Insider Media Limited

Central guidelines surrounding the forthcoming changes to planning legislation need to be produced before a ‘planning postcode lottery’ war erupts. That’s according to commercial property company Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), which said that local authorities need to be given a definition on the easing of laws surrounding sustainable development. CBRE also voiced its concern over the potential ‘dictation’ by councils on the use of brownfield sites.

Despite the region’s planning experts broadly welcoming the relaxation of planning laws with cautious optimism, some have questioned what the proposals could mean for the region.

Chancellor George Osborne said that current planning regulations were a “chronic obstacle” to growth, and put forward plans to streamline regulations, potentially allowing sustainable projects to be given an automatic go-ahead. Councils would also be encouraged to auction land with pre-approved permission for development.

LSH’s director of planning, development and regeneration, Stephen Hemming, said the definition of sustainable development could be a “sticking point”, as could compatibility with local authority development plan proposals.

He said: “Simplification and removal of regulation is to be broadly welcomed, as is the 12-month guarantee for determination of planning applications. However, I am worried that different authorities will have varying views on what is defined as sustainable development. There will need to be some central guidelines produced as soon as possible or we could end up with a planning postcode lottery.

“Equally, does this mean that planning applications will be presumed to be accepted, even when a proposal goes against local authority or neighbourhood development plans? Which takes primacy; the development plan or the assumption of acceptance? Again this could result in inconsistencies across local authority areas without national guidelines being in place.”

Other regional planning experts have also voiced their concerns about the new legislation.

Martin Guest, managing director of CBRE in Birmingham, said: “The measures announced by the Chancellor to simplify the planning regime should reduce uncertainty and speed up the process and as such the reforms should be welcomed. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the ‘prize’ of securing planning permission also creates development value.

“The shift in favour of development is a positive step but the suggestion that the use of brownfield land will be dictated by the local community will only lead to confusion and a rash of appeals, adding to the workload of councils.”

Peter Leaver, planning partner at King Sturge in Birmingham, agreed with the Chancellor that the current planning system was unattainable, describing it as “onerous, time consuming and an expensive business”.

He added: "The Budget announcement refers to introducing a powerful new presumption in favour of sustainable development, with the default position being yes, rather than no. This is laudable, but unworkable until the government actually defines sustainable development. Sustainable can mean different things to different interests, whether it be environmental, ecological or economical.

"Until this basic premise is resolved, there will be insufficient certainty and this will constrain development and investment."