Joanna Averley, England’s new Chief Planner, has written to local authorities strongly encouraging them to ‘continue in the preparation and adoption of local plans – (including neighbourhood plans – as policy development and legislation evolve in response to the national planning reforms.
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… please don’t let uncertainty stop you from progressing your work…
…we would strongly encourage local authorities to continue in the preparation and adoption of local plans…
Joanna Averley writes in the Planning Newsletter:
…One of the key messages I would like to convey is please don’t let uncertainty stop you from progressing your work, particularly in respect to the preparation of your plans for your area or your projects. It’s important that we try not to lose momentum and that we have strong plans which can facilitate our recovery from the impacts of the pandemic; and importantly that address our communities housing needs and the economic challenges that lie ahead….
We have been receiving anecdotal feedback that some local authorities may be considering pausing or slowing down the preparation of their local plan, in part due to the uncertainty of when the proposals outlined in ‘Planning for the Future’ come into force. We would strongly encourage local authorities to continue in the preparation and adoption of local plans. There will be a period of policy development after the receipt of the responses to the White Paper. This will in turn be followed by the preparation and progress of any legislation required to implement the planning reforms. This will take some time and it’s therefore important that local areas have a plan in place. As part of the detailed design of the reforms a suitable transition period from approved to new local plans will be implemented.
We also continue to want to see neighbourhood plans being progressed and supported by local authorities through the system, to give more communities a greater role in shaping the development and growth of their local areas.
Download the Planning Newsletter (No. 3 of 2020)
