Key Facts

• Clause 84 focuses on defining national development management policies.
• Amendment 87 seeks to impose transparency and accountability on the use of powers provided in clause 84.
• The amendment clarifies the process by which the Secretary of State must designate and review a national development management policy (NDMP).
• NDMP can be anything relating to development or use of land in England designated by the Secretary of State.
• The national development management policies are an important change to the planning system.
• The existing clause imposes an obligation for appropriate consultation and participation by the Secretary of State.
• During the pandemic, planning conditions were relaxed to allow supermarkets to operate delivery vehicles outside normal hours.
• National development management policies (NDMP) differ from national policy statements.
• The prospectus outlines initial thinking on NDMP scope and principles for production.
• Parliamentary scrutiny will continue through engagement with the Government post-publication.
• Amendment 94 aims to enable the Mayor of London to include policies in a Spatial Development Strategy that contribute to effective strategic planning of Greater London.
• Amendment 95 removes ambiguity about whose opinion is relevant regarding matters of strategic importance to multiple London boroughs.
• Amendment 96 retains provisions relating to spatial development aspects of other Mayoral strategies and policies.
• Clauses 85 and 86 relate to spatial development strategy in London.
• The amendments seek to maintain London's devolved strategic planning powers which have been successful over two decades.
• Amendment 93 would remove an additional legal test that restricts policies in the London plan.
• Amendment 94 clarifies that it is for the Mayor of London to determine what is strategically important.
• Amendments 91 and 92 aim to expand mayoral supplementary plans' powers compared to local authorities.
• The clause is seen as restricting powers devolved to the Mayor of London.
• Rural communities are considered among the poorest and most needy in England.
• Clause 85 reaffirms the role of the London plan in setting strategic policy for London.
• The current London plan is over 500 pages long, including non-strategic matters.
• Amendment 93 aims to remove text that underlines policies should relate to the characteristics or circumstances of London.
• The Localism Act 2011 abolished regional spatial strategies, except for London's Mayor who retains power to produce a London plan.
• Clause 85 of the Bill will extend the power to produce an SDS to all local planning authorities in England outside Greater London and certain mayoral combined authorities.
• Proposed new subsection (9) prohibits site-specific details in SDSs, preserving that level of detail for local plans.
• Schedule 7 aims to replace part 2 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
• Local plans currently take an average of seven years to produce.
• The duty to co-operate will be replaced with a revised national planning policy framework in due course.
• Amendment 102 proposes requiring local authorities and other public bodies to cooperate on local planning measures if there is no operative joint spatial development strategy.
• The amendment draws inspiration from section 33A of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
• It mandates engagement in processes for preparation of joint spatial strategies, development plan documents, marine plans, and other strategic activities.
• Schedule 7 is 40 pages long with provisions on plan making.
• Joint spatial development strategies can be created by two or more local planning authorities.
• The Bill would abolish the duty to co-operate under section 33A of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
• 32 district authorities from Humber to Thames are at risk of up to 1.5 metre sea level rises over the next 80 years.
• National parks are quasi-local authorities with planning functions but lack council tax-raising powers and direct elections in England and Wales.
• The Lake District national park has between 40,000 and 50,000 full-time residents.
• Hollobone proposes that the Government should learn from Scotland's model of electing members to national parks.
• Matthew Pennycock expresses concerns about mayoral combined authorities.
• Concerns raised about county councils' equality of status in the programme.
• The voluntary nature of new powers related to duty to co-operate is highlighted as a concern.