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Draft Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Permission in Principle etc) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2017 published

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The draft Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Permission in Principle etc) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2017 have been published and laid before Parliament for approval by resolution of each House.
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The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Permission in Principle etc) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2017 have been published in draft. The draft regulations make amendments to the following four Acts of Parliament as a result of the introduction of "permission in principle":
  • Local Government Act 1972.
  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
  • Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990.
  • Commons Act 2006.
The regulations apply in England only.

Background

Permission in principle

On 12 May 2016, the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (HPA 2016) received Royal Assent. Through the HPA 2016, the government aims to take forward proposals to build more affordable housing and give more people the chance to own their own home.
The HPA 2016 amended the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) to provide that "permission in principle" may be granted for housing-led development of land in England.
The HPA 2016:
  • Gives the Secretary of State (by development order) or the local planning authority (LPA) the power to grant permission in principle for housing-led development on land that is allocated for development in a qualifying document. A qualifying document includes the brownfield register, development plan documents and neighbourhood plans.
  • Provides that permission in principle takes effect when the qualifying document takes effect (if the land in question is allocated for development) or when the qualifying document is revised so that the land in question is allocated for development.
  • States that permission in principle expires after five or three years depending on whether it is granted respectively by development order or the LPA (although the LPA can grant permission for a shorter or longer period).
  • Provides that permission in principle may not be granted for the winning and working of minerals.
  • Provides the means for applicants to obtain permission in principle for small scale housing sites (involving the creation of fewer than ten units).
  • Requires LPAs to hold and maintain a register of all permissions in principle for land in their area whether they are generated automatically by the development order or granted on application.
(Section 150, Part 6, and Schedule 12, HPA 2016.)
For further information, see Legal update, Housing and Planning Act 2016: planning aspects.
Section 150 of the HPA 2016 inserted the following sections into the TCPA 1990:
  • Section 58A (permission in principle: general).
  • Section 59A (development orders: permission in principle).
  • Section 70(2ZZA) to (2ZZC) (determination of applications: general considerations).
On its own, permission in principle does not allow development of the land. Section 57 of the TCPA 1990 continues to provide that in order to develop the land planning permission is still required. But where permission in principle is granted for land, an applicant may obtain planning permission by applying for technical details consent (section 70(2ZZB), TCPA 1990). On an application for technical details consent the LPA must determine that application in accordance with the permission in principle (section 70(2ZZA), TCPA 1990).

Draft Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Permission in Principle etc) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2017

The draft Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Permission in Principle etc) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2017 have been published and laid before Parliament for approval by resolution of each House.
The draft regulations amend:
  • Paragraph 9 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 to provide that an LPA's own application for permission in principle should not be exempt information at a local authority meeting (regulation 2).
  • Section 69 of the TCPA 1990 to provide further powers in relation to entries into planning registers including that any permissions in principle granted must be recorded (regulation 3).
  • Section 75 of the TCPA 1990 to provide that a permission in principle enures for the benefit of the land (regulation 3).
  • Section 96A of the TCPA 1990 to provide that a non-material change may be made in relation to a permission in principle (regulation 3).
  • Section 9(2) of the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 to provide that in dealing with an application for hazardous substances consent, the hazardous substances authority shall have regard to any permission in principle that has been granted in relation to land in the vicinity (regulation 4).
  • Schedule 1A to the Commons Act 2006 to provide new trigger and terminating events in relation to land proposed to be entered on Part 2 of the register of land that LPAs must prepare and maintain under section 14A of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (regulation 5).
Existing powers in the Commons Act 2006 exclude the right to apply for a site to be registered as a town and village green where certain trigger events occur including when a planning application is made or a site is allocated for housing in a development plan. A trigger event switches off the right to apply for registration of a village green, and a terminating event switches that right back on.
The proposed changes will ensure that the arrangements for excluding the right to apply for a site to be registered as a town and village green will apply to sites on brownfield registers under consideration for permission in principle.
The draft regulations will come into force on the 21st day after the day on which they are made. The regulations apply to England only.
The government has stated that it will publish policy guidance in relation to permission in principle.

Source

Draft Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Permission in Principle etc) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2017.
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Resource ID w-005-1266
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Published on 03-Jan-2017
Resource Type Legal update: archive
Jurisdiction
  • England
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