Press Release:Civic Voice joins Chris Skidmore MP in wanting to give the Community a Right to Appeal
Over 100 MPs contacted by civic groups asking MPs to introduce a new Community Right of Appeal
Civic Voice – the national charity for the civic movement with 75,000 members – is today urging individuals and communities across England to contact their local MP to support a Private Members’ Bill due to be debated in the House of Commons on April 26th.
The Private Members’ Bill, to be introduced by Chris Skidmore MP, means communities could, if they met a particular threshold, put forward genuine objections to developments as part of the planning process.
Civic Voice wants community groups to contact their local MP and ask them to support the Private Bill when it is debated in the House of Commons on April 26th.
Paula Ridley CBE, Chair of Civic Voice said, “A Community Right of Appeal would complement and support the Localism Act in its aim of ensuring local community views are seen as an important consideration in the planning process. This is not about stopping development but ensuring that, where a community has genuine concerns and enough people support it, a right of appeal can be introduced”
Chris Skidmore MP said, “A community right of appeal for local communities, particularly those who have adopted a neighbourhood plan, would help to ensure that the planning process was more equal, at the same time as ensuring that communities who have invested time and effort into drawing up local neighbourhood plans would be given the security to know that hostile planning applications that go against the plan could be appealed in this way. While the trigger mechanism for how a right of appeal might work can be debated, it seems sensible that a similar trigger to thresholds for the the creation of parish councils could be adopted. This is about ensuring that local resident’s voice can be heard and listened to”
Ridley finished by saying “It is widely thought that the power of the Localism Act has been steadily eroded with the introduction of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill. This is an opportunity for the Government to introduce a piece of legislation that would demonstrate that Localism is here to stay”.
Civic Voice has designed a website to allow individuals and community groups to write a letter to their MP expressing support for the Bill. The website can be accessed at http://www.civicvoice.org.uk/campaigns/third-party-right-of-appeal/
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Civic Voice is the national charity for the civic movement. We lead and support civic societies as a national movement for quality of place, with people actively improving their towns, cities and villages and promoting civic pride. We speak up for civic societies and local communities across England and we believe everyone should live somewhere they can be proud of. Civic societies are the most numerous participants in the planning system. Since its launch in April 2010, Civic Voice has been joined by over 290 civic societies with 75,000 members. Further information is available at http://www.civicvoice.org.uk including how to join Civic Voice (£10 individuals) and contact details for local civic societies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Steve Graham, Director, Civic Voice (m) 079217 67650
Ian Harvey, Co-ordinator, Civic Voice (m) 07877 096968 (t) 0151 708 9920