by planning breaches to hear what improvements they wish to see. This meeting was part of his ongoing work to improve planning enforcement policy.
The Government is currently looking at ways to reform and improve our planning policy, to help streamline the application process and build more and better homes while protecting our communities and natural environment. Dr Ben Spencer MP is calling for the same streamlined approach to be taken when addressing planning enforcement. Last month Dr Spencer also met with Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick to highlight the need for stronger measures, and also submitted a response to the Government’s Planning for the Future consultation, in which he called for a fast tracked route to criminal prosecution for the worst offenders, a national database of planning offenders, and presumption against retrospective planning applications from those with a history of planning offences. A copy of this submission is available here.
Commenting, he said:
Planning has a key role to plan in not only regenerating but also protecting our communities. Currently planning enforcement is only a discretionary service and therefore enforcement tends to be underfunded and overstretched. I believe we need to give local authorities new tools and stronger powers so they can address the issues of serious planning offenders and free up resources to support our communities as they plan and build for the future.
