On 30th January 2018, the Government published a consultation on improving the use of planning conditions and the draft regulations.
The consultation ran until 27th February 2018. The draft regulations propose a new process to govern the use of pre-commencement conditions.
A summary of the proposed process is set out below:-
- If an applicant confirms their agreement to a pre-commencement condition in writing the local planning authority (LPA) can proceed to impose such condition.
- If an application indicates that they do not agree to the inclusion of the condition, that condition cannot be imposed.
- The LPA can issue a notice setting out the terms of the proposed pre-commencement condition. If the applicant fails to provide a substantive response within 10 working days from the date the notice is given, then the LPA may proceed to grant the permission subject to the proposed pre-commencement condition.
- When a notice is issued, an applicant can:
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- Provide written agreement to the terms of the pre-commencement condition (in which case the LPA can proceed to impose the condition)
- Indicate that they do not agree (in which case the LPA can either grant without that condition, seek written consent on an alternative condition or refuse the application)
- Provide comments on the condition (in which case the LPA cannot impose the condition)
- Do nothing (in which case the LPA can proceed to grant subject to the condition)
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It will be interesting to see whether the regulations will take the form proposed. The proposals are meant to reduce the delays in getting on site, caused by onerous pre-commencement conditions. However without an agreement from the applicant, are LPAs likely to risk refusing an application for the sole reason that the pre-commencement condition was necessary to make the development acceptable? Are developers likely to delay the start of their developments further by appealing refusals relating to pre-commencement conditions or is there potential here for agreements to pre-commencement conditions in the first instance, to be sharply followed by S.73 applications for their removal?
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