The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Permission in Principle etc.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2017 have now been produced in draft and laid before Parliament. The draft Regulations are scant. Tweaks are to be made to the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990, the Commons Act 2006, the Local Government Act 1972 and the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The changes are largely administrative.
One more interesting change (to s96A of the TCPA) would allow non material amendments to be made to PiPs. The Government consultation envisaged that:
- only "in principle matters" be required as part of a PiP: a red line location plan, proposed uses (which must be "housing-led"), and the minimum and maximum quantum of residential development; and
- no conditions be attached to PiPs.
On this basis there seems to be little scope for non-material amendments unless the references are also intended to cover the technical details consents which must follow PiPs before there is an implementable permission. An alternative possibility is that more detail will be required for a PiP than originally envisaged.
The change proposed to the Commons Act will mean that an application for PiP is a "trigger event", creating an exclusion from the right to apply for registration of a village green. This will bring PiP in line with planning permission and the same "terminating events" will once again switch on the right to apply for registration of a village green.
Otherwise, we are no further forward. When more detail emerges we will blog an update.
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