Planning Permission time-limit extensions confirmed

Government chief planner Steve Quartermain has written to English planning authorities confirming and clarifying the new arrangements for time limit extensions for planning permissions.

His letter confirmed that Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced a one-year extension to the temporary provisions introduced in October 2009, which allow applicants to extend the time limits for implementing a planning permission.

This new one-year extension is given effect through two statutory instruments which were laid in Parliament on 6 September 2012, and will come into force on 1 October 2012.

The letter said: “The effect of these statutory Instruments is to bring a new 12-month cohort of planning permissions within the scope of these provisions. The amendments allow applicants with unimplemented extant permissions granted on or before 1 October 2010 (previously the deadline was 1 October 2009) to apply for a replacement permission for the same development, subject to a new time limit for implementation.

“As before, such applications will be subject to a lower fee, less onerous information and consultation requirements and a design and access statement will not be required.”

In addition, one of the statutory instruments introduces a requirement for local planning authorities, from 1 December 2012, to include a statement on every decision letter stating how they have worked with the applicant in a positive and proactive way, in line with the National Planning Policy Framework.

“We envisage that in the majority of cases it will be sufficient for the authority to include a simple statement, confirming that they have implemented the requirement in the NPPF,” the letter said.

Any clients who have an extant (live but unactioned) planning permission are urged to contact one of our Partners to clarify if and how these measures may relate to their particular cicumstances.