MP lambasts developers

developers of seeking fast and easy profits.

"The law as it stands is wide open to abuse by devlopers. Local authorities are left to fight totally inappropriate detailed applications with one hand tied behind their back.

"There are developers in my neck of the woods who see planning law, committees and officials as challenging obstacle courses for them to circumnavigate using expensive lawyers to help them achieve their profitable objectives," Mrs Cryer says.

The Labour MP makes her comments in a letter to Nick Raynsford, the Minister for Housing and Planning at the Department of the Environment. In the letter she berates her own Government for its failure to re-think and rewrite planning laws which she claims are unfair to local authorities trying to prevent unwanted house building.

Since her election, Mrs Cryer has spoken about the shortcomings of planning law three times in Parliament and has sent numerous letters about concerns in her own constituency of Keighley and Ilkley. She says that planning laws leave local authorities unable to resist inappropriate planning applications such as the one for Manor Garth, Addingham.

She also informs the minister that there are 9,000 unoccupied houses in the Bradford District alone, questioning the assumption that any more new houses are needed.

Mrs Cryer says: "Please, for all our sakes, look at giving local authorities greater

protection from appeals and subsequent

litigation for massive costs by developers. Please enable them to make fair decisions making the public good their priority."

Mrs Cryer questions whether the Government's intended target of achieving 60 per cent of new build on brownfield site would ever be reached if developers were allowed to continue concentrating on green field sites where there were more opportunities to make a fast buck.

She also suggest that VAT rules should be changed on renovations and alterations to

provide a financial incentive to attract developers to brownfield sites.