*Please note that section 237 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 powers were repealed in July 2016 and new provisions came into effect under section 203 Housing and Planning Act.
The Neighbourhood Planning Bill ('the Bill') had its second reading in the House of Commons on 10 October 2016. It was subject to an interesting and involved debate (which can be read here), the bulk of which was devoted to issues of increasing housing supply and, unsurprisingly, neighbourhood planning.
Within the Bill however are a series of new provisions concerning compulsory purchase which will enact changes that have been consulted on by the Department of Communities and Local Government ('DCLG') in the consultations of March 2015 (Technical consultation on improvements to the compulsory purchase process) and March 2016 (Consultation on further reform of the compulsory purchase system). These are referred to in only a few pages of the 75 page printout of the second reading, and yet they are of genuine significance. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government introduced them as follows:
'Part of the problem is that the process is governed by a complex patchwork of statute and case law that has built up over many years. This slows the process down, increases costs, and bewilders individuals who are caught up in it. Ultimately, it benefits nobody - with the possible exception of lawyers'.
Note the unfair dig at lawyers, who surely are not the only professionals offering professional services in the CPO realm. All would welcome a comprehensive overhaul, but this remains a pipe dream as things stand.
Some of the amendments in the Bill are more briefly stated than others, and of the more straightforward:
The more substantive changes proposed by the Bill have been brewing for some time. They include:
These changes will be the subject of future articles. It is clear from the consultation papers referred to above, and the responses received, that they are supported by the bulk of respondents. However, piecemeal reform may serve to render the CPO process even more 'bewildering' to the uninitiated. The Bill is, for example, already amending the Housing and Planning Act 2016, which received Royal Assent only in May 2016.