Local community groups lives are to be made easier! The Government has announced that local community groups are to be a part of the planning systems to go ahead.

Department for Communities and Local Government have released the results of a consultation in to the reforms to policy that are to be proposed on neighbourhood plans. The plans are made by community groups, there are several stages in place in the assessment and if they pass these stages, they are voted on by residents in a referendum.

Local planning authorities will now have to designate all the neighbourhood area applied for where the application is for a whole parish area, or if a local authority has failed to meet the statutory timetable for decision making of 13 weeks or 12 weeks for application that cross local authority boundaries.

A third of responses from local authorities opposed the proposals whereas over half of those who responded supported them. Local authorities were thought to have found it difficult to make complex decisions in the time frame given and therefore would lack the resources needed to deliver the proposal. Local authorities will also face a time limit of 5 weeks to decide if the residents can hold a referendum on a draft neighbourhood order or plan.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has implied that they will work with the main areas and investigate opportunities to be able to provide better support to the Local Planning Authorities while also addressing the Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill which is due to be published today (7th September). 

The communities and local government secretary will also have the opportunity to interfere when a plan has passed examination but has been blocked by the local planning authority however they have stated this will only ever be used in extreme circumstances. 

Author: Lauren Angell, Event Manager, CPT Events

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