The Department of Communities and Local Government announced on December 26 an overhaul of the planning system, which it hopes will protect town centres and independent retailers from the huge out-of-town shopping areas which have mushroomed over the past few years.
“Local planning authorities will be required to identify an appropriate range of sites to accommodate the identified need.” The policy document goes on to say that “An apparent lack of sites of the right size and in the right location should not be a reason for local planning authorities to avoid planning to meet the identified need for development. Local planning authorities should:
a. Base their approach on the identified need for development
b. identify the appropriate scale of development, ensuring that the scale of the sites identified and the level of travel they generate, are in keeping with the role and function of the centre within the hierarchy of centres and the catchment served
c. apply the sequential approach to site selection
d. assess the impact of sites on existing centres
e. consider the degree to which other considerations such as any physical regeneration benefits of developing on previously-developed sites, etc .”
The full report (37 pages) can be found and downloaded at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/planningpolicystatement4