Consultations for building set to be scrapped under proposed changes
Parts of the planning system could be stripped away by the government in its attempts to speed up house building.
Consulting bodies like Sports England, the Theatres Trust and the Garden History Society will no longer be required for those looking to build under the new plans being considered by ministers.
It is hoped a reduction in statutory consultees will reduce the waiting times for projects.
Angela Rayner, who is both deputy prime minister and housing secretary, said: “We’ve put growth at the heart of our plans as a government, with our Plan for Change milestone to secure 1.5 million homes and unleash Britain’s potential to build.
“We need to reform the system to ensure it is sensible and balanced, and does not create unintended delays – putting a hold on people’s lives and harming our efforts to build the homes people desperately need.
“New developments must still meet our high expectations to create the homes, facilities and infrastructure that communities need.”
Consultees will not be completely excised from the planning process under the changes.
Angela Rayner has hailed the proposals. Pic: PA
However, instead of it being mandatory to get the opinion of such bodies, their scope will be “narrowed to focus on heritage, safety and environmental protection”, according to the government.
The government says it has identified issues like consultees failing to engage “proactively”, taking too long to provide advice, re-opening issues that have already been dealt with, submitting automatic objections which they later withdraw, and submitting advice for “gold-plated” outcomes that are unrealistic and difficult to achieve.
More than 300 planning applications have been sent up to the secretary of state’s desk in the past three years because of disagreements.
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The government has highlighted examples like a project to construct 140 homes in Bradford that was delayed because the application had “not adequately considered the speed of cricket balls”.
As well as reducing the number of consultees that have to be brought in, local authorities will also be told they only need to speak to the bodies if necessary, and decisions should not be held up by more than 21 days.
The government states that “existing open spaces, sports, recreational buildings and land, including playing fields, should not be built on unless an assessment has shown the space to be surplus to requirements or it will be replaced by equivalent or better provision”.
Sport England said its remit in the planning system is to protect playing fields and other spaces for physical activity.
“Britain’s childhood obesity crisis is rising and low physical activity levels cost our economy £7.4bn a year, making it vital we protect the places that local communities can be active,” a spokesperson said.
They added they “look forward” to taking part in the consultation exercise and “arguing the importance of protecting playing fields and places where local people can keep active”.
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Sam Richards, CEO of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade and former Conservative adviser said: “I’m glad the deputy prime minister has taken on board many of the recommendations I made in my review of statutory consultees for the last government.
“It’s a step in the right direction – but there’s still more they can do. For example, they’ve not introduced a ‘use it or lose it’ approach to objections. This would remove the chance of statutory consults to intervene after they miss their deadline.
“There is also some irony in the fact that their decision to remove consultees from the process…has been put out to consultation.”
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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