Landlords wary of government plans to allow communities to protect green space

Landlords expressed concerns this week over government intentions to reintroduce a controversial planning law that would give communities new powers to ringfence potential development sites.

Experts said that government plans were tantamount to a reintroduction of the divisive “Village Green Act” introduced by the previous government. The Natural Environment White Paper, published by Communities and Local Government two weeks ago, will allow local residents to “earmark for special consideration local ’green space’ land – whether its value is in its natural beauty, its historic resonances, its recreational value, its tranquillity or its importance as wildlife habitat”.

The plans go further than the original law, introduced in the Commons Act 2006, which gave communities the power to protect space, only if residents could prove it was being used for informal recreation.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, warned that the powers could undermine investment in homes and jobs. “While it is vital to protect green areas that have genuine value to communities, green areas designation rules must not create the kind of mess we have seen with town and village green applications, where vexatious claims have been made purely to frustrate legitimate development plans,” said Peace.

Roger Hepher, head of planning and regeneration at Savills, added: “This is about fulfilling a manifesto commitment to empower communities, which doesn’t seem to sit comfortably with the pro-development messages of recent months.”

“We already have lots of protected designations, such as green belts, metropolitan open land, conservation areas and areas of outstanding natural beauty, all of which makes another designation seem rather unnecessary.”

The move contrasts with the tone of the government’s long-awaited “presumption in favour of sustainable development”, published last week, which set a default position that a scheme should be allowed if it is in line with an area’s neighbourhood plan.

Decentralisation minister Greg Clark said the presumption would give the planning system a “wake-up call, so the right sort of development that everyone agrees is needed gets approval”.

The property industry responded favourably to the presumption, but many remain sceptical of council’s abilities to draw up neighbourhood plans in a timescale that would not cause a slow-down in development.

“Any government steps that seek to remove barriers to development should be welcomed,” said Malcolm Chumbley, head of land and development division at Cluttons. “

“The critical issue will be how quickly communities and councils can create local plans that will actually guarantee the new homes, energy and transport links the country so desperately needs.”