Government proposes mandatory training for planning committee members

According to MHCLG, the changes will mean “greater certainty” to house builders that good-quality schemes aligned with already-agreed local development plans will be approved in “a timely manner to get spades in the ground”.

 

The government wants to allow planning committees to focus their resources on complex or contentious development where local democratic oversight is required and a balanced planning judgement is made.

 

MHCLG aims to ensure planning committee members get the training and support they need to fulfil their duties effectively, and empower planning professionals to make sound planning decisions on those cases aligned with the development plan.

 

In addition, the plans are intended to encourage developers to submit good-quality applications that are compliant with plan policies.

 

Alongside the proposed reforms, MHCLG expects to confirm “sweeping changes” to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) this week following a consultation launched in July.

 

Housing secretary and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: “Building more homes and infrastructure across the country means unblocking the clogged-up planning system that serves as a chokehold on growth. The government will deliver a sweeping overhaul of the creaking local planning committee system.

 

“Streamlining the approvals process by modernising local planning committees means tackling the chronic uncertainty and damaging delays that acts as a drag anchor on building the homes people desperately need.

 

“Grasping the nettle of planning committee reform and fast-tracking decision-making is a vital part of our Plan for Change. Building 1.5 million homes over five years means tackling the housing crisis we inherited head-on with bold action.

 

“Through our Planning and Infrastructure Bill, alongside the new National Planning Policy Framework and mandatory housing targets, we are taking decisive steps to accelerate building, get spades in the ground and deliver the change communities need.”

 

“We want to encourage better-quality development that is aligned with local development plans, facilitates the speedy delivery of the quality homes and places that our communities need, and gives applicants the reassurance that in more instances their application will be considered by professional officers and determined in a timely manner,” government said in the working paper.

 

Mandatory training for planning committee members

 

MHCLG said it is considering introducing mandatory training for planning committees to ensure members understand key planning principles, propriety, and new planning issues so that decision-making is better informed and decisions are more robust.

 

This would require all members of planning committees, together with other key decision-makers, such as the Mayor of London, to undertake certified training before they could sit on a planning committee and be involved in the decision-making process. It would also involve prohibiting members who have not undertaken the training from making decisions.

 

MHCLG envisages that the training would cover at least the key principles of planning. These include, but are not limited to: planning legislation, the role of the development plan and national planning policy, the planning application process, enforcement, and the code of conduct for planning committees.

“It is important that planning committee members are sufficiently trained in planning matters before they make decisions,” the government said.

 

“Planning is a complex area – drawing on regulations, caselaw, and policy requirements – and it is important that planning committees which are undertaking a regulatory function are able to make robust decisions.

 

“Unfortunately, there are still too many decisions being made where the planning justification is weak, and the decision is overturned on appeal, creating delays and uncertainty.”

 

National scheme of delegation

 

MHCLG said it wants to establish a national scheme of delegation that will provide “a standardised, consistent approach” to delegation of decisions in all local planning authorities, recognising where sites have already had democratic approval through the local plan process.

 

“We think a national scheme of delegation will make the system easier to navigate and assist in making it more transparent to users and the public,” the department said.

 

Dedicated committees for strategic development

 

The government intends to test views on requiring local planning authorities to establish smaller, dedicated committees focused only on strategic development where there is such development planned in their area.

 

The committees would take ownership of strategic development applications and build expertise using local knowledge and understanding of planning issues.

 

These committees would operate in addition to the main planning committee. The department said they would focus only on those developments that are “critical to supporting local economic development and local housing need, providing long-term focus and consistency for the most important schemes”.

 

According to the proposals, these committees could deal directly with, and have detailed knowledge of, specified strategic development opportunities.

 

They could consider complex issues such as Section 106 agreements, and subsequent post-permission matters such as approval of design codes or reserved matters for key later phases, the government said.

 

“This could provide for a clearer and more direct decision-making process for developments of critical importance to the growth and economy of an area, while retaining local democratic oversight for such decisions,” MHCLG said.

 

‘Very welcome’

 

Sam Bensted, assistant director of policy at the British Property Federation, said it is “very welcome” that the government is focused on improving the efficiency of decision-making in the planning system while maintaining democratic accountability. 

 

“The proposals in MHCLG’s discussion paper on modernising planning committees do just that by enabling local planners to take more important planning decisions when the application is consistent with the local plan,” he said.

 

“This will not only speed up the determination process and empower planning officers to use their professional judgement, it will also free up elected members to focus on the most significant planning applications.

 

“It is also encouraging to see a commitment to extra training for planning committee members, which we hope will lead to a higher quality of debate and decision-making on applications which are brought to committee.”

 

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, welcomed the government’s proposals.  

 

“With over eight million people in England living in unsuitable, unaffordable homes or homeless, we welcome the government’s commitment to tackling the housing crisis, and planning is an essential part of this, including reinstating housing targets,” she said.

 

“Alongside this, to build the affordable homes the country needs, at the upcoming Spending Review we need to see a significant boost in funding for social rented homes and equal access to building safety funding for social landlords, as part of a package of long-term measures to help the social housing sector rebuild its capacity after decades of cuts.”

 

Alun Williams, partner at law firm Spector Constant & Williams, said that the new policies announced correctly target the area where “the greatest blockage in the system occurs”.

 

“Far too many planning committee decisions are delayed for a wide range of sometimes very mundane reasons,” he said.