Planning Authorities

National planning policy in England is made by the government, accountable to Parliament. Local planning authorities are responsible for decisions on planning permsission and may form local planning policy to help make those decisions in an accounatble and fair way…

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National planning policy in England is made by the government, accountable to Parliament. Local planning authorities are responsible for decisions on planning permsission and may form local planning policy to help make those decisions in an accounatble and fair way...

In more detail

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) sets out national planning policy in the National Planning Policy Framework.  Local planning authorities, however, are responsible for making local plans and decisions on planning permission - what development to allow and on what condition.  Local authorities cannot make decisions which contradict national planning policy.  Within national policy, however, there is still significant leeway for interpretation and for local priorities to be reflected.  So local authorities produce their own local planning policies, including local area plans, which make up the local planning framework and which explain how they will use their powers of decision making to steer local development so as to bring about greater economic, social and economic wellbeing for the people and place they serve.

Principal Local Planning Authorities

The principal local authority with responsibility for local planning is:

  • the city or metropolitan borough council, if you live in the areas of the old metrpolitan councils (West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire or Tyne & Wear)
  • the borough council, if you live in London
  • the unitary council, if you live in an area outside London or the metropolitan areas which is covered by one
  • the district council, if you live in an area outside London or the metropolitan areas which does not have a unitary council.

Key Facts:

Local planning authorities produce a local planning policy framework within the terms of the national planning policy framework set by DCLG.  The local planning policy framework is made up of policies, including local area plans, which form a coherent whole.  So, new local plans cannot contradict national policy or existing local policy.  Planning authorities consider the national and local policy frameowrks when they make decisions on planning permission.

Page Links from here

Your Local Council

Local Development Framework

Planning Permission

Local Plans


OR you can use the navigation menu above right to look at other parts of the toolkit.

BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY PLANNING TOOLKIT DEFINITION SHEET This sheet may be reproduced in paper or electromic or any other form but please mention it was made by Chamberlain Forum Limited for Birmingham City Council supported by Department for Communities and Local Government.

created: 2016-05-20 12:07:04 by: admin status: f published