Planning Laws Relaxed In Effort To Boost Economy

The government have announced plans for a year-long relaxation of planning laws.

In an effort to get planning officers "off people's backs", for a limited period, people will be allowed to build larger extensions on houses - up to 8m long for detached homes and 6m for others.

Rules on shops and offices expanding and on developments having to include affordable housing will also be relaxed as ministers seek to boost the economy.

However Labour has said the government is "kidding themselves".

The proposals, it says, are "not up to the scale of the challenge" and do not address the real problem of a "lack of confidence and demand in the economy".

And the Local Government Association says it is a "myth" that the planning system was stopping house building.

It released figures that show a backlog of 400,000 prospective homes which have planning permission but have not yet been built. It says these "conclusively prove" the planning system is not holding back development.

The coalition government are trying to find new ways to boost the economy and end the on-going recession.

Mr Cameron said: "This government means business in delivering plans to help people build new homes and kick-start the economy.

"We're determined to cut through the bureaucracy that holds us back. That starts with getting the planners off our backs, getting behind the businesses that have the ambition to expand and meeting the aspirations of families that want to buy or improve a home."

(H)