muston planning
for
Bath & North East Somerset
Council
3 June 2015
Councillor Training – Planning
Mike Muston – Muston Planning
Basis of Current UK System
• UK system gives flexibility and discretion
• Is intended to be “plan-led”
• We are guided by:–
–
–
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Primary legislation
Secondary legislation
Government advice (NPPF & NPPG)
Case law
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The Development Plan
• Section 54A of the 1990 Act now replaced
by Section 38(6) of the 2004 Act
“If regard is to be had to the development plan
for the purpose of any determination under
the planning Acts the determination must be
made in accordance with the plan unless
material considerations indicate otherwise.”
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The Development Plan in B&NES
• Currently includes the Local Plan adopted in
2007 – many policies from this document saved
• Core Strategy adopted in 2014
• Placemaking Plan Options Document went out
for consultation in November 2014
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The emerging Placemaking Plan
• Will only become part of the Development
Plan when adopted by the Council
• At present can be given some weight as a
material consideration but not part of the
Development Plan
• Will gain weight as it goes through stages
towards adoption
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Placemaking Plan
The Placemaking Plan will:
• allocate sites for development for housing, employment and other
uses to help meet development needs identified in the Core
Strategy;
• review and update the development management policies used in
the determination of planning applications
• facilitate the delivery of key development sites;
• safeguard and enhance the quality and diversity of places in B&NES
including the protection of valued assets and identifying
opportunities for change; and
• provide the opportunity to work together with local communities to
review Housing Development Boundaries.
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“Primacy” of Development Plan
• Development plan should always be the first
consideration when looking at a planning application
• Need to consider first whether application complies with
the Development Plan as a whole
• Different policies can pull in different directions
• Once established whether proposal does or does not
comply with Development Plan, then consider whether
“material considerations” indicate that a decision
otherwise than in accordance with the Development Plan
may be appropriate
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When Development Plan no longer
has full force
• When it is no longer up-to-date and/or
clashes with more recent Government
guidance (e.g. NPPF)
• Note that the whole Plan does not lack full
force, just those parts which no longer
comply with more recent Government
guidance
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Relevance of other policy
documents
• Policy documents that do not form part of the Development Plan are
included as other “material considerations”
• Of particular relevance here are Supplementary Planning
Documents (SPD) or older Supplementary Planning Guidance
(SPG) – if gone through proper process should be given “substantial
weight”
• Other policy documents can be relevant but beware of e.g. Parish
Plans not adopted as SPD that can only be given little weight
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Purpose of Planning
• NPPF emphasises the positive as opposed to the
controlling or regulatory side of planning to contribute to
the achievement of sustainable development (in other
words, development management, rather than control)
At the heart of the National Planning Policy Framework
(NPPF), there is a presumption in favour of sustainable
development, which should be seen as a golden thread
running through both plan-making and decision-taking”
(para 14 of NPPF)
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Delivering sustainable
development
• Sustainable development has 3 strands, social,
environmental and economic, which can
sometimes be in conflict with each other
• The planning system provides the democratic
means of giving weight to the different elements
of sustainability
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Government’s expectations for
decision-taking
• approving development proposals which accord with the
development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise
• when the development plan is absent, silent, or relevant policies are
out of date, grant permission, unless:
- any adverse effects of doing so would significantly and
demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against
the policies in the Framework taken as a whole, or:
- specific polices in the Framework indicate development
should be restricted
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Five year housing land supply
• Councils through their Local Plan(s) will have to identify objectively
assessed housing need
• identify key sites critical to delivery and developable brownfield land
in particular
• co-operate effectively with neighbouring councils
• failure to identify sufficient supply will result in appeal success for
developers – para 49 of the NPPF makes it clear that an absence of
5 year land supply will mean housing policies being regarded as “out
of date”
• this Council currently confident it can demonstrate a 5 year supply –
but will be challenged by developers
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In advance of DCC Meeting
• Read officer report and note any areas of
uncertainty
• If any questions remain, contact the case
officer to make them aware of those
questions so they will be in a position to
answer them at the meeting
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At the DCC Meeting
• Listen to officer presentation and any public
speaking – only make up your mind once you
have all the information
• Remember that only material considerations can
be given weight in the decision-making process
• Consider moving the advice or an alternative
motion – if an alternative, need the basis for
reasons for refusal or permission
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