Localism, Planning and Local Authorities-A Perspective

摘要

In January of this year, the Government declared that "the Localism Bill signifies our commitment to decentralise, and brings forward many of the measures that will be required to drive a fundamental transfer of power". In some parts of the Bill (for example, Part 1, dealing with "Local Government", and Part 4, dealing with "Community Empowerment"), this drive can clearly be discerned.However, with respect to Pt 5, dealing with "Planning", it is less clear what the Bill's provisions are driving, and the January declaration is best read alongside the Secretary of State's speech to the CBI on March 21,2011.In this speech, Mr Pickles said that the Government were determined that the planning system should cease to be "the drag anchor to growth" and should act, instead, "as a driver for growth". This expectation was subsequently confirmed (albeit, in more muted terms) in the written ministerial statement, "Planning for Growth", issued later that same week.In the light of the above, this paper seeks to identify some of the challenges that local authorities will face, over the coming months, as the Government strive to re-engineer some parts of the country's planning system in pursuit of the twin objectives of greater decentralisation and the promotion of sustainable economic growth.