The measures at a glance

The legislation, stress ministers, is designed to pave the way for a more flexible and responsive planning system for England and Wales (as well as introducing a new set of acronyms!).

In a nutshell the Act:

• introduces what the government believes is a simpler and more flexible plan making system at regional and local level;
• increases the effectiveness and quality of community involvement at regional and local level and enables the provision of financial assistance to Planning Aid;
• improves the development control process by introducing powers for standard application forms and new provisions which change the duration of planning permissions and consents as well as allowing local planning authorities (LPAs) to bring in local permitted development rights via so-called local development orders.;
• speeds up the handling of major infrastructure projects (i.e. airports, power stations, major new energy transmission networks) by allowing the different elements of inquiries to be heard concurrently rather than consecutively;
• removes the crown’s immunity from planning processes; and
• makes the compulsory purchase regime simpler, fairer and quicker to support policies on investment in major infrastructure and on regeneration.