Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

RE: Neighbourhood Area combining a parished and unparished area.

2025-04-10T11:38:33Z

We had an instance of this (Heversham and Hincaster).

The unparished area (Hincaster) had a Parish Meeting and they agreed that they were content for Heversham Parish Council to act as Neighbourhood Planning Body.

Another issue to be aware of is that a Parish Meeting cannot recieve Neighbourhood CIL so a separate process was needed to approve neighbourhood CIL spending in Hincaster

RE: Revoking CIL?

2017-07-05T10:03:42Z

I would get some legal advice on this. - Thinking it through

The only statutory mechanism within the regs I can think of is

1) CIL review which looks at the infrastructure deficit which justified CIL in the first place and the viability position.

2A) If the infrastructure deficit needed to implement the Local Plan no longer exists (or you have identified other means of addressing it)

AND/OR

2B) The viability position has changed to the extent that CIL can no longer be supported

3) Undertake an accelerated CIL process proposing a CIL rate of zero

Although no-one in the development industry is likely to challenge the withdrawal of a CIL, there may well be opposition both from Infrastructure Providers and from Parish Councils and recipients of the Neighbourhood proportion. If the withdrawal of CIL can be shown to have implications for the deliverability of your plan, it may have wider implications.

You will also need to consider what to do with CIL reciepts already collected and existing liabilities.

If you seek to withdraw CIL by another means (for example by a resolution of Council) and that decision is successfully challenged in the Courts (for example by a Parish Council in an area where major development was proposed), you will also need to think about what you will do about trying to recover CIL that should have been collected and wasn't during the challenge period.

Given the conclusions of the CIL review, and the prospect of major change for the CIL regime, it might be more sensible to wait.

What happens Post Referendum?

2017-02-21T11:22:17Z

We've just got our first plan through referendum and are in the process of preparing the R19 statement effectively making the plan. It has been relatively straightforward with no significant conflicts but thinking about how the process could pan out...

If a plan is supported by a referendum and the Parish Council don't like it and do not wish it to be adopted (perhaps because they disagree with examiners changes), do they have no choice but to accept it?

Am I right in thinking that the referendum result is effectively binding on all parties - the LPA has no choice but to adopt and the Neighbourhood Planning Body has no choice but to accept and the only redress anyone has is a legal challenge?

Is there any need post referendum for the Parish (as Neighbourhood Planning Body) to adopt the plan formally?

Thinking ahead - in what circumstances does a neighbourhood plan cease to apply? Does it remain until superseded by a new neighbourhood plan? Does anyone have the power to withdraw it? Is it superseded when the Local Plan with which it is supposed to be in conformity is superseded? - or does it just waste away over time gradually losing weight.

Can a community go from having a neighbourhood plan to not having a neighbourhood plan without going through the whole process again?

If this isn't clear, we could have some very old policies hanging around in a few years time.

RE: Planning Department restructure

2016-11-10T13:59:18Z

We function on a similar basis.

I am a 'Development Strategy Manager' with responsibility for Development Plans, Conservation and all the Council's housing functions.

My counterpart is a 'Development Management Manager' with responsibility for Development Management, Building Control and Land Charges.

We effectively share the planning lead as our assistant director is not a planning professional. As far as I can see there are no legal issues preventing the arrangement. Partly because of the personalities involved, it works reasonably well. We also work close to each other in the office and have a high level of day to day interaction - both at my level and between the two teams. We haven't had any serious disputes but I could see that if the two didn't get on, it would be difficult.

25% Neighbourhood Portion - when does it bite

2016-11-01T15:53:21Z

We are likely to have our first neighbourhood plan in place early next year.

I am trying to understand the transitional process by which the 25% enhanced neighbourhood contribution kicks in.

It is clear that 25% of the CIL receipts are payable to the parish on any development approved after the adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan.

As I understand it, 25% means 25% of the total incoming CIL receipt during the six month period arising out of development within the Parish.

As far as I can see this is irrespective of whether the development generating the CIL payment was approved before or after adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan. Regulations do not seem to require that 'relevant development' be granted with an adopted neighbourhood plan was in place.

A second consideration is whether, in calculating the neighbourhood contribution within a six month period during which a neighbourhood plan was adopted, one would apply the 25% to all receipts for the whole half year or whether one would distinguish between receipts received before the date of adoption (15%) and receipts received afterwards (25%).

This question is of great interest to some of our parishes preparing neighbourhood plans.

RE: Neighbourhood Plan designations/ allocations and the Policies Map

2016-08-24T08:26:38Z

My reading is that the policies map is a palimpsest which is amended every time a new plan is adopted.

In terms of its legal status, it is an aggregation of all DPDs and its status derives from those DPDs.

RE: Neighbourhood Plan designations/ allocations and the Policies Map

2016-08-23T16:24:40Z

The Policies Map is not a DPD in its own right, it is the passive recipient of spatial policies generated by Development Plan Documents (and neighbourhood plans) through the Local Plan/Neighbourhood Plan process. If you have a single District wide Local Plan and no neighbourhood plans, this is an academic distinction.

If you have multiple DPDs, incomplete Action Area Plans, some saved policies and some neighbourhood plans, it gets really complicated. If you have boundary changes caused by extensions to National Parks, it gets more complicated still.

RE: Examples of LPAs undertaking planning consultancy work

2016-08-16T08:59:24Z

We do this in a small way.

We have a Conservation Officer and some of our neighbouring authorities don't. He spends one day a week on work for other Districts for which we charge primarily on planning applications but also assisting with a THI project. It brings in around £10,000 per annum.

This has been in operation for five years but we are considering ending it because of the impact on our own work priorities.

RE: Neighbourhood Plan designations/ allocations and the Policies Map

2016-08-08T14:25:33Z

Another thought on this question

If a Neighbourhood Plan seeks to amend a designation in an adopted Local Plan - such as a Development Boundary - does the new policy supersede and formally delete the old (so that the old designation does not appear on the map) or does it sit on top of the old designation so that both old and new designations are shown?

RE: Neighbourhood Plan designations/ allocations and the Policies Map

2016-08-02T08:43:14Z

That's an interesting point - to date none of ours have made specific allocations.

It raises some interesting questions;

1) Should or can neighbourhood plans be required to use standardised designations - so that Local Plan proposals maps don't become over-complicated by hundreds of micro-designations?

2) Should an allocation deriving from a neighbourhood plan appear the same as an allocation deriving from a Local Plan - particularly where they derive from different policies and may carry different weight?

Perhaps the optimum solution is a standardised cross district approach for neighbourhood plan allocations which look 'similar but slightly different' to the Local Plan equivalents.

RE: Self Build Exemption for more than 1 dwelling

2016-06-30T08:52:42Z

If the son is not the applicant, I would say not. Who has accepted the liability?

RE: Local Plans Panel - call for evidence published

2015-10-22T09:04:21Z

Well I guess one way of speeding up the local plan process would be if in terms of

1) Consultation measures, consultation periods and consultation publicity;

2) The notice taken of consultation responses;

We lowered our standards to those of Central Government.

Oh and we could lower our standards for founding policy on evidence, impact analysis and consideration of options to those of the Policy Exchange.

RE: Local Plans Panel - call for evidence published

2015-10-13T08:38:31Z

I think you are assuming that they have any interest at all in what people who actually do the job have to say!

RE: Parish Council

2015-07-17T08:43:08Z

The regs talk about 15% of the 'relevant CIL reciept'. I read this to mean 'relevant' in geographical terms (i.e derived from development within the Parish). Reciept to me means money coming in before any deductions.

I do not see anything in this which suggests that the admin deduction - which is not mandatory in any event - should be deducted before the Parish contribution is calculated.

RE: Neighbourhood fund and broadband

2015-07-07T10:48:00Z

A few thoughts;

What seems to be being proposed is something which benefits only the owners of the existing properties whose broadband will be upgraded. If there are only one or two of these, this looks very suspect, if there are hundreds including social or low cost homes it might be more legitimately regarded as a community benefit.

If the project is to deliver high speed broadband to the whole community, it would fit more comfortably with the objectives of CIL.

Is there any way in which it could be argued that the works necessary to deliver high speed broadband to the existing properties would also offer the same benefit to new dwellings?

Could the project be broadened to enable the provision of some form of public high speed broadband hub in the village hall?

RE: Neighbourhood Plans & SPD/SPG

2015-06-24T09:04:34Z

The status of SPG applies only to historic documents and to have any weight at all, your document will have to be SPD.

A document with the status of SPD can only hang on a DPD and a Neighbourhood Plan is not a DPD.
The Neighbourhood Plan must be in general conformity with the Local Plan - so the SPD must hang on the Local Plan

Notwithstanding the above, if the area to which the SPD relates is covered by an adopted Neighbourhood Plan, that plan has weight equivalent to the Development Plan.

In practical terms you could use the SPD to explain how the LPA will interpret all policies relating to the site including the Neighbourhood Plan.

To me, if possible, the SPD should hang on the existing Local Plan. However

If it relates to an allocation being brought forward in the emerging Local Plan - or brought forward through the Neighbourhood Plan and likely to be confirmed in the emerging Local Plan, it should have the status of draft SPD and be adopted at the same time as the plan.
If it relates to development proposed in the Neighbourhood Plan, independently of the Local Plan, it begs the question of what purpose your SPD is intended to serve. If further detail is needed, I guess it is open to the Parish to prepare its own non-statutory guidance on the interpretation of its Neighbourhood Plan.

RE: Code for Sustainable Homes/Energy requirements & the Housing Standards

2015-06-09T09:31:48Z

I would certainly like to understand the allowable solutions issue in more depth. Whilst the principle is clear, the practise is not.

On the one hand, energy efficiency is now going to be in the realm of building regs - which for the most part is a world of clear rules and standards;

On the other hand, in terms of what is paid, when it is paid, who makes sure that it is paid and what it is to be spent on, Government is doing its usual trick of citing localism and leaving LPAs to figure out the difficult questions (and then castigating them when the development industry doesn't like the results)

RE: Code for Sustainable Homes/Energy requirements & the Housing Standards

2015-06-09T08:51:38Z

Would be very interested in a PAS event on this (in the North if possible) - We're in the early stages of a DM DPD and understanding the new world is going to be critical

RE: CIL R123 List

2015-06-02T16:29:57Z

I guess whilst there is nothing in the regs to compel you to stick to the R123 list, ultimately CIL is justified on the basis of there being an identified infrastructure gap to address needs identified in the Local Plan.

If, in practise, most CIL reciepts are spent on items which are not identified as critical infrastructure and do not have a clear relationship with development proposed in the Local Plan, it could call the justification for operating the CIL in the first place into question. It would be open to a developer to challenge the CIL in the courts on the grounds that the entire CIL scheme is no longer justified.

RE: CIL R123 List

2015-06-02T14:11:46Z

My understanding is that provided any spending falls within the definition of infrastructure within the regs, you are not bound by the R123 list. The primary purpose of the R123 list is to identify those items for which S106 agreements will not be sought.