The Times today gives a positive spin to proposals to take away many of the powers of local people to influence what new building is allowed in their area, by leading on loft conversions; but the sinister larger picture is hidden several paragraphs down.

Loft conversions and house extensions to be put on
fast-track


Jill Sherman, Whitehall Editor


# Improvements won't need approval

# Small businesses also to be exempt


Homeowners would be able to build conservatories, kitchen extensions and loft conversions without planning permission under changes to planning laws proposed today.



The long-awaited report from Kate Barker, an economist who was commissioned by Gordon Brown to investigate how to ease the housing shortage, will recommend an overhaul of the current laws to speed up housing developments and infrastructure projects.



She is also expected to propose fast-tracking small domestic and commercial extensions to ensure that planning authorities can concentrate on larger developments.



The changes, which are expected to be backed by the Chancellor, will be widely welcomed by houseowners who cannot afford to move because of the cost of stamp duty.



Instead they could find it much easier to build a new room or extend their kitchen by merely filling out a form and complying with building regulations. In future if homeowners can agree with neighbours about a party wall or extension in advance, the council will only have to rubber-stamp the application.



Ms Barker is also expected to recommend that businesses, including retailers, can go ahead with small developments and extensions without planning approval unless they are proposing a change of use. At present councils have 650,000 small planning applications a year, which are disproportionately expensive to process.



But rural campaigners fear that her wider recommendations to increase housing and infrastructure projects such as roads and railways will lead to extra development on green belt land.



In an interim report in the summer, Ms Barker argued that many planning applications were being blocked by councils or delayed by the lengthy planning process. She claimed that as many as one in four applications was rejected, up from 13 per cent in the late 1990s. She also argued that too much land, particularly in the South East, was protected from development and should be redesignated to allow more house and road building.



Her report is expected to recommend a new independent commission which will make decisions on all major planning developments. This could cover road and rail projects, nuclear power stations, airports and big housing developments.



Many of these currently get mired down at local level as councils oppose them on the grounds of local factors such as sustainability or congestion.



The new commission would study the application on the grounds of its social economic benefits to the nation rather than the self-interest of local populations. Ms Barker will argue that if a project is of economic and employment benefit it should go ahead, provided it is not outweighed by environmental or sustainable concerns.



Ministers have been concerned that despite rising housing demand, particularly for first-time buyers, many developments are being blocked at district or county level. Once an application is turned down by the council, the Secretary of State can overturn the decision.



In her previous report Ms Barker recommended that an extra 70,000 to 120,000 houses should be built each year.