By: Ecology and Policy Blog » Blog Archive » Government to Publish National Planning Policy Framework

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:39:49 +0000

[...] Government will this afternoon publish the long-awaited National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which will simplify over 1,000 pages of planning guidance into just 50 pages and set out a [...]

By: Dr Henry Adams (Ecologist)

Dr Henry Adams (Ecologist) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:52:27 +0000

My first impression on skimming through the draft Planning Framework is that the above BES description cherry-picks the best parts of the document some of which are very appealing to nature-conservation-minded ecologists (including myself)- but incredibly naiveley omits to show as that all these good attributes are almost totally made subservient to the very obvious over-riding emphasis on promotion of economic growth by allowing unrestrained development, with deregulation of planning restrictions and conditions that have helped up to now to protect the environment. Eg “Planning must operate to encourage growth and not act as an impediment”. In fact – it reverses the whole emphasis and meaning of planning re the countryside from constraining loss of the countryside to promoting loss of countryside – to building-development. It is underlain by a neoliberal type of conservative political ideology (unleash profit-making big business greed-is-good from regulatory constraints), and promotes an associated economic GROWTH model which many ecologists see as obselete for a future to cope with climate change by resilience and with declining natural resources. Why should one ideology – favoured by big business and many of the rich and powerful, coupled with an increasingly dubious economic model – be allowed such a strong emphasis – when many of as find this thinking abhorrent.
The “nice bits” referred to in the BES are typical of the present government – the way it puts up a green-screen to hide what it actually wants to do – which is exactly the opposite (I could give many examples. It’s first one was “greenest gov ever” then eg (1 of many) its current support for tar sands oil despite having the highest production emissions of carbon as cf Cameron’s claims to reduce emissions – s if outsource carbon is OK then). – This green-screening is a frequent gov ploy – but missed by the writer of the text above. So the planning framework is full of contradictions – which it realizes – so tries to resolve that by saying that they are not the contradictions they seem to be (so that resolves that then?).
I hope my initial interpretation is incorrect – and that yours turns out to be correct, but the gov’s track record suggests I may be right. http://www.twitter.com/@henryadamsUK

Comments on: National Planning Policy Framework released

By: Ecology and Policy Blog » Blog Archive » Government to Publish National Planning Policy Framework

By: Dr Henry Adams (Ecologist)