Opinion: 'Be careful what you wish for over Investment Zone plan'

That’s the gist of one of Aesop’s fables and should be a cautionary tale for the good people of Cheshire West and Cheshire.

I mention this after reading that Labour-led CWAC is one of 38 local authorities currently in negotiation with Liz Truss’s ‘new’ Tory government about setting up a so-called Investment Zone.

On the face of it, this should be a pretty good thing. In a nutshell, businesses in investment zones will receive big tax cuts and relaxed planning restrictions, says Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng.

Stamp duty will be abolished, employment taxes will be slashed, planning rules will be swept aside and companies will be able to completely write off investments in plant and machinery in the zones as part of the plans.

As it stands, CWAC is keen for this to go ahead with Ellesmere Port firmly in the frame. In fact, the council seems positively enthusiastic, saying: “Investment Zone status creates new opportunities to secure substantial additional funding to enable this transformation, creating new, high-quality skilled jobs.

"It would build on the positive collaborative work of local public and private sector partners to increase inward investment, improve local infrastructure, and strengthen the links with the local community.”

Cheshire West and Chester Council HQ (Image: Newsquest)

And council leader Louise Gittins added: “I see this as an opportunity to speed our transition to the low carbon economy, securing the investment we need to create more high-quality skilled jobs and support our ambitions for this area to benefit our communities for decades to come.”

That all sounds good, doesn’t it? But as ever, the devil is in the detail and detail is exactly what we are short of.

There is, however, one thing we can be sure of and that is many of the current protections provided by the planning consent process will simply be ditched, thrown away, binned.

Don’t believe me? Have a look at the government’s own words. This is from the government’s ‘Guidance on Investment Zones’ document: “For developments in the early stages of planning, and to encourage new development to come forward, there will be a new faster and more streamlined consent to grant planning permission.

"This consent will reduce many of the burdensome requirements which has made the planning of large sites slower and more complex than it should be, to enable developers to bring forward good quality development which responds to the market.

"In particular, we will: remove burdensome EU requirements which create paperwork and stall development but do not necessarily protect the environment; focus developer contributions on essential infrastructure requirements; reduce lengthy consultation with statutory bodies; and relax key national and local policy requirements.”

So cutting through the government spin, what this is like to mean is removing restrictions on building height limits and ditching requirements for affordable housing alongside developments, as well as other regulations such as environmental rules.

And the government’s stated aim is to reduce consultations.

Now I’m the first to concede that the planning process has the potential to be unnecessarily slow but built into that slowness are essential safeguards.

I have no problem with CWAC’s Ellesmere Port plan and I really hope it works out for everyone but this feels like the thin end of a deregulation wedge.

It’s Ellesmere Port today but it could be your back yard tomorrow. And if height restriction regulations are removed, don’t be surprised if your once picturesque view is replaced by giant towers.

And the investment zone scheme isn’t just about business and industry, it’s about housing as well.

As the government document states: [local authorities] should consider which sites will best drive a substantial contribution to the UK’s economic growth and a significant acceleration of delivery of additional housing.

So when that new housing estate springs up, you won’t really have much say about it once the government has got rid of those ‘burdensome regulations’ and ‘lengthy consultations’.

Oh, and don’t expect any of those new houses to be ‘affordable’ because that requirement will also be stripped out of the planning process as developer contributions focus on ‘essential infrastructure requirements’ instead.

As I said, be careful what you wish for.