The issues surrounding new roads and their planning just never goes away as this latest message to their AMs from objectors to the A494 widening in Deeside indicates.
The Parliamentary Planning Bill -Proposals for Infrastructure Planning Commission
This week in our Parliament, the government will propose a new “Planning Bill”. It seeks to “fast-track” the planning approval process for infrastructure projects such as highway construction and waste treatment plants by replacing existing processes with an “Infrastructure-Planning Commission”. This legislation, if enacted will at a stroke, remove from any planning process the possibility of a public inquiry conducted by an impartial inspector.
During the government sponsored proposals to widen the A494/A55 roads, the ordinary people of Deeside were aware of your own significant calls for caution in respect of consequences and due consideration of the alternatives. It was informed sentiments like this, expressed with authority and vigour that contributed to the setting up of a formal independent inquiry. Far from recommending “tweaks” here and there, the Inquiry Inspector, concluded with a recommendation that the whole scheme be rejected. Short of planning expedients that might justify a state of martial-law in the UK, I hope you will agree that this process must be seen as a cornerstone of our democratic accountability.
This needs to be kept an eye on. More on this … HERE
Hat Tip: John Butler
