Wales planning news, June 2019

The Welsh Government has released its interim response to the report on Planning Law in Wales, which was published by the Law Commission for England and Wales in November 2018.

The interim response, delivered by Welsh Minister for Housing and Local Government, Julie James, provides updates on the Welsh Government’s intentions around three core conclusions of the Report; specifically:

• The need to simplify and consolidate planning law;
• The case for a planning code; and
• The scope of the initial consolidation exercise.

Welsh Government’s response broadly agrees with key findings of the Law Commissioner’s Report. Accordingly, the Housing Minister confirmed that the Welsh Government has already begun working on a Planning Consolidation Bill, aimed at simplifying and consolidating planning legislation.

The Housing Minister also expressed support for the recommendation for a Legislative Code to bring together the legislation relating to land use planning, stating that a ‘Planning, Land and Building Code’ is currently identified in documents accompanying the introduction of the Legislation (Wales) Bill to the National Assembly. Noting different views about whether other areas of law associated with land use planning would benefit from inclusion in a single planning related code or rather forming separate Codes, Julie James confirmed that further information will be released in the summer.

The interim response clarifies that the initial consolidation exercise should result in the replacement of the main pieces of primary legislation underpinning the planning system in Wales, particularly the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. The Law Commission's recommendation to unify listed building and conservation area consents with planning permission is being given careful consideration and may not form part of the initial exercise.

The formal response to the Law Commission’s report on Planning Law in Wales is expected later this year.

The Welsh Minister for Housing and Local Government has announced that she has instructed officials to start working on a separate, dedicated planning inspectorate for Wales.

The new planning inspectorate for Wales is expected ‘to be fully operational by the end of the current Assembly term [i.e. May 2021]’; until then, the existing planning appeals and applications for infrastructure schemes will be determined by the Planning Inspectorate for England and Wales.

In response to a written question tabled in the National Assembly, the Welsh Minister for Housing and Local Government has announced that she intends to issue a revised TAN 15 alongside a draft National Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion Management before the summer recess (22 July – 15 Sept 2019). It was also confirmed that TAN 15 and the Strategy would both be subject to a 12-week public consultation.