21/09/11…..Councillor’s concerns prompt letter to John Bercow

Dear friends and colleagues, Please see below a letter I have written to my MP in respect of a proposal under the Localism Bill. If you are concerned about the
power of big business in forcing through planning applications against the wishes of communities, please write to your MP about this. Further information at
LINK

As a local councillor myself I would certainly want my community to have such powers if a large company was seeking development in my area.

Regards
David Lyons
Haddenham.

Dear John Bercow
I write in respect of the proposal before parliament under the Sustainable Communities Act by Leiston Town Council in Suffolk and the Suffolk Association of Local Councils.

Please write to Localism Minister, Greg Clark, asking him to please agree to implement the planning reform proposal to empower parish and town councils submitted under the Sustainable Communities Act.

The Sustainable Communities Act was intended to help local democracy prevent communities turning into ?Ghost Town Britain? and empowering local people.

If agreed by the government this proposal will apply nationally. 1100 Town and Parish Councils across the country have formally given their support to the proposal.

The proposal is a modest and reasonable suggestion for the government to amend planning guidance in a way that would help locally elected decision makers.

In summary, the proposal is to require applicants of major developments to:

– attend a meeting of the local Town or Parish Council, or of a duly called Town Meeting, to answer questions on the application for development; and

– fund the council or duly called town meeting to commission an independent report on the application and critique of any reports that the applicant has submitted in support of the application for
development.

The rationale is that local elected representatives and local people should be making their decision on whether an application should go ahead based on the best evidence, and this would help ensure that evidence was available.

I would be most grateful if you would forward me the respone from the Localism Minister.

Many thanks
David Lyons