Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Conclusion 4
Third Report - Permitted Development Rights
Published 22 Jul 2021
Paragraph 34
Addressed to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Permitted Development Rights All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The prior approval process is the principal mechanism by which local planning authorities can control permitted development in their areas, and we welcome the recent inclusion of more criteria, but we are concerned about its increasing complexity and the consequent impact on councils’ resources. This tension— between setting necessary limits on the PDR regime and the negative impacts of greater complexity—is difficult to resolve. The efficacy of permitted development depends on whether it can speed up planning decisions and make the outcomes more predictable for developers. The expanded use of prior approval unavoidably compromises its ability to do this. It also places a burden on local authorities that is not commensurate with the fees charged, and at a time when their resources are already strained and they are therefore not equipped to provide a quick service.
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Third Report - Permitted Development Rights (HC 32), paragraph 34, 22 July 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 23 May 2023 (deadline 22 September 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government has published its response to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee's July 2021 report on permitted development rights, but the page gives only a general description of it.
- The Committee's July 2021 report made "a number of recommendations" on permitted development rights, Article 4 directions and use classes.
- The response was published alongside the introduction of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill and the government response to the Committee's report on The Future of Planning.
- The text available here does not set out the government's position on individual recommendations or any specific commitments; these are in the full response document, which applies to England.