Contact: Richard Read, ext 6727 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 At the last meeting of the Regulatory Committee the Chairman announced some legislative changes that have an impact on development control administration. The changes were heralded by a consultation `green' paper about 18 months ago and relate to:

(i) additional consultation requirements to consult with the Regional Development;

(ii) the substitution to a statutory consultation requirement by `standing advice';

(iii) modifications to the notification of a planning decision to include reasons for the grant of permission; and

(iv) the reduction in the period after a decision in which an applicant can appeal.

1.2 All the requirements of the changes have now commenced except that requiring reasons for approval of a permission. This becomes law on 5 December 2003 for all applications submitted after that date and for all applications determined after 5 March 2004.

2. Regional Development Agency

2.1 Under The Town and Country Planning Development (General Development Procedure) (England) Order 2003 (GDPO) planning authorities are required to consult certain statutory agencies like the Environment Agency. The GDPO amendment now adds the Regional Development Agency to the list of statutory consultees subject to certain notification requirements.

2.2 This requirement would only affect a very small number of cases that the County Council determines.

3. `Standing Advice'

3.1 The GDPO amendment allows, in certain circumstances, for statutory `standing advice' to be substituted for consultation with the relevant statutory consultee. The relevant standing advice would replace the formal view of the respective consultee by which it would be bound and taken by the planning authority as a material consideration in the determination of a planning application. The standing advice of a statutory consultee would be subject to a maximum two year life unless withdrawn in the meantime or notification of its renewal issued.

3.2 Currently the Environment Agency is working on standing advice on flood risk and developments close to landfills. There are obvious efficiencies to be gained in this approach. However, the applicability to many of the cases that go before the Regulatory Committee for decision is limited, as they are inevitably the more complex developments where standing advice is limited.

4. Planning Reasons

4.1 It has been a long established requirement that the notice sent to applicants notifying them that their application has been refused included the planning authority's reasons. This practice of providing reasons for a planning decision has latterly been extended to all cases covered by the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations which provide for additional publicity.

4.2 The GDPO amendment now requires that planning authorities provide, in their notice of approval of an application, a summary of the reasons, along with a summary of the relevant development plan policies.

4.3 Although the requirement will add to the transparency of planning decision making, the administrative impact alone is an additional cost. The details on how this requirement can be implemented are yet to be finalised, but reasons for a permission will, after 5 December 2003, be incorporated into the recommendation of the respective report on the application. This in turn will be transposed onto the `notice' of decision.

5. Notice of Appeal

5.1 The reduction in the appeal notice period to three months has more impact upon applicants than other parties. However, there are some consequential effects relating to the completion of legal agreements, which will be addressed when the report on Development Control Service Policy is reported to Committee in the new year.

6. Comments of the Chief Planning Adviser

6.1 The proposed GDPO amendments are generally to be welcomed. The most problematical matter, however, concerns the requirement to add reasons to the grant of approval of an application. The practice is right, but it does open up a further opportunity for challenge by third parties against a planning authority's decisions. Although the administrative costs of implementing the requirement can be addressed within existing commitments, the resource implications arising from challenges could on occasion be significant and have budgetary implications.

Recommendation

That the changes to The Town and Country Planning Development (General Development Procedure) (England) Order 2003 be noted.

8363/RR