Gove’s attempt to speed up planning decisions could have unintended consequences

By Paul Smith 2024-01-22T05:59:00

Rather than procedural change to drive the illusion of improvement, we should completely re-assess what planners need to be doing, argues Paul Smith

After spending almost a year considering responses to their proposed changes to national planning policy, the government has decided that one of the key lessons for improving our planning system – and increasing the supply of new homes – is for planning decisions to be made faster.

One of the first targets is “extension of time” agreements, the process whereby applicants agree with the local authority that they can have longer than the statutory eight weeks (or 13 for major applications) in which to make a decision.

Use of such agreements has grown rapidly in recent years. While 88% of major applications are decided within the “agreed” time period, fewer than one in five are decided within 13 weeks.

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