At Carter Jonas, we are very aware that questions may arise around the impact that Covid-19 is having, or is likely to have, on the planning system both immediately, and over the coming weeks.
There will inevitably be some delays in the planning system, especially in the early days of the national lock-down, but we are finding that all parties are working hard to minimise any adverse effects, and we anticipate progress will be made in the coming days, especially with new provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020, which received Royal Assent on 25th March.
From our experiences over the last two to three weeks, the following points are worth noting:
- Officer availability: most, but not all, Planning Officers are now working from home and should be contactable, as usual but often via mobile phones. Inevitably however, some are available on reduced hours due to childcare constraints. Nevertheless, it should be possible to hold routine meetings by video conference or telephone.
- Registration of planning applications: we would advise you to expect some delays as validation/registration teams are also now working remotely. While most statutory consultations can be issued by email, authorities are finding it more difficult to deal with the issuing of neighbour consultation letters under remote working. We understand that some Councils will be asking individual members of staff to visit council premises to handle outgoing post. There may also be difficulties in posting site notices informing the public that planning applications have been submitted. Some authorities are asking applicants to assist with posting site notices.
- Pre-application meetings: most local planning authorities are able to handle such meetings via video conferencing. Microsoft Teams and Skype allow the sharing of screen displays, so while not ideal, it is perfectly possible to have such meetings with participants in multiple locations. Our planning and development teams have already had a number of such ‘online’ meetings with officers and this appears to be working satisfactorily.
- Site Visits: there is likely to be some disruption with site visits as Councils have understandably mandated that staff should work from home. Use of aerial photography and ‘street view’ technology may assist, but these have obvious limitations which need to be recognised. Clearly, some application proposals will be more dependent on a comprehensive site visit than others, and the extent to which officers are familiar with sites (through pre-application work etc.) will also be a factor. We are aware that some authorities are requesting video footage of sites where they are unable to carry out visits.
- Public engagement: the current situation does mean that public exhibitions and workshops clearly cannot go ahead. A move to greater use of online public engagement platforms should help and we are discussing this with a number of Councils at present and planning our first event under the current arrangements.
- Planning committees: all upcoming planning committees have already been, or are likely to be, cancelled for a period of time. However, local planning authorities are investigating ways of holding planning committees online, which would streamline processes. Provision for this is included within Section 78 of the Coronavirus Act 2020, albeit more detailed regulations are now awaited to give effect to this. A number of authorities are also considering delegating more decisions to officers on a temporary basis by amending their standing orders.
- Technical studies and surveys: while some technical studies can be completed remotely, a number of those that require any form of site visit are on hold until the restrictions are lifted. A solution might be to allow submission and validation of applications with these studies ‘to follow’ when circumstances allow. Without this flexibility, it may not be possible for some applications to be submitted. We understand however that CIEEM (the professional body for ecologists) have confirmed that ecological surveys may still take place where necessary and subject to social distancing being observed. This is potentially important given the seasonality of some of these surveys.
- Planning appeals and Examinations in Public: for the time being, appeal inquiries, hearings and Examinations in Public will not be able to proceed. The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) hopes to use the ‘recovered’ time to attempt to clear some of the backlog of case work. This will inevitably lead to delays and further backlog. ‘Virtual inquiries’ and examination are being investigated and may streamline the process.
We would however like to reassure you that as far as our various planning and development teams are concerned, it is ‘business as usual,’ and we are all set up and working remotely with full IT and telephone support. We are able to proceed with client and team meetings using video conferencing facilities such as Microsoft Teams and Skype and can report that business is continuing as normally as possible given the circumstances.
We are also in regular contact with local authorities and other parties we need to engage with, such as the Planning Inspectorate and Examination Programme Officers, and we are exploring a range of further methods alongside internal and external project teams to ensure we can continue to work collaboratively in our clients’ best interests.
These are extraordinary times, but the planning system continues to function, and the Carter Jonas Planning & Development division retains full capability to provide our clients with the high levels of support that they have come to expect.
If you would like any help in understanding how changes in policy affect you, or specific advice as to actions you should be taking, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.