Planning Act 2008
 | This article needs to beupdated.(November 2010) |
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| Long title | An Act to establish the Infrastructure Planning Commission and make provision about its functions; to make provision about, and about matters ancillary to, the authorisation of projects for the development of nationally significant infrastructure; to make provision about town and country planning; to make provision about the imposition of a Community Infrastructure Levy; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2008 c 29 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 26 November 2008 |
Status: Amended | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
ThePlanning Act 2008is anActof theParliament of the United Kingdomintended to speed up the process for approving major new infrastructure projects such as airports, roads, harbours, energy facilities such as nuclear power and waste facilities. This was felt to be necessary after the 8-year approval process forHeathrow Terminal 5.[2]Along with theClimate Change Billand the Energy Bill this bill was considered by theBrown administrationto be one of the "three legislative pillars of the Government's strategy to secure long-term prosperity and quality of life for all".[3]The Infrastructure Planning Commission has since been abolished and replaced with the Planning Inspectorate as of 31 March 2012.[4]
Key aims
[edit]- A new body, the Infrastructure Planning Commission would make the decisions
- These decisions would be based on new national policy statements
- Hearings and the decision-making process would be timetabled
- The new regime would be used for major energy projects
- The Secretary of State would not be able to have the final say on major infrastructure decisions
- A new Community Infrastructure Levy on developments would finance infrastructure (money would be raised from developers to pay for the facilities needed as a consequence of new developments, such as schools, hospitals and sewage plants).
- Planning appeals in relation to minor developments would be heard by a panel of local councillors and not by a planning inspector.[5]
Positions
[edit]Political parties
[edit]Labour
[edit]Labour introduced the Bill that became the Planning Act, although some 60 Labour members signed a Commons Motion opposing plans to set up an independent commission in May 2008.[6]
Conservative
[edit]The Conservatives were opposed to the Infrastructure Planning Commission while in opposition with parts of the act amended by the Coalition Government via theLocalism Act 2011.
Prime MinisterDavid Cameronsaid before the 2010 election that "This quango is going to be almost entirely divorced from the processes of democracy. That is wrong. People need a planning system in which they feel they have a say – both at national and local level. That is why this Bill is getting such widespread opposition from so many different quarters"[6]
The coalition government have, however, retained the concept of National Policy Statements, the authorisation regime and the Community Infrastructure Levy[7]
Liberal Democrats
[edit]The Liberal Democrats were also opposed the Infrastructure Planning Commission. Previously opposed to nuclear power, they are also granted the ability to vote against the nuclear power National Policy Statement when it comes before Parliament.
Environmental groups
[edit]Friends of the Earthsay that the government must makeClimate Changea central consideration in the decision-making process.[8]
In November 2007 major environmental groups described the Planning Bill as a 'Developer's charter'[9] and the head of planning at theRSPBexpressed concern saying that although the minister claimed that the bill will help protect the environment that it was more likely to aid developers trying to push through major schemes with scant regard to wildlife and the countryside and could "fast track environmental harm".[10]
Trade unions and businesses
[edit]John Cridland, then Deputy Director-General of theConfederation of British Industrysupported the bill saying that it was in the national interest and would facilitate the building of infrastructure that will help Britain protect its energy security, build renewable power sources to cut carbon, and invest for the future ".[11]
Nationally significant infrastructure projects
[edit]The Planning Act 2008 introduced a number of changes towards seeking development consent nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) with the aim to overhaul the planning process in order to save costs and increase efficiency.
Among these changes included the formation of the Infrastructure Planning Commission which served as an independent examining body for all applications relating to major infrastructure projects on 1 October 2009. The IPC has since been abolished and replaced by the Planning Inspectorate on 31 March 2012.[12]The responsibilities of the IPC were transferred to the National Infrastructure Directorate of the Planning Inspectorate.
The Planning Act 2008 also addressed the issue of having to receive several different regimes under Part 4 of the Planning Act 2008.[13]Now NSIP projects would only require a Development Consent Order (DCO) therefore the requirement of seeking approval under several different consent regimes was no longer necessary. This front-loaded approach to unifying the consents regime was intended to make the process for applying for planning consent faster and more efficient.
National Policy Statements were introduced under Part 5 of the Planning Act 2008.[14]The Planning Act requires that all applications which sought development consent would have to follow the guidelines for National Policy Statements. The National Policy Statements set out the need for development and other policy deliberations. The sustainability of the policy has to be assessed beforehand to ensure compliance withenvironmental sustainabilitystandards. The National Policy Statements were intended to make the outcome more certain by following guidelines. This had clear benefits for applicants who invested in a wealth of resources in order to bring development consent into fruition and in financial matters.
This new system was intended to streamline the process for applying for development consent through procedural amendments to the planning regime.
The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC)
[edit]TheInfrastructure Planning Commissionwas formed on 1 October 2009 with a brief to oversee planning applications for major infrastructure projects (also known asnationally significant infrastructure projects) such as power stations, roads, railways and airports claiming to cut the time to make a decision from seven years to less than a year and saving the taxpayer £300 million per year.[15]
Applications for large energy and transport projects had to be made to the IPC from 1 March 2010, but by December 2010 only two applications had in fact been made, one of which the IPC refused to accept as inadequately prepared. Despite claims that the general public would be cut out of the authorisation process, over 1,000 representations were made on the application that the IPC accepted.
Community Infrastructure Levy
[edit]TheCommunity Infrastructure Levyis a form ofplanning gaintax, where a proportion of the increase in value on land as a result of planning permission is used to finance the supporting infrastructure, such as schools and will 'unlock housing growth'[16]
Amendments
[edit]Localism Act 2011
[edit]The coalition government introduced theLocalism Act 2011,that made changes to the regime under the Planning Act 2008. The Localism Act replaced theInfrastructure Planning Commissionwith thePlanning Inspectorate,and returned overall decision-making to the Secretary of State who responds based on the recommendation of the Planning Inspectorate. The Localism Act also allows theHouse of Commonsto be able to veto National Policy Statements, and makes other changes to the Planning Act regime.[17]Previously, the Infrastructure Planning Commission were responsible for planning approval related to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, and were not directly accountable to the public.[18]Section 128(1)[19]of theLocalism Actabolishes the aforementioned Infrastructure Planning Commission handing over the responsibility for decisions related to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects towards Government Ministers. Section 130(3) of the Act[20]ensures that national policy statements which are used to guide planning approval for NSIP's can be voted for by the parliament.
The Infrastructure Planning (Radioactive Waste Geological Disposal Facilities) Order 2015
[edit]Amends sections 14 and appends section 30A to the Planning Act 2008. It sets out rules for disposal of radioactive waste, and surveying the potential sites.[21]
References
[edit]- ^The citation of this Act by thisshort titleis authorised bysection 242of this Act.
- ^"Nationally Significant Infrastructure: action plan for reforms to the planning process".GOV.UK.Retrieved28 November2023.
- ^"Planning Bill".Leader of the House of Commons. Archived fromthe originalon 26 June 2008.Retrieved8 November2008.
- ^"Infrastructure Planning Commission".GOV.UK.28 June 2012.Retrieved16 May2021.
- ^"Planning Bill 2007-08".UK Parliament.Retrieved8 November2008.
- ^abGrice, Andrew; Russell, Ben (24 June 2008)."Not in our backyard! A Bill that threatens historic right to protest".The Independent.London.Retrieved8 November2008.
- ^"Tories say they will back community infrastructure levy".Property Week. 29 September 2008.Retrieved8 November2008.
- ^"Planning Bill must include climate duty".Friends of the Earth.Retrieved8 November2008.
- ^Benjamin, Alison (6 November 2007)."Critics dismiss planning bill as 'developers' charter'".The Guardian.London.Retrieved6 November2008.
- ^"Planning bill could fast track environmental harm".RSPB. 7 November 2007.Retrieved8 November2008.
- ^"CBI COMMENTS ON LORDS VOTE ON PLANNING BILL".Confederation of British Industry. 6 November 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 12 November 2008.Retrieved8 November2008.
- ^White, Matthew (2013)."Attaining the age of consents: Five Years of the Planning Act 2008"(PDF).Joint Planning Law Conference Oxford.41:55 – via New College Oxford.
- ^Planning Act 2008 P(4).
- ^Planning Act 2008 P(5).
- ^Ruddick, Graham (1 October 2009)."Business leaders back controversial Infrastructure Planning Commission".The Daily Telegraph.London.Retrieved1 October2009.
- ^"Community Infrastructure Levy: Initial Impact Assessment".Communities and Local Government. Archived fromthe originalon 30 June 2008.Retrieved8 November2008.
- ^"Localism Act 2011: overview".GOV.UK.Retrieved17 May2021.
- ^Department for Communities and Local Government 'A plain English guide to the Localism Act' (2011) (22).
- ^Localism Act 2011 S128(1).
- ^Localism Act 2011 S130(3).
- ^"The Infrastructure Planning (Radioactive Waste Geological Disposal Facilities) Order 2015".legislation.gov.uk.Retrieved9 May2015.
