Brownfield development should be prioritised, says Priti Patel MP
Witham MP Priti Patel has called on the Government to take action to ensure that developments on brownfield sites are prioritised over unsuitable speculative developer plans on countryside sites.
Raising concerns about Neighbourhood Plans put together and agreed by local communities are being ignored by those making decisions on planning applications, Priti asked the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to put more protections in place.
Priti said: “All too often local communities have been ignored in the planning process with decisions going against local wishes and unsuitable developments being imposed on them.
Many parish councils and local communities in this part of Essex have done the right thing in making their own Neighbourhood Plans to identify sites for development and sites for protection but speculative developers have run roughshod over these plans.
The Government needs to review planning policies to ensure important sites are protected and a brownfield first approach is taken for new developments.”