A High Court Judgement of 31/01/2020 has ruled that prior approval deadlines are capable of being extended through agreement between the Applicant and Local Authority.
Various types of development are permitted under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (as amended) but subject first to an application for prior approval from the Local Authority. Key examples include the provisions that allow for office buildings and agricultural buildings meeting the necessary tests to be converted to residential use. Prior to such developments proceeding the Applicant is required to submit an application for a determination of whether the prior approval of the Local Authority is required. That application enables the Authority to have regard to specific matters such as land contamination, highways impacts and flood risk. The Order states that development cannot proceed until one of the following has occurred;
– The Local Authority has confirmed that prior approval is not required,
– The Local Authority has given prior approval, or
– The expiry of 56 days following the submission of the application without the authority notifying the applicant as to whether prior approval is given or refused.
The 56 day limitation means that Authorities need to issue a decision one way or another within that timeframe, as failure to do so can allow the development to proceed by default. In practice this can mean that where the deadline is approaching an Authority may issue a refusal simply as a result of running out of time to deal with any outstanding matters.
The High Court judgement considered a case of two prior approval applications for the conversion of office blocks to residential use wherein the Authority had issued decisions after the 56 day deadline. However, the Applicant’s agent had agreed with them to allow them extra time to reach their decision, and the Authority refused prior approval with the agreed additional time. The Applicant then argued that there was no provision to allow them extra time to reach their decision.
In the subsequent High Court decision Mr Justice Holgate referred to article 7 of the General Permitted Development Order and which states that decisions on prior approval applications must be made by the authority within the 56 day period ‘or within such longer period as may be agreed by the applicant and the authority in writing’. Therefore, as the agent had agreed in writing with the Authority to allow them extra time, and the Authority had issued the decisions within that extra time, the decisions stood.
The judgement should help to provide some clarity for Applicants and Local Authorities moving forwards and help avoid unnecessary refusals of prior approval applications, or requests for them to be withdrawn where a mutually agreed extension of time can offer the opportunity to resolve outstanding issues quickly and enable prior approval to be issued.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Spruce Town Planning.
