Readers respond to a piece by George Monbiot and call for concerted action at a local level
Bravo, George Monbiot (England’s right-to-build laws are tokenistic and feeble – just ask the people of Totnes, 15 September). The warm words in the National Planning Policy Framework – “planning policies and decisions should be responsive to local circumstances and support housing developments that reflect local needs” – are trumped by the cold reality of market forces and the government, in a bid to build us out of Covid.
Monbiot’s conclusion that planning laws in general, and the Community Right to Build in particular, are “tokenistic and feeble” is borne out in the prime minister’s proposals to simplify the planning system, in which two of the three intended zones are pro-development. Basically, it’s a builders’ charter, with faint recognition of the need for affordable homes.