Introduction
At Planning Clarity Legal our lawyers regularly advise developer clients on legal issues that arise during the planning application process or on judicial review claims brought in court to challenge the grant of planning permission. In these circumstances, we are exposed to several different kinds of mistakes made with planning applications and we thought that we would use this blog post to discuss what we consider to be the common mistakes to avoid.
Common mistakes to avoid with planning applications
There are the following common mistakes to avoid which we encounter with planning applications:
(1) Site ownership issues – A common mistake we see made by applicants is accidentally including in the development site (as identified by the red edged line on the site location plan submitted with the planning application) additional land not owned by the applicant. Apart from the obvious fact that the applicant does not have the necessary property legal rights to develop this additional land, this can also present problems during the planning application process where the Local Planning Authority (LPA) requires a Section 106 Agreement to be negotiated which typically will require all land owners of the site to be party to it.
(2) Failure to serve notices – Another common mistake related to site ownership is in circumstances where the applicant does not own all of the land within the development site and fails to serve the requisite prescribed notices of the application on the other owners of the site. Failure to serve the correct notices can result in a risk of a judicial review challenge being brought to any planning permission which is subsequently granted by the LPA.
(3) Failure to submit or completing incorrectly the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) form – Failure to submit or completing incorrectly the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – Form 1: CIL Additional Information is another common mistake we see made with planning applications. This form which needs to be submitted with the planning application is important as it provides the relevant information for the proposed development to the LPA for it to assess CIL liability and any exemptions or reliefs that may apply. Inaccurate or misleading information on this form could lead the LPA to charge the incorrect amount of CIL and in some cases may lead to surcharges being imposed.
(4) Non-consideration of planning policies – We regularly encounter planning applications which are refused due to the proposed development not being in compliance with the relevant planning policies and when one looks at the particular application that was submitted there is either no planning statement included with the application or any discussion whatsoever of how the development complies with the relevant planning policies. Planning policies are a material planning consideration and typically the primary consideration for the planning officer at the LPA determining the planning application so it is essential that these policies are considered when preparing a planning application.
(5) Non-compliance with national and local information requirements – There are both national and local information requirements set by the Government and the LPA respectively which need to be satisfied when making a planning application. These requirements detail what supporting information and documents need to form part of a planning application and if not satisfied risk the application not being validated by the LPA.
(6) Failure to submit specialist reports – Each development is of course different, but when preparing a planning application it is important for the applicant to assess what specialist reports should also be included with the application. Common examples here would be flood risk, contamination, heritage, ecology and highways/transport reports, each of which are typically prepared by specialists in these areas. Failure to include such reports at the application submission stage can result in delays to applications being validated or determined by the LPA and in some cases can result in a refusal of an application by the LPA where the issue is of sufficient weight and considered by the LPA to have not been properly addressed by the applicant.
How can we assist a developer with avoiding these common mistakes with planning applications?
Planning Clarity Legal can act on behalf of a developer to review and carry out a legal risk assessment of a planning application in draft form before it is finalised and submitted to the LPA by the applicant developer or their planning agent.
This exercise which we commonly refer to as a ‘planning application legal audit’ can benefit a developer in that it will allow for the identification of any legal issues with the application at an early stage and can mitigate the risk of such issues subsequently arising during the post-submission planning application process which can cause delays to either the validation or determination of the application by the LPA and in more serious cases can result in a judicial review claim being brought in court against the grant of planning permission.
Note: all comments and views expressed in this blog are merely opinions and provided for information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice which can be relied upon. Should you require legal advice on a matter then please contact us
