Government announces review into 'garden grabbing' developers

The Government today announced a review to see whether action is needed to tackle "garden grabbing" developers.

Local Government Minister John Healey said councils already had powers designed to protect back gardens from being bought up and used as building plots, but many were not using them properly.

He said the inquiry would examine whether there was evidence of a problem in the area.

Mr Healey urged MPs to overturn a Lords amendment to the Planning Bill which would encourage councils to give greater weight to resisting so-called "garden grabbing".

He said: "The principle and practice of the planning system is that each application is considered on its merits.

"It is considered within the context and the framework of policies for planning that are set out by the planning authority and they produce those planning policies within the context of any guidance we give from the centre.

"My argument to the House is that within that system there is already considerable scope for planning authorities - which most are not yet using to the full - to be able to equip themselves should they see a potential concern over garden grabbing in their area.

"They have some scope to deal with it which they are not yet fully using."

But, he added he did not have a "closed mind" on the issue because the evidence about the scale of the problem was not clear.

He said: "We are proposing to begin, early in the New Year, a review of the evidence to the extent of development in back gardens in order to try and establish clearly whether there is a genuine problem.

"If there is a problem we will take action to remedy the situation."

Shadow planning minister, Jacqui Lait welcomed the review but urged her party to back the Lords' amendment in a bid to end "garden grabbing," which changed the nature of neighbourhoods and increased housing density.

Ms Lait complained that planning inspectors had been "bullied" by the Government into backing such plans and branded the Bill "badly thought through".

For the Liberal Democrats, Julia Goldsworthy also backed the Lords' amendment, saying people were rightly concerned about their communities being "adversely and irreparably" changed by development.

Ms Goldsworthy said: "It's a travesty that much needed green space in urban areas is lumped into the definition of brownfield land."

Ms Goldsworthy said the Government was determined to "take a bulldozer not just to valued green spaces but to local democracy as well".

In all too many cases, the wishes of the local community were being undermined by the Planning Bill.

She told Mr Healey: "It does seem that you are in denial about the scale of the assaults on back gardens and the small but often highly valued open spaces in urban areas.

"I welcome the door opening a crack to looking into this issue through the review but I think before we are fully assured we will need much more detail about what the terms and implications of the review are."

Senior Tory Caroline Spelman said she had campaigned against "garden grabbing" for many months.

She told ministers: "I dispute your view that the most recent changes to planning guidance do afford adequate protection to gardeners, when patently they do not.

"I detect a degree of complacency in the attitude of the Government that is prepared to wait even until next year for a review to take place."

Mrs Spelman said there was "plenty of evidence" already available that the existing guidance did not work.

The environmental legacy of the Government's plans have changed green neighbourhoods out of all recognition, she said.

"We've seen family homes demolished, we've seen trees felled, we've seen hedges uprooted. Gardens which were a rich source of biodiversity have been stripped back and buried under concrete."

Mr Healey said he recognised the concerns of the House but there was no rigorous evidence against the plans.

He said: "This debate has not added to that evidence base. It's added to the list of individual examples and anecdotes."

The Lords amendment which would encourage councils to give greater weight to resisting so-called "garden grabbing", was overturned by 278 votes to 217, Government majority 61.

Later, Labour's Paul Truswell (Pudsey) led a cross party move urging ministers to give a stronger commitment in the Bill to tackle climate change.

Mr Truswell said radical change was needed if the UK was to meet its target of an 80% cut in greenhouse gas emissions.

A "strong duty" should be placed on ministers to consider the impact of climate change when looking at national policy statements.

This should include giving "due regard to the need to mitigate" the effects of climate change, he said, denying this placed a "straitjacket" on the Secretary of State.

Ms Goldsworthy backed the move, saying she was "disappointed" by the current wording of the legislation and urging ministers to think again.

MPs agreed to the remaining Government amendments without a vote after time for debate ran out. The Planning Bill will now go back to the House of Lords.