Monday 18 September 2017

Brownfield Sites - legislation

Brownfield Land Register

Creation and Implementation

I refer to my blogs dated 11 Sep 2017 and 14 Sep 2017.

The new Brownfield Land Register will list those sites that North Kesteven District Council deem appropriate to grant a ‘permission in principle’.  It will be very similar to the effect of granting an ‘outline planning permission’ for developing these sites.

There are legal requirements regarding a public consultation about the sites to be listed in this register.

Prior to creation of Part 1 of the Council’s statutory Brownfield Land Register, consultation is required to be undertaken with Ward Members, Town/Parish Councils and the public. Paragraph 2 also refers to the legal requirements associated with public consultation prior to publication of Part 2 of the Register.

At a meeting on Thursday 7th September 2017, the Executive Board were pleased to note that the register "would be available to allow parish councils to identify brownfield land".  Public consulation was planned for between July - September 2017, so there is an urgency to respond if you have any comments on the two sites listed for Nocton.

The District Council meeting for this coming Thursday (21st September, 2017) will make a decision to update the Council's Constitution to reflect the new decision making powers given under the Town and Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register) Regulations 2017. These new statutory requirements will be an addition to the well-established UK planning system.

It is a legal requirement for the Council to collate and publish a Brownfield Land Register by 31 December 2017.

Recommendation by Executive Board

The recommendation to District Council on 21st September, 2017 is that the Constitution (Article 7) be amended, to enable sites to be entered into Part 2 of the Council's Brownfield Land Register using the decision making structure that currently applies to planning applications as detailed in 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4 of the report.

Supplementary Information


Part 1: This part of the register is mandatory

It must include details of all land within the District that meets the following criteria:
  • a) The land must be at least 0.25ha, or be capable of accommodating at least five dwellings;
  • b) The land must be ‘suitable’ for residential development;
  • c) The land must be ‘available’ for residential development; and
  • d) Housing development on the land must be ‘achievable’.
The terms ‘suitable’, ‘available’ and ‘achievable’ are defined in Regulation 4; in summary they are defined as:
  • ‘Suitable’ – there is an existing site allocation, planning permission or permission in principle, or the Council considers that the land would otherwise be suitable for residential development
  • ‘Available’ – the land owner has expressed an intention to sell or develop the land, or the Council considers it could otherwise be made available
  • ‘Achievable’ – new housing development could realistically be achieved on the land within 15 years.
There is also a discretionary element to Part 1, whereby the Council may include a site smaller than that specified in (a) above if it meets all of the requirements set out in (c) – (d).

Part 2: This part of the Register is a sub-set of Part 1

The purpose of Part 2 of the Register is to list the sites in Part 1 that the Council considers to be appropriate to grant a ‘permission in principle’.  All sites that are entered by the Council into Part 2 of the Register are automatically, by virtue of The Town and Country Planning (Permission in Principle) Order 2017, granted ‘permission in principle.

A ‘permission in principle’ is very similar to an outline planning permission.  There is a formal consultation process that must be followed prior to the making of a ‘permission in principle’; this is very similar to the process that applies to planning applications and includes the display of a site notice, entry of the site onto the Council’s Planning Register, and a 21 day public consultation period.  The Council will then, having taken into account any matters raised during the consultation, determine whether or not the site should be entered into Part 2 of the Register.

As a ‘permission in principle’ is very similar to an outline planning permission; it does not amount to a full planning permission and therefore development cannot commence without additional information having been submitted to and approved by the Council.

A ‘permission in principle’ is valid for a period of five years.

After the Council has published its Brownfield Land Register, it is required to review it annually.

Source: Executive Board Report (7th Sep 2017) on Brownfield Land Register by Michelle Hoyles  Michelle_hoyles@n-kesteven.gov.uk / Tel: 01529 308112 Ext 28112

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