As one consultation closes, another two open: Performance reviews, price rises, case law and yet another set of changes to PD Rights...
Sometimes, dealing with government consultations on planning reform feels a bit like fighting a Hydra.
The ink is not yet dry on our response to DLUHC's consultation on changes to the NPPF* and already two new consultation documents have sprung up to take its place.
On 28 February, DLUHC launched two entirely separate consultations on further changes to the planning system.
- A much trailed and, frankly, long overdue consultation on increasing the level of planning application fees, which closes on 25 April 2023; and
- A wholly unexpected consultation on a further expansion of permitted development rights in England, which also closes on 25 April 2023.
In summary, the government is proposing to:
Consultation on Planning Application Fees
- increase planning fees by 35% for major applications and 25% for all other applications
- Seek views on how additional fees for bespoke or ‘fast track’ services can be set
- make an annual inflation-related adjustment to planning fees
- ring-fence additional fees income for local authority planning departments
- double fees for retrospective applications
- remove the ‘free-go’ for repeat applications in specific circumstances
- introduce a prior approval fee for the permitted development right allowing the Crown to develop sites within the perimeter of a closed defence site
- obtain views on how best to build planning capacity and capability within local authorities, including how to address challenges in recruitment and retention;
- reduce the Planning Guarantee from 26 weeks to 16 weeks for non-major applications; and
- change how the quality of the local authority planning service is monitored by introducing more performance measures and taking a more fine grained approach to monitoring.
Consultation on PD Rights
The government also intends to:
- Introduce a new permitted development right to support temporary recreational campsites - which would allow land to be used for the siting of up to 30 tents and temporary toilet blocks, showers and waste storage for a maximum of 60 days per calendar year. The new right would be subject to prior approval. At the same time the GDPO would be amended to by exclude camping from the general temporary use of land PD Rights.
- Change the existing permitted development rights for solar equipment to allow domestic solar panels to be installed on flat roofs, subject to certain conditions, and to ease the restrictions on where stand alone solar equipment can be placed within the curtilage of residential properties. The government is also proposing to remove the cap on the amount of elecricity that can be generated through solar installations on non- domestic properties (although all other conditions and the prior approval requirements will remain - including the need for prior approval for schemes generating more than 50 kW) and to ease the restrictions on where stand alone solar equipment can be placed within the curtilage of non-residential properties. They are also planning to introduce a new permitted development right for solar canopies on commercial/non-residential car parks, subject to limitations on height, proximity to residential properties etc. and a prior approval procedure.
- Amend the existing permitted development right which allows local authorities to undertake certain development. This change would allow bodies to undertake the work on behalf of the local authority.
- Change the existing permitted development right allowing for the temporary use of buildings or land for film-making purposes. The intention is to increase the maximum period of time land or a building can be used for the purpose of commercial film making from 9 months in any 27 month period to 12 months in any 27 month period; to increase the maximum area of land the right applies to from 1.5 hectares to 3 hectares; and to increase the maximum height of any temporary structure, works, plant or machinery provided under the right from 15 metres to 20 metres. All other restrictions and conditions would remain.
And in other news...
And, because the world of planning never stays still for a moment, the last couple of weeks has also brought us some fascinating new planning judgments to get to grips with.
- On 23 February, the Court of Appeal handed down its Judgment in CAB Housing which confirmed that the prior approval process for Class AA of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO 2015 (additional storeys on dwelling houses) can control the scale of the development and take into account matters relating to "amenity" and "external appearance" that extend beyond those expressly listed in the statute. The Court of Appeal also found that impacts on "adjoining premises" is not limited to those physically attached to or immediately next to the property, but can include those close by.
- On 17 February, the High Court gave us Muorah v SSHCLG, which considered the impact of bankruptcy on ongoing planning enforcement cases. In short, the court held that once someone becomes bankrupt, the ability to appeal under s.289 of the Act vests in the trustee in bankruptcy. As such, the person made bankrupt cannot appeal directly; and finally
- The High Court decision in Lazari Properties which centres on certificates of lawfulness and the interpretation of planning conditions. I am not going to summarise Lazari, in part because the judgment is to complex to be distilled into a single sentence, but also because Simon Ricketts has already done so. His excellent case note can be found here.
In short, it has been a busy couple of weeks!
*not least because the consultation period still has two days to run, and we haven't submitted them yet...
This consultation seeks views on proposals relating to permitted development rights. This includes a new right which would allow for the temporary use of land for recreational campsites.
... we are consulting on changes to the existing solar rights and proposing the introduction of a new right to allow the construction of solar canopies above existing off-street car parks in non-domestic settings.
The consultation also proposes changes to the existing rights for film-making and local authority led development.”
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