Noise complaint rights 'face axe'

The Bill aims to avoid another lengthy Terminal 5-style inquiry

New planning laws designed to speed up decisions on big developments could stop councils acting on people's noise complaints, local authorities say.

They say a new clause gives developers a "blanket exemption" from complaints about smoke, odour, noise and light.

Ministers say people will be able to seek compensation under new laws, which they say do not "immunise" developers.

In June, the government saw off a Labour rebellion over the Planning Bill, which largely applies to England.

Many MPs were concerned that allowing decisions to be taken by a new planning quango, the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), would be undemocratic.

'Tying hands'

But the bill completed its Commons stages and is now going through the House of Lords, where it will be examined line-by-line in October.

However Lacors, which oversees councils' environmental protection work, has concerns about a new amendment which states criminal or civil proceedings cannot be brought for nuisance over works "authorised by an order granting development consent".

This apparent blanket exemption is highly irresponsible Mary Stevens Environmental Protection UK

It says it is "tying the hands of councils, leaving them unable to respond to the legitimate concerns of local people" and has written to Communities Secretary Hazel Blears to complain.

It is backed by the charity Environmental Protection UK, which says the clause "would appear to remove access to any remedy for local health or environmental impacts caused by dust, smoke, odour, noise or light".

Policy officer Mary Stevens said: "This apparent blanket exemption is highly irresponsible."

'Quicker' compensation

And Paul Bettison, of the Local Government Association, said: "It is totally unacceptable that people should not be able to complain about noise, light, pollution and general disturbances to their day-to-day lives.

"Councils need to be able to hold construction companies to account to ensure that disruption for local people is kept to an absolute minimum."

The commission will assess all the local impacts and be able to put clear conditions on any planning permission to make sure people are protected DCLG spokesman

But a Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said people suffering nuisance would be able to seek compensation, which was "a quicker and more reliable route" than a nuisance claim.

He added: "The commission will assess all the local impacts and be able to put clear conditions on any planning permission to make sure people are protected.

"If a developer doesn't comply with these, the Bill gives local authorities explicit powers to get an injunction to stop them and prosecute them.

"These improvements mean that the potential impacts of a project will be properly exposed, considered and dealt with up front, at the inquiry - rather than people only finding out about them later and having to then challenge things through the courts."