Recent High Court judgements have found that legal agreements made under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (which accompany a planning permission), must be published by the Council before planning permission is finally determined.

Previously, it was considered sufficient for the relevant Council to publish a copy of any planning obligation or agreement relating to highway work at the same time as the decision notice is issued. However, the relevant Order for England requires that a planning obligation or agreement relating to highway work be published before a planning application is finally determined.

In a recent Court of Appeal case, various parties had an interest in a specific planning obligation. The court held that the purpose of publishing the agreement before the decision is to enable members of the public to understand the terms of a proposed or agreed planning obligation and to allow them to comment if they wish.

This is not an opportunity to comment on whether planning permission should be granted. Rather, it allows interested parties to provide comments on the terms of the planning obligation itself.

There are two key implications of this ruling:

1.         The time required to determine an application will now need to include the publication period for a planning obligation or relevant highways agreement (approximately one week).

2.         Interested parties have the right to comment on the terms of a planning obligation.

While comments do not automatically mean that the terms of the obligation/agreement must be changed, the ruling demonstrates the Government’s clear intention that anyone with property or contractual interests should have a fair opportunity to review and comment on these agreements. As a result, planning obligations and relevant highway agreements may now be subject to greater public scrutiny, which could potentially lead to delays if significant issues are raised.

If you have any queries we would be happy to help: planning@union4.co.uk