The Government recently announced a huge shake up of England’s planning laws. Proposed legislation is intended to reduce and simplify planning laws, which it claims are unwieldy and do not encourage development.
The National Planning Policy Framework will cut 1,000 pages of regulations down to 50 and is intended to speed up the planning system and promote growth. The Department for Communities and Local Government says the current system is overloaded with documentation, and ministers and developers warn that the current process for approving new development is too slow and is holding back growth. The Government says that planning delays cost £3 billion a year.
The draft legislation includes:
- Green Belt, National Parks and Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to be protected
- Local communities will be able to designate ‘green space’ that is important to local life
- Greater scope for communities to have a say in what development goes ahead
- Councils must meet the full housing demand ahead of time
- ‘Presumption in favour of sustainable development’ will aim to remove barriers in planning applications
It is this last point which has proved to be controversial. Critics have said that it is too vague and should be better defined in order to prevent harm being caused to communities and the environment, and that it amounts to a ‘developer’s charter’. Planning Minister Greg Clark said that ‘sustainable development means ensuring that better lives for ourselves doesn’t mean worse lives for future generations’ and that ‘development means growth’.
Planning Solicitor, David Fairbairn says "Developers and business lobbies have welcomed the proposals and there is support from homelessness charities and social housing providers who hope it will ease the current housing crisis. The National Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and Friends of the Earth are campaigning for a rethink of the proposals."
For a free initial meeting please call 01202 499255 and David or a member of his team will be happy to discuss any questions you may have.