I want to start by saying I don’t actually think you are dummies… unless of course you think that the National Scheme of Delegation (henceforth called NSD) means you are going to dodge Planning Committees entirely…
The much-anticipated NSD at last arrives officially on Saturday 31 October… The fact that it is Halloween is not wasted on me… and in many ways the NSD is “Trick or Treat”… We have already seen the first decisions using the NSD being implemented and it is very insightful.
Just a little reminder…
Schedule 1 - up to 10 homes/1,000sqm/1Ha, home extensions, if you have already got an outline permission with ONE PHASE of construction. Congratulations, if you keep your officer happy, you get a rubber stamp. Hooray.
Schedule 2 – Anything over 10 homes/1,000sqm/1Ha, renewables, larger Reserve Matters on phases 2, 3, 4,5… of consented Outline consents, you will be subject to a “Gateway Test” and that decides whether the officers or the Planning Committee decides.
Gateway Test -This is already being rolled out and this week we have seen the first “gateway test” applied to a 41-unit application. No statutory objections and only a hand full of objections and with 21 supportive comments. The Head of Planning and the Chair of the Planning Committee met and the meeting was minuted. The minutes are very much guided by questions being asked and the conclusion was that this application will be determined by the Planning Committee and NOT under delegated powers by the officer (oh, did I mention the officers have written it up for approval?)
End of call-in by the Ward Councillors? Well, on paper, yes. As you all know, your darling Ward Councillor could simply ping off an e-mail to the planning officer, and you end up at Planning Committee and your Ward Councillor can take you down with a hard-hitting speech and “rent-a-mob” NIMBY residents chorus. They can’t do that anymore, however, they can still make their views known to the Head of Planning and to the Chair of the Planning Committee. I refer you to the first “Gateway test” we saw where the Ward Councillor is dead-set against the application… and indeed it was referred to the Planning Committee with accompanying reason in wording so opaque Sir Humphrey Appleby couldn’t have written it better.
NPPF Policies DM1 and DM3
A quick reminder that whether you are Schedule 1 or Schedule 2, the DM policies still apply and you need to conduct appropriate consultation with neighbours and the local community. And you need to prove how your application evolved through the consultation process.
Confused? (It is ok to be confused!)
It is all a bit confusing, but we have put together an easy guide that you can find here.
Don’t be confused, get in touch!
Henry