Planning law changes provide boost to local authorities and developers, says expert

Currently, developers must lodge fresh planning applications for their proposed developments when they acquire land from local authorities, where those authorities have previously applied for and granted planning permission for the property themselves.

Those restrictions stem from provisions set out in Regulation 9 of the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992. The rules mean that planning permissions granted by local authorities for land they have an interest in remains 'personal' to them, and any joint applicant, and cannot be transferred on with the sale of that land.

However, those rules are set to be repealed as a result of new planning regulations introduced before the UK parliament on 31 January. The Town and Country Planning General (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2018 will take effect on 23 February.

The changes mean that all local authorities in England will be able to make planning applications and grant themselves permissions in the same way that unitary authorities, London Boroughs and Urban Development Corporations (UDCs) have been able to do for some time.

The government previously consulted on the changes, and set out its response to the feedback it received from 712 respondents in a recent paper (7-page / 207KB PDF) it published. In that paper, it highlighted the fact that unitary authorities, London Boroughs and UDCs already enjoy the ability to "proactively promote development of their land holdings by selling on ‘development-ready’ land", reducing risk for developers.

The government confirmed that it would change the law to place all local authorities "on the same footing in terms of handling their own development proposals".

"This will allow local authorities to bring forward public sector land for development more quickly and efficiently, without the purchaser having to reapply for planning permission, saving time and expense," said planning law expert Kate Jones of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.

"Relevant local authorities will also be able to benefit from land value uplift that they may have been missing out on, arising from the grant of planning permission. This helps to ensure that full value is realised when public land is sold and developed," she said.

However, the changes will not apply retrospectively. Planning permissions granted by local authorities prior to 23 February will not carry forward to developers when they acquire the land subsequently, meaning they will need to renew those permissions before they can implement them.