1. Art and Diseño

Committee:
Date:
Planning and Transportation
3rd February 2015
Subject:
Infrastructure Bill
Item no.
Public
Report of:
Remembrancer
For Information
Summary
This report advises the Committee of the relevant provisions of the
Infrastructure Bill currently before Parliament. The Bill will introduce a
principle of “deemed discharge” so that local planning authorities will be
deemed to agree that planning conditions have been met if they do not
respond in time to the developer; empower the Mayor of London to make
orders granting planning permission for development on the application of
one or more London councils (including the Common Council); establish a
streamlined process for voluntary transfers of public land to the Greater
London Authority for the purpose of house-building; transfer the duty to
maintain a register of local land charges from local authorities to the Land
Registry; enable housing developers to meet carbon standards in part though
off-site measures; put in place a revised Electronic Communications Code
which governs the installation of telecommunications infrastructure; and
enable those who have paid for a new electricity connection from an
independent provider to recoup a share of the costs from subsequent users of
the connection.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Committee:
1)
receive this report; and
2)
note that confirmation is being obtained that property not held by the
Common Council as a local authority will be excluded from the scope
of new schemes for the transfer of public land.
Main Report
1.
The Infrastructure Bill was presented to Parliament last summer and is
expected to be enacted this spring. Most attention has focused on proposals
to make it easier to carry out „fracking‟ without agreement from the
landowner. This report concentrates on matters of greater relevance to the
work of the Committee, namely reforms to the planning system and related
areas.
Planning
2.
The most significant change to the planning system will be the introduction
of “deemed discharge” of planning conditions. This is intended to ensure
that development is not delayed by the failure of local planning authorities to
discharge conditions in a timely fashion. If an application for the discharge
of a condition does not receive a response from the local planning authority
within six weeks, then the developer will be entitled to serve a notice of its
intention to rely upon deemed discharge. If no decision is made within a
further two weeks of that notice, then the condition will be deemed to be
discharged. Certain types of condition will be exempt, including those
attached to development that is subject to an Environmental Impact
Assessment, requiring entry into a section 106 agreement, requiring the
approval of reserved matters under an outline permission, or relating to
highway safety, flood risk, contaminated land or archaeological
investigation.
3.
Another new feature of the planning system will be the “Mayoral
development order.” This will enable the Mayor of London to grant planning
permission for specified development on sites in Greater London. The power
will only be exercisable on the application of one or more London local
planning authorities in relation to sites within their areas. The main intention
behind the measure is to ease the approval of large-scale housing
developments of the sort proposed in the Mayor‟s Housing Strategy,
particularly where they cross borough boundaries.
4.
Adaptations will also be made to the national infrastructure planning regime,
intended to make it easier to obtain minor changes to development consent
orders (such as that used to grant permission for the Thames Tideway
Tunnel).
Land and housing
5.
A general power will be provided for the Secretary of State to make schemes
transferring publicly owned land to the Greater London Authority (or the
Homes and Communities Agency elsewhere in the country) for the purpose
of house-building. Such schemes will only be made with the consent of the
existing landowner. The aim of the new provisions is to provide a quicker
and simpler process than currently exists for making public land available
for new housing. Although the schemes will be voluntary, the Government‟s
Bill Team has been asked to confirm that property not held by the Common
Council as a local authority will be excluded from their scope.
6.
The duty to maintain a register of local land charges will be transferred from
local authorities (including the Common Council) to the Land Registry, in
order that all such charges can be brought together in a single digitised
database. The Government has given assurances that any costs incurred in
converting the existing data will be met by the Land Registry. Local
authorities will be required to register any charges originating with them
(such as planning conditions) with the Land Registry.
7.
Changes will be made to the legal framework of the Building Regulations,
paving the way for an “allowable solutions” scheme whereby developers of
new housing will be able to meet carbon-neutral standards in part through
contributions to off-site projects rather than in the development itself. Some
London MPs have expressed fears that developers will be encouraged to
fund work in cheaper parts of the country instead of improving energyefficiency in the capital. The Government has indicated that local authorities
will be encouraged to assist in the development of carbon-reduction projects
to attract contributions under the scheme.
Infrastructure
8.
At an advanced stage of the Bill the Government brought in amendments to
replace the Electronic Communications Code, which governs the rights of
telecommunications providers to install and maintain equipment on others‟
land. The new Code will give providers automatic rights to assign, share and
upgrade equipment, where this would not adversely affect the interests of the
landowner. On the other hand, it will include a simpler process for
landowners to obtain the removal or repositioning of equipment, particularly
where its presence would obstruct a planned redevelopment. It is hoped that
this will make landowners more willing to agree to the installation of
apparatus such as mobile telephone masts in the first place. The new Code
could therefore be beneficial in enabling the deployment of new mobile
masts (3G, 4G and eventually 5G) to provide more comprehensive network
coverage in the City. It will, though, apply only prospectively, and so not to
infrastructure installed under existing arrangements. Officers will continue
to follow the progress of this measure and will bring further details to the
attention of Members as appropriate.
9.
Another late addition to the Bill concerns electricity connections and the socalled “second comer” rules. These allow a landowner or developer who has
met the costs of a new electricity connection to recoup a share of those costs
from others who subsequently make use of that connection. At present the
rules apply only to connections arranged through UK Power Networks, but
the Bill will extend them to connections purchased from independent
providers. The measure is intended to encourage greater competition and
choice in the market for new electricity connections.
10. The Bill will also enable the setting up of a government-owned company to
take on the role of the Highways Agency. The Government says that this
will ensure stability of investment, although the Opposition claims that it is
intended to pave the way for future privatisation.
Recommendation:
11. It is recommended that the Committee:
1)
receive this report; and
2)
note that confirmation is being obtained that property not held by the
Common Council as a local authority will be excluded from the
scope of new schemes for the transfer of public land.
Contact:
Sam Cook
Assistant Parliamentary Affairs Counsel | Remembrancer‟s Office
020 7332 3045 | [email protected]