Localism Act
Update on the progress of the implementaion of the Localism Act from Chelgate Planning
Update: January 15, 2012
Section 24 of the Act comes into force, reforming the 'predetermination' rule. This frees councillors to engage with the community that elected them, and developers bringing forward projects. Click here for further information, or here to view our detailed briefing.
Update: November 14, 2011
The Localism Act received royal assent. Chelgate Planning has prepared a briefing for developers and planners about the planning communications and engagement aspects of the new act (please click on any bulltpoint point for further information):
- Localism Act The Localism Act received royal assent in November 2011
- Predetermination The Act marks the end of ‘predetermination’ – councillors can now do what they are supposed to do: represent the communities they were elected by
- Pre-application consultation Developers need to engage with communities before any application is made
- Neighbourhood planning The Localism Act introduces neighbourhood plans and neighbourhood development orders, and also compensates and incentivises communities that accept development
- Communications review Developers and planners should review their planning communications, stakeholder engagement and community consultation approaches in light of the planning reforms
- Choosing the right consultancy Guidance on appointing the right planning communications consultancy.
Update: November 9, 2011
The Localism Bill has completed its passage through Parliament and is ready for Royal Assent to become law.
The House of Commons accepted the amendments passed by the House of Lords.
So councils will not become liable for EU fines if they miss recycling or air quality targets, and the fines will be apportioned by Parliament instead.
The introduction of ‘Shadow Mayors’-- unelected mayors, combining the role of Chief Executive with Leader of the Council in 11 cities -- has been stopped, although some councils will still hold referendums to move to the mayoral system of governance.
Any financial incentives for development – such as the New Homes Bonus – will not be allowed to be taken into account when deciding if applications fit with local or community plans.
And the Bill’s original proposal to allow residents to trigger a referendum on any local issue was severely constrained, after the LGA predicted that it could cost councils £310m over 10 years. Community referendums will be limited to passing new neighbourhood plans and taking advantage of the community right to build new developments. Councils will also have to win a local referendum if they want to raise the council tax above a nationally-decided cap.
A last-minute attempt by Zac Goldsmith, Douglas Carswell and Caroline Lucas among others to reintroduce the right of referendum on any local issue – and to make the result binding – was voted down.
Update: November 1, 2011
The Bill has passed through the Lords, who made several important amendments:
Watered down and then axed the possibility of referendums on any local issue, restricting them instead to a limited number of cases (council tax, right-to-build, and neighbourhood plans).
Empowered local authorities to withdraw their recognition from neighbourhood forums.
Halted the introduction of Shadow Mayors and scrapped the concept of Mayors as Chief Executives, although councils are still free to move to a Mayoral system.
Introduced the concept of a “business neighbourhood”, in which those who pay business rates will be able to vote in forums to develop neighbourhood plans along with residents.
These amendments will be considered by the House of Commons on November 7.
Update: May 17, 2011
DCLG announces eight business-led Neighbourhood Planning pilot schemes around the country. They will be: Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, Liverpool's Innovation Park, Trafford Park, Manchester, Milton Keynes Central, London Bankside, London Southbank and Waterloo, London West End, and Aldershot Town Centre.
Update: April 13, 2011
DCLG announces grants for four organisations to implement the Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planing. DCLG received 37 applications (two of which included Chelgate). The four winning organisations were: the Royal Town Planning Institute, The Prince's Foundation, National Association of Local Government and CPRE, and Locality.
Update: April 1, 2011
DCLG announces the 17 local planning authorities that will be the first to develop Neighbouhood Plans. Called 'front runners', and formally called 'Vangaurds', they include: Birmingham City Council - Balsall Heath (Birmingham), Bristol City Council - Lockleaze (Bristol), London Borough of Southwark - Bermondsey, London Borough of Sutton - Hackbridge, North Tyneside Council - North Shields Fish Quay, Wirral Borough Council - Devonshire Park, Allerdale Borough Council - Cockermouth, Blaby District Council - Blaby, Cherwell Borough Council - Banbury, Exmoor National Park Authority - Lynton, Gedling Borough Council - Newstead, Lewes District Council - Ringmer, Northumberland County - Allendale, Shropshire Council - Much Wenlock, Teignbridge District Council - Dawlish, West Dorset District Council - Cerne Abbas and Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead - Bray. Click here to view the DCLG announcement.
Update: March 8, 2011
The Decentralisation and Localism Bill is currently in committee stage in the House of Commons. The government is allowing debates for amendments, but is then voting them down. This is primary legislation for the government so is being given priority, and is thus likely to be enacted by November this year.
Update: March 3, 2011
Decentralisation minister Greg Clark has told Parliament he is considering setting a higher minimum figure for participants in the new neighbourhood plan making regime. Click here to view the relevant page on the Planning Portal website.
Update: January 17, 2011
DCLG publishes a plain English guide to the Localism Bill. Click here to download a PDF of the guide (opens a new browser window), or click here to go to the relevant page on the DCLG website (also opens a new browser window).
Update: January 7, 2011
DCLG reveals Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Plans scheme, inviting applications from charities for grants to help communities that want to engage in the planning process, with a view to ultimately drafting a neighbourhood plan when the Localism Bill is published. Click here to view the DCLG page. Applications to be submitted by February 21, 2011.
Update: December 13, 2010
The Decentralisation and Localism Bill has been introduced to the House of Commons. It has a number of provisions which will impact upon the planning and development communities.
The first is the confirmation of the abolition of regional strategies – hardly a surprise. The introduction of ‘neighbourhood plans’ is an interesting alternative approach, although the implications of this are uncertain – perhaps the outcome of the 12 ‘vanguard’ communities about to go through the process of developing a neighbourhood plan may give an insight of what is to come.
Any community will be able to come together to draft a neighbourhood plan, and the planning authority will be obliged to assist. This is likely to follow parish or neighbourhood forums, but councils will have to assist with defining exact planning boundaries where necessary. The community can then decide where it would like to see new homes, shops and offices, and decide what green open spaces it would like to protect. Once it has the approval of the community, the planning authority will be obliged to adopt the plan. Of course, there are some conditions and qualifications.
The ‘carrots’ being dangled by government are quite enticing. Ministers have made it clear that a large proportion of the New Homes Bonus monies and the Community Infrastructure Levy will go to the neighbourhood where development takes place, in addition to S106 agreement monies. This is a double-edged sword, as the general council ‘pot’ will subsequently be reduced, which means neighbourhoods without plans will not see the same level of spending, and so will suffer. This could all be part of the plan, of course, as those neighbourhoods will then be motivated to go along the same path so they don’t miss out.
What impact this is going to have on the local authority’s planning strategies and wider plans is unclear, but it has the potential to cause much confusion, and a requirement for ongoing revision. However, based upon the usual level of local community involvement in council affairs, and planning, there will perhaps not be a rush. That said, the process may well be hijacked by NIMBYs when a project is being conceived – more likely is that developers will use the process to try and get a consensus agreement within the community for development, which is exactly what the government wants to happen.
Communities will certainly not feel isolated by the process, as they are now, as there will be a statutory obligation on developers to consult prior to the application being made, to demonstrate that consultation, and to show that the wishes of the community have been listened to and the plans adapted accordingly.
And the act will also reverse the absurd situation whereby councillors have been prevented from voicing opinions or acting on local issues for fear of being considered biased and unable to participate in a vote at committee. It now allows councillors to do what they were elected to do: represent their communities.
This will enable developers and planners to seek understanding, and get feedback, from local councillors during the project conception and following submission of the application.
There are various provisions within the Decentralisation and Localism Bill (DLB) which will have an impact on planning, the planning process, and the development community:
Community empowerment
The DLB enables residents, councillors or councils to call a local referendum on any issue. Although the results are not binding, the council and other bodies have to take the outcome into consideration when making decisions.
This means that residents could call a referendum on a local planning issue, and the planning authority would have to take the outcome into account when considering the application.
Planning
DLB abolishes regional strategies and housing targets, leaving it up to local authorities and communities what they wish to build.
The bill introduces the new concept of ‘neighbourhood plans’ where any community can come together, whether a parish or neighbourhood forum, and lead the way in shaping their community. They can decide on where new shops, offices and homes should go, and which green spaces should be protected, by producing a local plan. If the plan is agreed by the majority of the community, the planning authority will be obliged to adopt it, and developments within that plan would then not subsequently need planning consent to go ahead.
There are powerful financial incentives to make this all happen in the form of the New Homes Bonus which will reward those councils and communities that deliver new homes and businesses to their area. This will be in addition to any S106 agreements.
Also, the Community Infrastructure Levy has been revised, and a large proportion of that money will have to be spent in the neighbourhood where the development takes place.
The bill also introduces compulsory pre-application consultation, and a requirement to demonstrate that note has been taken of those consultations.
Vanguard communities
On December 8, Ministers announced that they are looking for 12 vanguard communities to volunteer to get involved now. About a dozen communities are sought to trial neighbourhood plans in their area. The experience of these vanguards will help ensure the legislation is workable when it comes into force. Expressions of interest are required by February 2011.
Predetermination
The DLB clarifies the absurd situation whereby councillors have been prevented from voicing opinions or acting on local issues for fear of being considered biased and unable to participate in a vote at committee. It now allows councillors to do what they were elected to do: represent their communities.
This enables developers and planners to seek understanding, and get feedback, from local councillors during the project conception and following submission of the application.
Infrastructure Planning Commission
The bill abolishes this body.
Click here to download the bill (Opens in a new window).
Click here to download the explanatory notes to the bill (Opens in a new window).
Click here to go to the relevant page on the CLG website (Opens in a new window).
Click here to download a copy of Chelgate's guide on the wider scope of the bill (Opens in a new window).
Update: December 9, 2010
The Decentralisation and Localism Bill will be published in the House on Monday, December 13.
Update: December 6, 2010
Details of the Vangaurd Scheme are announced - 12 local planning authorities are invited to apply before February 14, 2011, to go through the process of neighbourhood planning so that lawmakers can learn from the experience.
Update: December 6, 2010
Further details of the forthcoming bill were revealled today by the Secretary of State. The new bill will shift power from Whitehall and town halls to the people, and neighbourhoods will become the building blocks of the new society.
Radical new planning reforms were announced today to hand powers down from Whitehall bureaucrats and down from Town Hall officials to communities so local people shape the character of the very neighbourhood in which they live.
In what are being labelled the building blocks of the Big Society, bold changes are being revealed to galvanise local democracy and help build new homes and plan new development with local support, and reward - not punish - those who want to grow and enhance their neighbourhood.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Planning Minister Greg Clark today outlined proposals to decentralise and streamline the planning system, ahead of the publication of the Localism Bill.
Neighbourhood groups to shape where they live: Communities will be able to come together to decide what their area should look like, where new shops, offices or homes should go and what green spaces should be protected. Parish councils and new neighbourhood forums of local people - rather than town hall officials - will lead the way in shaping their community. If local people then vote in favour of new 'Neighbourhood Plans' in local referendums, councils will have to adopt them.
Direct democracy: This new stimulus will be one of the greatest incentives to get people and communities to come together to take control of planning. The new powers will also allow communities to give planning approval to chosen sites on local land. This will mean that urgent development can go ahead quickly once the plan is adopted, short-circuiting lengthy planning applications and making the system more democratic and efficient.
Local benefits from local development: At the heart of the new approach will be a package of powerful incentives, such as the New Homes Bonus, that will encourage the right kind of local development and financially reward those councils and communities that deliver new homes and businesses to their area. Reforms to the Community Infrastructure Levy will also see a meaningful proportion of the levy handed over to the local neighbourhoods where the development takes place.
Vanguards to lead the way: Ministers are calling on communities to get involved now. The Government would like to see about a dozen local areas come forward to act as vanguards that will trial Neighbourhood Plans in their area. This step will help ensure the experience of these 'Neighbourhood Vanguards' is taken into account before the legislation comes into force.
Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said:
"For far too long local people have had too little say over a planning system that has imposed bureaucratic decisions by distant officials in Whitehall and the town hall. We need to change things so there is more people-planning and less politician-planning, so there is more direct democracy and less bureaucracy in the system. These reforms will become the building blocks of the Big Society."
Greg Clark, Minister for Planning and Decentralisation, added:
"Most people love where they live, yet the planning system has given them almost no say on how their neighbourhood develops. The Coalition Government will revolutionise the planning process by taking power away from officials and putting it into the hands of those who know most about their neighbourhood - local people themselves. This will be a huge opportunity for communities to exercise genuine influence over what their home town should look like in the future. It will create the freedom and the incentives for those places that want to grow, to do so, and to reap the benefits. It's a reason to say yes."
Tony Burton, Director of Civic Voice, said:
"Local communities care deeply about where they live and know it better than anyone. Neighbourhood plans will allow civic societies and other community groups to take the lead in setting out what people value, what development is needed and what can change for the better in their area. With the right support, and safeguards to ensure the community voice cannot be ignored, a new era of neighbourhood plans spreading rapidly across the country could transform the ability of people to shape their local area."
Update: November 24, 2010
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, today announced that the forthcoming 'Localism Bill' will include provisions for local authorities to vary their business rates as a means of encouraging firms to set up shop within a borough. Councils will not have their reductions subsidised from the centre, so they they will need to allow for any lost revenue in their budgets. iving councils this option may create the potential for further tax competition between local authorities.
The Bill was originally planned for this week, but is now expected later in the month, or in early December. The measures on business rates form part of a broader package of policies which the government says will increase localism. Referendums on directly elected Mayors will be held in the 12 largest cities outside London, with the possibility of a 'yes' vote being incentivised through greater powers for local government in those cities which vote yes. Local ballots will be permitted on any local issue. This may mean votes on topics such as the salaries of chief executives or whether there ought to be big rises in council tax.
The Bill will remove some of the targets currently imposed from central government and scrap both regional spatial strategies, the Infrastructure and the Audit Commission.
Local communities will also be able to challenge councils' control over local services, which may lead to bids by communities or private organisations to take them over. Critics of the Bill fear this may mean "private sector contractors will be given a green light to agitate to bid to run services and public facilities such as swimming baths, libraries, leisure centres and courts".
The Government also announced this week that local authorities in England will have greater powers to improve air quality in their boroughs. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland these matters are devolved, but in England councils will be able to set their own policies, though bearing in mind that the "need to maintain minimum environmental standards in air quality remains".
