Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to streamline planning procedures for smaller developments.

Small builders will soon be able to apply to their local planning authority for ‘permission in principle’ which will enable them to gain more upfront certainty on the suitability of small sites for housing-led development, before they need to develop detailed and often costly development proposals. This will reduce the risk for small local builders to enter the market.

Through the Neighbourhood Planning Bill introduced on 7 September, the Government proposes to reform and speed up the planning process by minimising delays caused by unnecessary or overly burdensome planning conditions. The Bill measures will ensure that pre-commencement planning conditions are only used by local planning authorities where they are absolutely necessary, and that applicants are in agreement before they are imposed.

The Government took powers in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to enable us to extend to non-major planning applications the successful performance regime for major applications, which has seen the proportion of major applications determined on time rising from 57% in July to September 2012, the quarter in which the performance regime was first announced, to 82% in the most recent quarter, the highest figure on record.