The pressure to slim down for summer has led to a dramatic transformation in British planning policy rules, resulting in a new look aiming to meet with approval in the commercial property industry, according to reports.
Previously tipping the scales at more than 1,000 pages, the document has now dropped down to a lean 52-page draft. The government intends to make ‘the planning system less complex and more accessible’ and is inviting applications from interested parties to comment as part of a consultation that closes on 17 October 2011.
Planning Minister Greg Clark has said his intention is to usher in ‘a simpler, swifter system that is easier to understand and where you don’t have to pay a lawyer to navigate your way around’. He cited the fact that ‘national planning policy and central government guidance has become so bloated that it now contains more words than the complete works of Shakespeare’.
Contained within the framework is a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’, which has been reported as a positive move for commercial property developers as it states the intention to ‘move to a system where the default answer to development is yes’. Presumably this is intended to encourage more development of commercial property across the country as in recent months we have been reporting that there is a severe shortage of stock that has resulted in, and is expected to continue to result in, price rises across the board, especially in prime locations.
This is perceived to be a way of addressing concerns raised by some business groups over the government’s ‘localism’ agenda. The Localism Bill was passed in December 2010 as a means of devolving more powers to local authorities, giving them more control over planning processes and decisions. At the time, some in the commercial property sector felt this could hinder future projects.
However, this latest move may go some way to change that view among business advocates such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), who have hailed the draft as a chance to ‘balance the shift towards localism’.
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