Essex council stripped of planning powers

The Planning Inspectorate has taken over major planning decisions from Uttlesford District Council. Uttlesford is the first local authority in seven years to be put in “special measures” due to its dysfunctional planning performance. Any major planning application over 10 homes or 1 hectare will be filed directly to the Planning Inspectorate, bypassing the local authority. The measures were introduced today, following two years of inadequate performance, the department said. In a letter outlining the intervention, former housing minister Christopher Pincher said he had considered planning data from the two-year period ending 31 March 2020 and subsequent appeal decisions up to the end of 2020. The letter said there were areas in which the council “are not adequately performing their function of determining applications for planning permission for major development”. In 2019, there was a large rise in appeals with schemes contributing 1,111 homes brought to the Planning Inspectorate due to council refusals and failures to decide in the required time. Just under a third were then approved. The following year over three quarters of some 878 homes appealed were later approved by inspectors. The council has also fought Stansted Airport’s expansion by owner Manchester Airports Group, but failed to prevent the development. The designation comes as developers seek to ramp up housing and commercial development in the area. Most recently, Columbia Threadneedle aims to deliver 2m sq ft of logistics, e-commerce, life sciences and technology. The investor has lodged outline plans for a scheme that it hopes will generate employment opportunities for 5,000 people around Uttlesford having acquired land from MAG in 2020. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@eg.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @EGPropertyNews