PPG: Determining a Planning Application

PPG: Determining a Planning Application

How must decisions on applications for planning permission be made?

Section 70(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 require that planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The National Planning Policy Framework represents an important material consideration.

What are material planning considerations?

A material consideration is one which is relevant to making the planning decision in question (e.g. whether to grant or refuse an application for planning permission). The scope of what can constitute a material consideration is very wide and the courts have taken a broad view of what falls within this definition. Material considerations can include (but are not limited to):

- overlooking/loss of privacy
- loss of light or overshadowing
- parking
- highway safety
- traffic
- noise
- effect on listed building and conservation area
- layout and density of building
- design, appearance and materials
- government policy
- local planning authority's policies
- previous planning decisions (including appeal decisions)
- nature conservation
- disabled persons access
- proposals in the Development Plan
- the residential amenity of neighbouring properties

Issues such as loss of property value, loss of view, competition between businesses, matters controlled under building regulations, and personal circumstances of the applicant are generally not material planning considerations.

What is the role of conditions?

Conditions are a key tool for making development proposals acceptable that might otherwise be unacceptable. They enable authorities to enhance the positive impacts of development and minimise negative ones. The NPPF says conditions should be kept to a minimum and only used where they meet the six tests set out in paragraph 47 of the NPPF: necessary, relevant to planning, relevant to the development, enforceable, precise and reasonable.

Pre-commencement conditions

A local planning authority cannot impose a pre-commencement condition without the written agreement of the applicant, unless the applicant has failed to respond after a reasonable period of time. This was introduced by the Town and Country Planning (Pre-commencement Conditions) Regulations 2018.

What are planning obligations?

Planning obligations (or section 106 agreements) are legal agreements between a developer and the local planning authority. They are used to mitigate the impacts of development which cannot be addressed through conditions. The NPPF tests at paragraph 48 require obligations to be: necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms, directly related to the development, and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is another mechanism for collecting contributions towards infrastructure from development. Where a charge is in effect, CIL cannot be collected on the same items that are covered by planning obligations (to avoid double-dipping).

What is the role of the planning committee?

Most applications are determined by officers under delegated authority. Only a small proportion go to a planning committee of elected councillors. A committee decision typically arises when an application is called in by a ward councillor, the application is by the council itself, or the recommendation is contrary to strong public opinion. Committee members must make decisions based on planning grounds and the development plan, not on personal opinion or political pressure. Predetermination or bias can be grounds for judicial review.

Decision timescales

The statutory determination periods are:
- 8 weeks for householder and minor applications
- 13 weeks for major development
- 16 weeks for applications requiring Environmental Impact Assessment

Extensions of time can be agreed between the applicant and the authority. Performance against these targets is monitored by DLUHC and feeds into the designation process (where poorly performing authorities may be required to accept applications being submitted directly to the Planning Inspectorate).