Councillor hits out over new planning rule

A BIRMINGHAM

- ALEXANDER BROCK Local Democracy Reporter

Labour councillor has slammed his own government calling proposed changes to planning rules a "disaster about to happen".Labour said it is "fixing the planning system" after it pledged to build 1.5 million new homes over this Parliament.

It said new changes would "optimise land use" through higher-density development and simplified biodiversity rules for smaller sites.

Good housing projects would also be fast-tracked if they meet national standards for energy efficiency.

The government says such proposals would build on the "urgent steps already taken to fix a planning system that too often has blocked rather than built".

But the plans have attracted criticism from a Birmingham Labour councillor amid concerns over planning controls being "stripped away".

"I think this is a disaster about to happen frankly," Cllr Philip Davis said at a planning meeting.