15.02.13
Pickles to scrap South East regional planning strategy
The South East of England’s regional strategy is to be abolished, moving control over development to local communities.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles announced the move, which will become the third area to eliminate “centrally set” building targets. It is hoped councils will be able to deliver more housing in line with the National Planning Policy Framework, introduced last year.
Pickles said: “The flawed top-down targets of regional planning built nothing but resentment, and threatened the green belt in many local authorities.
“The abolition of the South East Plan follows through from the abolition of the unelected quangos of the South East England Regional Assembly and South East England Development Agency.
“This Government is delivering on its pledges to decentralise power from Whitehall and its quangos down to local people.”
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