The purpose of Town and Country Planning legislation is not, as you suggest it should be, just to build more homes, but to decide how we use our space. It's a scarce resource. Private gain has to be balanced against public loss. 'Nimbys' and developers equally overlook the reason for having a 'Green Belt' around cities, which is not to p…
The purpose of Town and Country Planning legislation is not, as you suggest it should be, just to build more homes, but to decide how we use our space. It's a scarce resource. Private gain has to be balanced against public loss. 'Nimbys' and developers equally overlook the reason for having a 'Green Belt' around cities, which is not to protect commuting countryside dwellers in the style to which they've become accustomed but to protect city people from the consequences of sprawl – congesting them and making access to open spaces more difficult.
So let us not abolish planning legislation and regret it afterwards, but improve it to meet all of the many purposes it serves. I hope that this is not too socialist an idea for the ageing O'Malley.
The purpose of Town and Country Planning legislation is not, as you suggest it should be, just to build more homes, but to decide how we use our space. It's a scarce resource. Private gain has to be balanced against public loss. 'Nimbys' and developers equally overlook the reason for having a 'Green Belt' around cities, which is not to protect commuting countryside dwellers in the style to which they've become accustomed but to protect city people from the consequences of sprawl – congesting them and making access to open spaces more difficult.
So let us not abolish planning legislation and regret it afterwards, but improve it to meet all of the many purposes it serves. I hope that this is not too socialist an idea for the ageing O'Malley.
JM