Agenda item

4.1       The Committee received a report which provided an update on the temporary             changes to planning legislation that have been introduced since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. Where the temporary legislation or regulations have been extended or replaced by a permanent alternative the       report considers the impacts this may have on the operation of the planning             service and for future planning decisions in Westminster.

4.2       Members were informed that changes were made by Government through secondary legislation to certain aspects of the planning system in the period   following the beginning of the first Coronavirus lockdown in March 2020.             Some of these changes were temporary (seeking to assist ‘business as usual’             activities during the pandemic and the recovery in the immediate aftermath),             whilst others were permanent, seeking to support the longer-term recovery,      address the decline in traditional high street retailing that began before the        pandemic, but was accelerated by it, and promote the delivery of more    housing.

4.3       Members held a discussion and noted the following: -

• The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 enabled local authorities to hold virtual planning committee meetings up to 7 May 2021. The provision was used by the Council from April 2020 onwards to ensure continuity of decision making on large and high-profile applications. The provision ended after the 6 May 2021 and there was a seamless transition to hybrid committees from May 2021. Virtual and hybrid meetings have resulted in growth in the number of people observing and taking part in committee meetings.

• The Committee noted that Members were required to be physically present at hybrid meetings to make legal binding decisions and agreed that this should be reviewed. Members commented on the benefits of attending meetings in person and being able to join them remotely.

• Members agreed that it was preferred for Officers to attend the Hybrid Planning Applications Sub-Committee in person when contentious Applications were to be considered by the Sub-Committees.

• That a considerable percentage of speakers at the Hybrid Planning Applications Sub-Committees preferred to attend these meetings in person at City Hall instead of joining them remotely.

• The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2020 allowed restaurants and cafes and drinking establishments to provide takeaway food without the need for planning permission for a temporary period of 12 months. The provision has been extended to March 2022. Members commented that a considerable number of premises may have been using this provision without notifying the Council and agreed that this area should be closely monitored, and that mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that premises revert to their previous use after March 2022. The Committee noted that several Members had undertaken casework regarding public nuisances from premises that had introduced or expanded their takeaway offer during the pandemic.

• The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure, Listed Buildings and Environmental Impact Assessment) (England) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 provided new regulations to support ‘business as usual’ activities and ensure continuation of timely decision-making. Regulations include measures to relax requirements for site notices, publication of notices in newspaper and physical inspection of documents. The Council has not had to use these relaxed requirements for site or press notices. New processes were developed to support BAU in other areas of the planning service, such as enabling customers to view scanned planning history records remotely, rather than in the office. Members were advised that the new digital service had been widely received by various parties and that there had been no requests to reintroduce the option for planning records to be inspected physical. Nevertheless, Officers advised that the public and developers/planning agents would still be able to physical inspect documents and be provided support in this area as and when pandemic restrictions allow.

• The Business and Planning Act 2020 had introduced numerous temporary provisions which included, Pavement Licences, Extended Construction Hours and Extension of Existing Permissions/Consents. There have been over 1215 Pavement Licence applications up to 31 March 2021. Of these 930 were granted. Pavement licences have been extended to 30 September 2022 by the Business and Planning Act 2020 (Pavement Licences) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.

• Members noted that there have been three applications made under the Extended Construction Hours provisions and welcomed that all had been refused. The applications were refused on the grounds that amenities of neighbouring properties could be potentially impacted.

• Members noted that the new provision for ‘Moveable Structures’ was primarily designed to support the hospitality sector following the Covid-19 pandemic and agreed that some control should be retained regarding these applications and their usage. Members requested that this should be reported in the consultation response. Members raised concerns about potential nuisances to neighbouring properties from ‘Moveable Structures’ and noted that a large majority of the Borough was densely populated and agreed that this should be considered as a factor regarding these temporary structures.

• The Committee agreed that despite the apparently low uptake of some of the measures introduced, they have afforded businesses and the development industry within the city a ‘safety net’ during the pandemic, allowing them to adapt to the unique circumstances of the pandemic response without undue planning restriction. The transition back towards the levels of planning control experienced prior to the pandemic in 2022, at the end of the current extension periods, is appropriate. The Committee also agreed that the temporary changes made by Government were welcome and enabled the Council to put in place amended practices to limit the impact of the pandemic on planning decision making. They noted that this experience has enabled the Council to move more seamlessly since May 2021 to the current hybrid committee format.

RESOLVED:

1.     Members noted the contents of the report and the ongoing impacts that changes to planning legislation and regulations related to the pandemic has on the planning service and planning decision making.

2.     That Officers incorporate the Committee’s comments regarding ‘Moveable Structures’ in their response to the governments consultations in that some control should be retained with granting permissions and agreeing usage for these temporary structures and their possible impact of public nuisance to neighbouring properties.