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Press Release

Brown Should Not Pre-Empt Consultation On The Planning White Paper

11 July 2007

Reacting to the Prime Minister’s statement to the Commons today (Wednesday) on the Government’s legislative programme, CPRE [1] expressed strong disappointment at Gordon Brown’s indication that the forthcoming Planning Bill would, ‘implement the Barker and Eddington reports to speed up the development of major infrastructure projects….and speed up planning generally’.

Ben Stafford, CPRE’s Head of Campaigns, said:

‘There is an ongoing consultation on the Government’s Planning White Paper [2]. Environmental NGOs are united in saying that many of the proposals in the White Paper will be a disaster for the environment and for local democracy [3]. We fear the Prime Minister may be pre-empting the outcome of this consultation.

Ben Stafford concluded:

‘In the spirit of his earlier statements about the need to listen to individuals and communities, we urge the Prime Minister to listen to the serious concerns being expressed about aspects of the White Paper before making final decisions about new legislation.’

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen.

2. The Planning White Paper was published on 21 May and is subject to a three month consultation period which closes on the 17 August.

3. In addition to CPRE, members of the Planning Disaster Coalition campaigning against proposals in the Planning White Paper are the Council for National Parks, Friends of the Earth, the Civic Trust, the Ramblers’ Association, the RSPB, the New Economics Foundation, AirportWatch, enoughsenough.org, Transport 2000, The Grasslands Trust, The Wildlife Trusts and the Woodland Trust. Find out more about the campaign at www.planningdisaster.co.uk.



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