The Assembly agreed that the next States should be presented with legislative amendments to roll back some of the rules which have made it costly and time consuming to make even minor alterations to the island’s key planning policies.
The Development & Planning Authority and the Assembly would have more flexibility to make minor, significant and strategically essential changes to planning policies, in some cases with less onerous consultation, together with more freedom to decide whether to bring in independent inspectors and set up planning inquiries.
‘This policy letter is about removing unnecessary red tape and allowing planning policies to be responsive and aligned with States strategic objectives while keeping the right checks and balances in place,’ said DPA president Victoria Oliver.
‘We believe it strikes the right balance. One that keeps process robust, democratic and efficient while removing roadblocks and red tape and enhancing efficiency.’
Listen to a round-up of Thursday’s debate on our Shorthand States podcast
Deputy Neil Inder said the authority had come up with ‘a Guernsey solution’ which had been needed for the past several years.
Peter Ferbrache was open to advice from planning inspectors from outside the island but felt procedures had become too cumbersome. He urged the States to trust the authority’s judgement on the issue.
‘We’ve got something which would apply to England when we are 65,000 people living in 24 square miles. There are 12 steps to follow before you can get through the process and they all take time – it just goes on and on and on.
‘The individuals on the DPA will change, but if you give someone the duty to administer the planning system you should have confidence in them, and if not then get rid of them and replace them with others.’
Deputy Christopher Le Tissier described the IDP as ‘a bureaucratic nightmare’ and claimed it was ‘holding back the whole island’. He had little time for complaints from some environmental groups that they had not been consulted over the proposed changes and said they should not have ‘a veto over strategic developments’.
John Dyke, a member of the authority, said the proposals would not affect the island’s overarching planning policies in the Strategic Land Use Plan, which has a 20-year lifespan.
He also pointed out that any major changes recommended to the IDP in the future would require the approval of the Assembly, which he called ‘the people’s governing body’.
‘It’s vital that this Assembly can have a faster way of getting things done,’ said Deputy Dyke.
‘We haven’t done very well building houses over the past two terms and we must do better. We owe it to the people not to tie ourselves up in knots. It betrays everything we have been entrusted to do.’
Deputy Aidan Matthews claimed that the constraints of the IDP had clearly held back much-needed housing developments and argued that it would be better to prevent over development by adopting more cautious policies on migration into the island than having inflexible land planning procedures.
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