The government has stated its commitment to a ‘radical reform' of the planning system giving new powers to local councils, communities, neighbourhoods and individuals. The Coalition: Our Programme for Government sets out plans to:
• Abolish Regional Strategies and returning decision making powers to local councils.
• Give neighbourhoods far more ability to determine what development takes place in their area, based on the principles set out in the Green Paper: Open Source Planning.
• Publish a consolidated national planning framework covering all forms of development which sets out national, economic, environmental and social priorities.