CLA response to Kate Barker’s interim report on the land use planning system

Rural communities and businesses have struggled for years against a planning system that is time-consuming, complex, and for small businesses, too expensive, says CLA in response to Kate Barker's interim report on the land-use planning system, published 4 July 2006.

David Fursdon, President of the CLA said: “You only have to drive through a deserted, run-down town or village in a rural area to see the problems our current planning system has caused.

“The CLA has long called for a planning system that gives equal weight to the three legs of sustainable development - economic, social, environmental - and we’re encouraged by many of the suggestions in this report. For too long, planners have not recognised the importance of economic development. The planning system should be about integrating jobs, homes, and services. Small rural settlements are often better placed to provide land for modest amounts of development. This is not a threat to the countryside but about creating thriving areas where people can live, work and stay. “

He concluded: “The future of our countryside depends on its economic success. This will provide the profit that maintains our wonderful countryside and we would like to see this concept built on in the final report. If we want to see our rural communities grow and thrive, we need a system that will encourage more investment and more jobs at a local level with decisions taken at a local level."