Lack of resources and funding for LPAs forces us all to start thinking outside the box

At the start of the pandemic we all feared the development world would grind to a halt and take a long time to recover leading to fewer applications. Whilst there was an initial big wobble, the sector recovered quickly and a combination of Covid-related consequences and major changes to planning legislation has meant that the opposite has happened. Our local planning authorities who were already under-resourced, under-funded and quite frankly under-valued have found themselves drowning in an influx of minor applications. The lockdowns have resulted in more people than ever before wanting to undertake home improvements leading to a huge surge in householder applications. The need for external space has led to a wave of applications for both domestic and commercial terraces. The new PD rights for additional residential storeys has resulted in a sea of prior approval applications for development which would never have been pursued previously and pages of differing prior approval conditions for planning officers to wade through. And of course the substantial changes of the Use Classes order and creation of Class E has lead to a rise in enquiries and lawful development certificates seeking comfort that a dentist can actually occupy this A1 unit.

So, what is the solution? Well we know what the long-term answer is – money. The government needs to recognise the importance of the role of local planning authorities in delivering development on the ground and plough more money into the service to create more planning officer roles, improved officer retention and better quality decisions by allowing officers adequate time to consider applications. Whilst we all hope that a significant chunk of the £4.8m increase in council grant funding announced by the Chancellor in October 2021 will find its way in our local planning authorities, the reality is that other sectors are also struggling including adult social care, child services and education. Only time will tell.

For the time being, we all need to start thinking outside of the box and working together. To start with planning consultants and developers need to understand the resourcing and funding pressures local planning authorities and their officers are under, and local planning authorities need to understand the commercial pressures planning consultants and developers are under and the very real impact planning delays can have for schemes. Once we understand each other’s positions we can start to make changes, some fairly radical, to help us all through this difficult time. We are starting to see this happen, but it needs to be more widespread. We think the following measures work well and would love to hear of more suggestions.

• Outsource certain types of applications to consultants to address current backlogs and allow LPAs to get back on their feet
• Offer to enter into Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs) on minor/medium-sized developments – the LPAs get more money and there is more certainty in terms of the process and timings for applicants and developers
• Controversial I know, but an increase in planning application fees - £206 is simply not enough to fund an 8-week householder application, particularly on large houses involving heritage assets
• Check you’ve met the LPA’s validation checklist so that resources are spent on assessing the planning merits of an application, not what documents you haven’t submitted