The government has proposed making sweeping changes to the planning system, which would almost completely take away our say about planning. If the proposals go ahead, local plans will become little more than a colour-coded map and we will lose our voice about what gets built in our local area and how it is built. If we want to see robust action on climate change, we really need to protect our planning system and ask for more democracy, not less. We, along with a number other environmental organisations, are fighting these proposals and there are a few things that you can do too.
- Sign up as a supporter of the People’s Charter for Democracy in Planning: https://charterfordemocracy.org/support-the-charter This takes less than two minutes and it will help to show that people want to have more say about planning, not less. Please share the link on social media as well!
- Write to your MP: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate-change/planning-reforms-are-bad-news-communities-and-environment There’s a template letter so you could just add your thoughts about why we need to protect our democratic rights and act on climate change. This would probably only take 5 minutes.
- Respond to the government consultation: https://campaigning.friendsoftheearth.uk/news/planning-future-consultation There is a template response that you can copy and paste into the consultation form and then you can just add your thoughts where indicated. It isn’t complicated and you don’t need to be an expert. It takes a bit longer (probably at least 20 minutes) but the government won’t receive many responses from individuals so every response asking for action on climate change will count. Please make yourself a cup of tea and get stuck in if you can!
The government document is long and, in our opinion, complicated. To help you take action we have simplified this document. We hope this makes things more accessible and saves you some time. Click HERE to read our briefing.
