The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have announced that planning and listed building consents, due to expire between 23rd March 2020 and 31st December 2020, will be extended until 1st April 2021, as part of recovery measures in the light of Covid-19.

The new measures follow lobbying by the development sector since lockdown commenced and will allow work to commence on sites and permissions to be implemented, where they may otherwise not have been, given the lockdown restrictions.

MHCLG estimate that this will extend the life of permissions for over 24,000 new homes and in some cases will increase the longevity of consents by over a year on top of the standard 3 year lifespan.

Whilst details are still to be confirmed by MHCLG, those permissions that have lapsed between 23rd March and the date at which the new measures come into force, will be subject to an Additional Environmental Approval process before the automatic extension can take effect.

Further details, including the date at which these measures will take effect, will be set out in due course.