The consultation on the Government White Paper, Planning for the Future, ended on 29th October 2020.
Whilst we welcome the Government’s desire to bring greater speed and transparency to the planning system Croydon Council Conservative Group responded to the consultation as they had some concerns around some of the proposals, as did many residents who feared that some would further reduce their ability to challenge planning at a local level.
We asked Government to recognise the real battle which Conservatives have with the approach being taken by ideologically driven Labour Local Authorities, like Croydon, who have a clear agenda to concrete over our beautiful local character areas and change them forever.
As so many of us know the London Borough of Croydon has been subjected to a zealous over intensification by the current Labour Council who, through the Local Plan, have produced their own blueprint for development.
This has resulted in widespread over intensification and the character assassination of our suburbs.
Too many proposals are riding roughshod over residents’ concerns and introducing development into the borough which is totally out of character.
Too many decent family homes are being lost to faceless blocks of nine flats.
Too many of these schemes are a significant distance from local transport hubs and infrastructure and inflict real harm on the amenities of neighbours and the community generally.
Therefore, in Croydon the Government’s proposals are viewed with some concern as the borough is already experiencing what can happen when developers are given the upper hand.
Local communities are concerned that the proposals in this paper will lead to more of the same, particularly when potentially entrusting rules and zoning to an already ‘developer friendly’ Local Authority, such as Croydon.
The idea that Croydon’s failing Labour Council could be responsible for determining whether each area of the borough is zoned for growth, renewal or protection could be even more devasting for our borough. Too many residents have lost faith in the planning system because of the actions of Croydon’s Labour Council. How can we trust them not to use the potential zoning system to inflict further harm on our borough?
Labour has tainted the planning system in Croydon. That can only be addressed by an incoming Conservative Council in 2022 re-opening the Local Plan to resident consultation and addressing their fears. Until that time we hope that Government will modify its approach to ensure that some trust may be restored.
The full text of our submission is attached here:
