Planning applications that go to appeal will have shorter timetables resulting in faster decision times according to the Planning Minister Nick Boles MP and the Planning Inspectorate.
At the end of 2012 the Government consulted on changes to make the planning appeals process “faster and more transparent, and improve consistency and certainty in decision-taking timescales”. They have subsequently reviewed all the responses received and Nick Boles MP set out the key elements of the changes in the House of Commons on the 3rd September.
In short, the changes require more information upfront, including a full statement of case and draft statement of common ground at the point of lodging the appeal. In addition, evidence will be required earlier to shorten the timetable, and bespoke timetables will be available to a wider range of major appeals.
Minor Appeals
It is clear that the changes will require a greater workload at the beginning of the process. There may be grumblings that the overall timetable will not change significantly, but in the Government’s defence, it places the onus on the appellant to dictate timescales; within reason, the appellant can be as quick or as slow as it chooses.
Major Appeals
The threshold for setting bespoke programmes for Inquiries has been extended, and now includes any appeal for a major development where the Inquiry is considered likely to last more than 3 days. Previously this only applied to situations where the Inquiry was likely to last more than 6 days so the change could affect a significant number of developments. This change will enable the appellant to agree a timetable for the appeal with the LPA in advance; we’d like to say this will allow for the process to be fast-tracked, but in practice, we suspect it will actually create greater scope for delay.
The amendments effectively apply immediately, as they relate to appeals lodged on or after 19th August 2013. For more information on the changes made see the link below, or feel free to contact us with any queries.