Friends of South Hams

FRIENDS OF SOUTH HAMS

This Web site is for those who love the South Hams “The jewel in the crown of Devon” and who wish to protect and enhance the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The FOSH Posts:

• England’s right-to-build laws are tokenistic and feeble – just ask the people of Totnes18th September 2021
  George Monbiot Since 2007, people in Totnes had been working to transform a big derelict site, previously a milk-processing factory run by Dairy Crest, into a community project called Atmos.’  Among the most important democratic questions isContinue reading “England’s right-to-build laws are tokenistic and feeble – just ask the people of Totnes”
• ‘Pause on Planning for the Future White Paper proposals’18th September 2021
  The CPRE note: As sources for the government confirm that they will be pausing their unpopular plans to change planning rules, we celebrate a successful campaign and urge Michael Gove: ‘take a fresh look’. Just over aContinue reading “‘Pause on Planning for the Future White Paper proposals’”
• (no title)14th September 2021
  Ministers drop shake-up of planning laws George Grylls, Political Reporter Saturday September 11 2021, 12.00pm, The Times The biggest shake-up of planning laws for 70 years is set to be abandoned after a backlash from voters andContinue reading
• Economic harm – Brexit and COVID6th September 2021
  When it was predicted that Brexit would cause long-term harm to the UK economy (before the onset of the pandemic, numerous studies estimated the likely economic effects of Brexit and almost all predicted the impact to beContinue reading “Economic harm – Brexit and COVID”
• We can’t build our way out of the environmental crisis4th September 2021
  George Monbiot September 2021 Dig for victory: this, repurposed from the second world war, could be the slogan of our times. All over the world, governments are using the pandemic and the environmental crisis to justify aContinue reading “We can’t build our way out of the environmental crisis”
• LOCAL MP REPEATS HIS ARGUMENTS TO DEAL WITH SECOND HOMES17th August 2021
  Anthony Mangnall, MP for Totnes and Brixham, writes in today’s Western Morning News: But do his proposals go far enough? “South Devon is home to some of the most extraordinary views, landscapes and coastlines.  As a representativeContinue reading “LOCAL MP REPEATS HIS ARGUMENTS TO DEAL WITH SECOND HOMES”
• Beauty still betrayed: State of our AONBs 202115th August 2021
  Beauty-still-betrayed.pdf (cpre.org.uk) Executive summary: Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), are some of the UK’s most distinctive and cherished landscapes. Despite this, for several years there have been concerns about an ambiguity in the policy wording thatContinue reading “Beauty still betrayed: State of our AONBs 2021”
• One Year On!14th August 2021
  Planning for the future: the white paper one year on By Emma Atkins 6th August 2021 One year ago today, the government published its Planning for the Future white paper, a blueprint for the biggest shake-up ofContinue reading “One Year On!”
• Another u-turn on planning changes17th April 2021
  Robert Jenricks vast overhaul of the planning system has hit a further setback after the Government quietly u-turned on plans to scrap the duty on developers to build affordable housing on small sites. There has been fierceContinue reading “Another u-turn on planning changes”

Planning ‘In the Public Interest’

Planning ensures that the right development happens in the right place at the right time, benefitting communities and the economy. It plays a critical role in identifying what development is needed and where, what areas need to be protected or enhanced and in assessing whether proposed development is suitable.

The planning system is also one of the key ways that we can implement a vision for sustainable development by ensuring, for example, that new growth helps reduce climate change emissions through renewable technology, energy efficiency and reducing the need to travel. Your voice and the voice of our community need to be heard just as loudly as the voice of the development industry.

The National Planning Policy Framework stresses the importance of having a planning system that is genuinely plan-led. To the extent that development plan policies are material to an application for planning permission, the decision must be taken in accordance with the local development plan unless there are material considerations that indicate otherwise.

Is there any point getting involved? Yes! You have important rights to be involved in the way that local planning decisions are made. The Council must take note of your views. Local people are often accused by developers and government of being NIMBYs, but the people in the South Hams have a wealth of knowledge and experience to bring, which makes for better planning decisions.

So how does it work? The process of dealing with a planning application is a bit like a horse race. Each application has to jump over a number of hurdles before it reaches the finish line and gets either approved or refused. The FOSH ‘Nine Steps’ simple guide provides an outline of the key stages a planning application has to pass through. Don’t be put off by the apparent complexity! In fact, you only have to think about a small number of key stages where you can make a real difference to the outcome. 

If you want to write a good quality planning objection letter, the best place to start is with all of the facts. The place to find them in is in the planning application, which is held in the Council’s planning office and their publicly accessible online planning file.

Visit our ‘Beginners Planning Guide’

Visit our FOSH Facebook page

For more information, email:     friendsofthesouthhams@gmail.com

Or write to: FOSH, Rathlyn, Grenville Rd, Salcombe, TQ8 8BJ

FRIENDS OF SOUTH HAMS

This Web site is for those who love the South Hams “The jewel in the crown of Devon” and who wish to protect and enhance the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.