Good news! After a House of Lords debate on Monday, the peers have decided that Eric Pickles’ revised planning laws are something that they can back. Albeit after a little bit more tinkering is done!

One of the Peers, Lord True, who had previously raised objections with the original plan, has said that this is something that he can now support. The House of Lords seemed to approve of the idea that a homeowner must notify their council of their planned works, who will then inform their neighbours. The main concern has been to make sure that all parties get the chance to air their views on such developments so as to avoid damaging disputes within neighborhoods.

Lord True had this to say: “My view has always been, and remains, that faced with potentially overbearing developments, neighbours should have the right defend the value and amenity of a home.”

However, the bill is still not perfect and the house has asked to see meaningful and thorough consultation before any concrete plans are laid to turn this into law. No specific details were given on how long that consultation should be, but judging by how long other schemes by this Government have taken to be implemented, it is highly unlikely that any changes to planning laws will be forced through this year.

For those that have seen my poll on the right hand side of this website, the current trend is that people believe these new planning laws will cause more problems than it will benefit the industry. I personally believe that the changes to the planning laws could be beneficial to the industry, providing that the surrounding neighbours get their equal chance to voice any concerns they MAY have. For whatever reason a lot of us have just assumed that all neighbours will potentially have a problem. There is also the scenario that some neighbours won’t object and projects can go ahead without hold up.

Still, as this whole thing develops, I shall make sure that anything important is posted here. While you’re here, click on the poll on the right to add your opinion!