Planning does need to change

Tuesday 29th April 2008, 2:29PM BST.

THE planning system must be drastically changed, says the man at the helm, Environment minister David De Lisle.

But he would not like to see a breakaway planning function, as recommended by an independent report. Since the release of his report, critics have been backing consultant Chris Shepley’s calls to create a separate department with its own minister.

Without the more efficient arrangement recommended in the inquiry document – commissioned by the Policy Council – some fear the island’s economy could be at stake. Although Deputy De Lisle (pictured), who hopes to keep the ministry in the next House, does not want to see changes go that far, he welcomes some recommendations.

The current system is based on the 1966 law, which predates the finance industry. He described the calls for a breakaway department as ‘very sensitive’.