IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR READERS OF THE RURAL PLANNING HANDBOOK
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act became law on 26 October.
. This makes significant changes to planning law, meaning that some of the material in the Rural Planning Handbook is now out of date.
. This makes significant changes to planning law, meaning that some of the material in the Rural Planning Handbook is now out of date.
Judging from commentaries upon the Bill as it passed, the main areas of concern for impact developers, smallholders and homeless settlers are:
(1) The four year rule disappears and it is now a wait of ten years before one becomes immune from enforcement, whether the breach is operational development or change of use.
(2) According to Section 104, if we understand it correctly, someone subject to an enforcement notice cannot appeal against it if they have, within the previous two years, been refused planning permission for the same matter (whether or not they went to a planning appeal). The government states that the object is to ensure “there is only one opportunity to obtain planning permission retrospectively after unauthorised development has taken place.”
(3) Planning applications will become mere expensive, through double costs for retrospective applications, and fees for statutory consultees.
(4) There will be a new notice called an Enforcement Warning Notice, asking a person to submit a retrospective planning application
Eventually a new edition of the Handbook will have to be produced. In the interim the book will be sold with an insert explaining the changes.
For more information see:
Simon Fairlie