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“It is important the reviewconsiders in detail howall forms of statutory consultation…haveworked todate, aswell aswhether those developers that go ‘above and beyond’ at these stages … should receive accelerated consideration of their proposals.”
Management Practice Note which had, as far as practicable, the buy-in of industry. However, reflecting on the publication of Belfast City Council’s draft Developer Contributions Framework in the autumn of 2018, many of the key challenges remain: approach to viability, acceptable developer profit, land valuation, policy context, sums in agreements, status of contributions and request of contributions for projects not within an individual Council’s gift. The review needs to give this matter full consideration and seek to bring in a much clearer, upfront and transparent approach as well as how the approach links in with that being developed by many councils - with respect to affordable housing policies - as elements of their Local Development Plans. PRIORITISING PROJECTS OF ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE Given current economic conditions, there is a strong argument for advancing key projects at the planning application stage, by giving them additional ‘weight’, which can unlock immediate economic
DEALING WITH POOR QUALITY APPLICATIONS The industry has always been quite clear that if applications are not up to required standards for instance through the upfront publication of required checklists that an applicant must meet - then councils must act to ensure that all developers are being held against the same standards. In our view, required checklists must become the norm. The forthcoming review will therefore be a crucial opportunity to take stock of the experience and outcomes of the two-tier system to date, but also a point at which major reforms will need to be considered so to make it a planning system that is fit for the economic need that faces us.
benefits. These could range from important investments in decarbonising our electricity and energy infrastructure through to substantial housing schemes. ASSESSING ‘LOW BAR’ FOR LEGAL CHALLENGE While any reform must not be about eliminating the opportunity for legal challenge there is a clear need to assess the relative ease at which a challenge can be lodged. Additionally, a number of significant planning applications have been caught in seemingly never-ending legal proceedings – some for a decade if not more. While their various merits can be debated, is it in anyone’s interests for such applications to be dragged out for so long?
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