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Options For Change
12.0 VALIDITY OF APPLICATIONS
Proposal: Planning authorities should be subject to a statutory timetable for determining the validity of a planning application.
Source: Interview with developers.
Present position: Planning authorities are required to acknowledge receipt of a planning application immediately upon receipt (reg.12(1) of the GDPO). If the application is valid, the 2 months time period for making a decision runs from the date of receipt (reg.14(2)). However, if the application is considered to be invalid, time does not start running until a valid application is eventually received (reg 14(2)). The problem seems to be that planning authorities sometimes take weeks to decide whether an application is valid and there is little consistency between authorities over what is acceptable and what is not. This delays the decision-making process.
Implementation: A time period, say a maximum of seven days, could be inserted into Part 3 of the GDPO. The difficult question is what sanction should follow on expiry of that period if a determination has still not been made. It is tempting to suggest that the application should be assumed to be valid; but that would be difficult if it subsequently appeared that the application was accompanied by an incorrect certificate - although it should be a matter of no more than a moment to check for certificates. An alternative would be to require the return of a proportion of the fee. With a view to promoting consistency, guidance should be issued by the Scottish Executive on what is acceptable and what is not.
Discussion:
- even where an application is valid, by the time an authority has reached that conclusion, the two months for making the decision has already been eroded thus delaying the decision-making process.
- there is no doubt that that the poor quality of many applications, described as 'dire' by planning authorities, is partly to blame for this problem. Authorities estimated that around 35% of applications, many of them lodged by professionals, had to be turned away. Standard application forms (White Paper, Your place, your plan, 2003, paras.69-70) and clear guidance on the requirements of a valid application should help to avoid the problem.
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