Agenda item

(Director of Planning and Economic Development) To consider the attached report.

The Panel received a report regarding a Consultation for Local Planning Regulations by the Assistant Director of Planning Policy and Conservation.

The process of preparing a local plan was currently set out in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the Town and Country Planning Regulations 2004. The Localism Bill was amending the 2004 Act, and this consultation sought views on revised regulations replacing the amended 2004 Regulations. Comment was sought regarding whether the changes proposed to the regulations would deliver the intended outcomes.

This consultation concerned the specific regulations which must be followed in order to achieve a sound local plan. It was stated that the intention behind amending these regulations was to ensure that centralised bureaucracy was removed and decision making in planning was returned to local councils and communities.

The Localism Bill introduced a “Duty to Cooperate” in relation to planning of sustainable development. This duty applied to a broad list of organisations including local planning authorities, county councils and other bodies as prescribed by the regulations. The duty required that these organisations engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis in the preparation of development plan documents where they related to strategic matters. Concern remained over whether the resources were available within all of these organisations to engage effectively.

The draft regulations made reference to “general” and “specific” consultation bodies. It was not clear whether this would remain following the publication of the final version of the NPPF and the Regulations.

There was an existing requirement for each local planning authority to submit an Annual Monitoring Report to the Secretary of State by 31 December every year. The draft regulations now proposed that a Monitoring Report must be published by each local authority which identified.

(a)        progress against published timetables for DPD preparation;

(b)        any adopted polices which were not being implemented, and the reason(s) for this;

(c)        what action should be taken to ensure these polices were implemented in future;

(d)        the number of dwellings built in that year, and since the relevant policy was published;

(e)        details of any Neighbourhood Development Order or Neighbourhood Plans that had been published;

(f)         progress against any Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) tariff that had been adopted;

(g)        any action that had been taken under the duty to co-operate.

The regulations did not specify a timetable over which monitoring reports must be published, but did not set out that information that was collected for monitoring purposes should be made available as soon as possible after it was collected. This information must be made available on the Council’s website, and at principal offices. It was necessary for the Council to identify from the outset, the frequency at which update Monitoring reports would be published.

The consultation questions and proposed responses were as follows:

(1) (a)  Do you agree that the revised regulations effectively reflect the changes proposed in the Localism Bill?

Agree

(b)        If you have any comments please enter these below:

The stated intention of the Localism Bill is to return control of the plan making process to local authorities and local communities. The revised draft Regulations reflect this intention.

(2) (a)  Do you agree with the list of bodies included in the duty to cooperate?

Agree

(b)        If you have any comments please enter these below:

The proposed list of organisations within the regulations, in addition to those specified in the emerging Localism Bill appears to be appropriate. However, there are concerns over whether all of these organisations have sufficient resources available to engage effectively. The Panel members added that local councils should be added to this list.

(3) (a)  Do you agree the revised regulations effectively consolidate the 2004 regulations with the revisions in 2008 and 2009?

Agree

(4) (a)  Are there any ways in which the regulations should be changed in order to improve the process of preparing local plans, within the powers set out in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the Localism Bill?

Yes

(b)        If “Yes”, please specify below:

The continued use of the terms “local development document” and “development plan document” is confusing, particularly when the draft NPPF makes clear that the term “local plan” is favoured. It would be helpful for consistent terminology to be used.

RECOMMENDED:

(1)        That the report regarding the response to the Local Planning Regulations (CLG) be noted;

(2)        That the responses to the consultation questions be submitted to the Communities and Local Government (CLG) in addition, under (2)(b) that local councils be added to the proposed list of organisations within the regulations; and

(3)        That the procedure agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 24 January 2011 (Minute Item 70) be utilised to ensure that these responses are made to the Department of Communities and Local Government by the deadline.