Wales planning news, May 2019

The Welsh Government Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister, Hannah Blythyn, has announced Welsh Government’s investment into the new £2.14m Town Centre Property Investment Fund.

The £1.5m Welsh Government’s investment will help bringing vacant commercial, residential and retail units into use in six mid Wales towns (Brecon, Lampeter, Llandrindod Wells, Llandysul, Newton, and Tregaron).

The funding is part of the wider Welsh Government’s Targeted Regeneration and Investment Programme, which is providing £100m of funds to support the regeneration of town centres and neighbouring areas across Wales.

On 1 April, three Statutory Instruments came into force to amend the Development of National Significance (Wales) Regulations 2016 and the related Procedure Order 2016.

Specifically, the Development of National Significance (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2019 adds requirements in relation to applications for planning permission to install certain types of overhead electric lines, and further minor procedural amendments.

The Development of Nations Significance (Specified Criteria, Fees and Fees for Deemed Applications) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 give DNS status to the installation of electric lines with a nominal voltage of 132 KV or less (and associated with a devolved Welsh generating station). The legislation has also been updated in relation to the determination procedures for electric line applications.

Furthermore, the Regulations also increases the DNS threshold for generating station, other than for onshore wind generating stations, from 50 MW to 350 MW, and removes energy storage facilities from the definition of ‘generating station’ and, accordingly, from the DNS regime. 

Sennedd Research, the Welsh National Assembly’s Research Service, has published updated versions of its Planning Series guides on Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 agreements.

The guides are intended to explain the purposes of CIL and Section 106 agreements and provide background information about the main differences between the two. Furthermore, the two guides explain the relevant procedures for implementing CIL and agreeing Section 106, and the way these are enforced by local authorities. 

On 1 April 2019, an amendment to the General Permitted Development (Wales) Order (GDPO) came into force which primarily covers developments connected to energy, telecommunications and utilities developments.

An amendment to Schedule 2, Part 2 ‘Minor Operations’, introduces Class D and Class E “Recharging Electric Vehicles” that have the effect of permitting the installation of electrical outlets and upstands for recharging electric vehicles in areas of off-street parking. The permitted development right is subject to criteria relating to orientation and distance to the highway and whether the site is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument or not.

Local authorities can now also install, maintain or improve electric vehicle charging points and any associated infrastructure under an amendment to Schedule 2 Part 12 ‘Development by Local Authorities’.

Other amendments include further permitted development rights for statutory undertakers related to the generation, transmission or supply of electricity via devolved associated lines (Schedule 2, Part 17A). While permitted development have been extended for electronic communications operators in relation to the installation of ground-based masts and moveable electronic communications apparatus (Schedule 2, Part 24).