The Planning Bill: A Summary

10-Jan-08

Introduction

The Planning Bill enables the following initiatives, which apply broadly in England.  It has some significant effects in Wales and is of limited to no application in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Within England, Ministers will set national policy statements for infrastructure. These will be developed following public consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny.

In drawing up national policy statements, Ministers will be under a duty to contribute to sustainable development and to carry out an appraisal of their policy's sustainability.

Once an infrastructure project subject to the policy framework is under consideration by a developer, they will have a legal duty to consult the local community, local authorities and key stakeholders on their proposals as they prepare them.

An independent planning commission will be established to conduct planning inquiries into infrastructure projects, in which the content of the national policy statements will be the key consideration. The commission will consisting of experts from a range of fields relevant to infrastructure decision making.

The government aims to ensure that planning inquiries will be made more accessible to the public. A public 'right to be heard' will be protected. Any person who registers an interest can give oral evidence at relevant stages of the inquiry.  However, they will not have a right to cross examine material introduced by others.

Decisions on infrastructure applications will be taken by the independent planning commission.

Other elements of the Bill seek to streamline the existing planning system, simplifying the preparation of local development frameworks and development management processes.  Amongst these measures are understood to be proposals for appeals against the refusal of planning permission at the local level to be heard by panels of local councillors, or local member review bodies.

Approximately 75% of Bill content relates to major infrastructure policy and decision-making.  The remaining 25% reforms elements of existing Town and Country Planning Act processes.

In Wales, Part 10 of the Bill proposes new 'measure making' (legislative) powers in the planning field for the Welsh Assembly.

RTPI Responses

The RTPI has a strong interest in the development of the Planning Bill currently before Parliament. It has consistently supported the principle of both national policy statements for infrastructures and special decision making mechanisms to develop a centre of excellence and expedition in infrastructure decision making. The UK has a sustainable infrastructure deficit. We must renew our ageing infrastructures if we are to avoid significantly economically damaging climate change. New policies and practices are required to achieve this end.

Many commentators have suggested that the Planning Bill will reduce local democracy and community involvement. At one level, the RTPI does not acknowledge this to be the case. Many of the major infrastructure decisions that will go to the new infrastructure planning commission would historically have been dealt with through Ministerial decision-making, not by local planning authorities. Whilst local stakeholders currently face public inquiries, they do not face the real decision maker. Further, they do so without the benefit of statements of government policy being available to them, let alone having had the opportunity to become involved in making policy.

For these reasons, the RTPI supports the Bill proposals for national policy statements and an infrastructure planning commission and considers these could provide a more transparent and publicly accountable major infrastructure planning system than we have at present. However, questions of the adequacy of democratic accountability and community involvement remain critical. Much recent work by the government, through CLG, has been in the development of an agenda around ‘community empowerment’. 

PSA delivery agreement 21 refers to:

‘building cohesive empowered and active communities:
- ‘that maximise the benefits of diversity rather than fear it;
- ‘where individuals are empowered to make a difference both to their own lives and to the communities and wider environment in which they live; and
- ‘where individuals are enabled to live active and fulfilled lives.’

There are significant concerns that the key aspects of the Planning Bill in its current form do not fully deliver to this agenda. 

As soon as the Bill was published, the RTPI formed these concerns into an action table of proposed amendments to the Bill. This work has been developed as the Bill has progressed through parliament, via debate in the RTPI Executive Board, at network events, conferences and through emails and bulletin boards.  The full range of RTPI documents explaining and supporting our ongoing work in Parliament can be found on our dedicated parliamentary page: click here.

  • Members are encouraged to send their views to the RTPI policy team to inform this ongoing work.  Click here to email policy.
  • The RTPI has already set out tests that it will use to judge whether the Bill’s provisions in respect of these two key changes are likely to work well in practice and will be applying these as its work on the Bill progresses.  Click here to view these tests.

Responses are categorised under the following headings, which can be clicked to access RTPI views:

National policy statements (NPS)

Key infrastructure policy will be set out in national policy statements (NPS)

RTPI Position

The development of the NPS concept represents a significant leap forward from the current lack of consistent or integrated policy on major matters of national significance.  In drawing these statements towards fruition, the RTPI seeks:

  • Statements that are clear about the boundary between the interests of the UK, devolved nations, regions and local government.  The principle of subsidiarity should apply and decisions should be taken at the level most appropriate to the scale, significance and potential impact of the matters under consideration.  Care will be required to integrate the policies and programmes of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where these are relevant.  
  • Statements that are integrated.  It would not make sense for policy in respect of say road transport development, rail, ports and aviation to proceed in a manner that was not integrated and did not take account of current information and policy about regional economic development, which provides the underpinning demand for the use of freight and transport services and infrastructures.  There is still a missing element here: that of the national spatial planning framework, found in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but not England.  In part the RTPI hopes that the NPS will come to form that missing element through sound integration.

All NPS will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

RTPI Position

We believe this is key to the process being fair and democratic. All the big issues of the day should rightly be heard and debated in Parliament.  However, in making this provision, Parliament itself will have to take on the substantial task of considering stakeholders' issues.

The independent planning commission (IPC)

There will be a right to be heard by any group that registers with the IPC on a development. But there will be no right of cross-examination. 

RTPI Position

The RTPI support these measures as it provides a chance for stakeholders to have their say but keeps the process manageable. However, the IPC must demonstrate to the public that it will provide a robust and credible quality control over the technical evidence justifying development options that is put before it.

Government stresses the IPC is autonomous and independent – except where the minister thinks the National Policy Statement is flawed (for example, where new evidence has come to light which undermines the NPS) or where the issue of urgency is involved. In that case the Minister will make the decision.

RTPI Position

It is fundamentally important that the IPC is not just independent, but is seen to be independent. The IPC can only be a success if it is not perceived as a rubber stamp. If Ministers are to be able to recover decision making powers from the Commission, the criteria for enabling this to occur must be precisely crafted and subject to a robust examination during the committee stage.

Other reforms

Other reforms incorporated within the Bill or announced alongside it include:

Town and Country Planning Act Appeals 

There will be an amendment to the Town and Country Planning Act to speed up appeals.

RTPI Position

Speeding up the planning appeals process is of interest to all, however the system needs to be properly resourced in order to afford real change.

Local Member Review Bodies will be established.

RTPI Position

The RTPI has no confidence in these bodies and has commenced a vigorous campaign to present this view to parliament.  We have previously expressed the strong concern  that such bodies will fail to provide most appellants with what they most clearly seek from an appeal: an examination by fresh professional minds. 

Community Infrastructure Levy - Replacing the PGS

There will be a plan-based tariff called a ‘Community Infrastructure Levy, which will replace the previous taxation based proposals for a Planning Gain Supplement (PGS).

RTPI Position

The Government appears to have taken the advice on PGS which the RTPI has offered for years. Such a levy will provide a means of securing necessary local infrastructure based on an understanding of local infrastructure need developed in partnership between local planning authorities, development interests, infrastructure providers and local communities themselves, clearly expressed in the local development framework.

  • Click here to read the RTPI's advice to Government, advocating such a levy, which has now been substantially followed.

Householder Development Consents Review

The requirement for planning permission for minor alterations to dwelling houses will be simplified and reduced, in part to ensure an appropriate application of resources within the planning system: using trained staff to concentrate on the matters that require careful consideration.

RTPI Position

The RTPI supports the introduction of the HDCR and is glad to see it has been released after a long time in gestation within Government. The RTPI launched the HDCR along with then planning Minister Keith Hill. Unfortunately, the current offering appears to be a much watered-down version.

Operating Tests for the NPS and IPC System

The RTPI has laid down an 8 point test for the operation of the NPS and IPC system to be established under the Bill.  The RTPI has used this test to evaluate the provisions of the Bill, clause by clause.

  • Click here to access the 8 point test and our evaluations of the Bill.
  • Click here to return to the index for this page

Continue to Other Bill Pages

 

 
Author:
Rynd Smith
Publisher:
The Royal Town Planning Institute
Date:
10-Jan-08
Categories:
Policy, Practice 
Sections:
What Planning Does

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