Plan Making and Effective Co-operation in Plan Making

Plan Making and Effective Co-operation in Plan Making

• The duty to cooperate remains and is reinforced by the proposed changes. Para 24 there is much more emphasis on cross boundary co-operation and delivery of sustainable growth – in terms of meeting housing needs and delivering strategic infrastructure whilst addressing economic and climate resilience.
• The changes include a requirement for strategic policy-making authorities to be consistent on strategic matters such as planning the delivery of major infrastructure.
• Para 27 gives the duty to cooperate real bite through policy as it requires strategic cross-boundary matters to be addressed including unmet needs unless there is a clear justification not to. Unmet development needs from neighbouring areas will need to be accommodated unless there is a clear justification not to and any allocation or designation which cuts across boundaries or has significant implications for neighbouring areas will need to be appropriately managed by the relevant authorities.
• There is a recognition that Plans come forward at different times, and this can create uncertainty but the proposed new text states that strategic policy-making authorities and Inspectors should not wait for a full set of evidence from other authorities and instead will need to come to an informed decision on the basis of available information.
• It suggests that where there is uncertainty, it falls to a matter of planning judgement as to whether and how strategic cross-boundary matters will be addressed. This would enable LPAs to dodge unmet needs providing these were sufficiently vague in any SoCG.

For more information contact Sarah Hamilton-Foyn.