Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017: plan-making and development management changes in force from today

The first Regulations commencing a series of provisions in the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 were laid on 18 July and are already in force.

 

The Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2017 mean that the Secretary of State (SoS) can now go ahead and make another set of regulations that will be about what kind of conditions may or may not be imposed on a grant of planning permission. Regulations can be made now too, governing the circumstances when the agreement of an applicant has to be obtained in advance and when it does not, to the terms of a pre-commencement condition.

 

The key plan-making provision now in force is in s12 of the Act; it means that the SoS can go ahead and make the new Regulations that will prescribe the detail of how often a local planning authority (LPA) must review its local development documents (LDDs) – including local plans - and whether or not revision ensues.

 

Also, s1 is now in force so that an LPA has to have regard to a ‘post-examination’, unmade neighbourhood plan as a material consideration in the determination of planning applications. With s3 now in force too, it is the case that just prior to a draft neighbourhood plan being made after succeeding at referendum, the Plan forms part of the development plan - a subtle but potentially significant change to application determination.