Government pledges to bypass planning committees to speed up housebuilding

The Labour government wants housebuilding development projects to bypass planning committees when they comply with local plans.

They will also “strengthen” the decision-making powers for planners, leaving little doubt as to who has the authority in making decisions.

The government said too much time is spent considering applications which are compliant, which is “wasting the time of councillors, applicants and delaying good outcomes for places and for communities”.

Labour added that, in a number of cases, it’s not clear when an application will go to a planning committee or not.

Therefore, the government called for a ‘standardised’ approach to delegation, dedicated committees to deal with the most significant projects, and training for councillors before they join a committee.

Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister, said:

“Building more homes and infrastructure across the country means unblocking the clogged-up planning system that serves as a chokehold on growth.

“The government will deliver a sweeping overhaul of the creaking local planning committee system.

“Streamlining the approvals process by modernising local planning committees means tackling the chronic uncertainty and damaging delays that acts as a drag anchor on building the homes people desperately need.”

Matthew Evans, counsel in the planning team at Forsters law firm, said:

“Providing greater consistency within the planning system is welcome. 

“The revisions to the NPPF, expected this week, are only ever going to be able to go so far in helping to speed up the planning system and greater reform will be needed to truly make a difference, especially given the incredibly ambitious housing targets that the government has set. 

“Moving to a system where delegated decisions are made by default seems like a sensible option.

“The government is looking to emphasise that this is a plan led system (with greater enforcement for those local authorities that fail to have one in place), and it’s therefore logical that applications that comply with Local Plans are approved quickly. 

“The next challenge is ensuring that the plan-making system is streamlined and efficient, there are elements of local plans that can be standardised. 

“With the right reform in place, we should be able to get to a position where local people are involved in plan-making, decisions are made promptly by qualified planning officers and developers approach applications knowing the parameters a development needs to sit within. 

“It might not deliver 1.5 million homes, but it would save time, money and get Britain building a bit faster.”

Kindly shared by Property Wire