Home > News > Planning reforms raise concerns with the London Assembly

Planning reforms raise concerns with the London Assembly

The Government must amend the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to avoid having a detrimental impact on local plans and on the Mayor’s ability to create ambitious planning policies for London following an investigation by the London Assembly.

An investigation into the Bill and other proposed planning reforms was carried out by the London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee, focussing on the national reforms and how they would work for London.

Ahead of a debate on the Bill in the Lords, the Committee has published a report highlighting that some reforms could prevent the London Plan and local plans from meeting local needs.

The Committee is concerned about introducing National Development Management Policies (NDMPs), which would be determined by the Government and have primacy over local and London Plan policies. Planning policies set at a local level and a London level would not be able to set different approaches or targets from those set out in the NDMPs.

The Committee supports the ambition of increasing public participation in local planning matters. Still, it is “not content with the limited level of detail set out by the Government on how all of these reforms would function” and how they would result in a more accessible planning system which meets local needs.

The Committee has set out 11 recommendations in the report, including:

The Committee concerns the Government’s National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) proposal. The Committee does not support the measure in the Bill, stating that any conflict arising between a local plan and an NDMP must be resolved in favour of the NDMP. The Committee believes this measure should be removed from the Bill or amended to exclude London and other areas with a joint spatial development strategy.

The Government should confirm that the NDMPs will set minimum rather than absolute standards. The Government’s approach stating that local plans are not allowed to contain policies on the same areas as the NDMPs should also be changed to ensure that local plans can meet local needs whilst avoiding unnecessary duplication.

The Committee welcomes the ambition of Neighbourhood Priority Statements to simplify and widen access to neighbourhood planning, including protecting small businesses and localities to aid resilience and recovery. More details are needed from the Government on how it will address the most significant challenges facing neighbourhood planning. Therefore, the Government should set out how it will improve the accessibility of funding and contribute to capacity building and technical support for neighbourhood planning groups.

HICH LTD has continually raised the quality standards in the UK property survey market. Our multi-award-winning property survey service has made us the leading reference in the property survey market.

We offer property survey services of the highest quality. Using state-of-the-art equipment, we provide top-notch property surveys at affordable prices. Our prices are based on the number of rooms rather than the value of the properties, so you will always get the best value for money with our services.

Please look at our Trustpilot page and see why customers have chosen us as their favourite property survey provider!

At HICH LTD, we work to serve our clients and make the world a better place for everyone. We actively collaborate with NGOs to promote environmental, social and charitable causes. If you want to know more about our efforts or how you can help, contact us at hichinfo@aol.co.uk.

HICH LTD extends a warm invitation to contractors and service providers throughout the UK to join our network; by joining the Contractors and Service Providers Network, you will enjoy benefits such as a significant increase in customer flow, advertising on our high-traffic website, and direct contact with thousands of customers in your zip area. Find more information here or by following the QR code in the following video.