Closed petition Greenbelt planning application appeals and draft local plans, close the loophole on granting inappropriate developments

Closed on 10 September 2014

A draft local plan is a document that takes into account the needs of a district for new housing and lays out details of areas these should be built in. Local areas validate it with Neighbourhood plans, which agree where is appropriate to build in their area.

The localism act means once a plan is agreed by the authorities then areas deemed “out of bounds” for development cannot be built on.

The protection intended by the localism act through these plans is not effective until plans are finalised which can take over a year. In that time developers often gain planning on appeal for inappropriate developments as plans are not finalised.

If a council has issued a draft local plan, I believe during an appeals process it should be treated as a material consideration, and compelling reasons should be needed to overrule the draft plan – to protecting communities until local plans are finalised.