A Welsh “World Class Planning System”

Monday 6 July 2015 marked the date of grant of royal assent for the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 (the “Act”). As its title indicates, the legislation will apply to Wales only and it has been heralded as introducing “a world class planning system” in Wales (Natural Resources Minister- Carl Sargeant).

The following represents a summary of the key changes posed by the legislation.

National Development Framework

The Welsh Ministers will now be obliged to produce and maintain a National Development Framework, which will provide a national land use and development plan. The framework will set out the Welsh Government’s land use priorities and act as a replacement to the Wales Spatial Plan. Early 2018 has been proposed as the deadline for the adoption of the framework.

Strategic sub-regional plans

Strategic Development Plans will be introduced to allow wider issues (such as housing demand and supporting transport infrastructure) to be planned in an integrated manner. The changes will assist councils with the obstacles that they currently face in preparing Local Development Plans where broader issues arise that cut across a number of local planning authorities.

Local Development Plans

In line with a local planning authority’s duty to prepare Local Development Plans, the Act aims to enhance the process of preparing and reviewing these plans. As a means of ensuring that the plans remain current and relevant for planning decisions, a time limit will be set so that such plans will expire unless a review has been undertaken during that period.

Developments of National Significance

One of the most notable changes of the Act is the creation of a new category of “developments of national significance”. The exact classification of these is still a matter of debate but proposed qualifying schemes include onshore energy generating stations with a capacity between 25MW and 50MW. The public consultation on the categories is due to end on 12 August, with this new class of development shifting the planning responsibility from local councils to the Planning Inspectorate.

Pre-application consultation

Finally the legislation will implement increased pre-application consultation with specified persons/bodies. It is expected that the requirements will apply to developments of national significance and other major projects. The move will inevitably signal an increase in frontloading for councils as they will be under an obligation to provide pre-application services to developers.

OC Comment

Whilst the legislation is predicted to have significant effects, it is important to recognise that full scale reform will still require a number of years to be fully effected. Public consultations and secondary legislation will inevitably be required to supplement the gaps in the Act.