New research suggesting that half (51 per cent) of councils in England will miss the deadline for adopting a local plan has prompted the National Trust to call for local authorities to be given more time to agree plans for their area.
When the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published on 27 March 2012, after a National Trust campaign to secure vital protections for land, local authorities were given 12 months to update and adopt their local plans to show where development should take place, for example to cope with predicted increases in population.[1]
However, new research by the National Trust and the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) suggests that over one quarter (26.8 per cent) England’s local planning authorities expect that it will take more than a year from now for their local plan to be adopted, just under one-fifth (17.5 per cent) within the next 6-12 months and 6.7 per cent after the deadline but within the next six months. [2]
Councils that fail to adopt a local plan by the end-of-March deadline will be subject to the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ in the NPPF.
This could mean an easy ‘yes’ for development proposals on the 55 per cent of England without national protection – that is land outside, for example, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty or designated Green Belts. [3]
Without an extension to the deadline, communities the length and breadth of England could be at risk of unwanted speculative development on land that has not been identified for development, as developers seek to cash in on the planning loophole.
“Speculative development is the polar opposite of good planning,” said Peter Nixon, Director of Conservation at the National Trust.
“The success of the National Planning Policy Framework depends entirely on local plans being adopted. This is why we suggested that councils should be given two years to adopt their plans. A perfect storm of council cuts, the loss of regional strategies and just 12 months to adopt new plans has been too much for many councils to bear.
“Councils need more time to get their local plans in place to protect land from unwanted development and ensure communities get the developments they need, in the right places. Only in this way can development be genuinely sustainable.”
Jonathan Carr-West, LGiU Chief Executive, said: “Planning is one of the most important but also one of the most contentious functions that local authorities perform. In a tough economic climate it’s really important to balance the role of development in driving growth with local needs and aspirations. There may be real tensions between the two. Local area plans provide a way of working through these tensions but it is not easy.
“It’s vital that we don’t put bureaucratic process ahead of the need for a real democratically founded local planning system. Local area plans that balance the need for growth with the needs of the community are worth waiting for.”
Malcolm Sharp, president of the Planning Officers Society, said a year’s transition period was not long enough to complete the local plan process.
He said: “Planning authorities are being asked to do local plans, support neighbourhoods, put the community infrastructure levy in place and negotiate infrastructure delivery – it’s a big ask on them to keep all the balls in the air.”
Further research into the state of the planning system will be published by the National Trust and LGiU ahead of the anniversary of the NPPF at the end of March 2013.
Ends
For further information please contact Andrew McLaughlin in the National Trust press office on 07920 750 818.
Notes
[1] Local planning authorities must prepare a local plan which sets planning policies in a local authority area. These are very important when deciding planning applications. The process for producing a local plan should have fully involved everyone who has an interest in the document and they should have had the chance to comment. Local plans must be positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy in accordance with section 20 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) and the National Planning Policy Framework. http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/planning/planningsystem/localplans
[2] Concerned about the upcoming NPPF anniversary deadline, the National Trust commissioned the LGiU to survey local authorities on progress with their Local Plans, as well as the wider implications of the NPPF, the Localism Act and Neighbourhood Planning. The LGiU received responses from just under one quarter (22.5 per cent) of the 337 planning authorities producing Local Plans. Of these, over four-fifths (82 per cent) were in the process of completing their Local Plan. This represents over one-third (35 per cent) of the 175 planning authorities without formally adopted Local Plans. The survey was conducted between Wednesday 20 February and Friday 1 March 2013.
[3] Figures from CPRE research: http://www.cpre.org.uk/media-centre/news-release-archive/item/2729-stunning-new-maps-show-countryside-at-risk
[4] In a speech to the Policy Exchange on 10 January 2013, Planning Minister Nick Boles MP, also flagged the risks of speculative development if local authorities failed to adopt local area plans. He said: “Councils which do not produce credible plans to meet local housing need will find that the presumption in favour of sustainable development will trump local decisions. And they will have to explain to local residents why their failure to produce a robust local plan exposed their communities to speculative development in places where it is not welcome.” Full text of speech by Nick Boles: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/housing-the-next-generation
[5] In February 2013 Inside Housing magazine obtained exclusive details from the Planning Inspectorate of the 185 councils in England yet to adopt an updated local plan. More info here: http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/development/english-councils-face-unwanted-development/6525562.article
About
The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) is an award-winning think tank and membership organisation, providing practical policy advice, learning and development programmes, events and conferences, consultancy and other resources to its members and other organisations. https://lgiu.org<https://lgiu.org/>
The National Trust looks after more than 250,000 hectares of countryside, 710 miles of coastline and hundreds of historic places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For more information and ideas for great value family days out go to: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
