Local Plan Reform: Update

In a sign that progress on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill ‘LURB’ is gathering pace ahead of next year’s general election, the much-anticipated Government proposals to implement plan-making reforms have now been revealed, with the clear vision to make plans simpler, faster to prepare and more accessible.

 

Announced back in May 2022, the purpose of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is to “drive local growth, empowering local leaders to regenerate their areas, and ensuring everyone can share in the United Kingdom’s success”.

 

At the Bill’s centre is the vision for Local Plans to be simpler to understand and use, positively shaped by local communities and prepared and crucially updated more frequently to reflect local needs.

 

Government evidence on local plan progress shows that it currently takes 7 years on average to produce a local plan. Moreover, latest data currently suggests that whilst 90% of local authorities now have an adopted Local Plan, just 35% have a plan adopted in the last five years and by the Government’s own admission, few are at an advanced stage in preparing a new one. The much-discussed proposal to remove the requirement for planning authorities with an up-to-date plan to demonstrate continually a deliverable 5-year housing land supply is clearly central to the Government’s prioritisation of frequently updated plans.

 

Key measures advanced within the proposed reform include:

 

• Introducing a set of ‘national development management policies’ to reduce duplication across plans and instead allow a focus on locally important matters, making plans simpler, shorter and more visual.
• Introducing a 30-month timeframe within which to prepare and adopt a plan, although authorities will be able to undertake evidence gathering before this timeframe begins.
• Examination of plans by a Planning Inspector should take no longer than 6 months (plus an additional three months if further consultation is needed). This will be achieved by appointing an Inspector earlier in the process, using panels of two or more Inspectors and revising the Matters, Issues and Questions stage so that only planning authorities may submit responses rather than being shaped by third-parties who will otherwise still have an opportunity to speak at the hearings.
• Proposals to streamline the main modifications stage so that only the most significant amendments are consulted on; for example, where a new site is to be inserted into the plan
• Clear requirement for authorities to start updating their plans every five years.
• Introduction of early participation with input from the public and stakeholders to be sought much earlier in the process to shape the direction of the plan. Greater and higher quality engagement is proposed through digitisation, monitoring engagement approaches, focusing on early participation and introducing a more standardised approach to consultation.
• Making the most of digital technology to speed up the production of plans, make the process simpler and more accessible. Suggestions include interactive plans to demonstrate how an area could develop and the making of standardised planning and environmental data openly available.
• Plans will be expected to place greater emphasis on ensuring that the plan maximising opportunities to protect the environment and human health, and deliver on the government’s environmental targets and commitment.
• Plans will be expected to confirm to data standards, templates and digitisation to address the lack of standardisation and consistency between plans which can be challenging for users to navigate and engage.
• To assist planning authorities in preparing local plans by providing greater clarity on the content and reducing the volume of evidence required to support local plans at examination. Authorities will also be given the power to legally require prescribed public bodies (e.g Environment Agency, Natural England & Highway Authorities) to provide assistance to develop or review the local plan.
• The consultation also proposes details for a new type of plan called a “supplementary plan”. Supplementary plans will help planning authorities react quickly to changes in their areas (for example, an unexpected regeneration opportunity) by producing a plan that has the same ‘weight’ as local plans and will also be subject to consultation and independent examination.
• Piloting of “Community Land Auctions” as a new and innovative way of identifying land for development in a local plan in a way which seeks to maximise the benefits to the local community.

 

Figure 1: The new 30-month timeframe