Response to the Government White Paper

Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) critiques the Government's planning reform White Paper, arguing that it prioritizes economic growth over environmental sustainability and democratic accountability. SGR advocates for the creation of a national spatial planning framework to replace sectoral policy statements and opposes the establishment of an Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) to determine applications, suggesting instead that decisions remain with elected local authorities or ministers. The response also highlights the need for increased resources for planners, a more robust approach to the housing crisis—specifically regarding affordable housing and 'buy to let' properties—and better financial incentives for micro-generation energy feed-in to the grid.

• SGR argues that the White Paper's focus on speeding up planning applications may compromise the quality of decisions, particularly for innovative projects requiring detailed consideration of climate change and sustainability. They contend that local planning authorities lack the necessary resources, stating that "inadequate resources were a major constraint on the improvement of the planning régime."
• The document criticizes the absence of a national spatial planning framework, describing the White Paper as a "missed opportunity" to introduce one. SGR asserts that sectoral statements on infrastructure are a "poor substitute for a national plan" and would likely create new problems due to their narrow focus.
• SGR opposes the creation of an Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) to determine applications for nationally significant developments, arguing this would move away from the democratic consent regime where decisions are made by "elected local authorities or by a minister responsible to Parliament."
• Regarding the housing crisis, SGR rejects the assumption that market forces alone will provide affordable homes. They highlight the negative impact of 'buy to let' properties, which they claim are "operating to force house prices up, beyond the reach of local families," and recommend reducing the threshold for affordable housing requirements in new builds from 14 units to 3 units.
• SGR supports the extension of permitted development rights for micro-generation but argues that government grants are "totally inadequate." They suggest that the UK should adopt a system similar to Germany where generators can "feed surplus power into the grid at a favourable rate."

APA

Scientists for Global Responsibility (2007). Response to the Government White Paper. https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/planning-sustainable-future-sgr-response

Chicago

Scientists for Global Responsibility. Response to the Government White Paper. 2007. https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/planning-sustainable-future-sgr-response.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Scientists for Global Responsibility |title=Response to the Government White Paper |date=26 July 2007 |url=https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/planning-sustainable-future-sgr-response |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{scientistsforglobalresponsibility2007response, author = {{Scientists for Global Responsibility}}, title = {{Response to the Government White Paper}}, publisher = {Scientists for Global Responsibility}, year = {2007}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/planning-sustainable-future-sgr-response}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }