The DCLG has issued a written statement concerning 15 local planning authorities that have recently either failed the duty to cooperate or failed to meet the deadlines set out in their Local Development Schemes.
In the 13 years that have passed since the 2004 Act received Royal Assent, over 70 local planning authorities have yet to adopt a plan and of those 27 authorities still have failed to reach the publication stage. The DCLG is particularly concerned about the 15 local planning authorities that have recently either failed the duty to cooperate or failed to meet the deadlines set out in their Local Development Schemes, the public timetable that all local planning authorities are required to put in place.
The SoS has therefore written to the local planning authorities of: Basildon, Brentwood, Bolsover, Calderdale, Castle Point, Eastleigh, Liverpool, Mansfield, North East Derbyshire, Northumberland, Runnymede, St Albans, Thanet, Wirral and York. These letters will start the formal process of intervention set out in the Housing White Paper. The DCLG has set out that they will prioritise intervention where:
- the least progress in plan-making has been made
- policies in plans had not been kept up to date
- there was higher housing pressure; and
- intervention would have the greatest impact in accelerating Local Plan production
The DCLG also made clear that decisions on intervention will also be informed by the wider planning context in each area (specifically, the extent to which authorities are working cooperatively to put strategic plans in place, and the potential impact that not having a plan has on neighbourhood planning activity).
Local authorities are given the opportunity to put forward any exceptional circumstances, by 31 January 2018, which, in their view, justify their failure to produce a Local Plan under the 2004 Act regime. The SoS will take responses received into account before any final decisions on intervention are taken. The remaining authorities who are not making progress on their plan-making and fail to publish a plan for consultation, submit a plan to examination or to keep policies in plans up to date are on notice that consistent failure to make sufficient progress will no longer be tolerated. The DCLG will begin formally considering the case for intervention as deadlines are missed.
The DCLG will also bring forward the provisions legislated for earlier in the year through the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017. The minister will shortly lay the Regulations under section 12 to prescribe that local planning authorities must review their plans every five years.
The DCLG will also shortly be commencing Section 8 of the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 which will place a requirement on all local planning authorities to have plans in place for their area which set out their strategic policies. Those strategic priorities are set out at paragraph 156 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
As set out in July 2015 the DCLG recognise that production of Local Plans is resource intensive. On 19 October 2017 regulations were laid which, subject to approval of both Houses, will bring forward a White Paper commitment to increase planning fees by 20%. This delivers on a commitment to increase resources for local planning authorities where they commit to invest the additional fee income in their planning department. All local planning authorities in England have given this commitment.
Where local planning authorities continue to fail to produce a plan to provide certainty to their community on where future development will be brought forward, the DCLG will use intervention powers to ensure plans are put in place.
Article originally appeared on Planning Resource
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