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Friends of the Lake District, Friends of the Earth and Cumbria Wildlife Trust have all responded to the Government's Planning White Paper, which proposes overhauling the way development is controlled in the UK. Of major concern is what the trio of organisations see as being a rebalancing of the planning system in favour of economic development. They believe this would be at the expense of the views of local communities and pays insufficient regard to the importance of a high-quality natural environment for business, for people, and in its own right.

Currently, major infrastructure projects which are deemed to be of national importance, such as motorways, airports, waste incinerators and power plants can be closely scrutinised to assess their social and environmental impacts. However, under the new proposals these schemes would be fast-tracked through the planning system with little regard to the views of local communities or the proper consideration of environmental impacts.

The three organisations are part of a broader national coalition opposing the proposals. In their responses they have stressed that there should be no presumption in favour of development and that the strength of the current planning system, which allows all views to be taken into equal consideration, must be protected.

A spokesperson for Friends of the Lake District said:
"We are in danger of introducing a planning system where local people's views count for very little. Cumbria is renowned for its high quality landscape and wildlife and we are encouraging the Government to think again about these proposals and consider their impact on local people and the countryside."

The consultation period for the Planning White Paper ends on August 17th.