Want to refuse planning permission? The Secretary of State is happy to step in!
I have said this before, and I will say it again… I am a massive fan of Steve Reed! He is the first Secretary of State since Eric Pickles to have actually been a Council Leader… and it shows. He actually understands Local Government and knows how to deal with it.
Steve has gone full-on Headmaster on the Councils with a new directive about Councils that want to turn housing applications down.
Just before Easter, DCHLG published a directive that orders all Councils to refer to him, as Secretary of State all 150-home-plus schemes they are intending to refuse. The directive will also apply to commercial developments over 15,000 sq m. This comes into force on 12 May.
Currently, Councils only need to refer “large-scale developments” that they have approved to the Secretary of State in case they, in the “opinion” of the Housing Secretary, conflict with National Policies or if they could have significant effects beyond their immediate locality.
This is a complete turn-around on the current procedure and turns it from a passive “send it to us to check your homework” to a “If you don’t do your homework properly, we’ll do it for you”.
The directive also makes further provision for London specifically with Councils in Greater London have to refer planning applications of “potential strategic importance” (PSI), defined as being 500 homes or more, to the Secretary of State. The conditions include where “the mayor of London has directed the authority (Council) to refuse the application” in question.
This really is a significant step and reiterated the Government’s commitment to their 2024 Election Manifesto commitment to boost housebuilding. It is clear that they aren’t going to meet their 1.5million new homes target, but they are at least trying to help builders getting consents.
Of the other reforms, they have watered down the intention to make Planning Committees smaller… It started with an intention of five or six and ended up with a maximum of 13 (so really no change as the average size is 11!).
The Government is also introducing the new National Scheme of Delegation that basically says that small applications and single phase (note single) with Outline permission could have the RM approved by delegated powers. However, bigger sites with phases will still see the phases going to Planning Committee.
This will be implemented on 30 September 2026.
They have at least stuck to their commitment to require mandatory Planning Committee training (details on this will be announced later this year).
This certainly a move in the right direction – now we just need a bit of help to get first-time buyers buying again! Go on Steve, you know the drill – Go visit Rachel in accounts and get us some help!
Until next week,
Henry
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