BPF response to MHCLG's consultation on planning committee reform

We've responded to the Government’s consultation on planning committee reform, supporting greater use of officer delegation while raising concerns about proposals that could see reserved matters applications for phased development referred back to committee. While backing efforts to streamline decision making, our response notes that introducing a gateway test for phased schemes could increase committee referrals, delay delivery and reopen issues already settled at outline stage. Given that many large-scale development schemes are delivered in phases, our response argues that all reserved matters applications should be delegated to avoid added complexity, inconsistency and delays to development.