Power To The People: The Localism Bill

The Localism Bill, which was launched by the UK Government on 13 December 2010, heralds a radical reform of the planning system in England and is set to shake up the local planning process, giving people and communities a greater say in local matters.

 

The Bill's proposals could have a profound impact on developing waste and recycling projects

 
Lisa Tye, Semple Fraser 

The Bill's proposals could have a profound impact on developing waste and recycling projects, particularly as it potentially provides another layer of community involvement. The Government considers that the Bill will lead to more rather than less development, but those in the development industry are less convinced. The following proposals are of particular importance:

Local Referendums

A referendum on local issues can be called by at least 5% of the local electorate and the local authority must consider what actions to take in response. Although non-binding, this will inevitably become a tool of those against a development and there will potentially be a need to engage in expensive local campaigns to gain support for projects if this is not to become a NIMBY's charter.

Predetermination

The scope of predetermination as a basis for alleging bias on the part of Councillors is to be narrowed and would no longer be a ground for judicial review, so that Councillors will have much more freedom to express their opinions for or against a controversial development from the outset, even where they will be involved in taking the final decision.

Pre-application consultation

There will be a new legal requirement to consult local communities before submitting certain applications and there will be an express duty to take into account responses when deciding on the terms of the planning application to be submitted.

This could elongate the time frame for delivery of development and those who fail to consult properly or take views into account will face the prospect of having their consent challenged.

Neighbourhood planning

A fundamental part of the localism agenda is the provision made for Neighbourhood Development Orders. A qualifying body, which can consist of as few as three residents, is entitled to seek the making of an Order which will grant planning permission in a particular area.

A local authority must make an Order if more than half of those voting in a referendum have voted in favour of the order.

There is undoubted potential here for innovation but questions remain as to how neighbourhoods will be defined; what process and funding will be used to adopt plans; and their ratification. The Bill also wrongly assumes that ‘neighbourhoods' have common interests and goals.

There is a clear danger that those more articulate and better educated interests within communities will carry more weight in planning decisions. It is also likely that organised objectors will be able to abuse the process to frustrate development proposals.

EU Fines

Where the UK Government is fined by the EU Court of Justice for failing to fulfil an obligation under an EU Treaty, such as meeting recycling targets, the Bill provides for these fines to be passed on to the local authority. The Local Government Association has estimated that this could cost local authorities up to £1bn which will potentially have to be passed down to Council Tax payers.

Conclusions

Much will depend on the Bill's parliamentary scrutiny and it remains to be seen whether the largely negative response to its provisions will lead to it being watered down in any way. However, for the waste industry, used to dealing with controversial proposals and already facing the need to engage with local communities, the concern is that it will simply create a new more local and less accountable bureaucracy to overcome in seeking to get proposals through the planning process.

On the other hand the threat of EU fines being passed down to local authorities may potentially give impetus to innovative proposals for dealing with waste, particularly where they can assist in meeting recycling targets. The new era of ‘localism' promises to be an interesting one.