The Housing and Planning Bill is currently working its way through Parliament and aims to increase the number of new homes being built by removing potential obstacles. This includes a proposed change in the planning system.
However, a controversial amendment to the Bill was put forward in December during the third reading which will pave the way for a pilot scheme that will allow third parties to process planning applications. Whilst the final decision on the application would lie with the local planning authority, the amendment would allow an applicant to choose to have an application for planning permission processed by other providers; a move that has divided opinions.
The British Property Federation (BPF) has welcomed the amendment. Melanie Leech, chief executive at the BPF, said, "relieving local authorities from the administrative side of the planning application process will free up resources within departments, but still allows them to have the final say over development in their area. It is crucial that any changes are clear and transparent, to allow local communities to retain their confidence in the system."
However, Clive Betts, Labour MP for Sheffield and the chair of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, said the amendment is "effectively about the privatisation of the planning service." Labour MP Ruth Cadbury and Green MP Caroline Lucas also expressed concern. Ms Lucas said the privatisation of the planning system destroys the "last shreds of the democratic process that safeguards how our communities are made, putting power instead in the hands of developers."
Meanwhile, shadow planning minister, Roberta Blackman-Woods, said the government must see the "potential for this mechanism to generate a degree of corruption and totally inappropriate conflicts of interest is probably endless."
At this point, the amendment, if accepted, would only allow the idea of using third parties to be piloted, so there will be no fundamental change in policy in the immediate future.
