Department of the Environment
Planning and Building Services
South Hill, St Helier, Jersey, JE2 4US
Tel: +44 (0)1534 445508
Fax: +44 (0)1534 445528
SPG: Time limited planning permission
Draft for consultation
1 Purpose
To seek the Minister’s approval for releasing draft supplementary planning guidance containing new policy related to time-limited planning permission (at appendix 1) for a limited consultation period prior to adoption with or without amendment.
2 Background
2.1 Article 23(3)(b) of the Law states that a condition may relate to the period in which the development shall be begun. The Law does not stipulate any specific period of commencement and there has never been any policy basis for specifying such a period.
2.2 The 2011 Island Plan addressed the issue, in respect of residential development, with the following statement of intent:
“To avoid the likelihood of developers sitting on unimplemented permissions, conditions will be used to limit the validity of consents for residential development, the extent of which will be set in supplementary planning guidance, but which will be initially set at three years and reviewed thereafter over the Plan period. Furthermore, to discourage landowners from holding onto land in the hope of a better return in the future, it is also important to note that this policy mechanism, for the delivery of affordable housing, is intended to be permanent. The intention is that it will become operational in January 2012”. [para 6.126; 2011 Island Plan]
The final wording was agreed following a proposed amendment from Senator Le Main[1] which was further amended by the Minister of the day[2].
2.3 The statement was not acted upon and, although it was not carried forward into the Revised Island Plan 2011 Island Plan (adopted 2014), the principle of reducing the period of commencement has been through a full Examination in Public and was, for the duration of the original 2011 Island Plan, formally adopted by the States Assembly as an intention.
2.4 Current practice is that full planning permissions carry a five year period of commencement and outline permissions stipulate three years within which an application for reserved matters should be received and a further two years in which the development should be commenced.
2.5 Applications to vary or extend the ‘standard time limit condition’ for a further five years incur no fee and are seldom refused.
3 Should the period of commencement be reduced?
3.1 Continually extending the ‘life’ of a planning permission can create a ‘land-bank’ of sites that have planning permission for development but where no development actually takes place for a considerable period of time. In 2015 alone, planning permissions were ‘extended’ for a further five years for a total of 417 new dwellings[3]. This practice does nothing to stimulate the economy and nor does it promote efforts in regenerating St. Helier.
3.2 A shorter period with accompanying policy to remove the almost automatic renewal of permissions will increase the incentive for developers to commence work, thereby stimulating the economy and encouraging the re-generation of St. Helier. It will also add more certainty to the development process and increase the accuracy of IP monitoring and forecasting. Whilst the 2011 IP statement related to residential developments, there is no reason why it could, or should, not be carried through to all other forms of development.
3.3 A longer period of commencement would only be justified in exceptional circumstances. An example would be the recent planning permission for Waste re-cycling at La Gigoulande Quarry where a 10-year period of commencement was allowed as the likely date of the cessation of La Colette for waste re-cycling was not known and it was felt that it could having fallen outwith the usual five years. The 10-year period of commencement allowed certainty for the States to develop a workable waste strategy.
3.4 A shorter period may be considered where, for instance, a retrospective application is approved for the unauthorised removal of features of interest from a listed building. The Department would not wish the re-instatement of the features to be delayed and could, therefore condition the programme of re-instatement to commence much sooner than the three years.
4 What happens in other jurisdictions?
4.1
| Time limit of permission | Basis |
England | Full PP = three years Outline = three yrs for Reserved Matters / further two yrs for implementation Cannot apply to extend permission[4]. | Law[5] requires condition on permission. |
Wales | As above, but can apply to extend permission. | Law requires condition on permission. |
Scotland | Full PP = three years Outline = three yrs for Reserved Matters / further two yrs for commencement Cannot apply to extend permission. | Time limit embodied in Law[6] |
Guernsey | Three years Unclear as to whether the condition could be varied / appealed when the requirement is a matter of Law. | Time limit embodied in the Law[7] Condition traditionally attached to permission |
Isle of Man | Default = four years unless otherwise stated on planning permission. Unclear whether IoM have outline permissions. | Default time limit embodied in Order[8] |
France | Two years, with potential to extend to three. | Time limit embodied in Law[9] |
JERSEY (proposed) | Full PP = three yrs Outline = two yrs for Reserved Matters / further two yrs for commencement | Law[10] makes provision for time limit. Policy specifies limit. |
4.2 As can be seen from the above, other jurisdictions differ slightly when it comes to the actual time limit and the mechanism to secure it. Whilst none appear to have adopted a policy-based approach, Jersey Planning Law makes provision for time limited provisions, but also confers power on the Minister to publish policies in respect of development, generally[11]. This would include for an SPG without necessitating a revision to the Island Plan or a revision to the Law. A policy base to the time limit would also have the advantage of allowing for greater reactivity should circumstances necessitate (eg, significant change in the economy).
4.3 Adoption of a default three-year time limit for detailed planning permission would bring Jersey into line with most other of our neighbouring jurisdictions. The recommended outline limit of two years + two years is intended to bring more certainty to the development process than the conventional three years + two years approach.
5 Consultation
5.1 Article 6(2) of the Law requires the Minister to “…consult any Minister or statutory authority with an interest in the development” before publishing guidelines and policies in respect of development generally, any class of development, the development of any area of land or; the development of a specified site.
5.2 The SoJ Consultation Code of Practice[12] states that “Consultation is based on the principle that people affected by a decision should be involved in the decision making process. It is an exchange of views, which aims to identify issues, develop or change policies, test proposals or evaluate provision”
5.3 The Code goes on to state “Only consult if change is possible. Public participation includes the expectation that people’s contribution will influence the outcome – so only consult if there is scope for change”.
5.4 Although the Law confers power on the Minister to issue a new policy without consultation if it is considered that no other Minister / statutory authority has an interest in it, there remains an expectation, at least, that the Minister will consult on any significant break from established practice. A change in time limit from five years to three years is considered to be of significance.
5.5 The Minister is, accordingly, advised to undertake consultation with the following Ministers / bodies:
- Minister for Infrastructure
- Treasury Minister
- Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture
- Jersey Construction Council
- Jersey Chamber of Commerce
- Association of Jersey Architects
- The Code of Conduct recommends that significant public consultations should normally last for eight weeks, excluding major holiday periods. However, as this would not be an outright public consultation, a period of four weeks is recommended.
- Failure to consult may result in an initial state of confusion and uncertainty within the development industry, but this would be likely to be short-lived especially if the new SPG were launched with an appropriate press release.
6 Legal and resource implications
6.1 If the SPG sits as a ‘stand-alone’ policy, then there are no legal or significant resource implications.
7 Recommendation
7.1 That the Minister launches a four week consultation period as per 5.5 & 5.6 above.
7.2 That the Minister considers all representations received upon close of the consultation period and adopts, with or without amendment, the SPG as a new policy.
7.3 That the media, Department staff and all consultees be informed of the adoption.
7.4 That, upon adoption, all relevant iLAP templates are amended to reflect the new policy.
Alistair Coates. Principal Planner (Policy)
06/07/2016 ac
Appendix 1: Draft for consultation
SPG: Time-limited planning permission (July 2016)
gov.je