Housing Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has confirmed a set of sweeping planning changes she wants to implement across local councils.
This includes mandatory training for councillors who serve on local authority planning committees.
Following speculation at the weekend Rayner has now released details of plans which she will consult on officially after the festive season.
Under proposals to modernise the planning approval process, applications that comply with local development plans could bypass planning committees entirely to tackle what Rayner calls “chronic uncertainty, unacceptable delays and unnecessary waste of time and resources.”
The measures would see a national scheme of delegation introduced, the creation of streamlined committees for strategic development and mandatory training for planning committee members.
Under the new plans, local planning officers will also have an enhanced decision-making role to implement previously agreed planning policy.
The changes will mean greater certainty to housebuilders that schemes aligned with already-agreed local development plans will be approved in a timely manner to get spades in the ground.
Rayner says: “Building more homes and infrastructure across the country means unblocking the clogged-up planning system that serves as a chokehold on growth. The government will deliver a sweeping overhaul of the creaking local planning committee system.
“Streamlining the approvals process by modernising local planning committees means tackling the chronic uncertainty and damaging delays that acts as a drag anchor on building the homes people desperately need.
“Grasping the nettle of planning committee reform and fast-tracking decision-making is a vital part of our Plan for Change. Building 1.5m homes over five years means tackling the housing crisis we inherited head-on with bold action.
“Through our Planning and Infrastructure Bill, alongside new National Planning Policy Framework and mandatory housing targets, we are taking decisive steps to accelerate building, get spades in the ground and deliver the change communities need.”
The government’s plans have been backed by Dr Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, who says:
“It’s encouraging to see the government explore these options in such an open way. These are the right questions to ask, and it is good that the government is prioritising collaboration, transparency, and consistency.
“By empowering qualified planners to implement planning policies, locally elected councillors will have the time to focus on the more significant cases, effectively speeding up the planning process and reducing unnecessary delays.
“By requiring councillors to undergo appropriate training before joining planning committees, we can ensure planning decisions are made for the greater good of the communities while aligning with national policies. We would look forward to supporting this programme.”
The government will publish a formal public consultation on detailed proposals to coincide with the introduction of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill next year.
