National Infrastructure Planning ensures that local community development happens in the right place
at the right time to benefit local communities and the national economy, allowing
national resources to be effectively coordinated to ensure their appropriate
and efficient use.
It is critical that national and local infrastructure
planning is coordinated to avoid a conflict of interest from the needs and
issues of local areas being unnecessarily impacted by the needs of the UK.
Coordination of National and Local Planning
National and local infrastructure planning plays a critical
role in identifying what local development is needed, where, and what areas
need to be protected or enhanced and assessing whether a proposed development
is suitable. The UK government’s national planning reforms:
- Prioritise planning that enables sustainable development, delivering homes and jobs to communities vital to local economies.
- Simplify national and local infrastructure planning.
- Ensure that local planning decisions are taken at the lowest level with the involvement of local inhabitants.
- Provision strong protections to enhance and conserve the UK's historic and natural rich environment.
The National Planning Policy Framework
The Planning Policy Framework aims to balance the critical
and sensitive needs of national and local planning policies that cover the
social, environmental, and economic aspects of infrastructure development. Its
policies are considered in preparing local infrastructure plans and have a significant
impact in deciding planning applications.
However, the policy does not dictate how local and
neighbourhood plans should be written or the outcome of planning decisions
locally. The policy provides a framework for producing distinctive and unique regional
and neighbourhood plans and development orders that more accurately meet the needs
of local communities.
As well as making national planning policy easily
accessible, the National Planning Policy Framework serves many vital areas, such
as:
The principle aim of this strategy is to streamline
decision-making for these complex and substantial planning and development
projects to make it easier, fairer, and more efficient for local communities
and national planning applicants.
- Providing a clear link for national and local infrastructure plans to be jointly considered through an integrated planning system.
- Highlighting the legal necessity for local planning applications to be considered in terms of national planning, which must be decided to coordinate both national and local planning requirements unless other essential or material factors indicate otherwise.
- Ensuring that sustainable development is emphasised to ensure local planning authorities identify and plan for their areas' community needs, taking the needs of the environmental impacts of neighbourhood development into account by prioritising planning applications that deliver sustainable infrastructure projects.
- Prioritising the requirement to achieve sustainable development by providing safeguards to conserve and enhance the valuable natural and historic environment.
Planning Policy Statements
A succession of UK government Policy Statements has set the
national policy for the different types of infrastructure projects, placing
thresholds above which specific infrastructure development projects are deemed
strategic and substantially necessary to be examined nationally.
The Planning Inspectorate, sponsored by the Department for
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, is an executive agency that deals with
national planning-related and specialist casework, infrastructure planning
applications, examinations of local plans and other planning-related issues
such as planning appeals in England.
The principal responsibilities of the Planning Inspectorate
are to administer planning applications for significant national infrastructure
projects on behalf of the Secretary of State for the environment. The
Inspectorate typically examines project applications to allow recommendations to
be made to the relevant Secretary of State, who will decide whether to refuse
or grant infrastructure planning applications.
For example, the Planning Inspectorate considers
infrastructure planning applications for overhead power line construction
projects above 132kV. However, before development consent is granted, planning applications
are administered by the Planning Inspectorate but considered by the local
planning authority, whose input is considered by the Planning Inspectorate
before a final planning decision is made. Lessor planning applications for
overhead lines would be determined under the provisions of the Electricity Act
1989, as amended.
A local planning authority objecting to a national planning
proposal will lead to a public inquiry by an independent inspector, with the
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change making a final decision after
considering the inspector's report. As part of the decision-making process, the
views of the local planning authority, local people, statutory bodies and other
interested parties can be considered.
The Localism Act 2011
Until recently, strategies to provide for the needs of
larger than-local areas or planning across local planning authority boundaries
were undertaken predominantly through regional strategy. These plans covered
multiple local planning authority areas. They imposed specific requirements on
the local communities within those areas, for example, the number of new houses
they would need to accommodate.
However, planning is more effective when the people it
affects are integral to the process. The government abolished this regional
planning tier through the Localism Act 2011 to return plan-making to local
communities.
Outside London, Regional Strategies no longer form part of
the statutory development plan, apart from a minimal number of residual
policies which remain essential. These residual policies are only relevant in
determining planning applications if these residual policies apply.
In London, one of the Mayor's responsibilities is to produce
a strategic plan for the capital. Local community plans must align in general
conformity with the strategic plan, which will continue to guide decisions on
planning applications by London borough councils and the Mayor.
Development Contributions to Local Environments
Most development has an impact on or benefits from
infrastructure such as roads, schools and open spaces. Therefore, growth should
contribute towards mitigating its effects on such infrastructure.
Local planning authorities can place a Community
Infrastructure Levy, a charge that sponsors of new developments pay based on
the size and type of development. However, exemptions are granted for specific
development categories. The money raised through the Levy can fund the
infrastructure needed to support the area's development.
Local planning authorities can set different rates for
different regions, types and scales of development, including low or zero levy
rates, to ensure that the charge makes development viable. Local planning
authorities must first produce a 'charging schedule' to charge the Levy. The
charging schedule for the Levy is often developed alongside a Local Plan and
will be independently examined.
A 15% share of the Levy is given to the parish council where
the development occurred to ensure that communities share the benefits and
costs of development. If a neighbourhood plan or neighbourhood development
order, including a community right-to-build order, is in place, up to 25% of
the Levy may be passed to the parish council to encourage local communities to
plan for their area proactively.
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
Where there is no parish council, the local planning
authority will retain these funds to spend in consultation with the community. Planning
obligations are commonly upheld to mitigate the impact of proposed developments
under The
Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended),
principally utilising section 106.
A local planning authority may ask a developer to provide
local infrastructure to mitigate the impact of the development upon the local
community by delivering road improvements, providing social housing, or funding
additional services. However, any requested planning obligation must be tested
to ensure that it is:
- Acceptable in planning terms to make the development viable.
- Directly relates to the proposed development.
- Reasonably and somewhat related to the development in terms of scale.
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