Localism and The Future of Developer Involvement with Communities

The recently published Localism Bill is likely to have a profound effect on the future shape of the planning system and to change the way in which developers interact with local people. Developers need to make sure that they are not caught napping as the proposed changes are already having some impact in practice.

One of the principal aims of the bill is to devolve planning decisions down to lower and more local levels to make the system more flexible and democratic. It also aims to provide new freedoms and flexibility to local government so that they can be more imaginative in the way that they solve local problems. This must be an opportunity that developers should seize to enable really innovative schemes.

The Localism Bill provides a "general power of competence" to local authorities which is intended to give them a general capacity to do anything that is not specifically banned by law. This is a right that has to date only been enjoyed by private organisations and is one of the things that is seen as giving them greater freedom to innovate. It is hoped that this new freedom will enable local authorities to work creatively with others to drive down costs and deliver services.

Something that has stood in the way of cooperation and open discussion in recent years has been the way in which Councillors have been hide bound by threats of action in relation to allegations of breaches of procedure and in particular of predetermination. In an effort to reduce these constraints and to encourage local engagement the Standards Board is to be abolished. At the moment it is perceived that it is too easy for people to make unfounded complaints which undermine faith in democracy and put people off standing for public office. Instead it is proposed that it will be a criminal offence for Councillors to deliberately withhold or misrepresent a personal interest, leading to potentially serious sanctions. It is not absolutely clear that Councillors would prefer to face criminal sanctions than a Standards Board complaint, but it is clear that the intention is to bring in a proper burden of proof and to remove the petty element from these issues.

The rules on predetermination are to be clarified when the bill is enacted. Through a series of cases these rules have become complex and very limiting of Councillors' ability to campaign and publicly express their views on issues. The bill will make it clear that it is proper for Councillors to take an active part in local discussions. This is intended to enable them to better represent the local people.

Amongst other rights intended to enhance the ability of communities to play an active role in shaping the development of their area is a community right to bid for certain local amenities known as assets of community value. The bill requires local authorities to maintain a list of assets of community value, such as local shops, meeting places and pubs. When the listed assets come up for disposal local groups will have an opportunity to bid for them. This is to assist communities to keep assets in public ownership and use and may well impact on development proposals. A scheme that recognises and protects or enhances such assets is less likely to suffer delay and objection.

The bill proposes a right for local people to trigger a referendum on any local issue that they think is important and local authorities will be obliged to take account of the outcome. This could be important in connection with local development proposals, especially substantial ones that might have a major impact on a local community.

It is clear from the changes summarised above that local people will have a greater say than they do now in what will and will not be allowed in their areas. The influence of localism is already being seen in planning appeal decisions where inspectors are putting greater weight on local opinion as a material consideration than previously.

In addition, there is to be an obligation under the bill for developers to consult local communities before submitting planning applications for very large developments. The purpose of this is to give people a say while there is still a genuine opportunity to influence developments. Developers will be obliged to take account of the result of the consultations. It is true that many developers do hold public consultations already. But this requirement, together with the increased ability of local Councillors to campaign and take a part, as well as the increased weight given to local opinion, is bound to enhance the importance of this phase in the application process.

Alongside the proposed abolition of Regional Strategies will be the ability of local people to draw up a neighbourhood development plan and neighbourhood development orders and a greater emphasis on local involvement in the preparation of local plans. Canny developers will no doubt want to try to influence these plans in their own interests and so will need to engage much more closely and in a constructive way with Parish Councils and the local people at an early stage. Putting forward a development suggestion that includes facilities or features that local people want and getting them included as policy in the relevant neighbourhood plan or local plan is bound to improve the chances of future development success.

There will be an obligation on local authorities and public bodies to work together on planning decisions which cannot be taken at a local or neighbourhood level, such as public transport networks and flooding issues. At the moment guidance is lacking as to how this power will work and it amounts to little more than a duty to share information, but further guidance has been promised. Developers will want to look out for that guidance to assess how this duty will work in practice and how it will affect them. Such cooperation may well be the system that leads to estimations of regional housing need in the future, so those with big plans will want to make sure that they are not without a voice in this process and shaping how it might work.

For further information please contact Deborah Sharples on 01223 461155 or by email.