You may remember that The Housing and Planning Bill (The Bill) laid before parliament in October 2015, proposed to introduce the concept of 'permission in principle' (PiP) on land allocated for development, and to give the Government significant new powers to intervene in the decision-taking and plan-making processes.

By introducing PiP, the Government aims to give greater certainty and predictability within the planning system by ensuring that the principle of development only needs to be established once; thereby increasing the likelihood of suitable sites being developed (it is hoped). The Government also aims to improve the efficiency of the planning system by reducing the number of detailed applications that are unsuitable by limiting the amount of time spent reappraising the principle of development.

In light of The Bill, DCLG has released the glamorously entitled Technical consultation on implementation of planning changes document for public consultation, until 15th April 2016.

PiP is to be introduced on allocated sites in certain adopted or emerging documents; or upon application on smaller sites. However, before you jump out of your seat with excitement, it is not all good news, as all PiPs will need to be consented following the submission of ‘technical details’.

Technical details consent on sites must be determined in accordance with the PiP in force at the time. This means that the question of whether the ‘in principle matters’ are acceptable cannot be re-opened. Submitted technical details must be considered against local and national planning policies, whilst applications for PiP must be contained in a single application, and cannot be phased. Refusals can be appealed.

PiP will be done through future Local & Neighbourhood Plans, and/ or via brownfield registers, and will be implemented through Development Orders. Furthermore, allocations are proposed to only last a maximum of five years; after which allocations will be required to be reviewed and re-approved by local planning authorities.
Allocating PiP sites through the emerging local plans process will allow local planning authorities, parishes, and designated neighbourhood groups to propose sites to be granted permission in principle as part of an effective process for identifying and assessing sites that are suitable for development.

On smaller sites, it is recognised that developers can face particular challenges with the planning system due to lack of certainty, particularly on windfall sites. Consequently, applicants for minor development should be able to apply directly to the local planning authority for PiP, by submitting a minimum amount of information. In addition, technical consent could be granted for either one or three years.

Technical details applications for major development will take no more than ten weeks, and five weeks for minor sites; whilst PiP applications on minor applications will be decided within five weeks.

Here at Iceni we note that the above article cannot fully begin to address and outline the intricacies of the entire consultation document. It's a dry but important document, best handled with a strong G&T in hand. Failing that, we are more than happy to discuss the consultation and the potential opportunities and threats to your business. Please get in touch with your usual Iceni contact. Again, the deadline for representations is 15th April 2016.

A link to the full consultation document can be found here.