Clifford Chance
Re-inventing the UK Planning System: White Paper published on Reform Proposals
13 August 2020
After months of delay, the Government released its long- awaited Planning White Paper 'Planning for the Future' last Thursday (6 August 2020) with the Prime Minister declaring it to be a "radical reform unlike anything we have seen since the Second World War".
Reactions to the White Paper have been mixed: some calling the proposals long overdue, while others dismissing them as a 'planning free-for-all' which could lead to the 'next generation slum housing'. In this briefing we analyse the key long-term reforms proposed and consider whether they will in fact achieve the Government's ambitions for a "more efficient, effective and equitable" planning system. This briefing considers the five key areas of reform:
- the role and preparation of Local Plans;
- the expedition of development and planning applications;
- how local housing targets are proposed to be calculated;
- reform of Community Infrastructure Levy ("CIL") and abolishment of section 106 agreements; and
- the transition to the new planning system.
