Today (28th May 2025) government has published another of its consultations in its attempt to streamline the planning system. It proposes options for reforming application site thresholds to introduce a more gradated approach, with 3 separate thresholds: minor, medium and major. The paper explains that the existing site thresholds (Major and Minor) are too simplistic, so explores how different site sizes should be treated within the planning system and proposes introducing a new size category (Medium). The proposals aim to streamline disproportionate requirements on small and medium sites, while maintaining and strengthening requirements on major development. Proposals include;
For Minor Residential Development – fewer than 10 homes /up to 0.5ha – Streamlining requirements on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), including the option of a full exemption, exemption from paying the proposed Building Safety Levy (BSL), improve and monitor performance, so SMEs can expect a better service, reducing validation requirements, and requiring that all schemes of this size are delegated to officers.
Introduction of a new Medium Residential Development category – between 10-49 homes/up to 1.0 ha Simplifying BNG requirements – applying a revised simplified metric, exploring exempting these sites from the proposed Building Safety Levy, exempting them from build out transparency proposals: but specifically tracking performance of these types of developments directly so SMEs can expect a better service, including the delegation of some of these developments to officers as part of the National Scheme of Delegation, minimising validation and statutory information requirements, and asking how they might streamline section 106 negotiations.
For very small sites – under 0.1ha – the Government intend to go even further in streamlining the planning process but will give further details later in the year. Comments on the proposals are required by 9th July.
Giles Moir, Director at Chapman Lily Planning, commented; I welcome these proposals – just simplifying validation requirements and BNG requirements will be very welcome. I am pleased to see government acknowledgement that development costs, including planning bureaucracy, has a disproportionately high effect upon small and medium developers. The government says it’s keen to encourage these builders in order to improve consumer choice, support local economies, and support local vernacular styles. Interestingly, I note the paper states; ‘This supports a key objective of our Long Term Housing Strategy to diversify the housing market and deliver a reformed housebuilding system, which will be set out in full later this year’. We at Chapman Lily Planning will continue to monitor and comment on government proposals in order to advise clients how to prepare for possible changes, so that they are best placed to take advantage of any – if and when they arise.
