THE Isle of Wight’s MP Andrew Turner has called for planning decisions to be speeded up.
Mr Turner says decisions on planning applications must be made more quickly but not at the expense of local people having their say.
He said not only should decisions to allow development be quicker but so should refusals.
Presently, developers can submit inappropriate applications that can be time consuming, affecting people’s lives and affecting property prices or their ability to sell, he said.
Mr Turner would also like to see an end to applications being submitted after a similar plan has been turned down. He called for a specified period of time before another application for the same type of development was submitted.
"That would stop speculators putting in applications to see if they can get away with over-development of sites and cut down the amount of such applications. It would also free up the planning system," said Mr Turner.
His comments are a response to the announcement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, on Monday, who said the government would introduce legislation to speed up planning decisions. This would enable the government to use its access to low interest rates to help underwrite construction projects.
Mr Turner said he would welcome comments from Islanders.