Housing and Planning Act 2016 & the Queen’s Speech
May 18, 2016
By Peter Dixon
Following consideration by the House of Lords of a final Commons amendment, the Housing and Planning Act 2016 received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016. A few days later, on 18 May 2016, a new Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill was included in the Queen’s Speech.
The Housing and Planning Act introduces a number of changes to planning procedures in England although the details will in many cases depend on subsequent regulations. The changes include:
- A new form of planning permission in England to be known as ‘permission in principle’ to be granted either by a development order in relation to land allocated for development by a ‘qualifying document’ (including a land register as well as a development plan) or by LPAs in accordance with new development order procedures
- Further powers for the Secretary of State to regulate and intervene in plan making in England
- A duty on LPAs in England to promote the supply of starter homes
- A duty on LPAs in England to grant planning permission for self-build and custom housing
- The designation of related housing development as Nationally Significant Infrastructure for the purposes of the Development Consent Order procedure under the Planning Act 2008 in England.
The Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill is to include further measures to strengthen neighbourhood planning and to reinforce the duty on LPAs to support the preparation of neighbourhood plans as well as:
- Measures to restrict the use of pre-commencement planning conditions
- Reform of the compulsory purchase compensation regime
- The establishment of the National Infrastructure Commission on a statutory basis
- The privatisation of the Land Registry.
Further consideration will be given to the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and to the new Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill in future issues of the Bulletin.
