« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
91. On commencement of the new development planning provisions, there is likely to be a number of development plans that have been started but have not yet been approved/adopted. Annex C sets out a draft order covering the transition between the current legal framework and the new one. The overall aim is to ensure, as much as possible, that plan preparation work is not lost. Therefore, plans (or alterations) that have reached a certain stage under the 1997 Act, i.e. the early consultation stage (in practice this will mean the publication of a consultation draft or issues paper), will be able to proceed to approval/adoption following the provisions in the 1997 Act and the 1983 Regulations. The exception to this will be the examination in public for structure plans and the local inquiry for local plans: where a plan has reached the early consultation stage but no notice of an examination in public or local inquiry has been issued, then the plan would proceed to examination, and on to approval/adoption, following the provisions in the 2006 Act. This will ensure that after commencement all plans will take on board the modernised procedures for examination. The draft order also contains other related exceptions to the provisions to avoid the need for new steps to be undertaken that would not have been required under the current system, for example, the requirement on the authority to submit a report on their participation statement and its subsequent assessment by the reporter to the examination.
92. Where early consultation has been carried out and a notice of an examination in public or local inquiry has already been issued and/or the examination or inquiry has been commenced, proceedings would continue, following the provisions in the 1997 Act and the 1983 Regulations. Any plans that have been started but have not reached the early consultation stage on the date of commencement of the new system will fall, and the authority in question will be required to start a new strategic development plan or local development plan, as appropriate. For information, structure plans and local plans that are started under the current system will continue to be called structure plans and local plans, even if the approval/adoption comes after commencement of the new system. Only those plans started after commencement will be strategic development plans or local development plans.
93. Schedule 1 of the 1997 Act, as amended by Section 53 of the 2006 Act, allows for existing development plans to remain in force on commencement of the new system, until they are replaced by a new strategic development plan or local development plan, whichever may be the case.
94. In terms of timescales for bringing forward the first round of new development plans, Ministers will direct that strategic development planning authorities submit their proposed strategic development plans within 2 years of commencement of the new system. In addition, proposed local development plans will be published within 3 years of commencement. This will ensure that new plans are produced quickly. Thereafter, all plans will be reviewed at least every 5 years.
Q17 Do the proposed transitional arrangements raise any specific issues for particular plans or areas?
« Previous | Contents | Next »