Working with Local Government.
The local planning authority (LPA) – usually the district or borough council – is responsible for deciding whether a proposed development should be allowed to go ahead. This is called planning permission. Most new buildings, major alterations to existing buildings and significant changes to the use of a building or piece of land need this permission.
The Planning Process
Because of the recognition by the Government to deliver the housing required going forward, it embarked upon a major overhaul of the planning process to simplify it so that it would help ensure that housing targets could be met.
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 produced a simpler planning system at regional and local level.
It allows the housing or site allocations to be reviewed more regularly if it is felt that the required housing numbers within a district are not being met. It speeds up the decision making process with the focus on housing. Under this new Act, Councils are obliged to publish an Annual Report showing how they have performed and including whether they are meeting their targets for new homes. It is this transparency that gives land investors greater confidence to invest in green field sites and to then embark upon the process to obtain ‘re-allocation’.
At regional level, each region has its own Regional Spatial Strategy Housing allocations for a 20 year period.
At local level, the Local Development Framework comprises individual documents that can be reviewed separately as the need arises according to each local authority’s own priorities and objectives.
Once this is defined, specific sites can be put forward for housing promotion to the Local Planning Authority.
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