The government has launched a consultation into the statutory consultee system in England.
It has invited views about reforms of such bodies, specifically those that are governed by the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
The eight-week exercise by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government will run until 13 January.
It seeks responses about proposals to:
- remove statutory consultee status from certain bodies
- review the scope of what statutory consultees advise on
- improve performance management across existing statutory consultee bodies in the planning system more widely
Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister for Housing and Planning, said in an introduction to the consultation: “Few would argue that the statutory consultee system is currently working effectively.
“In far too many instances, statutory consultee engagement with planning applications is not proactive or proportionate, and advice and information provided is not timely or commensurate with what is necessary to make development acceptable in planning terms.
“In turn, local planning authorities and developers too frequently provide inadequate or poor-quality information or make blanket and inappropriate referrals to statutory consultees.”
The proposals could result in removal of statutory consultee status from:
- Sport England
- The Gardens Trust
- Theatres Trust
They also propose measures for national statutory consultees to refocus their scope to avoid unnecessary referrals. They include:
- National Highways
- Active Travel England
- Natural England
- The Environment Agency
- Historic England
- The Mining Remediation Authority
The government has not included the Health and Safety Executive as ‘the current referral criteria for HSE are appropriate’.
Consultees can play an important role but it must be one that is relevant and appropriate to the planning matter in hand.
Any measures to cut red tape and unnecessary processes, which can cause delays and damage the efficiency of the planning system, are welcome.
We will be lodging our response and we will keep you updated about progress.
