Action Briefing June 2004-July 2004
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

West Midlands News

MPs in on the Act?

As we digest the implications of the RPG, some of our regional leaders are still trying to get to grips with the new Planning and Complusory Puchase Act.

The Birmingham Post, in an article entitled “Loss of powers draws MPs' ire” (21st June 2004), described how "Shire councils will be stripped of control over key planning decisions in a move which has outraged Midland MPs. They will no longer have the power to designate land for housing or industrial use, or to limit the number of homes built. Instead, control will pass to an unelected regional assembly, based in Birmingham, from September."

As many of us are well aware, this process has been taking place for quite some time now and it is good to see some of the issues at last out in the open. We have worries concerning the right to be heard at, say, public examinations, and especially the rights of 'non-aligned groups' such as local residents. The new Act will be a challenge for us all, but Friends of the Earth will continue to enable as many people as possible to get in early and influence the process.

Chris Crean