Extension to new fast-track ‘Permission in Principle’ process

The Government has announced that new measures to extend the new fast-track ‘Permission in Principle’ (PiP) process will be introduced on 1st June 2018. PiP was introduced by the Government in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 with the aim of providing a fast-track route through the planning process, in the hope of speeding up housing delivery.

As well as introducing fees for PiP of £402 per 0.1 hectare, the Government has also published an order to allow developers to submit applications to local authorities for PiP. It splits the application process in two, so that a proposed residential development can secure PiP first, achieving full permission later through a further technical details consent.

Under the regulations in force since last April, Councils can grant planning permission ‘in principle’ for housing and ‘compatible’ non-residential developments on sites identified as suitable in part 2 of their Brownfield Land Registers