The Housing and Planning Bill seeks to further the Government’s localism agenda, by speeding up the neighbourhood planning process. The Bill includes provisions to automatically designate neighbourhood areas where Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) do not make a decision in time, and will impose a timetable on the consideration of neighbourhood plans.
The Government is now undertaking a consultation on the contents of regulations to be made under the Bill once it becomes law. The consultations suggests a range of measures which will further increase the pressure on LPAs to progress neighbourhood plan applications.
Noting that 90% of applications are from Parish Councils, and 90% of those applications are for the whole parish, the consultation suggests removing the ability of local planning authorities to amend the area applied for in these circumstances, unless part of the area was designated for another plan. Rather than having eight weeks to consider this type of application, the LPA would have to approve it as soon as possible.
The consultation suggests a limit of 13 weeks for LPAs to consider applications for neighbourhood forums, where applications are to a single LPA, or 20 weeks where two must be involved, and an exception where part of the area has already been designated.
The consultation also asks whether an LPA should be given five weeks from receiving an examiner’s report to decide whether to call a referendum, unless they disagree with the examiner, or agree more time is needed with the neighbourhood group. The consultation suggests a procedure to notify interested parties where they disagree with the examiner.
The consultation suggests that referenda should be held within ten weeks of the decision to call a referendum, or 14 weeks in a designated business area. It also suggests that following a referendum, the LPA should be required to bring the plan into force within eight weeks.
The process by which the Secretary of State may intervene when requested by the neighbourhood planning group is also suggested.
The consultation also proposes that designated neighbourhood forums be added to the list of bodies consulted by LPAs when they are preparing local plans. Alongside the provision in the Bill which allows neighbourhood forums to request that they be notified when planning applications are made, this increases the sway neighbourhood forums will have as part of the wider planning process.
These measures all emphasise the importance to the Government of neighbourhood plans, and increase the pressure on LPAs to progress applications. While there is clear political intent to involve people in planning decisions at a local level, this comes at a time when LPAs may be struggling with the volume of planning applications and have limited capacity available for the work associated with neighbourhood planning.
It remains to be seen whether these measures will boost the number of neighbourhood plans being made, or whether they will increase pressure on (already) stretched LPAs without significant results.
