The New Planning Legislation
The new Planning Bill has now been passed and has taken effect from September 2004, with all reforms planned to be in place within the next three years.
The Act is the most significant change since the modern planning system was created by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. It was felt that the current planning system did not achieve its objectives and was outdated, inflexible, confusing, lengthy and negative.
Two of the main issues were:
- The multi-layered structure of plans – national, regional, county and local plans were seen as confusing and inconsistent
- The speed of decision making and lack of predictability on planning applications
The Reforms
At the heart of the new reforms is John Prescott’s Sustainable Communities Plan, which sets out a long-term plan of action for delivery of regional sustainable communities. This is supported a two tier system – with Regional Spatial Strategies at regional level and Local Development Frameworks at local level.
Regional Spatial Strategies
Regional Planning Guidance was seen as long, insufficiently strategic or defending local interests too strongly – some avoiding difficult decisions (i.e. accommodating the need for new housing or the location of growth areas).
Regional Spatial Strategies are legally binding documents, replacing Regional Planning Guidance and Structure Plans, formulated by an elected (where appropriate) or non-elected Regional Planning Body for the region. The RSS must have regard to national policy and policy of adjoining regions.
These Regional Spatial Strategies will increase the role of the regions in planning and be more influential and more focused than previous guidance, as they will have legal status. Some regard this as a way of making the decision making process more centralised and less accountable / democratic.
Local Development Schemes/ Frameworks
Local plans were seen as over complex, inconsistent with policies at regional and national level, too long, slow and too expensive to prepare. The new reforms will do away with Structure Plans and Local Plans and Local Authorities will instead be asked to prepare Local Development Frameworks comprising a series of Local Development Documents which set out the Local Authority’s policies relating to development and use of land in their area.
Documents will include:
- Local Strategic Policy - less detailed policy including maps of major planning designations
- Action Plans – detailed descriptions on the way specific areas will develop
The Local Development Scheme will be revised annually and replaced every three years. The Local Development Documents can be amended if and when necessary without having to revise a whole Local Plan which can be costly and take time. The whole system will be more flexible and responsive and easier to change i.e. if there is a change in economic conditions.
Statement of Community Involvement
Local Planning Authorities must prepare a Statement of Community Involvement, forming part of the Local Development Scheme. This sets out how the Local Authority intends to involve public, private and community organisations in the preparation of the Local Development Documents. It is separate from national or regional policy. The public will become more involved in the planning agenda.
Planning applications
A number of changes will be put in place to increase the speed by which local authorities deal with planning applications and make the process more transparent and more straightforward to follow. This will result in planning becoming a quicker process and more predictable.
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Nov 2004