Legal Framework for Examining Plans

Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

Open group | Started - July 2012 | Last activity - April

Jonathan Pheasant, modified 1 Year ago.

Legal Framework for Examining Plans

Advocate Posts: 158 Join Date: 23/05/11 Recent Posts

I noticed in the current consultation on Levelling Up and a new NPPF that the proposals are to set a time at which legal requirements for Plan making change.

we are proposing that plan makers will have until 30 June 2025 to submit their local plans, neighbourhood plans, minerals and waste plans, and spatial development strategies for independent examination under the existing legal framework; this will mean that existing legal requirements and duties, for example the Duty to Cooperate, will still apply.

This raises a question in my mind. Plans are examined on Soundness and Legal Compliance. If Plans that are SUBMITTED after 30 June 2025 are Examined against a new/different/proposed legal framework how will, that work with Duty to Cooperate?

DtC is a legal requirement and the requirement starts at the very beginning of plan making. The earliest stages. The point when you do not know when you will be submitting your Plan. The way the Government's proposals are set out, they intend to remove DtC as a legal requirement. So how does that fit with preparing a Plan? You start your Plan and you carry out DtC all the way through..and then you submit it in July 2025 and DtC no longer apllies?

An even bigger issue...does this not actually encourage local authorities that are neighbours to big cities (with 35% uplift) to delay plan making and to intentionally submit AFTER June 2025 when they have no legal DtC, thus making it much easier to avoid pressure to deal with unmet needs from their neighbour who has a 30% uplift? Politically at least it would seem attractive to hold back making your plan to avoid DtC and simply then be examined on meeting your own need? However, thus would not align wioth Government's desire to get Plans in place fast.

Richard Crawley, modified 1 Year ago.

RE: Legal Framework for Examining Plans

Expert Posts: 253 Join Date: 07/12/11 Recent Posts

These are very good questions.

We are doing a series of in-person roadshows to support the NPPF consultation and hope to have a tame inspector with us. This is precisely the sort of issue we want to kick around so that your consultation response can point out the unforseen consequences (etc) in it.

We don't have all the details yet - I reckon our bulletin will be out next week.

Grant Jackson, modified 1 Year ago.

RE: Legal Framework for Examining Plans

New Member Posts: 4 Join Date: 04/02/14 Recent Posts

As i understand it from reading chapter 9 of the consultation document. 30th June 2025 is the deadline for submitting plans under the existing legal framework and current or amended NPPF depending on the plan-making stage you are at. There isn't the possibility to submit plans after this deadline as missing the deadline means you will be required to prepare plans under the new plan-making system the Government anticipates to take effect from the end of 2024 over the 30 month period being proposed. So i read this as the choice is to carry on and submit prior to 30th June 2025 or move straight to the new system at the end of 2024 and prepare your 30 month plan under the provisions of the new policy and legal framework. Failure to meet the 30th June 2025 deadline means you have to prepare a new plan under the new policy and legal framework i.e. start again. Clearly it comes down to assessing all the pros and cons of what to do which is difficult in the absence of seeing the whole picture i.e. the final NPPF and PPG changes etc.

At least that's how i understood chapter 9 of the consultation document.

Jonathan Pheasant, modified 1 Year ago.

RE: Legal Framework for Examining Plans

Advocate Posts: 158 Join Date: 23/05/11 Recent Posts

Interesting observation Grant. I never thought of it like that but I see what you mean.

However, that would still carry some of the same issues and maybe some different ones.

Local authorities could still intentionally delay plan preparation in order to avoid DtC.What it means really is that at this point in time as we are now, local authorities need to be thinking very carefully about when they want to submit and the pros and cons. Then there's the risk of if you aim for submission before June 2025 you've got to start again. That might make authorities consider just starting to plan for a new regime (that is unknown) with an intention to submit after June. Either way, PINs might be very busy just before and just after June 2025.

It's a bit messy also as there is currently a consultation ongoing on canges to the NPPF. We don;t know exactly when a new NPPF will be published but if we have got to get plans submitted by 30 June 2025 we need to know what they will be examined against as one of the tests of Soundness is compliance with national policy..which keeps changing and is going to change again.....twice.

If there is going to be a set of national DM policies so we don't need DM policies in local plans, we need to know that and we need to know what they are very soon.

It seems clear to me that the NPPF has not worked. It was introduced in 2012 as the solution to overly detailed and lengthy national policy and guidance, reducing that policy and guidance to a couple of huindred pages. And of course at its heart was the boosting of the delivery of housing. We have then spent years having changes to PPG to explain the detail that was lost, legal decisons confirming meanings and several updates of the policy itself. Then a suggestion to scrap the whole lot and bring in zonal planning. Now two more NPPFs.

Everyone needs clarity for the planning system to work. Local authorities, developerrs and everyoine else it affects, including the public.

So we continue in a really unclear ststem for the next 2 years...after which we might even have a new Government. Probably meaning yet more changes.

Grant Jackson, modified 1 Year ago.

RE: Legal Framework for Examining Plans

New Member Posts: 4 Join Date: 04/02/14 Recent Posts

Have to concur with everything you said Jonathan

Judith Orr, modified 1 Year ago.

RE: Legal Framework for Examining Plans

New Member Posts: 18 Join Date: 16/03/21 Recent Posts

I totally agree with you Grant Jackson. That is exactly how I have understood chapter 9. We have the option of moving ahead with the Duty to Cooperate under the old style system, provided that we can reach submission prior to the 30 June 2025, or we can chose to wait for the new system, being introduced at the end of 2024.