£135m to Planning Departments - Good Value?
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has just announced that the government will be making £135,000,000 of our taxes available to Local Authorities if their Planning Departments meet key targets for delivery and performance.
What does this mean to the ordinary developer or homeowner trying to get planning permission for a scheme that they need to move forward?
The main target that Planning Departments have is to determine all applications within 8 weeks of the application being registered. There are bound to be a few complicated applications submitted to any planning department that cannot be dealt with in this timescale.
Therefore, they are very keen to ensure that all the small applications for new build, self-build, extensions, tree work and changes of use are kept within the magic 8 weeks.
The first way of doing this is to delay registration of your application until all the documents are correct (this can be quite reasonable – after all if you have not filled in the from correctly or have got the wrong number of plans why should they loose precious time?)
However, if can mean you being asked to provide a load of extra information that is not set out on the application form or any guidance notes!
The other way they get to keep to the timescale is to minimise any contact with you the applicant once the application is in.
So, if you want to consult and get any advice on your wonderful idea for new build or extensions, then you will need to do so before you formally submit the application.
All of which means that the whole process of course takes longer than 8 weeks - but the remainder of the period is hidden from central government records.
So since statistics can’t lie we have got a more efficient planning system haven't we?
Just one last thing to watch for is if your application is in any way unacceptable then expect to get a refusal and then have to submit a new application rather than being able to amend the existing one.
After all that will result in two applications dealt with inside 8 weeks instead of one that falls outside.
Of course it means the whole thing takes you 20 weeks instead of possible 10.
Stay tuned to Property Fortunes...
What does this mean to the ordinary developer or homeowner trying to get planning permission for a scheme that they need to move forward?
The main target that Planning Departments have is to determine all applications within 8 weeks of the application being registered. There are bound to be a few complicated applications submitted to any planning department that cannot be dealt with in this timescale.
Therefore, they are very keen to ensure that all the small applications for new build, self-build, extensions, tree work and changes of use are kept within the magic 8 weeks.
The first way of doing this is to delay registration of your application until all the documents are correct (this can be quite reasonable – after all if you have not filled in the from correctly or have got the wrong number of plans why should they loose precious time?)
However, if can mean you being asked to provide a load of extra information that is not set out on the application form or any guidance notes!
The other way they get to keep to the timescale is to minimise any contact with you the applicant once the application is in.
So, if you want to consult and get any advice on your wonderful idea for new build or extensions, then you will need to do so before you formally submit the application.
All of which means that the whole process of course takes longer than 8 weeks - but the remainder of the period is hidden from central government records.
So since statistics can’t lie we have got a more efficient planning system haven't we?
Just one last thing to watch for is if your application is in any way unacceptable then expect to get a refusal and then have to submit a new application rather than being able to amend the existing one.
After all that will result in two applications dealt with inside 8 weeks instead of one that falls outside.
Of course it means the whole thing takes you 20 weeks instead of possible 10.
Stay tuned to Property Fortunes...
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