Communities and Local Government (National) (CLG) Planning application process shake up to slash unnecessary red tape

A major new report published today is urging a cull of bureaucracy in the planning application process to make it work better for everyone and help economic recovery.

Joanna Killian and David Pretty have developed an ambitious, but deliverable, package of practical recommendations which will create a more proportionate, customer focused and responsive process, but importantly they will not alter the balance of decision making, weaken important safeguards, or reduce public consultation.

The planning system is dominated by minor developments. The review recommends that nearly 40 per cent of minor non-residential, mainly commercial, planning applications, such as for small scale alterations and extensions, should be taken out of the planning system altogether or subject to a much quicker process.

It also recommends improving the critically important pre-application phase, particularly for major developments, with a much greater focus on getting developers, councils and consultees, including local communities, to sort out key issues that could cause lengthy delays later in the process.

And, it proposes a new customer focus for council planning performance based on the quality of service provided throughout the whole process, not just on its speed.

These and other recommendations will speed up the process and improve its effectiveness and transparency, and could deliver up to £300m of savings for councils, applicants and the wider economy each year.

The recommendations will free up and encourage councils and consultees to focus their resources on the larger developments that can make the biggest impact on communities. Taken together they will make a real difference to businesses large and small, manufacturers, householders, and stretched public services, all facing tougher economic times ahead.

David Pretty said:

"Quite simply, the planning application process is too slow and bogged down in unnecessary red tape, to the extent that it acts as brake on key elements of the economy. It is crucial, particularly given today's economic climate, that we tackle this problem. In a system dominated by minor developments, even the simple decisions now take far too long. This is massively frustrating for both applicants and council planners with excessive workloads.

"We believe that our recommendations - based on extensive discussions with stakeholders - will go a long way to re-energising and streamlining the planning applications process. This will also free up council resources, help economic recovery, and help to ensure that we get the right development, in the right place at the right time."

Joanna Killian added:

"We have looked at every stage of the planning application process from every perspective to identify a series of practical recommendations to remove the stumbling blocks and help business and councils to put people first and work together more effectively.

"Our proposals won't remove the democratic safeguards but they will free up council resources to focus on major developments or controversial cases and give councils more freedom to choose how to reach out to people in the information age.

"We hope that ministers will take immediate action to implement these measures which can make our economy more resilient to deal with the tough times and help it recover in future."