Isra-Mart srl:MPs fear Localism Bill will sideline 'sustainable development'

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The Environmental Audit Committee will today call on the government to urgently amend its draft Localism Bill to combat fears the flagship legislation will fail to adequately promote sustainable development and could block large numbers of renewable energy projects from being built.

Wind farm and other renewable energy developers are deeply concerned the planning reforms set out in the bill will repoliticise large infrastructure projects by placing the final planning decision in the hands of ministers and make it far easier for so-called nimby campaigners to delay and block new developments through local referendums and neighbourhood groups.

In a short report to be released later today, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) of MPs highlights its own concerns with the bill, warning that while the government has said it will introduce a "presumption in favour of sustainable development" into the planning system the bill contains neither a presumption in favour of sustainable projects or a legal definition of what "sustainable development" is.

"We welcome the government's commitment to put sustainable development at the heart of the planning system and provide people with greater influence over planning in their communities, but we are concerned that the intention to introduce a presumption in favour of sustainable development might not be accompanied by a statutory description of what that means," the report states. "As a result, the principles of sustainable development – living with environmental limits, ensuring a strong, healthy and just society, achieving a sustainable economy, promoting good governance and using sound science responsibly – are unlikely to be adequately represented in the planning process."

The report also reveals how the proposed planning reforms present a number of specific risks to green projects.

For example, it warns that coalition plans to scrap regional planning authorities will reduce the ability of government to monitor the combined impacts of developments on climate change targets and the environment.

"The replacement arrangements, to encourage co-operation between local planning authorities, are inadequate and poorly described in the Bill," the report concludes.

Significantly, the report also notes that the Localism Bill's proposals for neighbourhood planning would not be covered by requirements in the proceeding Planning Acts of 2004 and 2008. As a result, "none of the duties placed upon local planning authorities in relation to sustainable development and climate change would apply to the neighbourhood planning processes".

In a thinly veiled reference to the likelihood of nimby campaigners using the new planning system to oppose developments, the report claims that proposed neighbourhood development orders and neighbourhood development plans could "favour those who have more time and money to spend on influencing these processes, and could therefore disadvantage those that do not".