Month: April 2026

…And Thanks For The WildFish

Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe poked fun at many of the absurdities of life on our planet. Triggered by another absurdity of our English planning system, a reminder of which is within R (WildFish) v Buckinghamshire Council (13 March 2026) (Court of Appeal, 13 March 2026), I watched again the opening sequence from the movie (Dolphins: So long, and thanks for all the fish / So sad that it should come to this / We tried to warn you all, but, oh, dear / You may not share our intellect / Which might explain your disrespect / For all the natural wonders that grow around you / So long, so long, and thanks for all the fish! The world’s about to be destroyed / There’s no point getting all annoyed / Lie back and let the planet dissolve around you / Despite those nets of tuna fleets / We thought that most of you were sweet …).

The absurdity I’m thinking about today isn’t about the way in which public consultation processes are sometimes carried out, which Adams did cover (tldr: cellar; no lights; no stairs; “beware of the leopard” sign), but about the lack of fit-for-purpose legislation to amend planning permissions. Yes we all know about Hillside case by now (see my 2 November 2022 blog post if you have literally been on another planet). Yes we all know about the constraints on section 73 following Fiske (space traveller, this 11 December 2024 blog post may help). And yes we know that we are still waiting for section 73B to be switched on which may help with the latter (subject to a new “not substantially different” test) but not with the former.

But the system for amending permissions is even more basically kaput than that, as the Wildfish case illustrates.

The issue isn’t one which was central to the litigation but I’ll briefly explain the case first. It was a judicial review by an environmental campaign group of a reserved matters approval for a housing development. Outline planning permission had been granted on 24 March 2022 for a development of up to 170 dwellings. Condition 13 on the permission provided as follows:

“The details to be submitted for approval in writing by the Local Planning Authority in accordance with Condition (1) above shall include a foul water drainage scheme for the site. The scheme shall include a waste water treatment capacity assessment to identify the need for any infrastructure upgrades and a programme for carrying out the works to inform site delivery. 


No part of the development shall be occupied until confirmation has been provided to the local planning authority that the scheme and programming of any wastewater upgrades required to accommodate the additional flows from the development have been agreed with Anglian Water; and all wastewater upgrades required to accommodate the additional flows have been completed. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.”

Condition 2 required reserved matters applications to be submitted within 18 months of the permission. The reserved matters application was submitted in time on 25 May 2023. Whilst it was being determined, the applicant had further discussions with Anglian Water and a section 73 permission was granted on 10 December 2024 for “Variation of Condition 13 of 16/00151/AOP on Land off Walnut Drive and Foscote Road to allow details to be submitted prior to occupation.” The section 73 permission incorporated a version of condition 13 without its original first paragraph, i.e. which no longer required that the details to be submitted for reserved matters approval should include the “waste water treatment capacity assessment to identify the need for any infrastructure upgrades and a programme for carrying out the works to inform site delivery”.

The applicant then revised the reserved matter application to refer to section 73 permission (so as to explain why It wasn’t accompanied by the detail which condition 13 had previously required) and it was granted on 4 March 2025.

The environmental group pursued two grounds of challenge to the reserved matters approval at the Court of Appeal hearing:

“Ground one is the contention that as a result of what occurred in this case there was a substantial alteration to the reserved matters application which meant that the first respondent had no power to approve it. The appellant’s argument is that since condition 13 requires details “to be submitted for approval in writing by the local planning authority in accordance with condition (1) …” the requirements of condition 13, and all of them, are temporally linked to condition 1. The submissions which are required by condition 1 are necessarily linked in the terms of the condition to the time limit in condition 2.”

“Turning to ground two, the appellant contends that it was unlawful, in effect, to switch the reserved matters application from one parent permission, the outline permission, to another, the section 73 permission, in particular when the timescale for submitting reserved matters under the section 73 permission had clearly expired. It was unlawful for the first respondent to consider and determine the reserved matters application “with reference to” the section 73 permission. The section 73 permission was, in accordance with the authorities, an entirely new and separate permission from the outline permission. Had the second respondent wished to discharge reserved matters under the authority of the section 73 permission it would have needed to have applied to do so but in fact the time to do so had passed.”

The Court of Appeal rejected both grounds. On the first ground, details of a foul drainage scheme fell outside the definition of “reserved matters” and so the fact that the details required by condition 13 of the outline planning permission had not been included did not mean that a valid reserved matters application had not been submitted by the 18 months deadline. On the second ground, the amendment of the application to refer to the section 73 permission did not cause the application to be one that had been submitted under the section 73 permission. Dove LJ states: “Firstly, in my view reading all the documents together, the proper conclusion is the one which I have already set out, namely that the reserved matters application, specified in the application to be for the outline planning permission and described thereafter as such subject only to the observation of a “variation” which was at best merely recording the fact of the section 73 permission, the reasonable reader would have concluded the reserved matters were approved under the outline permission.”

However, the important reminder is what immediately follows:

“It is important to re-emphasise what was observed by Sullivan J in Pye, namely that whilst in statutory language and also common usage a section 73 application is described as a “variation” or “amendment” the truth is that it creates an entirely separate permission. That language is capable of being seriously misleading. The mere reference in the amendment to the description of the existence of an entirely separate planning permission was not in my judgment capable of either transferring the reserved matters application to that entirely separate permission or, alternatively, leading to the inference that permission was being granted under both the outline permission and the section 73 permission.”

What is this reminding us? Well, in basic terms, if you secure reserved matters approval pursuant to an outline planning permission but there is a problem with complying with one of the conditions on the outline planning permission and so you apply to “amend” it under section 73, that “amendment” isn’t engaged, and doesn’t help you, in relation to your build-out of the reserved matters approval. Your reserved matters approval was granted pursuant to the initial outline planning permission. The section 73 application, once approved, results in a separate outline planning permission and the “amendment” would only help you in relation to reserved matters approvals secured pursuant to that section 73 permission (and the deadline may well have expired for submitting reserved matters applications, given that of course – another frustration- section 73 applications can’t be used to secure extensions of time limits for submission of reserved matters or for implementation).

So it is really important to follow the family tree in relation to any planning permission where section 73 permissions have been secured. Under what planning permission were the reserved matters approved that are now being relied upon? If reliance is being placed on any amended form of condition to that contained within the original outline planning permission, is the scheme actually being built out pursuant to that planning permission?

This is a wrinkle which arises with use of section 73, as section 73 application of course results in a fresh permission. The same wrinkle will arise with section 73B. It does not arise with non-material amendments approved pursuant to section 96A, as with section 96A, of course, there is no new permission; the existing permission is varied.

As always, there are potential work-arounds. Often indeed I’m sure the issue goes unnoticed, because after all, where is the “planning harm”? But it’s another one to watch out for. NB thank you to Killian Garvey, whose LinkedIn post on the issue got me a-thinking.

Final Douglas Adams quote, for now at least:

“Narrator: There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory mentioned, which states that this has already happened.”

Simon Ricketts., 19 April 2026

Personal views, et cetera

Back To The Future: New Town Planning

Where are we now on the new towns (the new new towns and in some instances new old towns) following the government’s latest 23 March 2026 announcements and further consultation?

We now have MHCLG’s New Towns Draft Programme, with its Annex A: Draft New Towns Planning Policy and accompanying Strategic Environmental Assessment (prepared by WSP),  all for consultation until 19 May 2026.

“Following this consultation and completion of the SEA and Habitats Regulation Assessments, the government intends to publish final proposals and confirm the New Town programme locations later in summer 2026.”

You will recall MHCLG’s 28 September 2025 initial government response to the New Towns Taskforce’s report published that day. As at that point the government was welcoming all 12 potential new town locations recommended by the taskforce and started a strategic environmental assessment process to “to understand the environmental implications of new towns development. This will support final decisions on precisely which locations we take forward. No final decisions on locations will be made until that SEA concludes and preferred locations could change as a result of the process.”

At that stage: “We are determined to get spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament and the government is prepared to progress work on a far larger range of locations if it proves possible.”

The March 2026 draft programme sets out the objectives for the new towns programme under the following headings: scale (to comprise, or form part of, a new place comprising at least 10,000 homes); economic growth; spread (“geographically spread across England”); deliverability; placemaking.

13 locations have been assessed (the additional one to last year being the “urban regeneration of several sites and delivery of over 48,000 new homes at South Barking in East London”).

As a result of the further assessment work, subject to the outcome of consultation, the government is proposing to take forward seven locations:

  • Tempsford
  • Crews Hill and Chase Park, Enfield
  • Leeds South Bank
  • Manchester Victoria North
  • Thamesmead, Greenwich
  • Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, South Gloucestershire
  • Milton Keynes

The first three are “priority interventions”. Manchester and Thamesmead are “exciting opportunities already in train where the government will provide assistance to maximise development opportunities”. The last two are “scalable schemes of considerable potential where the government will provide support for initial phases while exploring opportunities to further scale up development”.

The six locations not shortlisted “also meet the programme objectives and are propositions that represent credible development opportunities. However, we have had to prioritise central government resources on those sites which have the greatest potential for transformational impact. By meeting our programme objectives, the government has assessed that these 6 locations are strong propositions. Insofar as possible, we are supportive of these sites coming forward as large sites through our established programmes and interventions.”

What does it actually mean to be one of the shortlisted locations? It is intended that there be a “flexible and supportive implementation plan” for each location including: bespoke funding packages; advice and support on delivery vehicle set-up; “programme governance at senior level, with a New Towns Unit (NTU) providing escalation and extra capacity across departments and arm’s‑length bodies, and proactively prioritising resources and innovation for selected locations”; a specific new towns planning policy document which would only apply to the selected new towns, and “establishment of a New Towns Place Review Panel to provide impartial advice to delivery bodies and planning authorities, alongside practical design and placemaking guidance for new town delivery”.

The draft new towns planning policy would take effect once the new towns programme is adopted and would sit alongside the NPPF. Key aspects of the draft policy document:

Development plans should

  • identify New Town locations and their intended scale,  including identifying known boundaries to give clarity on the extent of land for development specifically as a New Town
  • set out the policies that apply  specifically  to any  New Town allocations 
  • identify the infrastructure necessary to support a New Town, both in the early stages of its development and over the longer term, and include measures to support its delivery (such as by allocating land for infrastructure or identifying corridors needed for future infrastructure investment)
  • be consistent with any existing town-wide framework masterplan and town-wide design code prepared to set out the vision for development in each New Town

In decision-making:

  • Substantial weight should be given to the social and economic benefits of New Towns when considering proposals for their development. Where development proposals within a New Town would comprise inappropriate development in the Green Belt, it is likely that that such development would constitute the very special circumstances to justify inappropriate development in the Green Belt. 
  • “To support the development of New Towns and prevent development that would have an unacceptable impact on their delivery, development proposals within identified New Town areas should be consistent with” appended New Towns Placemaking Principles at Appendix A to the draft policy and any emerging or adopted framework masterplan and design code for the New Town. The placemaking principles “include a minimum target of 40% affordable housing, of which at least half are to be available for social rent. The government believes that this should be the expectation for all sites within the programme, while recognising some locations will be more able to meet the target than others, according to local conditions such as the volume of development on brownfield land.”
  • Development proposals in identified New Town areas should be refused if they would have a clear adverse effect on the proposed scale, location or phasing of New Town proposals.
  • Development proposals outside of New Town areas should not have an adverse impact on the delivery of New Towns, including in relation to consistency with Appendix A: New Towns Placemaking Principles.

There is long-awaited confirmation in the draft programme that “…the government considers that the delivery of housing in new town proposals should contribute towards meeting the identified housing need of relevant strategic and LPAs in all instances.”

On land assembly:

“The programme sets ambitious expectations for the quality of infrastructure and placemaking in new town developments. As these locations will require substantial new infrastructure, land values are expected to be affected accordingly.

Subject to the relevant legal requirements and environmental assessments, the organisations responsible for delivering new towns will seek to assemble land at the earliest appropriate stage. Their initial approach will be to work with landowners to acquire land through voluntary negotiation. Where negotiations are not successful, the use of compulsory purchase powers may be considered to ensure that land can be planned and delivered comprehensively and that the public value generated through land value capture is maximised.

Any uplift in land value arising from planning decisions and infrastructure investment can then be reinvested to support the provision of affordable housing, community facilities, and other essential public services.”

The next steps:

“Following this consultation and completion of the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulation Assessments, the government intends to publish final proposals and confirm the new towns locations later in the Summer. We will publish a full government response to the recommendations of the New Towns Taskforce, including more detail on how our confirmed locations will be delivered in line with our ambition for the programme.

Following confirmation of which locations will be taken forward through the New Towns Programme, the government will use every lever at its disposal to prioritise early delivery of homes and infrastructure. This includes establishing clear programme governance through a single front door to government, agreeing delivery vehicles for selected locations, and mobilising funding and business case work with local partners to enable infrastructure-first masterplanning.

Community engagement is a core part of the placemaking approach set out in our programme objectives. The government will continue to engage with communities, local authorities, delivery bodies, and investors throughout this process to ensure that new towns are planned and delivered to the highest standards of design, sustainability, and long-term stewardship. This consultation will be the first of many opportunities for people to shape the design and creation of the next generation of new towns. Tailored to each location, these opportunities will include formal routes such as future place-specific consultations as well in-person engagement and social impact activities to ensure residents and businesses have a key role in shaping their future community throughout the lifetime of the programme.”

Onwards!

(Incidentally, our 1 June “Ten Years’ Time” event is now sold out (thank you all). I’ll be interested to ask our panellists what 2036 holds for the programme. Wouldn’t it be fascinating to have a time machine?).

Simon Ricketts, 12 April 2026

Personal views, et cetera.

“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”.

(Image courtesy of Roger Ce, Unsplash)

Further Measures To Discourage LPA Refusals Of Large Housing Schemes…Activated

Once we are the other side of the local elections, there are a couple of procedural changes to be aware of which take effect from 11 May, both flagged in my 8 March 2026 blog post Planning Committees That Refuse Planning Applications Against Officers’ Advice: 5 Impending Procedural Protections for Applicants.

The Government has introduced requirements for local planning authorities to consult the Secretary of State before refusing applications for planning permission for developments of 150 or more homes, and to consult the Mayor of London before refusing applications for planning permission for developments for 50 or more homes in London. The relevant legislation comprises:

The Consultation Direction applies to applications for planning permission which (a) include provision of 150 or more houses and/or flats and (b) which have not been determined by a Local Planning Authority before 11 May 2026 (“Relevant Development”).

It provides that the LPA, where it proposes to refuse a planning application for Relevant Development, must consult the Secretary of State before finally determining the application.

The LPA must send the following as soon as practicable to MHCLG:

– Application documents;

– A copy of the requisite notice;

– A copy of representations made to the authority relating to the application;

– A copy of any report on the application made by an officer of the authority; and

– A statement of the LPA’s proposed reasons for refusal where not contained in a report.

The Mayor of London Order amends the powers under The Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 which enable the Mayor of London to direct that he determine applications for certain developments himself.

Developments which fall under Category 3D, which includes development involving the construction of buildings with over 1,000 square metres of floor space or a material change of use of such a building, on land allocated as Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land, and of Potential Strategic Importance (within the meaning of the 2008 Order), may now be called in for determination by the Mayor of London.

In addition, a new category of development is inserted into the Schedule to the 2008 Order: Category 3J. Category 3J concerns applications for the development of more than 50 houses and/or flats (“Relevant London Development”).

The Mayor of London Order requires an LPA to notify the Mayor of London when it receives a planning application for Relevant London Development. There is no requirement for the Mayor of London to respond.

The LPA will also be unable to refuse planning permission for Relevant London Development without (a) further notifying the Mayor of London, and (b) waiting for 21 days to pass beginning with the date the Mayor of London is notified in writing and which the relevant documents are received. The relevant documents required to be provided to the Mayor of London are slightly different to that required under the Consultation Direction. These include:

– A copy of representations made to the authority relating to the application;

– A copy of any report on the application made by an officer of the authority;

– A statement setting out the reasons the LPA proposes to refuse the applications, giving full reasons for that proposed refusal; and

– A statement setting out any proposed planning conditions, a draft of any proposed planning obligations, and details of any proposed planning contribution.

For Relevant Development, the appropriate point at which the documents should be sent will be once either the relevant LPA planning committee has resolved to refuse the application, or once an officer has reached that decision in exercise of the officer’s delegated powers.

The Secretary of State will then have an initial period of 21 days within which to decide whether to call-in for his own determination the application. Within that period, he could of course use his existing power under Article 31 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 to direct the local planning authority to delay further its decision in order to give himself further time to decide whether to exercise his call-in powers.

For Relevant London Development, notice must be provided to the Mayor of London at two points: (1) when the LPA receives an application for Relevant London Development and (2) when the LPA planning committee resolves to refuse an application for Relevant London Development, or once an officer reaches that decision under his delegated powers. In the latter case, notice of all the relevant documents listed above must be provided to the Mayor of London and he will similarly have a period of 21 days within which to decide whether to call-in the application for Relevant London Development for his own determination.

[Thanks to my colleague Adam Choudhury for allowing me to use for the above an internal summary he prepared this week for the Town Legal team].

So, this is an interesting ratcheting up of the level of scrutiny applied to decisions by local planning authorities to refuse planning permission for major housing development. But, in the timeless words of Morrissey, what difference will it make?

Of course, there may be some gaming of the system, when is there not? Some local planning authorities may choose to defer decisions, leaving applicants in a dilemma as to whether to appeal on the basis of non-determination. There will be even more need for applicants to make sure that application packages are robustly prepared and in a good state to be subject to the scrutiny of the Secretary of State or Mayor as the case may be, both in terms of legal compliance but also in terms of pressing the right political and planning policy buttons. And the Secretary of State and Mayor of London will need to play their part, by exercising those call-in powers appropriately and thereafter proceeding to determine applications without undue delay.

But, overall, surely, this is all positive…

[For more discussion on this subject I recommend yesterday’s 50 Shades of Planning podcast Some Things Just Take Time].

Since my 8 March 2026 blog post we also now of course MHCLG’s 26 March 2026 Planning committee reform: statutory consultation on draft Regulations and guidance, together with MHCLG’s response in relation to its earlier consultation process, as well as the draft Regulations which are due to come into force on 30 September 2026. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook made a written ministerial statement  the same day. In basic summary, Schedule 1 of the draft Regulations lists those applications which must be determined by an officer. Schedule 2 lists those applications which may be determined by an officer unless the authority’s nominated officer and nominated member agree that the proposal raises:

  • one or more issues of economic, social or environmental significance to the local area
  • one or more significant planning matters having regard to the development plan and any other material consideration

When taken with the new procedures for written representations appeals now in effect for applications submitted from 1 April (see my 15 April 2026 blog post Don’t Be An April Fool: Written Reps Planning Appeals Are About To Get Faster But Also Riskier), Mr Pennycook is soon going to be in a position to say to developers (again in the words of Morrissey):

You’ve got everything now.

Simon Ricketts, 5 April 2026

Personal views, et cetera

NB Thank you to subscribers who have already bought tickets for our 1 June event. In fact, we have been blown away with the interest. If it’s not already sold out it soon will be, so I don’t yet know whether any tickets will be left for general sale on Tuesday. Well I wonder.

Pre-Sale Now Open Until 7 April: Tickets to 1 June Event “Ten Years’ Time”

There aren’t many perks to subscribing to this blog but here’s one: I described this forthcoming unique event, featuring a range of well known planning and planning law bloggers, podcasters and writers, in my 15 March blog post. We hope to raise a good amount of money for London youth charity XLP.

There are only 120 tickets available and you have the opportunity, before they go on general sale on 7 April 2026, to secure places for yourself and colleagues at this link. First come first served.

Many thanks indeed to the generous sponsors of this event without which et cetera: Town Legal; Lichfields; Birketts; DHA; Origin Legal.

Simon Ricketts