DCLG responds to consultation on use of planning conditions and streamlining NSIP consents

A response document called 'Improving the use of planning conditions' (8-page / 300 KB PDF) said the UK government would amend secondary legislation to introduce an additional requirement for local authorities to justify the use of pre-commencement planning conditions. The document said the measure would not initially be applied to all conditions that required further action, but that the government would "keep under review whether there is a case to apply the measure more broadly".

Under existing regulations, applicants are entitled to a fee refund where they have applied to a council for confirmation of compliance with planning conditions and the council has failed to respond within 12 weeks. The DCLG noted in its response that "there [was] not overall support for reducing the time limit for the fee refund from 12 weeks to eight weeks". Despite the lack of support, it said the government intended to press ahead with the reduction in the time limit, subject to "making provision for an applicant and local authority to agree in writing an alternative time period".

The DCLG said there had been strong support for proposals to require councils to share draft planning conditions with applicants before deciding major planning applications. However, it noted that some respondents had raised concerns that "regulation in this area could unhelpfully reduce the flexibility for a local authority and applicant to do what is sensible … potentially slowing down the decision making process". It said the government would hold further discussions on the issues raised and would not be taking the proposals forward immediately.

Under the NSIP regime, developers can ask the government to make a single development consent order (DCO) for large infrastructure projects, removing the requirement to obtain other planning authorisations. At present, various non-planning consents, notifications and licences must still be obtained separately from the DCO process, unless the relevant consenting body agrees for them to be included under a DCO.

A response document called 'Streamlining the consenting process for nationally significant infrastructure planning' (10-page / 351 KB PDF) said the government would streamline the process for obtaining non-planning consents, by allowing applicants the choice to include in any DCO consents concerning discharge for works purposes and trade effluents, without first obtaining agreement from the relevant consenting bodies.

The document said similar provision would be made for obtaining European protected species licences for the construction phase of NSIPs, but that this would take place "early in the next parliament, when a suitable legislative vehicle is identified". It said that the streamlining of consents for flood defences, water abstraction, water impoundment and ground water investigation would follow "between 2015 and 2017", but that it had not yet been decided whether these consents would form part of the DCO process or the environmental permit regime.