Why Pride in Place is so important

At a time when business is experiencing an acute shortage of good job applicants, Pride in Place-one of Michael Gove’s key Levelling Up promises- is so important.

Gloucestershire must be developed as a magnet for young people and for their families to stay in the county and help our economic growth.

That will not happen unless we pull together to develop Michael Gove’s Pride of Place culture—for people to be proud to live in their local areas here and become part of those communities.

“Nobody wants Anytown on their doorstep”, said one of Gloucestershire’s council leaders who has been a leading light in planning for the county.

He is right.

It’s good to see Mr Gove talking up Poundbury in Dorset as an exemplar.

It was first dreamt up by Prince Charles as an answer to what he perceived were a string of poor quality housing developments being built across Britain.

Planning, of course, is fiendishly complicated and it has often not been helped by government’s stop go policies.

Here in Gloucestershire, the former Joint Core Strategy took nine years to deliver, but probably five years of that time was down to government.

One of the issues is that government tends not to give control of planning to local authorities.

Planning doesn’t just mean houses—it’s about jobs and infrastructure for the future too so it’s so important for business.

And planning is at the very heart of the challenge with a clear focus of building homes that are beautiful.

Not my word-beautiful- but Mr Gove’s.

It’s one of his five guiding principles as part of the new Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

Those are Beauty, Infrastructure, Democratic control, Environmental enhancement and Neighbourhood protection.

I also welcome Michael Gove’s plans for improved compulsory purchase powers.

If local authorities can take control of some of this land it becomes less of a commercial free for all.

“I will also ensure democratic control over new development. We’ll take on developers who landbank, who secure planning permissions but don’t build those homes because they are gaming both the land market and the planning system”, says Mr Gove.

Business must ensure our councils are providing the homes opportunities to allow them to grow.