Pickles pledges new powers to tackle unauthorised Traveller pitches

From planningresource.co.uk

Communities secretary Eric Pickles has pledged to 'stop caravans in their tracks' with new instant 'stop notices' which would allow councils to issue unlimited fines for those who ignore planning rules.

Speaking this afternoon at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Pickles said that "drawn out cases like Dale Farm have brought the legal system into disrepute".

He said: "You know the story: in breach of planning law, Travellers move in over a bank holiday weekend and it takes years for councils to remove them."

Pickles said that such episodes "give the whole travelling community a bad name and fuels community tensions". He said that new powers for councils would "literally stop those caravans in their tracks".

"New instant stop notices will allow councils to issue unlimited fines for those who ignore planning rules and defy the law," the communities secretary said. "We will stand by those who play by the rules and use the full force of the law against those who break them."

Pickles also said that the government would protect the green belt. He said: "There’s been a lot of press speculation in recent weeks on the green belt.

"Protecting the character of the countryside is stamped deep into the heart of Conservatism.

"And I want to be absolutely clear – the green belt plays a vital role in stopping urban sprawl – and we will protect it."

Speaking earlier today, chancellor George Osborne said that the government would be "relentless activists, building infrastructure, roads, power plants, and broadband". He added that the government would be "activists ... for cutting through delays and red tape and where was there more red tape than in our planning laws?"

Osborne also announced that the government would consult on a "generous" new tax regime for shale gas extraction.

He said: "An enterprise strategy means investing in renewable energy, and opening up the newly discovered shale gas reserves beneath our land.

"We are today consulting on a generous new tax regime for shale so that Britain is not left behind as gas prices tumble on the other side of the Atlantic."