Owain Griffiths, Director, Bilfinger GVA, Cardiff looks at what the Act means
The Welsh Government’s new Planning (Wales) Bill became an Act this week (6th July 2015) having been granted Royal Assent by Her Majesty the Queen. It is a landmark piece of legislation which is now law and should make the planning system more user friendly, speed up decision making, create cultural change and enable the positive delivery of appropriate and much needed development in Wales through a new three tier system.
At the national level, the introduction of a National Development Framework will replace the Wales Spatial Plan and will form part of the statutory development plan. This will provide a positive steer to development and investment in Wales by identifying key locations for infrastructure; it will set the framework for strategic and local level plans on nationally significant matters.
Secondly, at the strategic level, the introduction of Strategic Development Plans to cover three Strategic Planning Areas of Cardiff, Swansea and the A55 Corridor will extend beyond existing local planning authority boundaries.
This is a sensible move, given that, for example, there are a number of different local planning authorities in South East Wales each currently planning for housing, employment, and transport needs. However, these strategic plans will not come into force for several years and could be complicated by local authority re-organisation proposed separately through the Williams Commission. In our view the Planning (Wales) Act and local government reorganisation should go hand-in-hand as the number of local planning authorities operating is going to be critical.
The third tier is at the local level. The Local Development Plans are being retained but will need to be reviewed and updated to comply with the National Development Framework and the Strategic Development Plans. In so doing, there is a risk that this could further delay the adoption of existing local plans.
The decision making process should now speed up through a number of changes to the development management system. For example, the Welsh Government is currently consulting on Developments of National Significance which is a new tier of major planning application made directly to Welsh Ministers. Furthermore, applicants will be able to apply directly to Welsh Ministers for planning permission for certain types of development within poorly performing authorities.
The Planning (Wales) Act 2015 will provide a modern legislative framework, applying consistent measures across Wales, with a core set of Development Management Policies. There will also be a statutory requirement for developers to undertake pre-application consultation with communities and statutory consultees on all major developments and advise the local planning authority of their intended engagement prior to a planning application being validated.
Speeding up the appeal process is central to the Act. There will be emphasis on front loading the preparation of evidence and draft statements of common ground but appellants will not be able to change their proposal after appeal submission.
The Planning (Wales) Act 2015 marks the start of an independent Welsh planning system.
The Welsh Government has shown true commitment to the continuous improvement of the land use planning system in Wales and Bilfinger GVA is very proud of its contribution to this process having undertaken a study back in 2009/2010, on behalf of the Welsh Government, into the operation of the planning application process in Wales.
There are many positive changes that will help development with an important focus on delivery through sustained improvements to the development plan system and development management procedures which should make it easier to obtain planning permission. However, a change in culture is required for this new planning system to work.
The changes are considered ambitious given the current budgetary restraint which is often blamed for a lack of resource, skills and expertise within local planning authorities. There is, inevitably, going to be greater pressure on them and the Planning Inspectorate, to find the resources to deal with the additional workload once these changes are implemented. Perhaps there will be a need for greater penalties and real incentives for those responsible for the determination of planning applications.
Many of the changes will not be evident in the system until a suite of secondary legislation, planning policy and guidance is in place so we will have to wait a little longer to see if it will lead to a speedier and more effective planning system.