21 November 2011
Dave Jolley of Capita Symonds looks at the government’s new
National Planning Policy Framework.
1) The Current Situation
- National Planning Policy is presently set out in a wide range
of documentation:
- Planning Policy Statements (PPS);
Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPG);
- Planning circulars and supporting documentation which cover
various issues such as economic development, housing, design,
transport, climate change, renewable energy, flood risk, Green
Belt, the natural and historic environment, minerals and waste, and
procedural advice such as how to compile development plans.
It is the government’s view that this volume of national
guidance has overloaded the planning system and resulted in
inefficient working practices, resulting in a system that is too
cumbersome and not set up to support economic growth. The
government is therefore committed to replacing existing central
guidance with consolidated and streamlined national policy in the
form of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
The draft NPPF was the subject of a twelve week period of
consultation which closed on 17th October 2011. The NPPF has
attracted significant press coverage during this period and the
government received a total of 13,700 responses to their
consultation on the draft framework. The government is however
committed to the publication of the final version of the NPPF by 31
March 2012 and has stated its intention to do so well ahead of that
time.
2) The New National Planning Policy Framework
It is intended that the NPPF will be a clear,
tightly focused document, setting out national priorities only
where it is considered necessary to do so. As a result, the
proposed NPPF will consolidate over 1,000 pages of planning policy
contained within 40 documents into a single document of 50-60
pages.
The draft NPPF is widely seen as being ‘pro-growth’. At the
heart of the draft NPPF is a presumption in favour of sustainable
development, which is intended to send a strong signal to all
involved in the planning process of the need to plan positively for
appropriate new development, so that plan-making and development
management are proactive in support of economic growth rather than
acting as barriers.
It is still intended that planning will be plan-led and the
Local Plan (previously known as the Core Strategy) will continue to
be the main consideration in decision making, along with the NPPF
and the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
Nevertheless, the presumption in favour of sustainable development
set out in the draft NPPF means that the default response to a
proposal for development is ‘yes’ unless the adverse impacts would
“significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits’ and that
this presumption will apply in all cases where the local plan is
‘absent, silent, indeterminate or where relevant policies are out
of date”.
3) The Potential Impact
At present there is a significant degree of uncertainty about the
impact of the NPPF and consultation responses could lead to
amendments to the thrust of the document. It does however have the
potential to have a number of implications for Urban Vision, Capita
Symonds’ joint venture partnership with Salford City Council. For
instance:
- The development of projects may be speeded up due to the
pro-growth nature of the NPPF reducing the regulatory burden
associated with planning applications.
- This pro-growth agenda (and encouragement for sustainable
development) could also encourage developers to bring forward
schemes and thereby increase numbers of planning applications. This
may result in additional requests for Development Management
support from Local Planning Authorities (LPA’s).
- There may be an increase the number of LPAs seeking planning
policy support to ensure their Local Plan is progressed
expeditiously. This is likely to as a result of the presumption in
favour of sustainable development where the local plan is ‘absent,
silent, indeterminate or out of date’.
- A ‘planning by appeal’ system may evolve. Such a situation
would have resource implications for Urban Vision in relation to
work undertaken on behalf of Salford City Council but could also
create business development opportunities.
- Councils may find it difficult to justify and defend some
decisions to refuse planning permission due to the presumption in
favour of development where the Local Plan is not up-to-date.
Dave Jolley (dave.jolley@capita.co.uk)
is Director at Capita Symonds