The CIL Review Panel’s long awaited report: A new approach to developer contributions was published in February 2017.  A key recommendation is that the Government should replace the Community Infrastructure Levy with a hybrid system of a broad and low level Local Infrastructure Tariff (LIT) and Section 106 for larger developments.  We will have to wait a bit longer for the government’s response which is expected in Autumn 2017.

We spoke to Roy Pinnock, Partner at Dentons about the review and potential reform of CIL. His view on CIL: tweak it don’t trash it.

Dentons Planning TV is a new and innovative platform for engaging in and reacting to the latest developments in the dynamic world of planning. Its mission statement is simple: to provoke debate and facilitate engagement at all levels in the planning process.

Brought to you by Dentons and Citiesmode it draws on the knowledge of a core panel of experts from across the sector, supplemented with special guests hand picked for their particular expertise. From Greenbelt to Brownfield, national planning policy to local plan-making and everything in between, Dentons Planning TV provides a unique insight into the thoughts of those involved at the sharp end.

The question of what powers LPAs have to deal with old planning applications is raised by both applicants, concerned that their planning application may be unilaterally withdrawn, and LPAs, keen to understand their options for dealing with undetermined applications.

A LPA can decline to deal with an application if: (i) it is not made in the prescribed form; (ii) the circumstances set out in section 70A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (‘TCPA’) apply (namely, the LPA / Secretary of State has refused a similar application in the previous 2 year period and there has been no significant change in the relevant considerations); or (iii) it constitutes an overlapping application under section 70B TCPA.  However, there is no power for an LPA to actually withdraw a planning application.

Instead, an LPA may seek to record the application as “finally disposed of” to avoid the application remaining open indefinitely. What does this mean?  What is the effect?

“Finally disposed of”

The term “finally disposed of” is used in article 40 of the General Development Procedure Order 2015 (‘GDPO’).  Under article 40(2) GDPO, each local planning register authority must keep a register of every live application for planning permission relating to their area.

Article 40(13) GDPO sets out the circumstances in which an application can be treated as finally disposed of.  In summary, this is where an application has been:

1. granted or refused by the LPA  and the time limit for appealing has expired without appeal;
2. referred / appealed to the Secretary of State, who has issued a decision and any application to the High Court has been finally determined;
3. withdrawn before being decided by the LPA / Secretary of State or an appeal has been withdrawn before the Secretary of State has issued a decision; or
4. finally, the period for determination and appeal has expired no decision has been made.  This means that a LPA can simply record an application as finally disposed of as soon as the period for determination and appeal has expired – so watch for that date.

Once any of these requirements are satisfied, the LPA may treat the application as finally disposed of and elect to remove the application from its Planning Register.

Best Practice for applicants

To avoid an application being finally disposed of, applicants should either: (i) agree to extend the time period for the Council to determine the application; or (ii) if the LPA fails to determine the application within the statutory period, appeal on the grounds of non-determination. Applicants should note that if the application period is extended, the right to a refund is lost, even if the authority fails to meet the extended deadline.

Best Practice for LPAs

Once the date for determination has passed, consideration should be given at regular intervals to whether the application should be deemed “finally disposed of” and removed from the Planning Register. Given the cost and expense of submitting an application an LPA should notify the applicant of its intention to treat an application as “finally disposed of” before doing so.  This should set out a timetable for dealing with any outstanding matters.

Refusal as an Alternative

Rather than recording an application as “finally disposed of”, LPAs could simply refuse the application. However, LPAs are often  keen to avoid this course of action for 2 reasons:

1. Refusal rates are monitored nationally and, in theory, LPAs with clear policies and effective pre-application advice should issue fewer refusals.  LPAs may therefore be concerned that refusing such application will have a negative impact on their performance figures; and
2. It would reinstate an applicant’s right to appeal.
3. Given the above, it is likely that LPAs will continue to treat applications as “finally disposed of” unless a formal procedure for LPAs to withdraw planning applications is implemented.  This is unlikely to be high on the agenda at any time in the near future given the raft of more pressing planning matters.

With the General Election drawing ever closer, planning forms the battleground for a several controversial issues close to voters’ hearts, such as fracking and safeguarding the greenbelt. In particular, persistent difficulties in delivering new housing and infrastructure unite the parties in a common cause. More homes are needed, quickly, together with greater certainty around delivery of supporting infrastructure.

The extent to which the next Government succeeds in solving these problems will be determined by its appetite to grapple with a host of underlying difficulties. These include devising an effective model for land value capture, making the CPO process fit for purpose and addressing the chronic shortfall in local authority resourcing.

Despite obvious distractions elsewhere during this campaign, housing delivery still sits atop the planning agenda, with the manifestos all setting targets and the broad route needed to reach them. The Conservatives will point to steps already taken along this long and winding road – most recently through the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 and its predecessor the Housing and Planning Act 2016. Similarly, the Housing White Paper affords us the rare luxury of a detailed annex to the aspirations commonly found in (deliberately) loosely drafted manifesto commitments. Whilst less “radical” than badged, it establishes a framework of policy changes aimed at speeding up housing delivery, through measures such as diversifying the market, getting local plans in place and holding the public and private sectors to account for delivery.

Housing delivery at scale is recognised as being paramount. This requires a commitment to supporting the growth of new towns and garden communities – where the worlds of housing and infrastructure collide most spectacularly. The Liberal Democrats propose at least 10 new garden communities whilst Labour also underline the need to start on a “new generation” of new towns. The current system already supports that drive with the introduction of a potentially significant power in the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 allowing Regulations to facilitate the designation of areas as new towns and for development corporations to be established.

Whichever party emerges victorious on 8th June, there is a sense that the keys to long-term success are not entirely in their hands. We are witnessing a shift in emphasis towards the increased role of the public sector as an enabler of development. The extent to which they are willing and able to embrace that role will go a long way towards determining whether the same issues – and proposed fixes – will remain on the planning agenda in 2022.

In this episode Derek Stebbing from IPE, Michael Lowndes from Turley, and Jamie McKie from Dentons discuss a range of issues from the Housing White Paper, how Europe may sideline the legislative agenda for planning, the impact on local planning decisions (such as purdah), and a wish list for planning post-election.

Dentons Planning TV is a new and innovative platform for engaging in and reacting to the latest developments in the dynamic world of planning. Its mission statement is simple: to provoke debate and facilitate engagement at all levels in the planning process.

Brought to you by Dentons and Citiesmode it draws on the knowledge of a core panel of experts from across the sector, supplemented with special guests hand picked for their particular expertise. From Greenbelt to Brownfield, national planning policy to local plan-making and everything in between, Dentons Planning TV provides a unique insight into the thoughts of those involved at the sharp end.

We look at the current status of neighbourhood planning. The government has demonstrated its continuing commitment to neighbourhood planning by naming a Bill after it, including it in a written ministerial  statement and in the housing white paper, and continuing to emphasise its importance in recent appeal decisions. This article considers recent developments and the direction of travel.

Read the full article

This article was first published in Property Law Journal (May 2017) and is also available at http://www.lawjournals.co.uk/.

In 2015, the Government removed permitted development rights from pubs listed as Assets of Community Value (ACVs).  As previously reported, pubs which are listed as ACVs, or have been nominated to become ACVs, require planning permission for changes of use or demolition, which otherwise could be carried out under permitted development rights.

Noting the importance of pubs to local communities, some local authorities have made Article 4 Directions to remove permitted development rights from pubs. The London Borough of Wandsworth made an Article 4 Direction in August 2016 removing specified permitted development rights for changes of use, demolition and alteration for 120 identified pubs and bars.

Following Wandsworth’s lead, the London Borough of Southwark introduced an Article 4 Direction removing permitted development rights from all 188 pubs in Southwark in March 2017.  The Article 4 Direction means that planning permission will need to be obtained for specified changes of use, demolition, demolition or construction of gates, fences and walls, and exterior painting.

After discussions in Parliament in connection with the then Neighbourhood Planning Bill, the protection afforded has been further extended by the Government to cover all pubs rather than just those listed as ACVs. Section 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning Act obliges the Secretary of State to as soon as reasonably practicable make an order to remove permitted development rights for changes of use and demolition of pubs, and to grant permission for pubs to change to pub and café/restaurant use.  This requirement has been met by the making of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) (No 2) Order 2017, which comes into force on 23 May 2017.

The order removes permitted development rights so in most cases pubs will instead have to apply for planning permission to:

• change to a shop;
• change to a restaurant or café;
• change to a state funded school;
• change to a temporary flexible use; or
• to be demolished.

The order includes a new permitted development right, to allow pubs to change use to “drinking establishments with expanded food provision” and vice versa without planning permission.

The order demonstrates the importance of pubs to the Government, by requiring a planning application for a change of use other than to a pub restaurant.  While this change negates the need for communities to list their local as an ACV to prevent changes of use without planning permission, listing could still be pursued.  A local planning authority can consider ACV status as a material consideration on a planning application, and so ACV listing could be an extra factor the local planning authority has to take into account when considering an application to change the use of a pub.  This then offers an extra layer of protection for communities wanting to keep venues operating as pubs.

The third reading of any Bill in the House of Lords is normally fantastically dull. That was not true of what is now the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017. Lord Mathew Taylor introduced a new and apparently innocuous clause that allows a completely new and parallel way of bringing new towns forward. It authorises the rewriting of the existing new town legislation, by regulation, to allow local authorities, or groups of local authorities, to ask the Secretary of State to designate an area as a new town and for a development corporation to be set up.

If agreed by the Secretary of State, then the local authorities will, effectively, step into the role that the Secretary of State occupied in the old new towns. They will control the way in which their new town development corporation is governed, operates and delivers new communities.  They will be accountable for successes.  They will be responsible for failures. Some powers will, inevitably, be retained by the Secretary of State, at least in the short term – the power to confirm CPOs and to authorise Local Development Orders. In time, with true devolution, even these powers could be left to the parent authority.

What will this mean? Many authorities are already exploring the possibility of new towns and particularly garden communities. One of the real difficulties is educating landowners that the cost of developing the necessary community and social infrastructure up front is significant, and that the legacy costs of stewardship will eat into land values, as much as if not more than the traditional enabling costs. This means that the normal landowner model of a minimum land value + a share of net proceeds or overage does not really work.  There is also a need to ensure that all land is bound into the same broad vision and programme. If that is not the case then the allocation of costs can be unfair.  The first phases will have to bear significant infrastructure costs that then increase the value of the land in later phases. If the later phases choose to develop independently then it may be problematic making sure that they bear their fair share of the initial place-making investment. A development corporation model helps to solve this. It allows early and extensive acquisition. It also ensures that the underlying “scheme”, the new town, is more completely disregarded for valuation purposes.

In practice, development corporations should rarely be necessary. Local authorities already hold most of the appropriate powers. However, the use of, or the threat of the use of, a development corporation may well be a helpful bargaining tool. It should allow local authorities to reach agreements with reluctant landowners. It should ensure that all parties contribute and benefit equally. It should be a weapon of last resort.

We look at the current approaches to assessing compensation in the context of CPOs. The promotion of nationally significant infrastructure projects such as HS2, Crossrail and garden cities, together with the recent (and continued) support in the housing white paper for the use of compulsory purchase to assist in delivering housing, confirms that the use of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) will play an increasingly prominent role in the delivery of development. The inevitable requirement of exercising CPO powers is that those dispossessed of their land are entitled to appropriate and fair compensation.

Read the full article

This article was first published in Property Law Journal (April 2017) and is also available at http://www.lawjournals.co.uk/.

Last month we blogged on the High Court’s judgment in Dunnett, which refused to quash the Secretary of State decision not to grant a Certificate of Lawfulness in respect of the use of office to residential Permitted Development rights where a condition on the office consent was effective in excluding GPDO rights. The condition stated that “The use of this building shall be for purposes falling within Class B1 (Business) as defined in the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987, and for no other purpose whatsoever, without express planning consent from the Local Planning Authority first being obtained.”

The Court of Appeal has now upheld the High Court’s judgment.

The result? Uncertainty prevails.

Trump reigns

The Court of Appeal noted that there is no bar to (cautiously) implying terms into planning conditions: doing so is an objective, fact-dependent exercise in which the Court asks ‘what a reasonable reader would understand the words to mean when reading the condition in the context of the other conditions and of the consent as a whole’ (applying Trump International ([2015] UKSC 74).

Deconstructing the condition

Against that backdrop, the Court of Appeal held:

1. The words ‘and for no other purpose whatsoever’ were, in this case, enough not only to control the B use of the property, but also to exclude future reliance on PD rights. The wording that followed – ‘without express planning consent from the Local Planning Authority first being obtained’ (the “Tail”) – just made the exclusion ‘the more abundantly clear’.
2. The Tail cannot sensibly include a planning permission granted through the GPDO. The appellant argued that it was necessary to read into the Tail ‘or the Secretary of State’ because of the unavoidable possibility of the Secretary of State granting planning permission on appeal against a refusal by the LPA. Once that is read in, the Appellant submitted, it must include Secretary of State decisions through the GPDO as well as Secretary of State decisions on appeal as there is no basis for including one but not the other. The Court rejected this: it is not necessary to imply ‘or the Secretary of State’ at all because appeal rights do not depend on conditions; they are conferred automatically by statute.
3. Further, if the Court were to accept the appellant’s argument, the Tail would include all means of granting permission and would therefore have no limiting effect at all. The LPA could not have intended to include useless wording.
4. The reason for the condition and the site’s planning history reinforced the findings above by reflecting the council’s intention to maintain close control over the site.

Comment – it depends

Unhelpfully, given Trump, implied meaning will always depend on context. That said, as a result of this judgment:

• It will be very hard to show that stating that uses are ‘limited to’ a particular use will, alone, be enough to exclude PD rights.
• Words such as ‘for no other purpose whatsoever’ will likely do the job, but ‘for no other purpose’ alone may hang in the balance.

The difficulty will be for wording that is more emphatic than ‘limited to’ but less emphatic than ‘for no other purposes whatsoever’.

It is not a great outcome for investors, who will have to puzzle over the endless and often pointless variations and contortions in condition wording pumped out by decision makers to understand what price planning freedom. A set of standard conditions embedded in the Planning Practice Guidance which make clear how PD rights should be dealt with and provide a level playing field would be welcome.

With thanks to Ralph Kellas for preparing the blog.

In this episode of Planning TV, Sam Stafford, Strategic Land Director at Barratt Developments PLC joins Jamie McKie, Dentons and Hannah David, Director of Planning Futures to discuss the measures for speeding up housing delivery suggested in the Housing White Paper. Will the new policies have any effect on housing completions and are the right issues being identified?

Dentons Planning TV is a new and innovative platform for engaging in and reacting to the latest developments in the dynamic world of planning. Its mission statement is simple: to provoke debate and facilitate engagement at all levels in the planning process.

Brought to you by Dentons and We Plan London, and Alice Lester MBE from Brent Council, it draws on the knowledge of a core panel of experts from across the sector, supplemented with special guests hand picked for their particular expertise. From Greenbelt to Brownfield, national planning policy to local plan-making and everything in between, Dentons Planning TV provides a unique insight into the thoughts of those involved at the sharp end.