How to understand the position of local planning authorities

Knowing where you’ll  have the best chance to secure a successful planning application is important, and part of that is understanding the policy position of a local council.

To help developers gain this understanding, LandTech have introduced a  simple and easily accessible data panel into LandInsight that provides better visibility of property data such as:

• Local plan age
• Housing land supply status
• Housing delivery test status
• Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) data

What are the  challenges this Local Planning Authority Panel can help solve?

Below, we’ll cover a few of the specific challenges LandTech’s Local Planning Authority Panel can help developers solve.

Find housing sites which are more likely to have planning approved.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes it clear that there are circumstances where the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ applies, and councils must approve applications unless ‘any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits’. 

Even when elected members want to refuse an application, the above policy means that it will be difficult for an inspector to uphold a refusal when the site comes to appeal. This, in turn, significantly lowers the bar for demonstrating that a development is acceptable and should be approved - so finding these ‘presumption councils’ is important for development proponents.

LandTech solutions can help to quickly and easily identify ‘presumption councils’ by bringing together all three of the above datasets into a single panel of information, accessible in just one click.

Using policy position data to promote Strategic Land

If a developer has land that might work for housing, or is working for someone that does, then knowing when the council would be most willing to receive that land as part of their land supply is vital. 

By using both of the following datasets contained within the Local Planning Authority Panel, agents can easily search for councils for low housing land supply, and also identify councils that are undertaking a call for new sites to develop. These data sets are: 

• Emerging Policy Data
  See when a council is preparing a new local plan. As part of a new local plan the council will issue a ‘call for sites’ where land owners and promoters can suggest sites and make the case for their inclusion as a site allocation.
  
  
• Housing Land Supply Data
  Using the data on housing land supply you can identify councils that have a low housing land supply, as these councils are likely to be most welcoming to the possibility of new housing sites that could enable them to demonstrate their 5 years supply. 

Understanding Community Infrastructure Levy charges to build a better picture of upfront project costs

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge that can be applied to new development.  Most new developments that create net additional floor space of 100 square metres or more, or creates a new dwelling, could be liable for the levy. However, the levy only applies in areas where a local authority has consulted on, and approved, a charging schedule that sets out its levy rates and has published the schedule on its website. 

There is so much scope for uncertainty in the planning process - it’s difficult for developers to know the scope and scale of potential contributions they may need to make when they begin a project.

Because CIL charges are known at the outset, they can be factored into your development viability assessment at an early stage, which is vital to building a better picture of your project’s viability.

And of course, the data needed to properly factor CIL costs into a viability appraisal is all contained within the Local Planning Authority Panel in LandTech’s LandInsight solution.

How can users get started with the Local Planning Authority Panel?

Once logged into LandInsight, customers can access the Local Planning Authority Panel datasets in a three easy steps:

1. Select the Planning Policy tab from the left side of the screen and then select the “Local Planning Authority” option. 
   
   
2. Users will then be able to select the authority of their choosing from the main map view; details of which will then appear in a separate panel on the right of the screen.
   
   
3. Select the name of the authority from within the new panel to see all of the Local Planning data for that authority.

Understanding the position of LPAs can be difficult to navigate, but by using LandInsight, in a few clicks you’ll have access to the information you need to find and assess your next opportunity.