Plans for Barnet LBC to allow people to pay to jump the planning queue have been criticised by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
The move has seen the authority dubbed ‘easyCouncil’, after the low-cost airline easyJet which lets passengers pay for priority boarding.
But the RTPI said the move risked creating a ‘two-tier’ planning system.
Matt Thomson, head of policy, said: ‘These proposals risk creating a system where wealthy developers appear to receive preferential treatment.’
The move is part of the council’s Future Shape programme, which also aims to reduce the amount of waste produced by residents.
The council is currently looking at offering financial rebates to households who reduced waste. Council leader, Mike Freer, told Surveyor: ‘If we take a half-size wheelie bin and there is no side waste and increased recycling from that household, then we will give the householder, say, £100 back from their council tax.’
Some reports suggest that the model could be part of wider Conservative plans following the next general election, due to mounting pressure on public sector spending, but David Cameron’s office distanced the Tory leader from the move. ‘This is not seen as a blueprint. Barnet has gone its way and that’s fine, but there is no wider significance as far as Mr Cameron is concerned,’ said a spokesman.
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