Government kicks off review of non-planning consents

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has launched a review of non-planning consents and issued by a call for evidence.

Led by Adrian Penfold, head of planning and environment at British Land, the review is part of the government’s efforts to streamline the planning applications process.

It seeks to address the perception that obtaining non-planning consents – such as compulsory purchase orders, highway consents, listed building consent, authorisation for pipeline construction and environmental consents – “causes delays and uncertainty for business and holds back investment”.

The review will:

• Identify non-planning consents that developers and other stakeholders regard as problematic;
• Assess their impact on developers and the development process; and
• Consider how obtaining such consents could be made simpler and more cost-effective.

“The review will explore the end-to-end development journey to identify any elements of the process that cause avoidable delays or impose unnecessary burdens or costs and identify options to overcome these,” according to the terms of reference. “Where necessary the review will identify ways to improve co-ordination between agencies granting consents in order to streamline the process of meeting relevant requirements.”

The closing date for evidence is 10 February 2010, with a report expected in time for the 2010 Budget.

For more information, please visit: http://www.bis.gov.uk/penfold