MPs to bypass local planners

Parliament will in future give planning approval for major road building, rail or airport schemes, the Government announced today as it removed the power from local authorities.

In an effort to speed up the planning process MPs rather than local officials will be asked to scrutinise major schemes.

Housing and Planning Minister Lord Falconer, speaking to the CBI, described the present system as "obscure, slow and inconsistent" and 50 years out of date.

He told businessmen it was costing time and money because it took so long to get permission on small developments, and larger developments took years to process.

But the move will be opposed by environmental groups and local bodies who will see it as an erosion of accountability.

There is also a suspicion that MPs may rubber-stamp plans with government approval without realising the impact on the local area.

The move follows the inquiry into Heathrow's Terminal Five which took four years to complete. A decision is expected soon from Transport Secretary Stephen Byers.

The smaller developments would still be dealt with by the local authority but Lord Falconer said today that he would like these also to be speeded up.