Changes to Procedure for Obtaining Development Consent

The Government has just issued the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (England) (Amendment) Order 2003. The changes apply to England only.

The key changes are:

1. The time limit for appeals against refusals of planning permission or non-determination must now be made within three and not six months of the relevant decision date or expiry date. This applies to all applications made after 5 September 2003.
2. Similar changes to the listed building regime are made by Regulations applicable to the procedure for considering applications for listed buildings consent.
3. From 5 December 2003 local planning authorities must:

• When granting planning permission give reasons and a summary of the relevant development plan policies.
• When imposing conditions give full reasons for those conditions and give full details of all relevant development plan policies.
• Reasons for refusal must still be given but must now be accompanied by a statement of the relevant development plan policies.

For applications made before 5 December 2003, this requirement will not apply if the application is determined within 3 months of 5 December 2003.

The changes to the requirements for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to give reasons for approval are potentially significant and may possibly open up new grounds for procedural challenge. The requirement applies to any decision to grant planning permission or reserved matters approval. Any such decision must include a summary of the reasons for grant and the relevant development plan policies. This is a significant extra burden for LPAs, especially for smaller reserved matters applications or minor planning applications.

Reasons for imposing conditions are already required under the existing regime. The added requirement now is for LPAs to identify 'all policies and proposals in the development plan which are relevant to the decision'. The drafting of the Order suggests that the 'decision' is the decision to impose conditions rather than the decision to grant the permission itself.

The extra burden placed on LPAs may cause delay in the process. The change seems contrary to the Government's stated aim of speeding up the planning process and stripping away unnecessary administrative stages.

The duty to give reasons for a refusal of planning permission already exists but has now been augmented by the requirement to specify all policies and proposals relevant to the decision.

Other changes

The order makes several changes to the consultation requirements under the General Development Procedure Order. These are:

• Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are made a statutory consultee in relation to infrastructure projects and policies of strategic regional investment or employment policy within the RDA's strategy, provided in both cases the RDA has notified the Council of the relevant project or policy.
• A new exception for LPAs to consult on a statutory basis is also included in the Order. If a statutory consultee has given standing advice, there is no need to consult on an individual application. This will not apply to EIA applications, nor will it apply if standing advice is over two years old.

Conclusions

The reduction by half of the period for appeals makes the need for a tactical approach to planning applications even more apparent. If the proposals for the abolition of twin tracking remain in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill then this will have a significant impact for the development industry.

LPAs now face an increased burden in relation to the issue of decision notices. Whilst there is some theoretical benefit to the increased requirement, the effect could be that decision notices will be delayed and also become subject to even greater scrutiny by disaffected third parties.

For further information please contact Chris Williams in our planning team on 020 7367 3571 - or email on [email protected].