We now know for sure that England’s National Planning Policy Framework will be published next Tuesday. But nothing yet is certain about its content. We suspect that there has been much wrangling between Government departments behind the scenes, including over the definition of sustainable development, one (and only one) of our red lines. Getting it right could mean the difference between green and grey development.
The current draft is based on the classic definition first used by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland in 1987. That’s not a bad start, but we have a more recent and helpful official definition in the UK Sustainable Development Strategy of 2005, which crucially talks about the need to live within environmental limits. Last December the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee had a good stab at translating this into something suitable for the planning system (see paragraph 67 of their report).
A little over a month ago I wrote to planning minister Greg Clark to say that the Committee’s definition provides a text which a large number of organisations are broadly able to support. In all, 21 organisations endorsed the Committee’s recommendation and suggested definition as a basis for the NPPF.
The organisations are (in alphabetical order):
Aldersgate Group
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
Buglife
Butterfly Conservation
Campaign for Better Transport
Campaign for National Parks
Campaign to Protect Rural England
Council for British Archaeology
Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM)
Friends of the Earth
Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)
Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA)
National Trust
Open Spaces Society
RSPB
Royal Town Planning Institute
Town and Country Planning Association
The Wildlife Trusts
Woodland Trust
WWF-UK
UK Green Building Council
That’s an impressive body of endorsement, and not just from green groups. Government, please note.
PS. The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has just published a very helpful note on 'Seeking Sustainability'. It's quite technical, but sets out the issues well.