Neighbourhood Planning Bill passes through committee stage

Following its second reading within the House of Commons last week, the Neighbourhood Planning Bill has now passed through the committee stage, without division.

The bill, which is set to institute a plethora of new ideas regarding the way in which decisions relating to the delivery of housing at the local authority level are made, is clearly focussed on reducing the uncertainties clients face at the development management stage. A key provision of the bill hoped to streamline this process, seeks to defer to the Secretary of State the power to implement regulations prohibiting the imposition of certain types of condition, most notably the use of pre-commencement conditions, which have for a long time been seen as at least partly accountable for low house building rates. Assent of the bill is hoped to give developers new powers to negotiate the wording of conditions to be applied to permissions, and ensure that the conditions imposed on planning consents are appropriate and relevant to the scale and character of the development proposed. This is particularly relevant when set against a back drop of consistent housing under-supply, nationally.

Of course conditioning planning consent is a vital aspect of the planning system, helping to shape proposals and ensure the unique requirements of each permission are secured, at the right time. As such, Labour MP’s last week managed to table a raft of amendments to the bill, which seek to ensure control over the circumstances under which pre-commencement conditions are written, remains with the local planning authority. However, while the Neighbourhood Planning bill, seeks to revert power back to central government, streamline development in the early stages and provide certainty for clients, it remains to be seen how the bill and any further amendments will fare between the two houses.