I have been involved in fighting a garden-grabbing case of late. Some bloke in a quango is working out whether the proposal is "acceptably bad" or not. I am writing this blog because official channels don't care about what objectors think, my MP is basically impotent in the process and probably doesn't care that much anyway - the system is stacked against ordinary people.
Maybe like with the old samizdat in the USSR, someone will see the many blogs on this subject and realise what a horrible mess this government is making of our country.
Maybe it's not too late.
If, like my mother-in-law, you are unfortunate enough to live in a Conservative area and have a garden that is bigger than a postage stamp, then you will probably have spent some time fending off the advances of opportunistic property developers: it is more than possible that you won't have succeeded.
I want to understand why this is the case and will be writing on this subject as time allows. I think the time has come to ask ourselves some serious questions in this country about the best use of our land, as well as how current trends in development will leave this country looking in 20 years' time. We are told that more houses are needed, though really, as it is with road building, so it is with houses; demand always rises to outstrip supply. The more we build, the more we will need to build. As buildable land becomes more scarce, its price won't fall, it will rise.
You might think that a balanced, representative system exists to ensure that planning decisions are taken fairly.
You might think that planning takes place with some degree of local consent, that it is appropriate to the area and that the system affords some level of balance so that all interested parties are heard equally.
You might even think that developments are assessed in terms of their impact on local communities, whether their affect on schools, hospitals, drainage systems and so on is considered.
The sad reality is that we have a system that disregards local interest and relentlessly favours the property developer. So, where we need responsive, adaptable policy, structure, vision and leadership, we have a hodge-podge of inflexible rules and low standards that are being ruthlessly exploited by greedy, selfish developers. Doubtless many of them will be going bust as I write and will turn their hand to more conventional get-rich-quick schemes, like tax fraud or mugging the elderly.
The government bangs on about eco-towns and sustainability, but their eco-towns are more Tesco than “eco” and their standards of sustainability just aren't sustainable. Just as we are told that we need to decrease our CO2 emissions, so we approve massive expansion of Stansted airport.
For all its blatherings on human rights, the government seems more than happy to make sure that ordinary people have as little input as possible into the planning process. You have minimal opportunity to represent your interests in the planning process.
Nanny knows best and doesn't care what you think.
Thanks for reading.
