Friday’s mini-budget was accompanied by measures designed to reduce the burden of the planning system and speed up much needed infrastructure, they include:
• reducing the burden of environmental assessments
• reducing bureaucracy in the consultation process
• reforming habitats and species regulations
• increasing flexibility to make changes to a DCO once it has been submitted.
The government also reaffirmed its commitment to housing delivery, albeit it was light of detail, simply stating: “To make buying a home a reality, the government must accelerate housing delivery. Planning permission was granted for more than 310,000 homes last year, up 10% on the year before, but further reform is needed. Later this autumn, the government will set out its vision to unlock homeownership for a new generation by building more homes in the places people want to live and work and by getting our housing market moving. This will boost growth across the UK helping more people afford to live near good jobs. The government’s full proposal will be set out in due course.”
Brett Spiller, Director of Chapman Lily Planning commented: “anyone working in planning will know just how cumbersome the system had become, with too much tick boxing going on at the expense of quality, timely outcomes. Regrettably some local planning authorities and consultees have hidden behind the myriad of regulations, and I welcome the Government’s commitment to pair things back to speed up the process. It remains unclear what these announcements mean for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which was anticipated to be enacted in April 2023. Sweeping modifications were being tabled to help address matters such as nutrient neutrality, so there may well be some overlap. The key question is how quickly changes can be brought in”.
For more information on how these announcements might affect your project, please contact us.