§ Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candoverasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they aim to base planning decisions on up-to-date local development plans and if so when they anticipate there will be national coverage of development plans, and what their average age is likely to be at that time.
Lord LucasSection 70(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requires all those making decisions on planning applications to have regard to the 53WA development plan, so far as it is material to the application, and to any other material considerations. Where the development plan is material to the development proposal, Section 54A requires the decision to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. One such consideration would be whether the development plan policies are up-to-date and apply to current circumstances, or whether they have been overtaken by events. The age of the plan (its adoption date) would not in itself be a material consideration.
The Department of the Environment's Development Plan Monitoring Survey for September 1995 indicated that 58 per cent. of non-metropolitan districts 78 per cent. of metropolitan districts and 88 per cent. of London boroughs expect to have a single district-wide local plan or unitary development plan in place by the end of 1996. The survey also indicated that 100 per cent. of all districts and London boroughs expect to have such plans in place by the end of 1999. The length of time it is taking some local authorities to adopt their local plans is a matter of concern. Her Majesty's Government have already proposed changes to amend both the code of practice on development plans and the development plan regulations. We have not ruled out further changes, including measures that will require legislation, if they are wanted by users of the development plan system. Meetings will shortly be held with interested organisations to discuss their ideas for possible changes to the system.
It is not possible to predict what the average age of development plans would be at any future date. Development planning is a continuous process. Plans are kept under constant review and once they have been adopted are updated by the local planning authority, by alteration or replacement, at appropriate intervals.