Government consults on key development control changes

The government has issued proposals for secondary legislation on some of the development control provisions of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 covering outline planning permission, the new provision for so-called local development orders (LDOs), reserved matters and design and access statements.

The provisions, discussed in an 85-page paper, are now out for consultation for 14 weeks and ministers hope to bring in the new measures in the autumn.

Under the LDO provisions local authorities will be able to grant permission for whatever type of development specified in the order without requiring a planning application. The expectation is that LDOs could prove a useful tool for local authorities seeking to deliver high-quality housing developments more quickly.

The paper has also specified the level of information that applications for outline planning permission must provide. These include information on use, quantum of development, indicative layout, scale parameters and indicative access points.

In the case of reserved matters the proposed amendments require information on layout and scale. On the question of design and access statements the government has now proposed that one statement should cover both.

In respect of determining major planning applications, the intention is to change the outdated provision in the GDPO that allows applicants to appeal after only eight weeks.

Speaking in Parliament (Hansard 22 March column 55WS), planning minister Keith Hill called this "unreasonable" and "out of kilter with government targets of 13 weeks".

The minister also told MPs that the paper clarified the government’s idea of a "valid application".

He explained: "We want to specify in secondary legislation that a planning application is valid only when it contains all the information required by local authorities and when accompanied by the correct fee."

Hill added: "This measure would cut down on the number of applications that go to the Planning Inspectorate on appeal without ever having been accepted as valid by a local authority and would generally increase the accessibility and transparency of the planning application process."

The government has also made it plain in the consultation paper that it wants to use the opportunity of the secondary legislation to establish the exact period of determination: from the first full day after a valid planning application has been received until the day on which a decision notice is dispatched.

View the consultation document here (PDF 902 Kb).

Roger Milne

24th March 2005