planning system – The Community Planning Toolkit

Local Planning System

Planning permissions and local plans are not isolated decisions or policies – they are part of a local planning system which is joined up to national policies…

Planning permissions and local plans are not isolated decisions or policies - they are part of a local planning system which is joined up to national policies...

In more detail

The local planning system is based on the idea that alongside the rights of landowners, the wider community has an interest in and rights to do with how land and buildings are developed.

These rights and interests arise from:

the effect that development has on immediate neighbours
the wider effects of development, for example on the capacity of local infrastructure and on the local taxpayers who maintain it
the idea of neighbourhood community: that all of us who live in an area have a legitimate interest in its value as a place in which to live and work.

Balance

The planning system aims to balance these rights and interests - personal and social - with a view to deciding what development should go ahead. The system is concerned with spatial planning: not simply how individual plots of land and buildings should be used and developed; but also how they relate to each other to create places. This includes transport links and other links between them and the shared systems for serving them; and the relationships between where people live and where they will work. By balancing the rights of people with an interest in a place, the planning system is our shared way of shaping places.

Democratic and Coherent

It is a democratic system - the authorities in charge of the planning system are the councils we elect.

The video above is of the Planning Committee meeting in Birmingham which took place on 23 June 2016.

The system is participative as well as representative: we are able to take part through consultation on planning decisions and as participants in making plans. But the system is based on law and on objective policy which aims to ensure that all parties are treated fairly. Local plans are subject to a National Planning Policy Framework which is based on law agreed by Parliament. When decisions about planning permission are made, they have to fit with national and local policy. When a new local plan is made, it must fit with existing national and local policy - in the form of the local development framework).

Limiting and Enabling

The planning system says what can or cannot be developed. It does not say what will be developed - that is up to the owners of the land. Local plans set limits and enable development within those limits. They are not prescriptive. The planning system allows for some development to go ahead that is outside the terms of what local plans enable. In these cases, however, the developer may have to pay some contribution to the community to compensate.

Key Facts:

The local planning system balances the righst and interests of land-owners with the wider community. It is democractic because the authorities in charge of it are the councils we elect. But planning decisions must fit in with local and national planning policy. New local plans must fit in with national policy and the existing local framework. Plans set limits on development, but they enable development within those limits. Plans and planning decisions are enabling rather than prescriptive: they say what may happen; not what will happen.

Page Links from here

The Plain English Guide to the Local Planning System is published as a PDF by government

The CPRE website has a useful section Planning Explained and the Planning Help site

In this toolkit, have a look at:

National Planning Policy Framework

Local Development Framework

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: 2016-07-26 19:49:34

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status: f published

Infrastructure

Sustainable development means development which looks after the ability of a place to go on growing and sustaining itself in its own way in the future…

Sustainable development means development which looks after the ability of a place to go on growing and sustaining itself in its own way in the future...

In more detail

Infrastructure means the things that go between things that enable them to work. Physical infrastructure includes things like roads, railways, water and power lines and generation, sewerage, docks, bridges and airports.

Physical infrastructure is important in local spatial planning in three main ways:

some infrastructure projects are of national importance and are taken out of the local plan framework - things like where new nuclear power stations go, High Speed Rail Links and motorways are considered by the National Infrastructure Commission rather than the local council.
locally important infrastructure (local main roads and rail links for example) may be the subject of policy in local planning frameworks which is agreed by the council and within with local plans - including community-led neighbourhood plans - must fit.
developers who propose to invest in an area, but whose development relies on existing infrastructure (roads etc) can be made to contribute to local infrastructure through the Community Infrastructure Levy and through planning obligations.

Social and environmental infrastructure

Just as there is physical, or economic, infrastucture, so there are social and environmental systems which support local wellbeing. Environmental infrastructure might include things like 'green corridors' which join up local green spaces and allow greater biodoversity. Social infrastructure includes tangible things like schools and hospitals. It also includes the local community network: social connections between people and the hubs etc which generate and enable those links.

Key Facts:

Infrastructure is the physical, environmental and social systems which go between sites, projects and individual proposals to enable them to work. Social infrastructure includes the local community network as well as more visible things like schools and hospitals.

Page Links from here

In this toolkit see:

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

Local Planning System

Developers

Transport Planning

Planning Obligations

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

created: 2016-07-22 13:20:47

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status: f published

Planning Enforcement

Councils don’t just write plans (or adopt those written by communities) and issue planning permission; they are responsible for enforcing planning decisions…

Councils don't just write plans (or adopt those written by communities) and issue planning permission; they are responsible for enforcing planning decisions...

In more detail

Planning Enforcement is the process by which your council investigates and resolves complaints about breaches of planning control. As well as looking into complaints about development taking place without planning permission, the council investigates the use of buildings for activities which have not been permitted. So, for example, the planning enforcement part of your local council can look into and take action:

against householders who have extended their property without getting necessary permission
against businesses which are using domestic property to carry on commercial activities without getting the necessary change of use approved.

If things like unpermitted development or the use of homes and garages etc for commercial activities is a problem in your neighbourhood, then planning enforcement is the way your council can help. The council may also be able to take enforcement action on issues like hazardous substances, illegal encampments and unauthorized advertising.

Action

In carrying out planning enforcement, the council has to balance:

the rights of individuals to use or alter their property in the way they wish;
the need to safeguard the character and quality of neighbourhoods;
the public interest in upholding planning policies for the local area.

The council can take legal action, but will generally try to remedy the situation through other means first. This is in line with the National Planning Policy Framework which says enforcement action should be proportionate. The range of enforcement action open to the council includes:

taking informal action including advice, mediation, warning in cases of a genuine mistake and minor mistake
or granting retrospective planning permission – to regularize the situation when this is in the public interest
or issuing a notice or order

Orders and Notices are:

Planning Contravention Notice – which requires the developer to provide information to enable the council to decide on further action
Enforcement Notice or a Planning Enforcement Order – these require action to be taken on the part of the developer to remedy the breach in planning control. The latter can be used even if the normal time limit for taking enforcement action has passed if the council believes there has been deliberate action taken to conceal the breach from them
Stop Notice – these are used with Enforcement Notices to require action which may be in breach of planning control to cease
Temporary Stop Notice – as above but used without an Enforcement Notice to enable councils to take immediate action to halt a breach
Breach of Condition Notice – requires compliance with planning conditions within a time period.

Councils can also:

apply to the High Court for an injunction to halt a breach in planning control
ask a magistrate to agree to provide Rights of Entry to property to investigate a suspected breach
take special actions in the case of listed buildings and protected trees
take action on breaches in consents to store hazardous substances on premises
take action on unauthorized advertising hoardings, fly-posting and graffiti
take action, with the police, on illegal encampments.

Key Facts:

Councils have a range of enforcement actions they can take against unpermitted development. Planners will investigate complaints and may take action. They will, however, balance the rights involved and try to achieve the best result through informal action if they can.

Page Links from here

Planning Permission

Planning Profession

Tree Preservation Orders

Conservation Areas

Local Plans

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

created: 2016-07-18 10:37:21

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status: f published

Town & Country Planning Association

The Town & Country Planning Association grew out of the Garden Cities movement more than 100 years ago and is still campaigning for more community involvement in planning and more sustainable development…

In more detail

The Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA) is a charity which aims to improve planning by making it more responsive to communities and more capable of supporting sustainable development. Its members include other organisations with an interest in planning, planners, academics, other related professionals and people with an interest in planning.

The video below is by the TCPA and presents some ideas about why planning matters:

The TCPA organises events and publishes policy briefings and relevant research etc. The association grew out of the Garden Cities Movement at the turn of the 20th century and retains committeed to a democratic view of planning as a means of social progress.

Key Facts:

The TCPA is a forum for people and organisations that are interested in planning and share the idea that it should be democratic, participatory and focused on the aim of sustainable development.

Page Links from here

The TCPA website has links to policy briefings including on things like forthcoming legislation with a bearing on planning.

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

created: 2016-07-15 21:46:32

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status: f published

Developers

The stereotype view of ‘property developers’ is not flattering, but most people – at some stage – act as developers…

The stereotype view of 'property developers' is not flattering, but most people - at some stage - act as developers...

In more detail

Anyone that wants to build or change the use of land and buildings in an area is potentially, a property developer. That is - individuals and businesses; large and small; already in the area and newcomers who want to invest in it, including:

multinational companies proposing a new power station, rail freight interchange or the re-development of industrial land
commercial property developers resonsible for building offices and shopping centres
big housing developers like Barratt; Taylor Wimpey; Persimmon; or Bellway
housing associations and councils
a builder converting an old building into flats
businesses that want to extend and improve their premises
a householder adding a porch to the front of their house.

Sustainable development

Most of what people and businesses want to do with the land and buildings which belong to them contributes to sustainable development: it creates homes and jobs; enables services; makes better places to live. Some proposals, however, could have a damaging effect on other people and businesses in the area. Developer contributions - in the form of Community Infrastructure Levy and site specific planning obligations - can be used to compensate the community. Even so, developments are not always beneficial to everyone.

The video above is a talk by Daniel Farrand who is a property lawyer at law firm Mishcon de Reya, reflecting on the balancing act that is the local planning system.

Planning System

The planning system is designed to balance and resolve conflicting interests. Planning aims to enable fair and objective decision-making and to balance, for example:

the interests of some people who might be negatively affected by a development against those of people who might benefit from it
the rights of those who live in an area against those who do not, but who would like to
the interests of business and those who create wealth against those of householders and those who create local wellbeing
the needs of those who live in the immediate locality with those who live in the wider district or region.

A neighbourhood plan is a community-led local plan which sets out policies describing what kind of development is welcome - where and why - in the area. It is, in a sense, a locally written prospectus for sustainable development of the area.

Key Facts:

Anyone who wants to build or change the use of land and buildings is a potential developer. That includes individuals as well as businesses; companies of all sizes and public bodies; people who already live or work in an area and those who do not and who want to invest in it. Development proposals can create discord - some people benefit and others, sometimes lose out. The planning system exists to balance different interests. Neighbourhood planning does not enable communities to stop development but to set out a prospectus for sustainable development of the locality.

Page Links from here

In this toolkit, see:

Spatial Planning

Planning Permission

Local Business

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

created: 2016-07-12 16:37:48

by: admin

status: f published

Local Development Framework

The policies and rules set out by your local council which help them to decide how to deal with development proposals. Neighbourhood plans (led by the community) and local plans (led by the council) form part of the framework alongside other higher level documents.

In more detail

The Local Development Framework is the spatial planning strategy for a council area. It describes how the area can be developed and the restrictions on development and explains why they exist. The local development framework is made up of:

the local core development strategy - which is related to the overall strategy of the council for developing the whole area it sovers
local development documents - which are high level plans which might cover several neighbourhoods
a statement of community involvement - describes how communities can be involved in shaping the framework
local development scheme - lists the schedule
annual monitoring reports

And may also include:

supplementary planning documents (SPDs - these include local plans and neighbourhood plans)
local development orders (these include community-led development orders as well as those declared by the council)
details of any simplified planning zones.

Plans are hierarchical. The Local Development Framework in your area MUST fit inside the terms of the National Planning Policy Framework. Supplementary Planning Documents - including neighbourhood plans - MUST fit within the terms of the Local Planning Framework.

The video above is an explanation of the Local Development Framework by Ron Tate of the Royal Town Planning Institute

Key Facts:

The Local Development Framework is the spatial planning strategy for your area. It consists of a number of documents which you can find online and/or by contacting your council planning department. The Local Planning Framework includes policy that any neighbourhood plan for your area must fit in with. In turn, it must comply with the terms of the National Planning Policy Framewprk set by government.

Page Links from here

In this toolkit see:

Spatial Planning

Local Planning System

National Planning Policy Framework

Local Plans

Neighbourhood Plans

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

created: 2016-07-11 15:43:05

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status: f published

Neighbourhood Development Order

A Neighbourhood Development Order grants planning permission for a particular type of development in a particular area. It is a community-led and statutory way of encouraging developers to provide the kind of development you want to see at a given site.

In more detail

Neighbourhood Development Orders (NDOs) are community-led land use documents, like Neighbourhood Plans. They were both introduced by the Localism Act 2011. Under its terms, an NDO can be used by a neighbourhood community to approve, for example, the building of homes, shops, businesses, affordable housing for rent or sale, community facilities or playgrounds.

How it works

An NDO grants planning permission for a specified kind of development (including change of use as well as new build development). This can be very specific – a particular development – or more general – a particular class of development, like housing. There are types of development that Parliament agreed cannot be specified by an NDO. They include: minerals and waste development and types of development that always need an Environmental Impact Assessment (eg a nuclear power plant) or form part of nationally significant infrastructure (a motorway of high speed rail link, for example). The government has powers to exclude other forms of development from being enabled by NDOs.

An NDO must apply to a specified area. Again, this can be tightly defined (a site) or more broadly specified (a part of the neighbourhood which might include several potential sites).

Process

The process for getting an NDO must be led by the parish council, if there is one, and by a neighbourhood forum (as defined in the Localism Act 2011) where there is no parish council. The process to be followed is like that for neighbourhood plans. It starts with the parish council or neighbourhood forum submitting a neighbourhood area application to the local planning authority, including the proposed boundary of the neighbourhood area. The application is then publicised for six weeks and comments invited.

Like neighbourhood plans, an NDO is:

Presented to the local council to check whether an Environmental Impact Assessment is required; that there is sufficient evidence backing the case for the order; and that it appears to be compatible with existing local plans
Subjected to an independent examination which checks it is in conformity with national and local planning policies and that the proposed development would not damage the local heritage.
Put to a public referendum.
Adopted by the council as part of the Local Planning Framework.

Key Facts:

A Neighbourhood Development Order is a community-led way of enabling development of a certain kind in your neighbourhood. Like neighbourhood planning, the process must be led by a parish council or a neighbourhood forum (as defined in the Localism Act).

Page Links from here

Local Development Orders

Neighbourhood Planning

Community Right to Build

Designated Bodies

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

created: 2016-07-02 10:07:32

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status: f published

Planning Obligations

Where does ‘section 106 money’ come from… and could the same rules that enable it also provide land for affordable housing or green open space in your neighbourhood?

Where does 'section 106 money' come from... and could the same rules that enable it also provide land for affordable housing or green open space in your neighbourhood?

In more detail

Planning obligations are legally-binding commitments that the owners of land make to the local council in order to win planning permission for development that would otherwise not be acceptable. They are frequently called section 106 agreements (section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which sets out the basis for them in law). The purpose of section 106 agreements is to mitigate the impact of development of the site.

What form do they take

Planning obligations may: restrict the way the land can be developed or used; require the developer to take certain actions in relation to the land or to use the land in a specified way; or require the developer to pay money or in-kind (by transferring the ownership of land etc.) to the authority. A developer may also enter into planning obligations under the terms of section 278 of the Highways Act 1980 which provides for payments to councils in respect of increased spending on highways as a result of new development.

Developer Contributions

Together with Community Infrastructure Levy, planning obligations under section 106 and section 278 are sometimes also called ‘developer contributions’. Unlike the Community Infrastructure Levy, which is charged across classes of development according to a tariff set by the local council, planning obligations entered into through section 106 agreements and section 278 agreements are site-specific and the subject of individual assessment and agreement.

Sometimes the developer contribution arising from a smaller development is dealt with by a unilateral undertaking by the developer (made under the terms of section 106) rather than a full section 106 agreement.

When are they used and what for and how communities benefit

The tests for a section 106 agreement are that it must be:

be necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms
relate directly to the development
be fair and reasonable in scale and kind given the details of the development.

Councils commonly use planning obligations to make housing developers provide a proportion of affordable housing or financial contributions towards the cost of infrastructure or affordable housing. But, so long as the tests above are met, agreements can be used flexibly to mitigate the effects of development. This could be, for example, by providing new community facilities or open space to replace those lost or damaged by development; by providing funding for a school or for public transport improvements; or carrying out town centre improvements.

It would be misleading to think that community groups can ‘bid in’ for section 106 funding, but if your neighbourhood is affected by development, it is right that your neighbourhood benefits from any planning obligations that are entered into. Community groups can help the council to develop appropriate policies for an area which will form the basis of deciding whether any planning obligations are needed and help to indicate the form they might take. Section 106 agreements are put out for consultation in the same way and to the same timescale as planning applications.

Key Facts:

Planning obligations – commonly known as section 106 agreements – are payments and duties agreed by developers to councils to make development acceptable. Unlike Community Infarstructure Levy (CIL), which is charged at a flat rate, planning obligations are specific to a particular development proposal. Together with CIL, planning obligations are called 'developer contributions'. Community groups can influence the policies which determine how 'section 106 money' is spent.

Page Links from here

DCLG's Planning Practice Guidance on Planning Obligations

and in this toolkit:

Community Infrastructure Levy

Developers

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

created: 2016-07-01 22:35:13

by: admin

status: f published

Community Right to Build Orders

If your community organisation wants to develop community land and buildings itself, then a Community Right to Build Order can enable planning permission for it on a particular site…

If your community organisation wants to develop community land and buildings itself, then a Community Right to Build Order can enable planning permission for it on a particular site...

In more detail

A Community Right to Build Order (CRTBO) is a special type of Neighbourhood Development Order which can be created by any local community organisation (not just a body which qualifies to lead neighbourhood planning under the Localism Act 2011) as long as it meets certain criteria (see below).

Uses

You can use a CRTBO to give outline or full planning permission for the development of things like a community centre, shops, businesses, affordable housing for rent or sale, community facilities or playgrounds to be built by the community organisation and not for private profit. CRTBOs are intended to enable small scale developments that would not need an Environmental Impact Assessment. That means there are certain sites as well as certain types of development that cannot be subject of a CRTBO.

The video below is by Locality and presents Community Right to Build Orders:

Criteria

A local community organisation must have at least half of its members living in a neighbourhood area to be eligible to propose a CRTBO in that neighbourhood. The objectives of the organisation must be in line with improving the economic, environmental and social well-being of the area in question. Any profit made as a result of a CRTBO must be used for the good of the whole community or a community within the neighbourhood, not for private gain.

Apart from the originating body, a CRTBO is processed in the same way as a Neighbourhood Development Order, including the need for a public referendum. It could be that it is quicker for your group to get planning permission for the development in the usual way rather than using a CRTBO.

Key Facts:

A Community Right To Build Order (CRTBO) is a way of community organisations securing full or outline planning permission for developing a particular site. It only applies to locally based organisations and is simply a way of securing permission to develop land and buildings. Organisations should consider the alternatives to see what advantage a CRTBO might give them.

Page Links from here

The CPRE guide to Community Right to Build Orders

The Planning Advisory Service's guide for councils on CRTBOs

In the toolkit see:

Local Development Orders

Neighbourhood Development Order

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

created: 2016-06-28 10:23:57

by: admin

status: f published

Conservation Areas

Could creating a conservation area be an alternative to (or a step towards) making a neighbourhood plan…

Could creating a conservation area be an alternative to (or a step towards) making a neighbourhood plan...

In more detail

Conservation areas are designated by the council to cover neighbourhoods and places with a character or an appearance which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. There are about 10,000 conservation areas in England. They are not necessarily the well-off parts of town or the oldest areas, but they do need to be both preservable and worth preserving. Councils can designate a conservation area. In London, Historic England can designate them.

Within conservation areas, there are special rules apply governing development. Landowners need permission for developments and alterations to properties that would normally not need planning permission. This includes for things like adding satellite dishes or solar panels; building single storey extensions and conservatories; cladding, laying paving or building walls. Owners also need permission to do work on trees or for demolition work in conservation areas.

Only some neighbourhoods have the potential to be designated as conservation areas and it may not be that designating one will be popular with all residents. It remains, however, an alternative worth considering in some places

Key Facts:

Conservation areas are designated areas with special character or appearance and within which there is a more extensive approach to planning permission.

Page Links from here

Historic England's Guide to Conservation Areas

In the toolkit, see:

Neighbourhood Design Statements

Tree Preservation Orders

Planning Permission

Neighbourhood Planning

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

created: 2016-06-15 10:34:41

by: admin

status: f published