The Chancellor has announced several planning reforms as part of his Autumn Statement in an attempt to overhaul existing shortcomings of the system. This includes a number of encouraging pledges, but whilst it is always positive to see planning on the national agenda, the Statement raises more questions than answers in our view.
The Government outlined its plans to introduce a new “premium” planning service in England for major business applications, with guaranteed quicker decision dates and an automatic fee refund where these are not met. Local authorities will be similarly encouraged to meet this increased response time with the ability to recover the full cost of assessing the application should the target decision date be met.
The majority of industry stakeholders agree that increased funding for Local Authorities is a crucial component of enhancing the planning service and expediating the determination of applications (planning departments have suffered a 43% reduction in budgets since 2010). It is unclear from where this funding will arise or how this will genuinely help decisions to be issued in a timely manner.
The reality of this increased pressure on local authorities is likely to manifest itself in lengthy validation periods and an increase in the number of planning appeals, with Local Authorities potentially incentivised to refuse rather than address concerns/issues during the determination period.
Following the Government’s defeat in the House of Lords in September on the proposed scrapping of restrictive legislation on Nitrate Nutrient Neutrality (despite new-build development contributing less than 5% of the total phosphates and nitrates in our rivers), the Government announced £110 million will be made available to support Local Authorities deliver nutrient offsetting schemes to help unlock the 40,000 homes currently held in abeyance over the next five years.
Finally, the Government announced its intention to consult on a new permitted development right for the sub-division of a single house into two flats, subject to the external appearance of the dwelling remaining satisfactory.
Whilst permitted development rights can be effective at delivering high quality homes en masse, this right in particular could have a significant impact on the quantity of family homes which most cities and urban areas have an identified requirement for and restrictive planning policies to retain. An obvious solution to this issue would be a condition requiring proposals to retain a smaller family sized dwelling (3 bed/4 person) within the mix of units.
Whilst a number of these provisions are commendable, there is still no sign of a long-term planning skills strategy to enable local authority planners to make more informed, quicker decisions on ever-increasingly complex applications.
