Agenda item

The Head of Planning will be in attendance to provide information in relation to Planning Reforms

Recommendation: Panel to determine whether further information is required

The Head of Planning provided a presentation in relation to planning reforms and proposals in the recent Government White Paper.

Two key changes had been made in respect of Permitted Development Rights. For single storey dwellings there were now permitted development rights to add one storey and for two storey dwellings and discrete blocks of flats, an additional two storeys could be added. There were however a number of restrictions in place and prior approval from the Local Authority was required. Secondly, discreet offices and business buildings could be demolished and rebuilt as residential development or apartment blocks without the need for formal planning permission. Again similar restrictions applied and they could be limited to a maximum size of property that replaced them. Design was another prior approval issue that could be taken into consideration.

The Government had also introduced new use classes under the Use Classes Order. Class E for commercial business and service uses and Class F for local community and learning. Class E had been split down into 11 categories and it was possible to limit a use to within those use classes. It was not clear yet what the permitted development rights would be changing between each. At this moment in time the permitted development rights which were in existence before that new use class still applied. Hot food takeaways had been put into what was called 'sui generis' meaning that any change of use from, or to, a hot food takeaway would require planning permission and there were no associated permitted development rights. The importance of Class F, which was split into F1 - learning and non residential institutions and F2 - local community, was that the provision of local facilities was very important and key in developments. This provided a specific use class for such local facilities.

There were five key areas in the Planning Reform White Paper as follows:

Streamline the planning process with more democracy taking place more effectively at the plan-making stage, and replacing the entire corpus of plan-making law.

·         Take a radical, digital-first approach to modernise the planning process, moving from a process based on documents to a process driven by data.

·         To bring a new focus on design and sustainability.

·         Improve infrastructure delivery and ensure developers play their part, through reform of developer contributions.

·         To ensure more land is available for the homes and development people and communities need, and to support renewal of town and city centres.

The white paper was broken down into three pillars:

Pillar One: Planning for Development,  had ten proposals:

1. Simplifying local plans.
2. Development management policies set at national level.
3. Local Plan subject to a single statutory ‘sustainable development’ test.
4. Standard method for establishing housing requirement figures.
5. Automatic planning permission for areas of growth.
6. Decision making should be faster.
7. Local Plans should be visual, map-based, and standardised.
8. Statutory timetable for preparing Local Plans.
9. Neighbourhood plans to be retained.
10. Stronger emphasis on build out through planning.

Pillar Two:  Planning for beautiful and sustainable places, had eight proposals:

11. Establishment of binding local design guidance and codes
12. Establish a national body to support design coding and building better places.
13. Design to be given greater emphasis in the strategic objectives for Homes England.
14. A fast-track for beauty.
15. Amend NPPF to more effectively mitigate and adapt to climate change.
16. Simpler framework for assessing environmental impacts.
17. Conserving and enhancing our historic buildings and areas.
18. Improvements in energy efficiency standards for buildings.

Pillar Three: Planning for infrastructure and connected places, had six proposals:

19. Introduction of a reformed extended infrastructure levy.
20. Scope of infrastructure levy extended to capture changes under PD rights.
21. Reformed infrastructure levy should deliver affordable housing provision.
22. More freedom given to Local Authorities as to how they spend the levy.
23. Develop a comprehensive resources and skills strategy for the planning sector.
24. Strengthen enforcement powers and sanctions.

Other proposed reforms included:

• Revised standard method for calculating housing need.
• Delivering First Homes- discounted to First Time Buyers and Key Workers.
• Removing the Section 106 burden on small sites to support Small and Medium Enterprises.
• Extending Permission in Principle to major schemes.

The Head of Planning provided further detail on the proposals at the meeting. One issue highlighted was the 13 week timescale for a planning application to be approved, with a penalty of having to refund the fee if the timescale was not met by the Local Authority. The Head of Planning comment that whilst the Planning Department had a good record in this area, the development industry needed to play its part in ensuring that applications had been properly assessed before submission.

Concern was raised in relation to the Planning Committee having less control over planning applications. It was clarified that automatic permission was only intended for outline applications and the details would still need to be submitted for approval. Queries were also raised in relation to the infrastructure levy, land banking and introduction of a fast-track for beauty.

Finally, the Head of Planning commented that whilst the White Paper set out the principles for reform, the detail with regard to how the proposals would be implemented had not yet been published. 
 

Members discussed draft terms of reference for the current review of Middlesbrough Regeneration Post Covid-19.

AGREED as follows:

1. That the information provided was received and noted.
2. The following terms of reference for the review of Middlesbrough Regeneration Post Covid-19 Review were approved:

A) To investigate what resources will be required to implement proposed regeneration schemes and what contributions are available and/or required from Central Government, Middlesbrough Council, the private sector and other stakeholders.
B) To examine Middlesbrough Council’s current proposals for the regeneration of the town including plans for retail, leisure, housing, urban living, education, enterprise, communication, transport and connectivity, post Covid-19.

C) To consider how to ensure that proposed regeneration schemes are accessible, environmentally friendly, sustainable, and at the same time drive social and economic growth.