Streamlining the Planning Application Process - From Today!!

Today's the day - for yet another round of updating and change in the town planning system. This time it might just be helpful.

Section 6 of the Growth & Infrastructure Act and The Town & Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) (Amendment) Order 2013 (SI2013/1238) introduce new validation and processing procedures for planning applications. 

The changes implement the findings of the Governments' consultation paper, "Streamlining information requirements for planning applications consultation" (Dec 2012) and considers four principle issues:

• Simplifying Design and Access Statement requirements
• Improving validation
• Changes to decision notices
• Permitted Development Changes

 Details can be found in The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) (Amendment) Order 2013 

There is also a useful link to an explanatory Memorandum PDF from the above link that sets out the changes that come in to force today.

In brief; there are new thresholds for Design & Access Statements that will only now be required for certain major developments although lower thresholds still apply in Conservation Areas and World Heritage Sites.Applications for Listed Building Consent will still require a D & A.

With regard to Validation of planning applications, some common sense is being injected into what has become an expensive and often unnecessary box ticking exercise. This is principally twofold. Information requirements must now have regard to the nature and scale of the proposal such that unnecessary detail is reduced. 

This means that the existence of an item on a validation list does not compel the applicant to provide it. He or she first has to consider whether the item in question is reasonable and necessary. 

The change also means that a local authority cannot withhold validation on the grounds of insufficient information, unless they can justify the need for additional information against the tests set out in the DMPO. And if they do - and the applicant disagrees - the Council are required to issue a non-validation notice which may then be considered on appeal for non-determination. 

Reasons for approval on decision notices are no longer required. This is seen as a replication of the detail in Officer's Reports which cover the ground in full anyway.

Finally, the changes to Permitted Development Rights (discussed in this blog at the end of last month ( http://theplannerman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/quick-planning-guide-to-new-permitted.html ) are enacted to provide new permitted development rights for various changes of use relating to office buildings, agricultural buildings and state-funded schools.