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13.0 STATEMENT OF DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES
Proposal: A new procedure for obtaining from a planning authority an indication whether a proposed development would be acceptable in principle. When employed, it would operate to replace the procedure for outline planning permission.
Source: Planning Green Paper, para.5.42; Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill, Clause 40.
Present position: The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Scotland) Order 1992 provides for applications for outline planning permission (art.4) for the carrying out of building or other operations with subsequent approval required in respect of such reserved matters as may be specified by the planning authority. The application tests the principle of development and, once established, the planning authority cannot resile from the principle during the life of the outline permission. Special time limits apply to outline consents (s.59 of the 1997 Act).
The proposal in more detail: The proposal is that a developer will seek a certificate ( a 'statement of development principles') from the planning authority which will indicate whether or not the authority agree with the principle of all or part of the development. The statement will not amount to a consent but it would be a material consideration for the purpose of determining a future application for similar development.
Implementation: The proposal is being carried forward by way of primary legislation in England. This is presumably because the Procedure Order deals with the form and content of planning applications and this would not amount to a planning application.
Discussion:
- the 'statement' does not replace the outline planning application. That procedure would remain available where a 'statement' has not been applied for.
- the intention is that the 'statement' would not bind the planning authority but would be a 'material consideration' when determining any subsequent planning application. It is not immediately clear why it should not bind the authority; the applicant is going to commit a considerable amount of effort to work up the details on the strength of this statement and there will be little incentive to do this if the planning authority could then change their mind.
- the 'statement of development principles' would seem to resemble a planning brief prepared by or agreed by a planning authority.
- as an outline application requires a fee to be paid and may have to be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment and a traffic impact assessment, an indication from the planning authority that a proposal would be consistent with the development plan could be helpful to developers.
- however, there are serious doubts whether developers would regard such a 'statement' as achieving anything worthwhile beyond a mere statement of compliance. The CBI, in its response to the provision in the English Bill, stated that financial institutions are likely to want the certainty of an outline consent; outline permission is often a pre-condition of funding arrangements.
- the outline planning application is a valuable tool for applicants but has given rise to some problems in practice (see S Crow and N Harris, "Outline Planning Applications and Permissions: The Refurbishment of Time-Worn Practice?" [2000] JPL 246).
- an application for a 'statement' could be made for a material change of use.
- it is unclear whether the 'statement' would overcome the difficulty which planning authorities face in accepting outline applications for EIA developments. If it does not, it is likely to be of limited value to developers. The 'statement' could presumably be made conditional on a satisfactory outcome to the EIA. The EIA would also be a material consideration when determining the subsequent planning application.
- if an application for a 'statement' is to be a material consideration, it would have to be subject to some form of public participation.
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