Sustainability and Social Justice
"Theirs Not to Reason Why" - The Practicalities of Providing adequate Summary Reasons for Grants of Planning Permission
Abstract
The local planning authorities (LPAs) is required to provide summary reasons for grant planning permission coupled with a summary of relevant development plan policies and proposals. However, LPAs are encountering a number of difficulties in searching to ensure compliance, specifically for complex applications that involve multiple reasons, development plan policies and proposals, and objections. This requirement is included in Article 22(1) of the General Development Procedure Order (GDPO) 1995 and was inserted into the GDPO at the end of 2003. The intention of the draftsmen of Art.22(1) of the GDPO to increase transparency of decision-making, have made a huge burden on LPAs that regularly deal with large scale and complex planning applications. Addressing these issues, it is considered that considerable time and money would be saved by creating such changes to Art.22(1) of the GDPO. But for the meantime, LPAs need to tread very carefully to comply with the Reasons for Grant Requirement and note the "Midcounties" interpretation of the Reasons for Grant Requirement.
