LURA, can't you give me some time? Or at least a new fees order...
The period between the proroguing of parliament and the date of the King's Speech is often strangely restful.
Whilst we are all enjoying a few days of comparative peace and quiet, I thought I would take the opportunity to share some updates. Given that I am trying to be more informative than entertaining, I make no apologies for being a bit boring. Or misquoting Coldplay and the Scissor Sisters.
The New Fees Order: Guessing at numbers and figures
Whilst all of our attention has been on the LURB, party conferences, and various fun and games involving government interventions, the new Fees Order has been slowly chugging its way through parliament.
By way of a quick reminder, this is the Order that will:
- increase planning fees by 35% for major applications and 25% for all other applications.
- make an annual inflation-related adjustment to planning fees.
- remove the ‘free-go’ for repeat applications.
- introduce a prior approval fee for the permitted development right allowing the Crown to develop sites within the perimeter of a closed defence site; and
- reduce the Planning Guarantee period for non-major applications to 16 weeks.
The Order has now been approved by both Houses of Parliament, which means that it is on track to be “made” shortly after the new Parliamentary Session starts next week. As the Order comes into force 28 days after it has been made, it seems extremely likely that planning fees will increase, and the “free-go” will disappear, this side of Christmas.
LURA: Closing walls and ticking clocks
As regular readers might have noticed, The Levelling-Up & Regeneration Act 2023 has now gained Royal Assent. Given the potential significance of the Act, this has, unsurprisingly, prompted quite a few people to ask me when it will actually come into effect.
In a bid to be helpful, I have created a table that seeks to answer that question. The table does not cover the entire bill - just the main planning bits (otherwise known as Parts 3 to 7 and 9 and 10) - but I am hoping that you might find it useful.
As the Act hasn't actually been published as yet, this information has been taken from s.263 of the most recent published version of the LURB. I will publish an updated version the Act is finally published, but it gives a fair indication of where we are…. which is, for the most part, waiting on the government to publish and consult on a very large amount of secondary legislation….
| Statutory Provision | High level summary
| Expected to take effect |
| Part 3 | Planning | |
Sections 111, 112 (so far as it confers a power to make regulations or to make development order)
| s.111 empowers the Secretary of State to change the EIA regulations to allow for street votes s.112 relates to powers enabling ‘urgent crown development’ applications to be made directly to the Secretary of State in certain circumstances and sets out the procedures for doing so (the details need to be set out in secondary legislation of some kind). | Will come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed. |
| 115, 116 and 117 (so far as conferring a power to make regulations) | s.115 – introduces the power to issue completion notices if a development is being built out ‘unreasonably slowly’ and sets out the procedure for doing so. s.116 – introduces the power for LPAs to decline to determine applications in cases of earlier non-implementation or unreasonably slow build-out
s.117 – introduces the power to impose conditions relating to development progress reports on specified residential planning permissions in England – detail to be set out in secondary legislation. | Will come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed. |
| section 124 | Grants the Secretary of State the power to provide relief from enforcement of planning conditions in certain circumstances – the detail is to be set out by way of secondary legislation. | Will come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed. |
Sections 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 136 and 138
| s. 129 – Ability to introduce fees for certain services in relation to nationally significant infrastructure projects.
s.130 - Power to shorten deadline for examination of development consent order applications
s.131 – Introduces additional powers in relation to non-material changes to development consent orders s.133 – Introduces a wide-ranging power to make regulations and orders under the Planning Acts s.134 – Introduces a power for appointees to vary determinations as to procedure s.135 – enables the pre-consolidation amendment of planning, development and compulsory purchase legislation s.136 – Provisions enabling the participation in certain proceedings conducted by, or on behalf of, the Secretary of State (i.e. PINS proceedings) via remote means. s.138 - provisions relating to Biodiversity net gain: pre-development biodiversity value and habitat enhancement – designed to prevent the gaming of the system….
| Will come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed. |
Sections 112, 115, 116 and 117 (so far as not already commenced by virtue of paragraph (a)), Schedule 14 so far as it relates to Chapter 1 of Part 3 and the other provisions
| s.112 - relates to powers enabling ‘urgent crown development’ applications to be made directly to the Secretary of State in certain circumstances and sets out the procedures for doing so (the details need to be set out in secondary legislation of some kind).
s.115 - introduces the power to issue completion notices if a development is being built out ‘unreasonably slowly’ and sets out the procedure for doing so s.116 - introduces the power for LPAs to decline to determine applications in cases of earlier non-implementation or unreasonably slow build-out s.117 - introduces the power to impose conditions relating to development progress reports on specified residential planning permissions in England – detail to be set out in secondary legislation. sch. 14 - Regulations under chapter 1 of Part 3 or Part 6: restrictions on devolved authorities Literally everything else in Part 3 – including the removal of the four-year enforcement period, the heritage changes, and changes to the Local Plan process.
| Will come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint. |
| Part 4 | Provisions to introduce the Infrastructure Levy and change the Community Infrastructure Levy | Will come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint. |
| Part 5 | Provisions relating to Community Land Auction Pilots | Will come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint. |
Part 6 (including Schedule 14 so far as it relates to Part 6) | Provisions relating to Environmental Outcome Reports | Will come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed. |
| Part 7 | Provisions relating to Nutrient Pollution Standards | Will come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed. |
| Part 9 | Changes to Compulsory Purchase | Will come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint. |
| Part 10 | Provisions relating to High Street Rental Auctions | Will come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint. |
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