News and Press
Regional Spatial Strategies reinstated following judicial review

In July 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, made a statement in Parliament abolishing Regional Spatial Strategies ("RSS") and revoking Regional Strategies. On 10 November 2010, CALA Homes succeeded in a judicial review which quashed the Secretary of State's decision. This means that RSS are reinstated as part of the Development Plan against which all planning applications must be judged.

The current position is of more significance to some types of development than others. Any development that has been the subject of targets under the RSS may find the reinstatement of these targets helpful finding a window of opportunity. This is particularly the case for housing, employment and renewable energy projects. It is understood that local authorities and the Planning Inspectorate are being referred by the Government to the letter written by the Secretary of State on 27 May 2010 as a material consideration in any decisions. The remaining question is what weight is to be given to that letter in the context of the development plan comprising an approved RSS?

A further complication is the retrospective effect of the High Court's decision. Many planning decisions have been taken in the period between July and November 2010 where the RSS would not have been taken into account. As the Secretary of State's decision has been held by the courts to be unlawful, potentially there may be a number of planning decisions that may need to be revisited.

Following the High Court's decision, the Government stated that the decision had little impact due to its Localism Bill that is due to be published this month. In addition, it produced the text of a clause to be contained in the Localism Bill that would revoke the regional tier of planning policy. Katherine Evans Head of Planning and Environment at TLT said that "whilst it is abundantly clear that the Government is committed to its localism agenda, it is unlikely that the Localism Bill will become law for some months to come. It is more than possible that its passage through Parliament could mean changes to key clauses as was the case with the Planning Act 2008. In the meantime unless the Government provides some transitional measures to provide order to the current chaos, there will continue to be a period of huge uncertainty for all those engaged in the planning process".