"The default answer of yes should be removed"

 

 

The Communities and Local Government Select Committee have concluded their review of the Draft National Planning Policy Framework and recommended that significant changes need to be made; including the removal of the default answer of ‘yes’ to development. Chair of the Committee, Clive Betts MP, said, "The way the framework is drafted currently gives the impression that greater emphasis should be given in planning decisions to economic growth. This undermines the equally important environmental and social elements of the planning system. As currently drafted the 'default yes' to development also carries the risk of the planning system being used to implement unsustainable development”. The report also recommends that the phrase ‘significantly and demonstrably’ also be removed. The phrase is frequently used throughout the document to state that planning applications should be approved unless the adverse effects ‘significantly and demonstrably’ outweigh the benefits. The committee has recommended that including this clause provides a further barrier to the achievement of sustainable development. The report also warns that at present the framework inadequately defines sustainable development and conflates it with ‘sustainable economic growth’. 

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