Housing and Planning Minister John Healey used the RTPI Planning Convention to launch consultation on a proposal to introduce a mechanism for extending the time limits for implementation of existing planning permissions, and to consider how to implement the procedure for making non-material amendments under section 190 of the Planning Act 2008.

Current circumstances have created rising concern in the development sector that planning permissions limited to the currently standard 3 year commencement condition will expire before the economic upturn.

Communities and Local Government proposes to use a new power (section 190 of the Planning Act 2008, inserting section 96A into the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) to make 'non-material' changes to planning permission, to enable a new form of application for an extension of time for planning applications granted before October 2009.  Changes to the fees regulations and the general permitted development order will be required to 'switch on' this new system and to ensure that the fee charged for it responds to its administrative as opposed to substantive nature.  Applications for extensions will need to be made individually to local planning authorities - meaning that where there is a good planning reason not to extend, an authority need not do so.  This is an important point, as there had been some concerns in the sector that an extension mechanism would be applied automatically, leaving authorities with no discretion over time extensions.

The RTPI's initial view is that this mechanism will be valuable, although its initial impact will be somewhat limited by the amount of time that will be absorbed in the consultation process necessary before it can be implemented.

Local planning authorities retain the individual discretion to grant planning permission for a period longer than 3 years and this mechanism can be used with immediate effect for newly granted permissions.

What do you think?

The RTPI is consulting members until 1 August 2009.

• Click here to download the CLG consultation document.
• Click here to download the Planning Act 2008 and read the headline power in section 190.
• Click here to email your views to the policy team.

Author:

Rynd Smith

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

18-Jun-09

Categories:

Networks & Associations, Policy, Practice 

Sections:

The RTPI

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