RTPI welcomes DCMS response on accredited agents for Listed Building Consents (1)

The Royal Town Planning Institute, informed by its Historic Environment Group, welcomed the Government's recently published response to the consultation on Listed Building Consents, particularly the decision not to pursue through legislation the notion that an applicant's Accredited Agents might replace local authority officer recommendations, if applicants wish (option four of the consultation).

Colin Haylock, President of the RTPI said: "We welcome DCMS response to the consultation in respect of accredited agents replacing local authority officer recommendations.  The RTPI stressed the need for LPAs to continue to give appropriate weight to the local authorities' conservation expertise. Overwhelmingly, others did too."

In its response to consultation the RTPI said: "it cannot be reasonable for there to be any expectation that this should fetter the obligation of the LPA to consider and weigh the public interest in every case and this may quite rightly include the use of experts other than those promoted by the applicants. Members of the community elect their local councillors to perform this 'public interest' test and would not expect that any expert described as independent should be tested any less rigorously."

• DCMS response to the consultation can be found here. 
• The original consultation is here.
• The RTPI's response to the consultation is here.