🚨 Major Milestone in UK Planning Legislation 🚨
The long-awaited Planning and Infrastructure Bill was recently introduced to the House of Commons for its initial readings.
In response, Michael Gooch, our Strategic Land Manager in the South West region, shares his insights on the Bill, highlighting the key proposals that promise to reshape the planning landscape and help address the housing crisis.
"Mac Mic Group strongly supports many of the proposals outlined in the Bill, which, alongside the new National Planning Policy Framework, signals a renewed commitment to growth and development after a prolonged period of uncertainty in the planning system.
A key highlight is the proposed national delegation scheme, which aims to expand the scale and types of developments that can be decided by professional planning officers. This, combined with mandatory training for planning committee members, will significantly improve the certainty of planning decisions and help ensure that those decisions are both rational and defensible. This builds on the recent Government initiative to reduce the number of statutory consultees and encourage more constructive engagement with applicants and Local Authorities, thereby promoting high-quality development while reducing unnecessary delays and costs.
While the majority of the Bill’s proposals are welcomed, there are some concerns. Notably, the extension of compulsory purchase powers to allow parish and town councils to disregard 'hope value' and the proposal to give Local Authorities the ability to set their own planning application fees are points of contention. However, it is worth noting that the latter would see these fees explicitly ring-fenced to fund and improve planning services.
Overall, this Bill represents a significant step forward in addressing the housing crisis and supporting the economic growth that Britain urgently needs. However, much more remains to be done. We will continue to monitor its progress closely as it moves through Parliament."
