Yesterday it was a case of rain, rain go away – but it didn’t. So trooped off to the Friends of the Earth stall in front of Wood Green library to show solidarity against the swingeing powers of the proposed new Planning Bill. Cutting to the chase – decisions about big developments will be taken away from local decision making and we local people won’t even have a voice. Hence Quentin Givens being blind-folded and gagged in the photo.

This is a really serious issue and as the Bill goes through its Parliamentary processes I will certainly be representing those people and groups locally who rightly fear what the outcome will be in terms of unwanted, unnecessary and badly planned developments.

Planning law already favours the developer – and with the developer being able to appeal against a refusal. This Bill brings forward proposals that simply put more and more nails in our local coffin – and mean that we will have no means to prevent something being built that local people don’t want. Action stations!