In his regular column for Sussex newspapers, Andrew Griffith MP has renewed his calls for tougher action against illegal development on greenfield land after another unauthorised encampment was established in West Sussex over the recent Bank Holiday weekend.
The MP noted that exactly one year on from so-called ‘travellers’ illegally developing green fields near Lurgashall over a Bank Holiday weekend, a similar incident has now taken place locally.
Mr Griffith said it was terrible to see the destruction of a parcel of land at Broadford Bridge in West Chiltington, describing it as another green field that has been illegally developed without planning permission or the proper environmental assessments and occupied in what appeared to be a pre-meditated operation over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Following requests from Mr Griffith and others, Horsham District Council issued Stop Notices on the weekend the activity took place. However, the MP said it is vital that local councils protect communities by ensuring they have 24/7 response teams and develop a reputation for taking the very toughest enforcement measures.
"It is no exaggeration to say that many rural communities feel under siege," Mr Griffith said.
More generally, Mr Griffith highlighted the Conservative Party’s five-point plan to strengthen enforcement and create one fair set of rules for everyone. Key elements include:
- • Stronger immediate enforcement powers — allowing planning enforcement officers and councils to stop illegal development more quickly and banning council staff from working from home.
- • Ending retrospective planning applications — amending Section 73A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to prohibit retrospective applications for change of use to residential caravan sites.
- • Removing ECHR and Human Rights Act barriers — leaving the ECHR and repealing aspects of the Human Rights Act which, Conservatives argue, give rise to lengthy appeals and create a two-tier planning system for some groups in society.
- • Identity-neutral planning decisions — basing decisions purely on land use and impact, not the identity of applicants, and scrapping the requirement for local authorities to set aside new traveller sites in their local plans.
- • Faster police removal of encampments — and scrapping rules that block action if no alternative site is available.
He said stronger enforcement powers are needed to ensure that planning rules apply equally to everyone and to protect rural communities from further unlawful development.
Andrew's weekly column can be read in the Midhurst & Petworth Observer, West Sussex County Times, West Sussex Gazette, Chichester Observer and Littlehampton Gazette.
