Research by planning and development consultancy Lichfields reveals that the current requirement to review local plans every five years is ineffective at ensuring they are kept up to date.
The lack of clear guidance on what authorities must consider during the review process is identified as a key issue. The report suggests that the rollout of plan-making reforms is inadvertently delaying plan updates and undermining the review process.
Simon Coop, Senior Director at Lichfields, mentions that the proposed reforms, intended to encourage a more rolling rhythm of updates, are currently having the opposite effect. The regulations, policy, and guidance for the reforms are expected to be available no sooner than autumn 2024, depending on the timing and outcomes of the general election. The research examined 55 local authorities that adopted a local plan containing strategic policies in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 monitoring years, just over five years ago.
The report highlights variations in how local authorities interpret and conduct local plan reviews, with no standard approach. There is a statutory requirement to undertake a review of local plans every five years, but authorities are not necessarily required to update their plans based on the review. An update would follow the review if deemed necessary.
The Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) provides some matters to consider during reviews, but it is not specific or binding, leading to variations in interpretation. Lichfields research reveals that most local authorities that undertook a review concluded that an update was necessary. Common reasons for plan or policy updates included updates to national planning policy, addressing the climate crisis, and changing local housing need figures.
While there is a legal requirement to undertake a review within five years, there doesn’t appear to be any consequence for authorities that fail to do so. For authorities deciding to update the local plan after the review, the process often extends beyond 10 years from the adoption of the existing plan.
Guidance on a new plan-making system is expected in autumn 2024, with proposed changes aiming to address the slow-moving nature of plan-making. Only four out of 55 local authorities analyzed in the report had adopted an updated local plan at the time of writing (January 2024).
The full report, titled “Marking Your Own Homework: Interpretation and Application of the Requirement to Review Local Plan Policies Every Five Years,” is available here.
