The Coalition Government, as with previous Conservative Governments, supports a roll-back of state intervention and the devolution of power to the local communities. How this will work in practice in terms of how decisions are made and the appeal system remains to be seen. However in terms of planning policy, the approach translates into a simplified policy framework which will see approximately 1000 pages of existing planning policy and guidance compressed into a 52 page document.
Much of the current debate centres around whether this reduction in policy will in fact lead to a simplification and a speedier planning system, or in fact create a policy vacuum in many areas which will be capable of being filled only with case law and a return to ‘planning by appeal’. Whether or not the NPPF will be supplemented by guidance in particular areas of planning remains to be seen, as it already evident that many areas of policy within the document contain very little in terms of how the overarching policy should be translated into detail on the ground.
Spawforths welcome the reduction in the amount of policy and the aspiration towards a less bureaucratic and complex planning system. However, clearly the potential for a return to planning by appeal (and therefore negating the potential streamlining in policy) could remain or even increase within the short to medium term in the absence of more detailed guidance to follow.
The reduction in bureaucracy should also offer an opportunity to further emphasise the most important issues dealing with identifying land for development and decisions on planning applications. That is, the facilitation of growth and sustainable development, to meet serious housing shortages and to ensure that development is not stagnated but encouraged in the right locations.