• I TOTALLY agree with Cllr Danny Beales’s letter regarding the appalling government proposal to introduce a planning reforms bill, (Tories’ planning reforms are disastrous, June 3).

Long ago when it was first unveiled, I wrote to the authorities to protest at the injustice of it, as have many others.

What is so hypocritical, and typical, of the Tory party is that their Camden leader Cllr Oliver Cooper is quoted elsewhere as saying the proposed O2 Centre planned development is too dense and criticised the “stacking up thousands of tiny flats in skyscrapers”; and has the gall to say the Town Hall should “make sure a new planning policy document isn’t tantamount to giving planning permission” for the development.

Yet as Cllr Beales points out when they were invited to join a cross-party motion condemning the proposed bill, they refused to support it.

With the new proposals any such policy document would be toothless. That clearly shows the sort of people they are, the developers’ friends as we knew anyway.

If Cllr Cooper really means what he says he and his fellow Tories should be lobbying the government hard against this awful bill, which many of them are against anyway, worrying about the potential effect on all the green spaces in the home counties and shires which could be overrun.

There is nothing in the bill to stop developers and, in fact, it was conceived to encourage them. Tory MPs should be as worried as everyone else, their seats could be at risk.

Residents and councillors have been frustrated and angered when a planning committee refusal of an application is overruled on appeal by either the Planning Inspectorate or government minister.

See the Swiss College development, and look what a disaster that is turning out to be.

Similarly despite total opposition by the City, the Heath & Hampstead Society and others to the Jack Straw’s housing development the inspector has approved it.

Ironically the O2 developers Landsec are reported as being “delighted with the feedback received so far”; bearing in mind most of it is heavily critical, one wonders how much notice they will take of it, especially in regard to social housing.

And all this before the bill is discussed or (heaven forbid) passed into law.

JOHN STRATTON
Thurlow Road, NW3