More measures to reduce bureaucracy and promote growth

Mike Gibson, Connectivity Associates Ltd and Vice Chair of the Chamber's Property & Construction Committee

The Government has introduced the Growth and Infrastructure Bill with the aim of reducing bureaucracy and supporting growth.

The measures in the Bill will bring yet more changes to the planning process and uncertainty for the development industry. Whilst those measures intended to speed up and simplify the process are welcomed, they will not address the main reason that is preventing development from going ahead – the availability of finance.

Those measures which take planning decisions away from local authorities and put them in the hands of the Secretary of State will undermine local decision-making which is at odds with the Government’s Localism agenda. The postponement of the revaluation of the business rate will give those businesses in areas where underlying rents are rising more certainty, but will not help those in areas with declining rents.

Key measures in the Bill allow:

• Applicants to choose to have their planning applications determined by the Secretary of State where the local planning authority has been designated as ‘poorly performing’; the Secretary of State to take decisions on major planning applications that impact on local communities.
• An appeal to be made to the Secretary of State seeking the renegotiation of economically unrealistic section 106 agreements concerning affordable housing.
• Orders for the stopping-up or diversion of highways to be published in draft at the planning application stage, rather than having to wait until planning permission has been granted; and applications for nationally important business and commercial projects to be fast-tracked, along with nationally important infrastructure projects.

The Bill also seeks to simplify the planning process by limiting the power of local authorities to require information to accompany a planning application. Such requirements must be reasonable, having regard to the nature and scale of the proposed development and must relate to matters that are material to the determination of the application.

Town and Village Green registration process is to be amended to prevent a Town and Village Green application from delaying or preventing development in cases where a planning application has been submitted or planning permission has been granted.

The revaluation of business rates is to be postponed until April 2017 and new rating lists are to be complied every five years thereafter.

The passage of the Bill through Parliament needs to be closely followed to see which of these measures survive and which are changed or deleted.

Mike Gibson, Connectivity Associates Ltd and Vice Chairman of the Chamber's Property & Construction Committee mike@connectivityassociates.com