Political opinion with Alison Griffiths MP: Planning decisions about our communities must stay local
In her weekly column for Sussex World, Alison Griffiths – MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton – argues that local councillors, not Whitehall, should decide where development happens in our towns and villages.
When planning applications come forward in our communities, residents deserve to know their voices will be heard.
In Bognor Regis, Littlehampton, and our surrounding villages, planning decisions determine where homes are built, whether roads can cope with extra traffic, if drainage systems can handle heavy rain, and how local services keep pace with growth.
In other words, planning is not abstract policy. It is about the character of our communities and the quality of life people have where they live.
That is why I believe strongly that planning decisions must remain rooted in local democracy.
Local councillors know their areas in a way that Whitehall never can. They understand the roads that already struggle at school drop-off time. They know which parts of a town flood after heavy rain. They hear directly from residents about the pressures on GP surgeries, school places, parking, and local services.
Those everyday realities matter when decisions are made about development.
Across our part of West Sussex, people are not opposed to new homes or sensible growth. What they want is development that is well planned, supported by infrastructure, and respectful of the character of the places they care about.
But when decisions feel imposed from afar, without proper regard to local conditions, confidence in the planning system quickly erodes.
Recently I submitted a detailed response to the Government’s consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework. While the consultation itself is technical, the principle behind my response is simple.
National planning policy should guide local decision-making, not override it.
Local plans exist for a reason. They are developed through consultation, evidence, and democratic accountability. They are the mechanism through which communities decide where growth should happen and what infrastructure must accompany it.
Weakening that local voice would be a serious mistake.
Planning works best when decisions are transparent, rooted in evidence, and accountable to the communities they affect.
That means ensuring development happens in the right places, with the roads, drainage, schools, health services, and community facilities needed to support it.
And that starts by trusting local communities, and the councillors they elect, to help shape the future of the places they call home.