The planning system has come in for a bashing from all sides recently, but perhaps it’s best to leave it alone, says John Bosworth.
First it was Redrow Homes chairman Steve Morgan, who criticised the system describing it as a “bureaucratic mess” which is holding up the company from delivering 16,600 plots that it has “locked-up in the planning system”.
On the other hand, Labour leader Ed Miliband criticised both the system and housebuilders in his party conference speech. He accused developers of sitting on land and refusing to build houses, and promised that by the end of a future Labour government, 200,000 new homes a year will be built.
It’s not that politicians can be accused of having neglected the planning system. In the past 15 years, governments of all colours have passed Act after Act of planning law changes (almost always in the name of improving the process) and have revised and simplified National Planning Policy Guidance.
Perhaps the sheer volume of this constant change is indeed part of the problem. The current government’s localism agenda has sought to devolve decision-making to a neighbourhood level, yet in reality, this has simply added a further layer of decision and plan-making to the planning system and has handed power to those who are least likely to want to see new development happening.
So while the government always sought to claim that the localism reforms were part of a growth agenda, inevitably there will be many across England who seek to use the localism laws as a means of frustrating development.
It is hardly surprising, therefore, that we are now seeing regular headlines where the secretary of state for communities and local government is seen to be over-ruling district councils by granting planning permission for houses on greenfield sites when decisions come before him on appeal.
Rather than all this hysteria perhaps what is needed now is a period of reflection, to allow the various planning reforms to bed in and to allow the National Planning Policy framework (which is still less than 18 months old) to be applied. No more sweeping legal changes please!
Where the system could do with some improvement is in the resources available to local planning authorities. With local government cuts, planning departments invariably seem to be short staffed and planning officers are hard-pushed to give applications the time and attention they deserve. Tony Baldry MP has already claimed that local planning authorities are being “strong armed” by developers and giving them the resources to deal with applications properly and thoroughly would be a way of counteracting such concerns.
Another thought, although not in tune with the so-called localism agenda, would be to limit the role played by politicians in the process. Too often, delays are caused by committees overturning the recommendations of professional officers – only to be overturned again on appeal. Perhaps where planning applications accord with an adopted local plan policy and are below a certain threshold in terms of housing numbers, applications should be determined by officers with no part being played in the process by local politicians.
John Bosworth is a partner and head of planning at Ashfords Solicitors
