Government reneges on third party appeal

The Coalition government has announced what amounts to a climb down by both parties, by declaring that the much-discussed third part right of appeal will not be included in the forthcoming Devolution and Localism Bill.

The proposal was initially set out in the green paper Open Source Planning, published earlier this year prior to the election. A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government, responsible for the bill, said in a statement the proposal, which attracted much controversy following the publication of the green paper, would not be included in the bill. The prospect to introduce it at a later date, however, was left open.

The omission represents a climb down by both the coalition partners, as both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives pledged to introduce some form of third party appeal prior to the election.

Responding to the announcement, Neil Sinden, policy director of the CPRE said he would be "very disappointed" if it did not feature in the bill. He said: For both coalition partners empowering local people in the planning system was a clear pre-election commitment. Promises of localism are going to sound very hollow if this provision is dropped. It is central to building a fairer, more balanced decision-making process and CPRE will be working hard to remind ministers of that."

He added: "The government should stick to its guns and not bow to pressure from the development lobby. Our countryside and green spaces are far too important for that."

The announcement is likely to be welcomed by many in the industry who saw it as introducing another barrier to development in the pursuit of a "localism" agenda.

The Devolution and Localism Bill is expected to be introduced into Parliament in November.

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Government reneges on third party appeal