The Planning Officers’ Society welcomes the consultation paper and the opportunity given to comment on the Government’s proposals.

It is noted that the objectives of the proposals for reforming and improving planning obligations is to provide greater transparency and certainty for all stakeholders and help enable developers and local planning authorities to avoid the delays that occur under the current system.

The Planning Officers’ Society supports both objectives.

In addition to improving the present system of negotiated agreements, the intention to legislate to enable the Government to establish a new optional planning charge, as an alternative to negotiated planning obligations, is welcomed.

The Planning Officers’ Society supports the proposal, in principle, for an optional planning charge, as promoted in its response to the Green Paper.  However, it considers that both the local planning authority as well as the developer should be able to choose between the optional planning charge or negotiated planning obligation method.

In setting optional planning charges however, the Planning Officers’ Society believes that the ODPM or possibly the Regional Assembly, may have to set a base level charge to ensure consistency across regions or sub-regions to preclude local planning authorities being played off against each other.

The Planning Officers’ Society would highlight the potential for the use of ‘grampian style’ conditions imposed on the grant of planning permission as a means of collecting a tariff, which overcomes the necessity for a planning obligation.