13/11/2011 The Politics Show East

The Politics Show in the East... Businesses are hoping for an end to

the crisis in Europe. How localism sits with changes to planning that

could mean rural towns and villages being forced to accept new

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1876 seconds

Welcome to The Politics Show in the East. Coming up... Localism is the

second biggest government priority after deficit-reduction but the

policy is criticised for being elastic, leading to inconsistent

and incoherent approaches. How does it say it would be plans to reform

planning laws? What we have to be sensible about is to ask, is there

First, David Cameron says the moment of truth for Europe is fast

approaching. The impact of the European crisis could pull the

European Union apart and create a two-tier Europe in the future of.

It is being watched with frustration and dread by European

MPs in Brussels. We do one third more trade with Europe than the

rest on average. What could being a spectator in the future mean for

The crisis over Europe does not just involve banks and politicians.

It is being watched by businesses. 60 % of the region's Import and

Export come from the European Union. This company in Great Yarmouth does

a lot of trade with Europe. It has got branches in France and Spain.

Europe is very important to us. A stable you resent his key. We must

have strong European partners. -- a In Brussels at the moment, we have

got a sense that Europe is at a crossroads. Nobody is sure what

will happen next but some are not surprised at what is happening.

did not take any pleasure in saying I told you so but I do, to a degree

but I do not take pleasure in what is happening in Greece. The problem

is confined to the Eurozone. But if it is going badly wrong, what about

the political project? That will go the same way. It has caught up with

what the rest of us have known for a very long time. We have got

profound problems with the whole project. People that believe in the

project are also very worried. They say this crisis is an opportunity.

The danger of disintegration is acute. We have got to do all we can

to salvage the European currency. I think that requires the deepening

of political integration. Chancellor was urging greater

integration, but not involving Britain. Because we are not in the

currency, we have got limited insolence. Some people think that

is part of a growing trend. image we have got in Europe is not

good. We are experiencing a nationalistic trend. There is a

feeling among some that Britain is becoming a spectator in European

affairs. When at the British Prime Minister is told to shut up by the

French President, it is indicative of the fact that harping on with

Euro-sceptic concerns is profoundly counter-productive and David

Cameron must learn. What is wrong with criticising what is wrong with

Europe? If you do so from the point of view of the British

Conservatives, which is saying that you do not want to be part of the

club, it is not surprising that people do not want to lessened.

Conservatives want to be part of the club but it has to be on our

terms. One of the concerns many of us have at the moment is what will

happen to countries not in the currency? What will be the

relationship? That is something we need to pay much attention to.

Great Yarmouth, they want to be a big player in Europe. They fear

constantly attacking the Union will not be good. We need European

clients. We need to work with them. If we are constantly bickering and

putting them down, that is not going to be good. The European

Parliament has just opened this centre in Brussels. Nobody is

certain whether the current crisis will make people more or less in

favour of the European project. But everybody is agreed that like all

not be the same again. -- life will We will look at the cases for and

against. Is the European currency leads on without breaking up, that

will sap market confidence, surely? I think this is the greatest

existential -- existential crisis ever. Perhaps they knew this was

coming down the line. Germany has to face up to the fact that

ultimately it is going to have to pay to keep his club together. But

it is perfectly legitimate for Germany to say that these are the

terms and the conditions that other countries have to follow in return

for support. It looks like Greece and Italy are putting governments

in plays that are supported by their MPs to put in place the

various reforms that are necessary to. I will go out on a limb and go

against the line that I think Greece is going to be a member of

the Eurozone, as is it too late. The alternative is too terrible to

contemplate. -- Italy. Are you anticipating a break up? A split

between the sock and and competitive and northern European

economies -- between the competitive Northern European

economies and the South? France and Germany will always have a strong

currency. I think there will be a fudge in Europe. It will limp along

in some form. Greece might disorderly default. We might limp

on for a while. But we must be clear, thank goodness we were not

in the currency. We must get rid of this stupid idea that businesses in

this region have to be part of this club to export to the Continent.

People are saying if we are not in the Europe, we cannot export and

that is rubbish. -- the euro. There are other markets. A share, India,

China and Latin America. -- a share. -- the Asian market. 60 % of people

here rely on trade in Europe. What do you think about what has been

said? The fact is that Europe, not just in the east but in the United

Kingdom is by far our biggest export destination. We export 4% of

goods to China and one % to India. And we have to do better. We export

more than 50 % to the European Union. We saw that in the package.

Business leaders are concerned in this region, in the east, about

their relationship with the European Union. It is pretty

obvious stuff. The three political parties and the vast majority of

business leaders support our membership of the European Union

because it is vastly in our economic interest. That is

something that these new debates are quite dangerous for asked.

are working on a special committee. What about the exposure of our

banks in the UK and in the east to European debt? We were prudent

about not piling into Greek government bonds. But if there is a

big melt down in the Eurozone, unfortunately, that will affect the

British banking system and the British economy. We must accept the

mistakes of the Eurozone ministers. I think they were weak and

incompetent. We will inevitably suffer. We were told by businesses

endlessly that unless we join the euro, British business will lose

out. Because our export markets in Europe could be plunging, because I

think these economies will be pretty flat in the next few years,

countries in the region will have to look beyond Europe. How do you

think this has been handled so far? Some people are not happy with how

it has been dealt with. What does the uncertainty mean for business?

All across Europe, we have had a pretty severe failure of political

leadership. That is not something we can get away from. Some people

have said we understand what needs to be done but we do not understand

how to get elected again once we do it. This crisis is more important

than that. The point about global export is that global demand

everywhere is flat. We have to look to the reality of the present and

make certain that is sustained. Localism against planning. This

week the localism Bill past Ready final parliamentary stages and will

become law next week. It is about a shift in power away from

Westminster towards local people. But is that working against the

Government's reform are planning laws? Opponents say it is the

greatest threat to the countryside for generations. What does localism

mean in practice? The Government wants more directly elected local

officials and for communities to have the right to buy buildings and

businesses that are vital to local light like pubs and shops. Perhaps

the biggest change will be in planning. The Government wants to

abolish regional strategists and had regional neighbour had plans

instead. For local authorities are taking part in a pilot scheme. One

is in Norfolk. This is the town of Aylsham on market day. 6,000 people

live here and it is a thriving community. We have got more than

200 clubs and societies. It localism is going to work anywhere,

it should work here. Be people I spoke to were deeply cynical.

do not do anything, the Government. It is no good. The Government wants

to devolve more power to local communities. Of course it does. But

they do not want to do it themselves! Many words but a garden

full of weeds. You think they do not want to do it themselves.

cannot. That is the truth. They push it to one side and let

somebody else make a mess of it. Aylsham has changed enormously over

the years. But they are not afraid of change, far from it. Eileen is

the chair of the town council and is excited about the prospect of

having more say in the wake Aylsham is run but she has concerns. We are

up for the extra responsibility. But we have got to be sensible and

ask, is there money coming with it? That is important. I would hope

that bypass taking responsibility, it would be less of a cost to the

council but we cannot do it for free. In Aylsham, the Football Club

has played a big part in local life. We have got 10 pitches and the club

house and the pavilion. The club is running 17 teams from under the age

of nine and up but it struggles to find pitches and the club plans to

build a new facility would 10 pitches on the edge of town, if the

scheme gets approval. 250 houses will also be built. As far as local

as it is concerned, what do you think? This is localism. I have

seen it on television and it is about local people making things

happen. Not just talking about it but doing it for the community.

That is what it is for me. This woman lives close to the proposed

new development. She is sympathetic to the good ball club's ambitions

but cannot work out why it must be so big. -- football. It is very

limited. I am very aware of that. This is a massive development on

the edge of town, outside the town and it will have an impact. What

will localism mean for the planning process? The Government wants to

replace regional planning with neighbourhood planning. But that

does not been people will find it easier to block developments they

did not like. The right to say it now does not exist in this planning.

It is the right to get to a situation where you can get

development in the area in the way the Community wants to see it. If

they want one place to but instead of another, that is their

opportunity. -- developed instead of another. They want to devolve

power to create communities. Some communities like Aylesham have

already got a fair amount of self- governing but how many people want

to get involved in decision-making, volunteering and running local

services over and above what happens now? It is open to question.

We are joined by the chairman of the campaign to protect rural

England in Cambridgeshire. I will start with you, Michael. Your

organisation is in a babel of neighbour that planning but how

effective will it be if we have got a presumption in favour of

development? We are concerned that the Government framework left

certain key areas open to question. We are very nervous that they will

actually allowed development to take place where people do not want

it. We have got tension here, I think between what the Government

is aiming to do and what the proposals will deliver. When David

Cameron introduced the idea of localism it was about people

getting more community control. But even the idea of the decor

referendum is being watered down. With his presumption in favour of

development, local views could be overlooked the. That is why I

disagree with government policy. To take an example, in a village near

Bury St Edmunds, a decision by the council could backbite hundred

houses next to that village and the local people will not have a vote

to reject it and even if they do reject it they do not have power to

stop the 500 houses. The only power they have got is to say exactly

where the homes should go. But it he did not want by public houses,

local villages will not have the power to reject the proposal. They

should have the power to do that. The Government should think again

bus-stop some --. Some people are worried about a shortage of housing.

Objections like that are simply stopping necessary buildings.

is not correct. We are not totally against development. People have

got to find homes delivered. The problem of house building is more

down to the general economic situation and people not being able

to get mortgages and at the planning system. If we look at the

Government suggestions, at the moment, councils are required to

provide five years' worth of house land. The Government says that is

not enough and it ought to be sex. Adding one more year on 25 will not

solve the problem. -- six. -- on to the five. What next? We have got to

look at thinking again. The current regime is a development charter and

that has got to be chopped -- stopped. We have got a number of

framework problems. We want brownfield sites developed as a

priority above green field. There must be proper transitional