Nimby protesters offered tax 'bribes'

Householders will be offered "economic incentives" to drop their opposition to major developments including wind farms, nuclear plants and housing estates, the Chancellor said.

George Osborne told business leaders meeting in London that the incentives were part of an overhaul of planning rules designed to make it easier to win approval for controversial schemes.

The abolition of the Infrastructure Planning Commission is intended to return planning powers from a quango to local people. But the move worries developers because it increases the chances of success for so-called "not in my backyard" objectors, known as Nimbys. By offering them what critics will describe as bribes, the Chancellor hopes to overcome opposition to larger developments.