December 2018 newsletter
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Merry Christmas one and all!
This is the last PAS bulletin of 2018 and what a year this has been for planning. We have been working with many of you to help the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) bed down. We have been helping you to understand the complexities of the housing delivery test and viability and we are prepared for more direct support in 2019.
So as applicants submit their last applications before Christmas and the finishing touches are made to transitional plans, let's all raise a glass to the local government planning community.
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Be proud of all that you have achieved and, if you are able to, take a few days rest before it all starts again in the New Year.
PAS will be recharging its batteries on the 27, 28 and 31 December 2018. So please send any correspondence to pas@local.gov.uk and we will pick it up on 2 January 2019.
Chief planners event 14 and 15 March 2019: NPPF policy implementation
A follow up to our popular July event where we introduced the revised NPPF, this event is for chief planners only (who don't tend to come to our subject specific sessions). Please register your interest with Annie at pas@local.gov.uk and we will be in touch with more details in the New Year.
Strategic planning events: February 2019
As part of our programme of support for joint plans we are delivering three events in February that will look at the issues, challenges and good practices around the production of joint strategic plans.
If you are progressing or updating a joint plan or just starting to look at the possibility of moving towards a joint plan then come long and hear from some experienced local planning authorities (LPAs), strategic planners and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG).
Places are free but will be limited. To book your place visit the PAS website.
Plan review and proportionate evidence
We are looking to work directly with a small number of authorities in the New Year on undertaking local plan reviews and recognising what a proportionate local plan evidence base looks like.
If you are interested being part of a pilot group of authorities to undertake a review of your local plan or being a case study authority on what a proportionate local plan evidence base looks like then please let us know at pas@local.gov.uk
This work will feed into an update of the PAS NPPF checklist.
NPPF on a page
In preparing to sum up at our recent councillor event on the NPPF, I jotted down what I felt were the main points from the MHCLG presentation. I was then, rather surprisingly, asked to publish my notes so that others could use them. Here they are. Take them for what they are and use them responsibly.
Plan making: Revised NPPF and transitional arrangements events
Between September and November we held a series of workshops for council planning officers on plan making and the revised NPPF and one for authorities submitting in the under the transitional arrangements before 25 January.
The workshops were attended by over 100 planning officers where they got updates from MHCLG on the plan making changes in the NPPF, updates from PINs, shared learning from LPAs and workshop sessions to get advice on specific challenges and issue that attendees had.
Plan making: Revised NPPF and transitional arrangements events
Between September and November we held a series of workshops for council planning officers on plan making and the revised NPPF and one for authorities submitting in the under the transitional arrangements before 25 January.
The workshops were attended by over 100 planning officers where they got updates from MHCLG on the plan making changes in the NPPF, updates from PINs, shared learning from LPAs and workshop sessions to get advice on specific challenges and issue that attendees had.
Effective planning for shale gas
PAS has developed a programme of training and a new KnowledgeHub Forum to equip planning authorities to deal quickly and effectively with planning applications for shale gas. It’s for planning professionals and councillors. Join up here.
New in the KnowledgeHub this week:
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New training modules
Take a look at the outlines of the new modules; they’ll be ready to use in January 2019 but we’d appreciate your views on the content.
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Interview with Cllr David Sheppard (chair) and John Williams (vice chair) Rotherham Planning Committee
David and John discuss the PAS training they received just a week or so before a Shale application was decided at committee.
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Accessing the £1.6 million MHCLG Shale Support Fund
The fund is open to bids NOW and open to mineral planning authorities (MPAs) wishing to improve their capacity and capability to deal with shale planning applications.
Join the forum and for more information contact Martin.Hutchings@local.gov.uk.
Housing Delivery Test and Action Plans
You will have noticed that MHCLG did not publish the Housing Delivery Test results in November. When one considers current events I'm sure we can appreciate there are probably some good reasons for the delay. We must continue to wait like a coiled spring to support councils until the data is published.
However we have published some of the first Action Plans made by our pilot councils, and there will be more to come shortly. If you have any thoughts about their strengths and weaknesses get in touch either directly or via the KHub. It would be good to set a good model at the outset so we get maximum value for the effort.
Planning and the GDPR
We are very grateful to the people who helped us road-test the next version of our General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guide recently. We learned lots, including that our guide needed a significant overhaul. This project has felt a little bit like "two-steps forward and one step back", and we are going to miss our deadline of having a new guide to put under your Christmas tree. However it will hopefully be better for the delay, and give us time to ensure that the messages are consistent and clear incorporating the views of the inspectorate, the ombudsman as well as MHCLG and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). While some of the details are still TBC the basic principles are not and the key messages we are still trying to hammer home remain:
- DO NOT publish everything online without some sort of check
- DO SOMETHING about your planning archive if it is online and may contain sensitive category data
- DON'T PANIC and don't throw the transparent and democratic baby out with the GDPR bathwater.
LDO Report
You will have spotted in the NPPF that Government has placed a renewed emphasis on the use of Local Development Orders (LDOs) to help set the planning framework for an area and bring forward development. To demonstrate how permitted development tools like this can work effectively we have published research on 10 case study LDOs that cover an impressive range of different development types and scales. This is accompanied by an interactive map of England which highlights all of the LDOs made across the country to date. This research will be supported in January 2019 by the publication of updated technical guidance for local planning authorities and other key stakeholders on how to bring forward LDOs. Together these should provide a practical resource to aid and encourage local planning authorities to bring forward further LDOs and thereby help facilitate the development that is needed in their area.
What we learned from the planners in Cornwall
Last month we headed to Cornwall to hold a workshop with its neighbourhood planning team. It has been doing some phenomenal work since the introduction of neighbourhood planning and the support that it offers to communities makes Cornwall in our opinion, one of the leading authorities in this area.
Of course, even high performing teams can find ways to improve and successful teams are those that remain flexible, innovative and open to change. With this in mind the Cornwall team asked us to come and work with them for a day helping them to identify areas where they can streamline the service and be more effective and productive.
We worked hard and everyone was involved but the day was fun and informative. It led to the team agreeing to a series of recommendations and priorities for their work going forward, recognising their own contributions and the value of the team overall. They recognised where they can build on existing success whilst at the same time acknowledging where they could actually do a little bit less.
Time out of the office allows teams to focus on collaboration and building new ideas. We all know that the best teams are those who work together. If you are interested in PAS holding a similar workshop with your team do get in touch with us. You know you’re worth it.
"It was an excellent day, so well planned and led, enjoyable and for me, really achieved what I hoped it would...The way the day was run was devised so carefully – it gave opportunities to everyone to have their views heard."
Group Leader Neighbourhood Planning, Cornwall Council
Interesting links on the Khub
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