The planning system isn’t straight forward at the best of times and the process for preparing Local Plans is no exception. Whilst, significant cost is incurred by Local Planning Authorities trying to engage the public in the Local Plan process the reality is that most people aren’t interested because they don’t think it affects them. However, notify the same people of a planning application and they will no doubt make their feelings known in no uncertain terms.
However, the Local Plan process sets out the development strategy for a local planning authority for the medium-term period allocating sites for new housing and employment. The planning application process is merely the agreement of the detail of these allocations and this is what many people fail to grasp. Therefore, if you able to engage in the local plan process at an early stage it can provide a crucial opportunity to secure development on your land through an approach called land promotion.
Why the Local Plan is so important?
Every Local Authority is supposed to have an up to date Local Plan to guide development over a 10 to 15-year period. The Plan is made up of a series of policies which set out how much development is required to meet identified needs and where it should be focused in terms of locations. That Plan allocates land for new housing or employment developments, whilst other policies set out requirements for affordable housing, design etc;
When a planning application is received, the council judge it against the policies in its Local Plan. If the application is compliant with all those policy requirements then it is likely to be successful; if on the other hand it doesn’t satisfy policy then the proposal w be refused.
How is a new Local Plan prepared?
Local Plans only cover a set period of time, which means that Local Planning Authorities frequently review their policies updating and replacing them with new, more up-to-date Plans.
In preparing a Local Plan the Council has to follow a strict process set out by the Government. Essentially though, the process is quite straightforward and involves 5 key stages:
- Gather evidence on the challenges the council faces and the level of development needed.
- Consider the various ways in which those challenges could be addressed.
- Settle on a preferred solution and turn it into a draft Local Plan.
- Revise the Plan based on comments and suggestions from the public.
- Ask the Planning Inspectorate to confirm that the Plan has been prepared properly and can be used for deciding planning applications.
Turning the Local Plan to your advantage
Each of stage involves consulting local residents, land owners and developers for their views as the plan evolves. This provides you with the opportunity to submit your own evidence to the council to promote your site above those of others.
If you are seeking a particular type of development on your site, this also provides an opportunity to influence the specific policies in the new Plan. The aim is to make sure that those new policies allow your development to take place with the minimum of impediment, even if it would be prevented by policies in the current Plan.
Trying to secure planning permission in this way is called either Local Plan promotion or land promotion. It is a really powerful approach as it can work on sites of all types including old industrial sites, agricultural land, Green Belt and even sites where planning permission has been refused in the past.
There are two key elements to site promotion:
- Submit evidenceto the LPA demonstrating why the development is required. This might be from analysing the council’s own evidence or it could be research you have undertaken yourself. For example, you might submit evidence to show that the council needs to deliver a significant number of new homes in a particular town.
- Demonstrate why your site is suitable for the type of development that is needed.This requires specialist evidence relating to traffic, ground conditions, ecology, landscape and heritage. A masterplan for the proposed development is useful as well, to show how the development could actually look. Often there will be more than one potential site for the development that is needed; where possible, your evidence should show that your site is better than the alternatives.
As the Local Plan moves through its preparation stages, the type of evidence submitted will evolve in response to any new questions that are raised.
If your land is included in the new Plan for development then this will be confirmed via a specific site allocation on the proposals map which supports the plan.
The opportunity to promote your site through the Local Plan doesn’t come round that often. As Plans tend to cover a 15-year period, they don’t need to be replaced more often than that. If you want to secure development on your site, it is therefore crucial that you take the opportunity when it arises and get involved in the process early on and turn it to your own advantage.
About Us
We are MPD Built Environment Consultants based in the North of England. We cover many locations including Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and beyond. With over 30 year’s experience in all aspects of Planning, our team include Chartered Planners and Surveyors. We are members of RICS, RTPI, IHBC and various other bodies giving you confidence in the work we do.
Do you need help with a Planning Permission application? Get in touch with us today by clicking here.
