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Councils will compete to process planning applications and be able to offer fast track application services under new proposals. 

• shake up expected to drive council innovation and efficiency, support housebuilding and speed up planning process
• government proposing competition in handling planning applications and increasing choice for applicants
• opportunities also include a fast track application service
• decision making will remain with local councils to maintain the democratic link between local voters and decision makers

Councils will compete to process planning applications and be able to offer fast track application services, like those available for getting a passport, in a shake up of the planning process under proposals out to consultation today (18 February 2016).

Ministers want the pilots to tackle the lack of incentive for councils to improve and speed up their planning service leading to “drawn out applications and local frustration” for both housebuilders and individual applicants.

The proposals are expected to boost housebuilding and speed up the planning application process.

The proposals will increase local choice by giving applicants the choice of whether to submit their plans to the local council, a competing council or a government approved organisation that would process applications up until the decision point.

Councils will also be able to offer the fast track planning application service – either through competition pilots or potentially through devolution deals.

Decision making on planning applications would remain with the local council to ensure decisions are taken locally and maintain the democratic link between local people and decision makers.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said:

Council planning departments play a vital role in getting local housebuilding off the ground, but for too long they have had no incentive to get things done quickly or better, resulting in drawn out applications and local frustration.

These proposals will be a boost for housebuilders looking to build much needed new homes for hard working families and first time buyers, and for local people looking to get a planning permission for home improvements through their local council quicker.

Planning Minister Brandon Lewis said:

Many councils are already working hard to improve the services they offer their residents, and across the country people’s satisfaction levels remain high.

Now we want to go further by setting out these ambitious proposals to link any future increases in application fees to councils’ performance, and testing more competition including through offering dedicated fast track application services.

Historically councils have had a ‘closed market’ in handling planning applications, with limited incentive for innovation and efficiency.

However research studies over the last 3 decades in the UK and abroad suggest there are cost savings of up to a fifth for competitively tendered or shared services.

A consultation on the competition pilots and fast track services is published today.

It also includes proposals to make any future increases in councils’ fees for processing planning applications dependent on their performance in terms of speed and quality of decisions.

Further details on how the pilots will run will be published after the consultation has closed.

Other measures in the consultation, which is related to the Housing and Planning Bill, cover:

• details of how a new planning ‘permission in principle’ approach will work in practice
• how councils will run brownfield land and small sites registers
• speeding up the neighbourhood planning process
• improving handling of planning applications with new thresholds for designating councils as poor performers
• extending permitted development rights for free schools

A separate consultation also published today seeks views on more housebuilding in London through allowing taller buildings, subject to conditions.

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