• Contact Us

Councils Under Pressure as Deadline for Local Plans Grows Teeth

on Monday, 22 February 2016.

In July 2015, Planning Minister Brandon Lewis announced that he would intervene where councils fail to develop a local plan by early 2017. It is only now becoming clear what the implications will be for failure to meet this deadline.

The latest figures from the Planning Inspectorate show that 78 per cent of councils have submitted a local plan for examination, though this would be expected to increase before the 2017 deadline. More worryingly, it is estimated that only around 17 per cent of councils have a local plan which has been found sound since the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework.

The initial threat from central government was that it would step in and arrange for local plans to be written in consultation with local people. This was greeted with scepticism by councils, arguing that the challenges which cause such delays are unlikely to be resolved by a change of responsibility.

Measures are set to be introduced through the Housing and Planning Bill (currently at the committee stage in the Lords) but these lack detail, simply giving the Secretary of State powers to require a council to produce a local plan by early 2017. Secondary legislation is expected to show exactly how this power will be exercised.

A more immediate concern to the relevant councils is the recent announcement that the government intends to withhold New Homes Bonus payments from councils which fail to submit a local plan by 2017/18. This is a payment councils receive for increasing the number of homes in their area, with central government matching the council tax income from each home for six years.

The impact of this measure will vary by council but some have come to rely on it as a source of income. Even though the number of councils on course to miss the deadline is small, this threat to funding must be viewed as an incentive to all authorities, even those who consider themselves on track, to avoid further slippage.


If you have any questions about this or any other planning queries, please contact our Commercial Property Law Team.