After the election: Housing and planning update

Updated June 2010

As was widely anticipated in the run-up to the election, planning and housing was high up the political agenda for a new Conservative government. The Lib Dem-Conservative Coalition does not seem to be much different to what might have been anticipated and a flurry of activity has seen the following emerge:

Eric Pickles letter to local planning authorities

Prior to the election, the Conservative Party announced that it would be abolishing Regional Spatial Strategies immediately following the election if it were elected. In order to avoid the delay of primary legislation, it was confident that it could achieve this by other means. On 27 May 2010, the newly appointed Secretary of State of Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, wrote to the Leaders of local authorities confirming the new government's commitment to the abolition of Regional Strategies. He stated that he expected "Local Planning Authorities and the Planning Inspectorate to have regard to this letter as a material planning consideration in any decisions".

Planning Inspectorate guidance

Shortly after the Pickles letter hit the desks of local authority leaders, the Planning Inspectorate issued guidance to its Inspectors on how to deal with the letter in making decisions.

Usefully the guidance makes the following points:

• The Secretary of State has the power under Section 79(6) of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 to revoke all or any part of a regional strategy.
• The starting point for determining any appeal or call-in remains Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
• Until regional strategies are abolished, Inspectors should continue to treat the regional strategy as part of the development plan.

Annex A deals with appeals and call-ins; where the case relies primarily on the regional strategy, the inquiry/hearing may have to be reopened. Of more concern is the comment that in such cases, postponement, adjournment or abeyance may be warranted, presumably in anticipation of the abolition of regional strategies.

Annex B deals with Policy Areas; as with appeals, where housing and other sessions responding to regional strategy policy have not yet taken place, they should be delayed until greater clarity is obtained from the government. Where the session has already taken place, it may well be necessary to reopen it. Where the Report is being written, the views of the parties should be sought and the session reopened if necessary.

Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3): Housing

The new government has been quick to publish a revised version of PPS3. The changes are contained in paragraph 47 where the national indicative minimum density has been deleted and the definition of "Previously-Developed Land" in Annex B now excludes private residential gardens.

Housing and Planning Delivery Grant

In a written statement on 10 June 2010, Eric Pickles stated that the Housing and Planning Delivery Grant "has proved to be an ineffective and excessively complex incentive". Consequently, despite the allocations being made earlier in the year by the previous government, the Housing and Planning Delivery Grant will not now be paid out. This may well have an impact on staffing levels in local authority planning departments that might have relied on the grant to fund certain posts.

If you have any queries about any of the points raised in this article, please contact Katherine Evans, partner in TLT's Planning team.

This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at June 2010. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases; we cannot be held responsible for any action (or decision not to take action) made in reliance upon the content of this publication.

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