The Planning Reform Working Paper (the "Paper"), published in early December 2024, explores reforms to planning committees with a particular focus on delegation.
In the Paper, the Government acknowledges that the planning system requires urgent reform to Get Britain Building and successfully deliver the 1.5 million homes promised by July 2028. Increased housing delivery should combat the housing shortage and boost the economy.
Reforms to Planning Committees ("Committee") are primarily required since the number and type of applications referred to Committee vary widely between local planning authorities and the decisions can be unpredictable. The Paper hopes to meet housing delivery targets by standardising the operation of planning committees to give greater certainty to applicants regarding the application outcome.
The Paper seeks public opinion on a National Scheme of Delegation ("Scheme") which would be implemented via the Planning and Infrastructure Bill ("Bill"). The Bill is expected to be published on 11 March 2025 alongside a widely anticipated formal government consultation.
On 20 February, the Local Government Association ("LGA") responded to the Paper. The LGA expressed concern that legislating delegation may be redundant given that delegation rates have remained consistently high for numerous years citing the fact that 96% of decisions were delegated and made by planning officers in Q2 of 2024.
Options for National Scheme of Delegation
The Scheme aims to increase the number of applications determined by planning officers and limit the number of applications referred to Committee. Under the Scheme, planning applications would automatically be delegated to planning officers unless the application meets one of the following criteria making it eligible for referral to Committee:
Does not comply with the local development plan ("Option 1")
Local Authorities will have already considered and approved their local development plans so should be confident that planning officers can make decisions on applications which are compliant with the plan.
Meets specific exceptions ("Option 2")
The Paper suggests that specific exceptions would be decided by Government and may include: conflicts of interest between the planning officer and the applicant or non-compliance with the development plan where the planning officer still recommends it for approval. However, this is not a definitive list.
Falls under the prescriptive list of exceptions ("Option 3")
The Paper states that the Scheme would set out a prescriptive list to be determined by committees. This list may include some of the following: conflicts of interest (like Option 2), where the application is complex as it is situated in Green Belt, the application is for a major development or there have been a specific number of objections.
Challenges
The Scheme presents several challenges which the Government should address before formally selecting a route to implement any new scheme of delegation.
Option 1
This model would likely require local plans to be updated regularly to ensure they could be relied on by planning officers for determining application outcomes. The LGA has also expressed concern regarding compliance with neighbourhood plans, and whether departures of an application from those plans would be sufficient to bring an application to Committee, even if it complied with the local plan.
Option 2
Applications which meet the specific exceptions criteria would be determined by Committee. If a high volume of applications are referred this model would not prove viable. The specific exceptions should be carefully selected and narrow enough to ensure only a limited number of applications require Committee review.
This option could be perceived as undemocratic since control over the planning process is taken from local authorities and given to central Government. The LGA agrees that this may reduce local control and public involvement. There are concerns that commercial interests may dominate planning decisions, at the expense of local communities, and undermine fair representation. However, in the interests of boosting the economy and resolving the housing crisis this may be necessary.
Option 3
This Option may prove too prescriptive. Whilst it would provide greater certainty, it would be challenging to apply at a national scale as the schemes that are of local importance should be considered locally.
Comment
The Paper suggests the possibility of a hybrid approach whereby the best elements of the above options could be blended. However, this seems difficult to achieve in practice as there is little middle ground between the proposals. What works for one local authority's planning committee may not be appropriate for another leading to a lack of clarity regarding how a national scheme of delegation could be achieved. Ultimately, it seems unlikely that delegation rates will increase far beyond the current 96% so it will be interesting to see how the Government incorporates the proposals in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (expected 11 March 2025) and the impact these measures will have on delegation rates.
If you would like further information or to discuss this please contact
Jade.Chalmers@howardkennedy.com
or Bob.Sadler@howardkennedy.com
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