The government has confirmed that planning permissions that have expired between 23 March, 2020 (the start of lockdown) and 31 December, 2020, will automatically be extended to 1 April, 2021. This move is designed to enable projects, delayed only because of the coronavirus lockdown, to avoid having to go through the planning system again.
Concerns had been raised that the expiry of planning permissions, amongst them is an estimated 400 residential permissions, which is set to deliver around 24,000 new homes, would slow the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
In May, the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, made the building of new homes a central part of the plan to ‘Get Britain Building’ again, and encouraged construction to expand capacity by extending their working hours up to 9pm Monday to Saturday in residential areas, and later in non-residential areas.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has also announced that a planning appeal pilot, which reduces the time taken for appeal enquiries from 47 weeks to 23 weeks, will be rolled out. The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) will have the ability to use written representations, hearings and inquiries simultaneously when dealing with a planning appeal, so they can be processed faster.
Commenting on the initiatives, the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, said: “Building the homes the country needs is central to the mission of this government, and is an important part of our plans to recover from the impact of the coronavirus.
“New laws will enable us to speed up the pace of planning appeals and save hundreds of construction sites from being cancelled before they have a chance to get spades in the ground, helping to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs and create many others.
“Taken together, these measures will help to keep workers safe and our economy moving, as we work together to bounce back from the pandemic.”
The extension of planning permissions was welcomed by one of the groups that had been asking for it, the National Federation of Builders (NFB).
Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, said: “This request was put to the MHCLG and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) a month ago, and once again, the government has listened to the industry.
“Extending expiring planning permissions will secure jobs, give the supply chain certainty, and ensure businesses still have a pipeline of work to deliver. It’s great news.”
