New rules to streamline planning applications

Mike Gibson, Chair of the Chamber's Property and Construction Committee, has been looking at the latest changes to the planning application procedure:

We reported last summer that, as part of its ‘Plan for Growth’ and in response to pressure from businesses, the Government was proposing to introduce a number of measures to simplify and speed up the planning process, including reducing the amount of information required for outline applications.

Following consultation in the autumn, new rules will come into effect at the end of this month which will remove the national requirement to submit, with outline applications, details relating to layout and scale of development, where these matters are reserved for subsequent approval.

Also under the new rules, a Council must review its local list of validation requirements on at least a two-year basis, otherwise the requirements will not have a bearing on the application’s validity.

These changes are very much welcomed.

The current requirement to submit details of the layout, including location of buildings, routes and open spaces, and the upper and lower limit for the height, width and length of each building, puts an onerous burden on an applicant who seeks only to establish the principle of a proposed development. Removing the need to submit such details when they are reserved for subsequent approval will help to return outline applications to their original purpose.

Reviewing local lists frequently, ought to ensure that local requirements are robust and justified, whilst encouraging a more proportionate approach to information requests. Let’s all hope that Councils are up for meeting this challenge.