Planning Reforms proposed in Chancellor's Autumn Statement
Tuesday 29th November 2011
Several reforms to the planning regime has been announced by the Government in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement. The Government has proposed to:
• ensure that 'sustainable development' can be implemented as soon as the National Planning Policy Framework is finalised;
• introduce a 13-week maximum timescale for the majority of non-planning consents, to speed up the consenting process and give certainty to developers;
• build more flexibility into the new major infrastructure planning process, particularly in the pre-application phase, by summer 2012, as part of a review of the process responding to feedback from users of the regime;
• review planning appeals procedures, seeking to make the process faster and more transparent, improve consistency and increase certainty of decision timescales;
• consult on a proposal to allow the reconsideration of those planning obligations agreed prior to April 2010 where development is stalled; and
• consult on proposals to allow existing agricultural buildings to be used for other business purposes such as offices, leisure and retail space, to make it easier for rural businesses to find the premises they need to expand.
These measures will complement the Government’s wider reforms of the planning system contained in the Localism Act 2011 and the draft National Planning Policy Framework.
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