Planning Permission Deadlines Get Universal Extension

Sites where Planning Permission might have expired will now get an extension to April 2021.

New plans to keep Britain building in coronavirus recovery were announced this week (ending Fri 26 June), including an extension so planning permission deadlines don't expire - saving hundreds of construction projects.

On 22 June, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP announced not only the planning permission deadline extension but also an intention to speed up planning appeals.

Jenrick also said builders should be allowed more flexible working hours following agreement with their local council in a bid to help keep sites working but under social distancing guidelines. By staggering builders’ arrival times, public transport will be less busy and the risk of infection will be reduced.

 

April 2021

Planning permission usually expires after three years if work has not started onsite. Sites with consent that have an expiry date between the start of lockdown and the end of this year will now see their consent extended to 1 April 2021. This will prevent work that has been temporarily disrupted by the pandemic from stopping altogether.   

The government estimates that by the end of this month alone, more than 400 residential permissions providing more than 24,000 new homes would have expired. The new measures will help these developments and more resume as the economy recovers.

 

Two PINS or more

New measures will also permanently grant the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) the ability to use more than one procedure - written representations, hearings and inquiries - at the same time when dealing with a planning appeal, enabling appeals to happen much faster.

Last year a pilot programme tested this approach and implemented recommendations of the Rosewell Review, which more than halved the time taken for appeal inquiries, from 47 weeks to 23 weeks.

 

 “Building the homes the country needs is an important part of our plans to recover from the impact of the coronavirus. New laws will enable us to speed up the pace of planning appeals and save hundreds of construction sites from being cancelled before they have a chance to get spades in the ground, helping to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs and create many others.”

– Rt Hon Robert Jenrick 

MP Housing Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

 

 

The announcement builds on measures to support the economy and protect the capacity of the construction sector, including:

  • Introducing more than £330 billion of loans and guarantees to help firms continue operating.

  • Deferring self-assessment payments until 2021 – crucial for a sector in which many are self-employed.

  • Providing households across the country with reassurance such as 3-month mortgage holidays, including for landlords, alongside a ban on tenant evictions which has been extended to 5 months .

  • Safely reopening the housing market, helping estate agents, conveyancers, removals firms and the wider construction and property industry to return to work while following social distancing guidelines.

  • Launching a  Charter with the Home Builders Federation, helping construction sites reopen in line with health and safety guidance.

Picture: Sites where Planning Permission might have expired will now get an extension to April 2021.

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
23rd June 2020

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