2011 planning round up

by Philip Moren BA(Hons) MRTPI
Planning Consultant

It has been another eventful year for the planning system with the government pushing ahead with its reforms in England, which have featured prominently in several national newspapers. So much so, that in response to strong criticism from many of its own ranks, the National Trust and the Daily Telegraph - which has been running a vigorous Hands Off Our Land campaign - the government has been forced on the back foot. In September the government published a 'myth-buster' on its controversial draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which followed closely on the heels of the RTPI's own planning myths campaign - The Truth About Planning.

Amidst this bitter war of words and mounting pressure, the government seems likely to water down or at least clarify its plans to shake up the system. With the Localism Act now in place, this brief article looks at the act's key points of interest for practitioners, as well as at the draft NPPF and the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, which signalled that there are even more changes in the pipeline.

Localism Act

After a bumpy ride, the Localism Act finally made it onto the statute book in November. Some of its provisions have already taken effect, while the rest are expected to come into force by April 2012. The overall intention is to make the planning system clearer, more democratic and more effective. Particular note should be made of the following:

• Regional strategies, which include housing targets for different areas set by central government are now formally abolished (they had already been revoked). Instead, local communities will have the power to determine the amount of housing that is proposed, provided it is in line with the soon-to-be-finalised NPPF. In view of the fact that many planning authorities have already responded to this proposal by significantly reducing their local housing targets, there is widespread concern that this will result in fewer homes being built. Allied to the abolition of regional strategies is a new duty for local authorities and other public bodies to cooperate with each other on strategic planning issues
• Local communities are empowered to draw up a neighbourhood plan to indicate where new houses, businesses and shops should go, and what they should look like. They can also prepare neighbourhood development orders setting out the types of development that would be allowed within their area, without the need for planning permission. However, both the plans and the orders must comply with relevant legal requirements and the local planning authority's core strategy or, where this is absent, with national planning policy. Local people will be able to vote on these in a referendum and, so long as they are approved by a majority of those who vote, the local authority is obliged to bring them into force. These initiatives provide an opportunity for architects to get involved, since the legislation provides that neighbourhood forums must represent "different sections of the community", such as local businesses
• Under the Community Right to Build, groups of people will be able to bring forward development proposals, which providing they meet minimum criteria and can demonstrate local support through a referendum, will be able to go ahead without the need for a conventional planning permission. The benefits of the development, such as new affordable housing or profits made from letting the homes, will stay within the community
• Before submitting an application for a major development, prospective developers will need to consult with local communities, and any specified persons, so that they may collaborate or comment. The prospective developer must "have regard" to any pre-application advice given by the local authority, as well as to any comments or responses generated by the consultation exercise, when deciding whether to make any changes to their emerging proposals. Further provisions will be made detailing how the requisite consultation should be undertaken in practice. In order for their application to be validated, prospective developers will need to submit an account of the consultation undertaken
• Enforcement provisions will be strengthened to allow local authorities to tackle abuses of the planning system, such as deliberately concealing new developments. Many lawyers have expressed particular concern over the possible effect of these new provisions
• Changes are made to the community infrastructure levy regime to make it more flexible and to ensure that some of the money raised from the levy goes directly to the neighbourhoods where development takes place
• Inspectors' reports, following their examination of emerging development plan documents, will no longer be binding on local authorities
• The Infrastructure Planning Commission is abolished, with jurisdiction for making decisions on nationally significant infrastructure projects being restored to government ministers
• The act makes it clear that local authorities are able to take local finance considerations into account when determining a planning application, for example the extent to which an area would benefit from monies from the New Homes Bonus or from developers' contributions
• The rules on predetermination are relaxed, meaning that it will be easier to engage with councillors before they vote on a planning application.

Draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

The original intention behind producing a NPPF was to condense over 1,000 pages of national planning policy in 47 documents into a single, easy to understand document. However, in preparing the draft NPPF the government has gone beyond this, probably in response to accusations that the originally proposed Localism Bill was little more than NIMBY's charter. So the draft framework appears to be heavily weighted in favour of development and economic growth. In contrast to what is now the Localism Act, it is perceived by many to be a developers' charter. How the two can be reconciled in practice will be an interesting challenge.

Meanwhile, the draft NPPF builds on the government's Plan for Growth agenda and introduces a presumption in favour of 'sustainable development'. Unfortunately, the document does not define what is meant by this term, so it is open to a variety of interpretations, depending on circumstances. However, decision makers at every level are told to assume that the default answer to development proposals is 'yes', except where this would compromise the key sustainable development principles set out in the framework. Planning authorities are expected to approve development proposals that accord with statutory plans without delay, and grant permission where the plan is absent, silent, indeterminate or where relevant policies are out of date. The draft adds that the government is committed to ensuring that the planning system does everything it can to support sustainable economic growth.

Apart from these exhortations, and its alarming brevity in some places, the bulk of the draft NPPF is uncontentious, largely restating existing planning policy. One notable exception is the omission of the current national target on how much housing should be built on previously developed land. If maintained, this will make it easier to develop greenfield sites. Another is a new policy that allows Green Belt land that has been built on in the past to be developed in certain circumstances.

The government has said that it will publish the final document early next year.

Chancellor's Autumn Statement

Not for the first time, the government used a statement by the chancellor to announce further planning reforms - such is its belief that planning red tape is holding back economic growth. These proposed changes, which were published alongside the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 outlining the government's priorities for major infrastructure projects across the country, include the following:

• An obligation on the key consenting and advisory agencies to promote sustainable development as soon as the NPPF is adopted
• The introduction of a thirteen-week maximum time limit for the majority of non-planning consents, including those relating to listed buildings and demolition within conservation areas
• Proposals for a more effective means by which, in the case of a planning appeal, developers can obtain an award of costs where a statutory consultee has behaved unreasonably. These measures should come in during the summer of 2012. Statutory consultees will also be expected to respond swiftly to applications
• A review of the planning appeals process to make it faster and more transparent, improve consistency and increase certainty of decision timescales - with reforms expected to be implemented in summer 2012
• More flexibility for the new nationally significant infrastructure project planning process, particularly during the pre-application phase
• A review of the UK habitats regulations to ensure that compliance with European directives does not result in unnecessary development costs and delays
• Consultation on a proposal to allow the reconsideration of planning obligations agreed prior to April 2010 where development has stalled
• Consultation on plans to allow existing agricultural buildings to be used for other business purposes such as for office, leisure and retail purposes
• New permitted development rights for non-domestic microgeneration development.

Concluding remarks

Recent attempts by the government of the day to simplify and speed up the planning process have failed spectacularly, and achieved the exact opposite. It remains to be seen whether the latest round of reforms will succeed and help to deliver the economic prosperity the government is pinning its hopes on. And indeed, whether in so doing, the environmental baby is thrown out with the bath water...

Philip Moren, BA(Hons) MRTPI, is a Planning Consultant and regular writer on planning matters. He is co-author of the RIBA Good Practice Guide: Negotiating the Planning Maze. The views expressed in this article are entirely his own.

Related NBS information:

Articles:

• Design and the planning process
• Planning and microgeneration technologies
• Sustainability and the planning process
• In a pickle over planning reform

December 2011

 

BackToTop