Communities Secretary Hazel Blears recruits Entec to change renewable energy planning permissions for businesses

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has announced that environmental and planning consultancy Entec have been asked to redesign the planning rules for businesses wanting to utilise renewable energy.

The aim is to make it considerably easier for small businesses including pubs, shops and offices to install sustainable resource technologies, such as wind turbines and solar energy.

Under the current system, a planning application can take eight to sixteen weeks and cost around £1500, with no guarantee of approval. The Communities Secretary has turned to Entec to investigate how renewable energy equipment can be classified as ‘permitted developments’, which would enable changes with no specific planning permission required if there was clearly no impact on the local community or environment.

Blears said: “This Government is committed to bringing forward changes that will allow us to tackle the growing challenge we face in climate change.”

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