Unauthorised development sites are an increasing concern, and relying on retrospective planning applications is not fair to those who follow with the rules. The growing frequency of illegal encampments shows that the current rules are simply not working. Perpetrators are increasingly using a highly sophisticated approach using professionally run set up operations and well-funded lawyers to carry out construction on land after council offices close on a Friday or over a bank holiday weekend.
I have been working with my colleagues in the Shadow Cabinet to ensure this issue remains a priority for the Official Opposition. Having already raised this with the previous Shadow Housing Secretary, I am in active discussions with the current Shadow Housing Secretary to help develop a robust, workable policy that empowers local authorities to act and provides stronger protections against unauthorised developments.
Earlier this summer, my colleagues set out our party’s plan to address this issue and prevent unauthorised developments from being treated as an ‘equality’ matter in planning rules and ending the abuse of retrospective planning permission. The plan includes:
- Leaving the ECHR and repealing the Human Rights Act, in line with Lord Wolfson KC’s report. This will allow us to amend Section 73A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to end retrospective planning permission for unauthorised encampments and ensure no application may be made for a material change of use of land to a residential caravan site.
- Reinstating protections for the Green Belt and open countryside.
- Issuing statutory guidance to ensure councils and the police work in tandem to enforce the law effectively.
Earlier this year, I also wrote to the housing minister to set out the impact and costs incurred by local communities from illegal encampments and asked the Government to adopt the legislative proposals my colleagues and I have put forward. The Minister subsequently invited me to a cross-party meeting of MPs, where we discussed the Official Opposition’s four key recommendations: setting up a cross-party task force to establish a big-picture strategy, strengthening stop notices, providing clear guidance to councils on retrospective planning permission, and implementing a ban on delivering construction materials to sites without planning permission. You can read more about this meeting here.
I am continuing to work with the Shadow Housing team as they consult local councils and develop further plans to tackle unauthorised developments. I will share updates on this page as work progresses.
