More News about the Localism Bill and its progress.
ASHTAV members who have been following the progress of the Bill and noted the requirement proposed within it for developers of large schemes to fully consult with local communities before submitting their planning applications will have also noted the lack of detail about what a large development is considered to be.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has now spelled out what sort of major development will require pre-application discussions, as well as suggesting that within five years planning authorities will be dealing with around 2,000 neighbourhood plans.
A series of impact assessments has been published as MPs start reviewing the Localism Bill which sets out to hand more control of the land-use planning regime to communities.
This documentation indicated that obligatory pre-application discussions will be expected for residential schemes where the number of units to be constructed is 200 or more or where the application site area is four hectares or more.
In the case of non-residential major schemes the relevant threshold is 2ha or alternatively a floor space of 10,000 square metres or more.
The department assumes that this new requirement will apply to around 3,000 applications a year and cost the developer between £2,000 and £10,000 per proposal.
On neighbourhood development plans (NDPs), the relevant assessment estimates that around 75% of plans will be small scale, costing from on average £17,000 to set up, and that there will be nearly 2,000 of them within five years.
The department has explained a little more about how the new plans will fit with the existing development plan regime. NDPs are to be in general conformity with the 'strategic elements' of the development plan, and this phrase will be defined in the promised national planning policy framework.
Residential schemes of the size indicated are not uncommon on the periphery of small historic towns and can have significant effects elsewhere within the town. Notwithstanding the effects of increased traffic, both domestic and heavy goods, such developments can cause through historic town centres, particularly those lacking any form of by-pass road system, the increased consumer demand can lead to increased interest from national retailers in buying up small independent concerns and replacing them with Tesco/Sainsbury convenience stores with the ubiquitous house styles and “anywhere” design pallettes.
It will be important for members to take advantage of the increased consultation duties imposed upon developers to ensure that all factors associated with development are fully taken into account by decision-makers.
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