We'll slash planning time, says Blears

Regeneration & Renewal, 16 November 2007

Communities secretary Hazel Blears made the claim at the Core Cities conference in Nottingham. She was speaking after Nottingham City Council leader Jon Collins complained that schemes such as the Nottingham tram can take twice as long to clear planning than to build.

Blears said that the Government's planning reform bill, which will be introduced in this parliament, will greatly reduce the time taken for major transport infrastructure projects to receive planning permission.

The Bill, which was confirmed in last week's Queen's Speech, will, among other things, establish a separate planning system for major infrastructure projects (R&R, 9 November, p3).

"The planning system for major infrastructure projects can take up to five years, which is ridiculous," said Blears. "It (the bill) will mean that the average permission will now take one year."

Pushed on the timings by Channel 4 news anchorman Jon Snow, chairing the panel, Blears admitted that the average major infrastructure project currently takes two years."If we can slash that in half it will make a big difference," she said.