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Free schools - will they also be free from planning control?
11 October 2010
The government recognised in their 'Open Source Planning 2007
Policy Green Paper No.14', that there were barriers in the current
planning and building control systems which would make the setting
up of free schools problematic. They set out the basis for a
radical schools policy to encourage the creation of new schools,
supported by the Conservative underlying principles of:-
- an open source planning system to encourage sustainable
development
- restoration of democratic and local control to the planning
process
- a simpler, quicker, cheaper and less bureaucratic planning
system
In order to address this issue, the Government proposes to make
significant changes to positively encourage the creation of new
community schooling.
These issues were further explored in a joint paper by two
organisations closely affiliated to the government, policy exchange
and new schools network, called ‘Blocking the best – obstacles to
new, independent state schools’, which Browne Jacobson was involved
in. The main issues identified are:
Land use – All land uses in the UK are classified with the
intention being that users within the same class can use land
without the express need for planning permission. Educational
establishments are class D1 and in recent years the amount of land
available in class D1 has reduced due to local authorities selling
off surplus land. The Government green paper has therefore proposed
changes to ensure that the current stock of land available for new
schools is preserved. This will be achieved by requiring that all
existing D1 land will be preserved unless the Secretary of State
for Children, Schools and Families grants consent.
Planning permission – Obtaining planning permission for
educational use can be difficult. Issues such as infrastructure
requirements to regulate traffic and the ability for local
residents to object to schools being established in a locality
through the planning process have been identified. The Government
proposes to legislate to give permitted development rights to
change the use of any existing building to educational use.
Further, they propose a new schools consent regime for new-build
programmes which would be assessed against the Government’s new
national planning framework and would involve a scaled down
planning process similar to the infrastructure planning system,
involving focussed planning inquiries with the ultimate decision
resting with the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and
Families.
Environmental and building controls – Those involved with BSF
will have first hand experience of the issues with building control
and the stringent requirements for educational buildings.
Recognising these issues, Eric Pickles, made a ministerial
statement on the 26th July 2010 setting out the Government’s
commitment to localism and the ‘big society’ and the need to
empower local people to set up schools to respond to local needs.
He also recognised that there was a need to simplify the planning
process for these projects. He has set out a framework that local
planning authorities must now give significant weight to in the
decision making process. Local planning authorities are required
to:
attach very significant weight to the desirability of
establishing new schools and to enabling local people to do so;
adopt a positive and constructive approach towards applications
to create new schools, and seek to mitigate any negative impacts of
development through the use of planning conditions or planning
obligations, as appropriate;
only refuse planning permission for a new school if the adverse
planning impacts on the local area outweigh the desirability of
establishing a school in that area.
Eric Pickle’s ministerial statement does not go as far as some
proposals that had been suggested, such as removing free schools
from local planning authority control altogether, but it is a
significant step and one that local planning authorities will have
to give effect to given its status as a material planning
consideration in any applications for free schools which come
forward. He did not make any statement in respect of building
control so it remains to be seen what changes will be made in this
regard when further legislation is proposed during the
autumn.
This article was first published on
www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
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