Developers will need to adapt to a devolution of planning powers from central government to the local level, experts warned as the coalition government took shape.
Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are committed to handing more autonomy to councils and the local electorates, dismantling the Regional Development Agencies and scrapping both regional and national housing targets.
Suzanne Gill, a partner in the real estate team of law firm McGrigors, warned: “Over the past decade, developers have been able to rely on the help of planning guidance from central government and the intervention of the secretary of state to get approval for projects that might be opposed at the local level. That help is going to be less reliable in the future.”
She added: “Developers may have to invest more time and money explaining their proposals to local residents and councils.”
The governing parties share a commitment to introducing a third-party right of appeal in limited circumstances, a prospect that “would cause chaos”, according to BPF chief executive Liz Peace.
“Some councils are cutting 25% of planners and, with more cuts to come, we must not clog up the system by needlessly increasing appeals,” she said this week.
Reform of the section 106 regime is also a common aim, with the Tories proposing a development tax along the lines of a simplified community infrastructure levy.
patrick.clift@estatesgazette.com
