TCPA 1990 practical guidance index

MHCLG announces Building Safety Regulator reforms to accelerate housebuilding

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced a package of reforms to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), aimed at accelerating housebuilding and remediation work. Key changes include: (1) the introduction of a new Fast Track Process, designed to integrate building inspector and engineer capacity into the BSR to expedite the processing and review of existing newbuild cases and remediation decisions; (2) leadership changes, with Andy Roe KFSM appointed as non-executive chair of a new MHCLG shadow board, which will oversee the transition of the BSR’s functions from the Health and Safety Executive, as part of initial steps towards establishing a single construction regulator, and Charlie Pugsley named as the new Chief Executive Officer of the BSR; and (3) further investment, with the recruitment of over 100 new staff to enhance the BSR’s operational capacity.

Issue of a CIL stop notice is not subject to limitation periods in Limitation Act 1980 (Jones v Shropshire)

Planning analysis: The Planning Court held that the six-year limitation period for an action to be brought to recover any sum recoverable by virtue of an enactment contained in section 9(1) of the Limitation Act 1980 does not apply to the issue by a collecting authority of a CIL stop notice under regulation 90 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (‘the CIL Regulations’). The issuing of a CIL stop notice is an administrative action carried out by an authority in the exercise of its statutory powers, but is not an ‘action’ within the meaning of the Limitation Act 1980, which word was interpreted as bearing its ordinary legal meaning in the context of that legislation, namely a form of legal proceedings in a court of law. Consequently, although the authority was out of time to apply to the magistrates’ court for a liability order to enforce unpaid CIL, which was time barred under the CIL Regulations after six years from when the amount became due, the authority could still take enforcement action by way of issuing a stop notice in circumstances where the development to which the CIL related had not been completed. Written by Ruth Stockley KC, barrister at Kings Chambers.

MHCLG updates PPG on plan-making

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has updated the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) on plan-making to clarify how the implementation provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) apply to plans that have undergone more than one round of Regulation 19 consultation. In such cases, for the purposes of applying Annex 1 of the NPPF, a plan is generally considered to have reached the Regulation 19 stage on the date the first round of consultation commenced. However, in certain limited circumstances—such as where the content of the emerging plan has changed significantly since the initial Regulation 19 stage—the plan may instead be deemed to have reached Regulation 19 on the date a subsequent round of consultation commenced.

Welsh Government publishes response to consultation on improving planning service resilience

The Welsh Government has published the response to its November 2024 consultation on improving the resilience and performance of planning services across Wales. Key measures include increasing the householder application fee to a full cost recovery rate of £585 and introducing annual fee adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index from 1 April 2027. The government has also confirmed that it will not proceed with proposals to introduce planning appeal fees, or extend Local Development Plan review periods at this time. The changes will be implemented through draft regulations, which are expected to be laid before the Senedd in late summer 2025.