Neighbourhood Planning Bill – including the use of pre-commencement conditions
On Wednesday the Neighbourhood Planning Bill was presented to Parliament and the Government launched a consultation on the implementation of its provisions that relate to neighbourhood planning.
The Bill aims to both speed up and strengthen how neighbourhood plans can be revised to adapt to local changes. The Housing and Planning Minister, Gavin Barwell said;
“The Prime Minister has been absolutely clear that we need to build more homes and this Bill is the first of a number of measures to deliver on that”.
“We have already built more than 900,000 homes since 2010 and now this Bill will help speed up delivery of the further new homes our country needs and ensure our foot is still firmly on the pedal”.
“We’re also going further than ever before to speed up neighbourhood planning which puts power in the hands of local people to decide where development gets built”.
The Bill also proposes that pre-commencement conditions are only used by Local Planning Authorities (LPA’s) where they have the written agreement of the developer. LPA’s will still be able to impose conditions that are considered necessary to achieve sustainable development and to protect such things as heritage assets and the natural environment. The intention of the Bill is that the process of agreeing pre-commencement conditions will form part of the dialog between applicants/ agents and LPA’s. The Bill proposes that if an applicant refuses to accept a pre-commencement condition that is considered necessary by the LPA that the application can be refused.
The consultation on the Bill seeks views on the detailed regulations to implement the provisions relating to neighbourhood planning. These include the procedures for the modification and examination of neighbourhood plans and the requirement for Local Planning Authorities to review their Statements of Community Involvement.
The Bill is due to have its second reading in the House of Commons on 10th October.
If you would like any advice on how the Bill may affect you please contact Chapman Lily Planning.
North Dorset District Council – Call for sites
North Dorset District Council are carrying out a call for sites to identify land that may have development potential over the next 15 years.
The call for sites is an opportunity to put sites forward to North Dorset District Council to help meet future demand for housing and jobs.
The call for sites runs until the 21st October 2016. If you have a site in North Dorset which you think may have development potential and you would like advice on submitting it to North Dorset District Council as part of their call for sites, or you would like advice on whether your land has development potential, please contact Chapman Lily Planning.
Chapman Lily Planning attending Advanced Arrangements networking event
Chapman Lily Planning are pleased to be attending the ‘Ask the Expert Drop in Evening’ being organised by Advanced Arrangements on the 6th October from 4:30pm to 7:00pm at The Cow, Ashley Cross.
The event is an opportunity to network, ask questions and seek guidance on Finance, Planning, Tax Accounting and Legal matters. For more information please visit http://www.advancedarrangements.co.uk/ask-the-expert/.