Street votes

Or under-employed?

This a ridiculous idea and can only cause trouble.
Is MG bonkers?

Dumb as dog s***. Who is he, anyway ?

What a stupid idea, how would that work in rural areas, I wonder! Would there be a distance, eg every houseowner within a 100 metres could vote? Honestly it is such a half baked idea.

Absolutely spot on M0nica.

Actually you can do quite a lot of work nowadays without needing planning permission Smileless, but a change of use to HMO is another matter. I didn’t think the extension (no pun intended) of General Development Rights was a good idea. Nor do I think any good will come from this daft idea. The existing system of allowing those who may be affected by a development proposal to comment on it works perfectly well. This will allow comments to be taken into account which under planning law have always been totally irrelevant.

All it needs is one nasty old B***er, or young one, for that matter, who would object to anything or object to get even for some perceived insult.

Our street is nearly a mile long, why should people living 100s of yards for me have any interest in any extension I build?

What we need is the planning departments to do their job properly.

Just down the road from us, extensive work is going on to turn a house into a 10 room HMO. The roof is being raised and large dormer windows installed, despite there being no planning application, and structural changes of this nature require planning permission.

So Michael Gove, instead of getting local residents to do the work of planning departments, get them to do the work they're being paid for.

MaizieD

I nearly said 'What is he on...?'

Anyone can put in objections to an application for planning permission right now, though they have to be on reasonable grounds. I can't see any reason for making such a ludicrous change; it's a recipe for ill feelings all round.

Someone who once lived near me objected to his next door neighbour’s extension plans. One of the reasons he gave was because the neighbour had a big white van ?

A completely ludicrous idea from Gove. First, the cost and effort of organising a vote for each house extension, etc. in a street will fall on burdened county or district local authorities and is a waste of resources. Second, how do you define the street and the voters (the whole street - a mile ,long, say - and is it to be all residents inc. temporary renters, children, etc.?). Third, it's an invitation to local strife and busibodies. And it will take longer than the present slow planning system. It is an attempt to look democratic and draw attention away from Johnson's failure to build enough houses.

Me too HPQ!

I do like Matt cartoons Urmonstongran

A ploy to make neighbours fight each other and take their eye off the government?
Certainly not a recipe for a happy neighbourhood.

? that doesn’t seem right, but I’ll go with it??

Lido

This is about as unlikely to happen as the Conservatives ever meeting their house building targets. It's another empty and idiotic pledge spun to distract from the fact that the government are not fulfilling their promises on house building especially of affordable homes.

No dates, no details, no indication of how the scheme will be administered. Typical Tory rubbish presented by Gove who appeared to think he was performing a comedy sketch.

Absolutely right.

All fur coat and no knickers.

This is about as unlikely to happen as the Conservatives ever meeting their house building targets. It's another empty and idiotic pledge spun to distract from the fact that the government are not fulfilling their promises on house building especially of affordable homes.

No dates, no details, no indication of how the scheme will be administered. Typical Tory rubbish presented by Gove who appeared to think he was performing a comedy sketch.

I nearly said 'What is he on...?'

Anyone can put in objections to an application for planning permission right now, though they have to be on reasonable grounds. I can't see any reason for making such a ludicrous change; it's a recipe for ill feelings all round.

Today’s Matt in the Telegraph made me laugh this morning!

Divisive and ridiculous.

Imagine putting in a planning application then finding out all your neighbours are against it. A recipe for disaster.

He needs to cut down in the coke.

Absolutely ridiculous

As you say, Varian, this sounds like a prescription for disaster and a complete break-down in neighbourhood harmony!