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Planning update

As we are all aware, the planning system in England and Wales has for many years been heavily regulated. This is no different under the current government, and there has recently been a flurry of new planning regulations which together with the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 make a number of changes to the planning regime.

This article is intended to highlight many of these changes.

Planning Application Time Limits - For “major developments”, a local planning authority (“LPA”) now has 13 weeks in which to give the applicant notice of its decision as opposed to 8 weeks. “Major developments” are defined as development involving:

= Mining
= Waste development
= The provision of dwellinghouses where either:
(a) there will be 10 or more dwelling houses; or
(b) if it is not known whether 10 or more dwelling houses are to be provided, the development is on a site which is 0.5 hectares or more
= The provision of a building or buildings where the floor space to be created is 1,000 square metres or more
= Development on a site of 1 hectare or more

In addition, the time period for notifying applicants will run from the day after the day on which the application is received by the LPA rather than from the date of receipt.

Outline Planning Permission and Reserved Matters - New rules came into force with effect from 10 August 2006 dealing with the following reserved matters:

= Layout
= Scale
= Access

Where layout is a reserved matter, the application for outline planning permission must state the approximate location of the buildings, routes and open spaces included in the development. Where scale is a reserved matter, the application is to state the upper and lower limit for the height, width and length of each building. Where access is a reserved matter, the application must state the areas where access points will be situated. These changes are intended to provide information at an early stage enabling the LPA to consider the application properly. As a result of these changes, there are now new
definitions of “access”, “appearance”, “scale” and “layout”. Also, the definitions of “landscaping” and “reserved matters” have been amended.

Design and Access Statements - With effect from 10 August 2006, when submitting a planning application, the applicant must provide a design and access statement (“DAS”).

A DAS is a statement concerning:

= The design principles that have been applied to the development
= How access issues have been dealt with

The design principles should deal with the following elements:

= Layout
= Scale
= Landscaping
= Appearance
= Amount (namely for residential development the number of units, and for all other forms of development, the proposed floor space for each proposed use)

No DAS will be required for planning applications involving:

= Engineering or mining operations
= A material change in the use of land or buildings
= Development of an existing dwellinghouse, or development within the curtilage of an existing dwellinghouse for any purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse provided that no part of the dwellinghouse or its curtilage is within a designated area such as a National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty or a conservation area.

Local Development Orders - A local development order (“LDO”) is an order which allows a LPA to create orders granting planning permission for a class of development. They are intended to speed up the planning process so that where there is an appropriate LDO in force, there may be no need to make a separate planning application. There are procedural steps which the LPA need to follow before making
an LDO which includes preparing a draft of the LDO and a statement of reasons for making it and then consulting with interested parties.

An LDO cannot be used to grant planning permission for certain specified types of development and must not be made granting planning permission for:

= Development affecting a listed building
= Development that requires an environmental impact assessment (Schedule 1 development)
= Development that is likely to have a significant effect on a European site in Great Britain (as defined in the Conservation Regulations) and is not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site

Standard Form Planning Application - The government has announced the timetable for rolling out a standard planning application form throughout England which is intended to become mandatory in July 2007. It is considered that a national form used by all LPA’s will assist applicants. The form is provisionally called 1 APP. An online version of the form will be available through the Planning Portal
(www.planningportal.gov.uk) and optionally from LPA’s. Paper copies will be available from LPA’s. The 1 APP will be trialled with the intention that from July 2007, the standard form will be the only valid way to submit a planning application.

For further enquiries please contact Nick Horton (view full profile) on 01892 701313 or email nhorton@ts-p.co.uk.

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