Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Greg Clark MP has thanked builders merchant organisation the Builders Merchants Federation for its input on the draft National Planning Policy Framework consultation.
Clark is the Minister responsible for planning at DCLG. The NPPF consultation exercise closed before Christmas in a welter of claims and counter-claims over the likely consequences.
The BMF applauded the shift in emphasis from planning as development control to development-enabling and has asked for the NPPF to be confirmed and introduced as quickly as possible.
Clark discussed the BMF’s views at the launch of an annual report compiled by the Centre For Cities. The think-tank found that many cities continue to feel the effects of the downturn – and that disparities between cities are growing.
The hardest hit are those areas that depend most on public sector jobs. Cities like Sunderland, Doncaster, Hull, Newport and Swansea are struggling to cope with widespread redundancies and wages failing to keep pace with prices. Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Milton Keynes and London are bucking the trend due to high skill levels and large numbers of jobs in private companies.
DCLG is believed to have received over 13,000 responses to the NPPF consultation.
