Summary:
A consultation on Government proposals to make local plans (and minerals and waste plans) simpler, faster to prepare, and more accessible.
Local plans are produced by planning authorities to guide and manage development in their areas. They are important documents for local communities because they set the development framework for the area, usually for the next 10 or 15 years. Plans allocate sites for development, set out what land should be protected and contain planning policies, which are the basis for deciding whether to approve planning applications that are subsequently made, including by housing developers and by home owners.
Our position:
- UKHospitality supports reform to local plans.
- The hospitality sector must be at the heart of local plans, with early and consistent engagement taking place between planning authorities and local businesses.
- Local plans must seek to support economic growth, which should be a major factor in all planning decisions.
- It is important that reform to local plans is accompanied with a number of changes to the planning system (including a fast-track for small applications, statutory limits on the time taken for planning decisions and independent review procedure in place and the potential freezing of fees where specific planning departments are failing to provide adequate service).
- Increasing public consultation and a requirement for early engagement with stakeholder groups are positive measures in improving the effectiveness of local plans.
- Local planning authorities should be mandated to produce a report once plans are finalised, outlining how the views of businesses and community groups have been taken into consideration.