Planning aspects of environmental control 10

United Kingdom

Planning inspectorate

10.1 The Planning Minister has announced that there will be a review of the Planning Inspectorate and its status as an Executive Agency. The Inspectorate was established as an Executive Agency in April 1992 and, as such, must be reviewed at least every five years. The last review was in 1995 which confirmed the Agency status. The forthcoming review will consider all the organisational options for the Inspectorate, including abolition, continued agency status, contracting-out, market testing, merger or rationalisation and privatisation. The review will be undertaken jointly by the DETR and the National Assembly for Wales. The Agency’s customers and other interested parties will be consulted. (DETR News Release, 31 March 2000)

London

10.2 The Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2000 (SI 2000 No 1493) sets out the procedures for the determination of strategic planning applications in London by the Mayor. Where an application is contrary to the spatial development strategy or prejudicial to its implementation, or otherwise contrary to good strategic planning in Greater London, the Mayor may direct the local planning authority to refuse planning permission. Applications of potential strategic importance are defined in the Order, which came into effect on 3 July 2000.(SO, June 2000)

10.3 The Town and Country Planning (London Spatial Development Strategy) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000 No 1491) prescribe the form and content of the spatial development strategy and the associated procedures for public participation, public examination and publication of the strategy. The Regulations, which came into force on 3 July 2000, also specify certain matters that must be taken into consideration when the strategy is drawn up, including the National Waste Strategy for England and Wales, and major accident hazards limitation.(SO, June 2000)

Conservation areas

10.4 Planning controls over works of partial demolition in conservation areas may be tightened. This move follows the House of Lords’ ruling in Shimizu UK Limited v Westminster City Council on the meaning of the word “building” in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The effect of the decision is that partial demolition of a listed building does not automatically require listed building consent and conservation area consent is not required for the partial demolition of unlisted buildings in conservation areas. To counter this, the Government is proposing that an application for planning permission will be needed for certain works of partial demolition in conservation areas.(DETR News Release, 19 June 2000)

Flood defence

10.5 Planning Policy Guidance Note 25, “Development and Flood Risk”, containing proposals for new planning guidance for flood risk areas in England has been published for consultation by the DETR. The guidance explains how local planning authorities should consider flood risk at all stages of the planning and development process in order to minimise future damage to property and possible loss of life. The guidance has been prepared following a precautionary basis and taking into account climate change. The guidance outlines the means by which flood risk issues should be addressed in regional planning guidance, development plans and the consideration of planning applications.(DETR, April 2000)

Brownfield land

10.6 Information on the location, previous uses and planning status of brownfield sites is now available via the internet through the National Land Use Database (www.nlud.org.uk). At present, the Database, which is still in its pilot phase, contains details of more than 3,500 sites identified by local authorities as vacant and derelict in September 1998. Further information is to be made available in spring 2001 and then annually. In time, the Database will be extended to cover other land uses.(DETR News Release, 20 June 2000)

Mediation

10.7 A report into the operation of the pilot scheme on the use of mediation in planning application or appeal disputes has concluded that this procedure works well, particularly in cases where householders are in dispute with planning authorities. The next stage will be to introduce mediation into other areas of the planning system, such as development plans or cases going to inquiry, and to determine how mediation can be integrated into the existing system. The study was commissioned in 1998 as part of the Government’s Modernising Planning initiative.(DETR News Release, 30 May 2000)

Renewable energy - Scotland

10.8 A draft revision of National Planning Policy Guideline 6 “Renewable Energy” sets out the Scottish Executive’s new planning guidance for renewable energy projects. This reflects the importance of renewables in addressing climate change and emphasises that the planning system should have a more enabling role in relation to renewable energy.(Scottish Executive, June 2000)

Supermarkets

10.9 The DETR has published its response to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee’s second report, “The Environmental Impact of Supermarket Competition”. The Government welcomes the report and in particular, the strong endorsement the Committee gave to the current planning policy guidance, “PPG6: Town Centres and Retail Developments”, as the Government remains firmly committed to the objectives of PPG6 which seek to sustain and enhance the vitality and viability of existing city, town, district and local centres. The Government also agrees with the Committee’s proposals that local plans must make adequate provision for supermarket sites in town centres, to avoid stores being built out-of-town. The Government also welcomes the proposal in the report that in the new “PPG13: Transport”, there should be maximum, rather than minimum, parking standards.(DETR, May 2000)

European Union

Strategic environmental assessment

10.10 The Council of Ministers has reached a Common Position on the proposed Directive on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment, published in the Official Journal in May. Under the proposal, an environmental impact assessment would be a condition for the adoption of certain “plans and programmes” adopted under national town and country planning legislation, including plans and programmes in sectors such as transport, energy, waste management, water resource management, industry, telecommunications and tourism. Local authorities and other service providers would hence be responsible for appraising the environmental consequences of their strategies and programmes. Plans and programmes in other sectors would only require a strategic environmental assessment where “significant environmental effects” are expected. The European Commission does not support the Council’s Common Position, due to the narrowing of the scope and would prefer environmental assessments to be mandatory for all strategic plans, rather than just for those in the sectors listed. (OJ C137, 16 May 2000)