To be statutory or to be non-statutory? That, in relation to National Development Management Policies (NDMPs), is the existential Shakespearean conundrum that the custodians of the planning system appear to have been grappling with of late. Section 93 of The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA) made provisions, you will recall Dear Reader, to replace s.38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 as it applies in England such that determination of planning applications should be made in accordance with the development plan and any NDMPs unless material considerations strongly indicate otherwise (thereby strengthening the presumption from its current legal formulation). Further, if there is any conflict between the development plan and a NDMP, the conflict must be resolved in favour of the latter. Matthew Pennycook told MPs in November that the Government planned to consult on the NDMPs “in the spring of next year”, but spring has turned to summer and in reporting th...
Hello. My name is Sam, I am a Town Planner and I sometimes write about town planning-related things (in my own time and as an expression of my own opinions). I have a town planning-related podcast, there is a link to that on this page somewhere, and I circulate a newsletter from time to time. There is a link to that somewhere as well. Should you be so inclined, I am on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford).