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Planning performance agreements guide launched

The British Property Federation has launched a guide, backed by the Government, for the property industry to explain the benefits of planning performance agreements (PPAs), with the key message that PPAs have the potential to give developers greater certainty and confidence in the planning process.

The guide, written by law firm Denton Wilde Sapte, highlights some of the background to PPAs, the key points to consider when using a PPA, and some practical tips for developing one.

PPAs are a project management tool that the Government has developed to help local authorities and developers deliver decisions on planning applications for major developments. A PPA is simply an agreement between a developer and a local authority (and potentially other key players, such as statutory consultees like the Environment Agency or English Heritage) setting out who will do what and when.

PPAs are designed to address some common problems encountered by local authorities and applicants, such as timescales, resources, and the quality of applications and decisions, by providing a framework and management approach for delivering good quality outcomes.

The guide highlights some key advantages of using a PPA:

• establishing a better understanding of a project's needs, including management and resources, and the scope for collaborative working
• setting a realistic timetable relevant for the size and complexity of the application and defining key milestones
• minimising the risks and costs of appeal
• enabling identification of problems and a method for reviewing these
• providing a formal mechanism for parties, including key stakeholders, to collaborate

The uptake of PPAs by local planning authorities and developers has been slow and the guide is designed to help encourage more planning applications to use the PPA process. In 2008 the Killian Pretty Review – a Government backed review of the planning application process from start to finish – recommended greater use of PPAs.

Ian Austin, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Communities and Local Government said:

“I welcome the publication of this guidance by the British Property Federation. We are keen to encourage greater take up of PPAs. As the guide makes clear, there is no one model for a PPA. We hope that the BPF guide, offering practical tips for taking forward PPAs, will encourage their greater use by the development community.”

Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, commented:

“We have always thought that better use can be made of PPAs. They are a really useful tool, which used in the right circumstances, can deliver significant benefits for developers, local authorities and communities. We hope this guide encourages a greater take up of PPAs.”

For more information and all PR and media queries, please contact Andrew Teacher, Head of Media, on 020 7802 0113 / ateacher@bpf.org.uk.

Notes

1. The BPF guide, “A guide to planning performance agreements” is available at at http://www.bpf.org.uk/topics/document/23819/a-guide-to-planning-performance-agreements.

2. The BPF’s Planning Manifesto published in September 2008 called for greater use of PPAs through directly rewarding local planning authorities for successfully completing a PPA (recommendation 11). A copy of the manifesto is available at http://www.bpf.org.uk/topics/document/23469/bpf-planning-manifesto---making-planning-work.

3. In 2008 Communities and Local Government and the Advisory Team for Large Applications (ATLAS) published Implementing Planning Performance Agreements. This guidance note sets out best practice and a model for entering into a PPA, which builds on the experience of the trial ATLAS carried out with about 20 local authorities of what were then called Planning Delivery Agreements.

4. In November 2008, the Killian Pretty Review published its final recommendations. Recommendation 4 stated “Government, local planning authorities and others should take the following steps to substantially improve the critically important pre-application stage of the application process, in order to improve the quality of the application and to avoid problems and delays at later stages.....Government should further encourage the use of Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs) for major developments by making it clear that a proportionate approach to PPAs is acceptable. Thus for smaller and less complex schemes, a much simpler approach to a PPA, centred around an agreed timetable, may be all that is required.”