HC Deb 23 July 1964 vol 699 cc145-6W
Mr. Temple

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what improvements and simplifications he proposes to make to the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1962, relating to development plans and the control of development; and if he will make a statement.

Sir K. Joseph

The present planning system has, generally speaking, worked well and achieved a wide measure of public acceptance and support. But it is right to ask whether it is equal to the new demands being made on it by the need to secure a proper integration of traffic and land use planning, especially in our larger towns; by the development of regional plans, and by the need to keep ahead of events in a period of rapid growth and change.

It was with this in mind that I initiated a general review of the town and country planning system, and to assist in this I appointed a Planning Advisory Group which includes experts from local government and the professional field. The Ministry of Transport and the Scottish Development Department are associated with my Department in this work.

The Group has so far concentrated its studies under three main headings of finance, the planning implications of Buchanan, and the planning system generally.

Basically the problem which underlies the present examination of the planning system, is the need to ensure that changes which may be required to reflect the new concepts of planning do not further complicate a system of which the main criticism is already that it often results in delays.

Amongst the questions which must therefore be considered is whether the planning system can be so organised that the taking of decisions on issues of major importance can be separated from those issues which are essentially local in character. This raises difficult technical problems about the form and content of plans, and whether it is practicable for one plan to serve both as a basis for local development control and as a framework for comprehensive policies and proposals.

We have to try and find a right balance between on the one hand modernising, simplifying and speeding up, and on the other, assuring to people their legitimate desire to have the opportunity to be heard on matters which may be of great interest to them, whether as individuals or as members of the community.

Though the work of the review is going ahead well I would not expect proposals for any alterations to the system to emerge for some considerable time yet.