Winckworth Sherwood Comment: act now to avoid increased risk of planning appeals25th April 2012

Confusion about the cumulative effect of changes to planning legislation and policy and a lack of local authority resource to deal with the recently introduced National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) could lead to a significant increase in the number of planning appeals, says law firm Winckworth Sherwood.
 
This was the clear message at a seminar held by Winckworth Sherwood on 20 April 2012 for more than 80 of the UK’s leading housebuilders, other developers and their advisers.
 
The NPPF is a radical reform of Government planning policy for England, introducing a presumption in favour of sustainable development.  It requires planning authorities to revise their local plans by 26 March 2013 or risk being required to grant permission for planning applications which they or their communities dislike.
 
Karen Cooksley, Partner and Head of Planning at law firm Winckworth Sherwood said: “It is not surprising that there is still a high degree of uncertainty about what the NPPF will mean in practice.  It is not helping that many local authorities do not have the resources to put up to date, NPPF compliant plans in place within a year. 
 
“Unless developers engage proactively with local authorities and local communities there is a likelihood of a substantial increase in the number of appeals over the next couple of years.”
 
Karen said: “The way developers can mitigate the risk of having a scheme turned down or facing an appeal is to work with advisers who really understand how the NPPF works.  It is not a presumption in favour of development, as many commentators would have you believe.  Developers need to give a clear and persuasive explanation of how their schemes will result in economic, social and environmental gains for the community – if they do that they will be successful. 
 
“We would recommend that developers select teams who know how to navigate the new planning landscape to avoid costly mistakes.”