The Government's Localism Bill has received royal assent, devolving power from central government and local authorities to local people. Although, most of the changes to the planning system won't become law until April 2012, as Angus Walker, planning partner at Bircham Dyson Bell LLP points out, local authorities have an immediate duty to co-operate.
"Most of the planning measures that will be put in place as part of the Localism Act won't actually take effect until April 2012, but what many may not have realised, is that the local authorities have an immediate duty to co-operate with each other on planning issues," explains Angus Walker.
"That means that where planning policies in one local authority area affect those of a neighbouring local authority, they now have a statutory duty to co-operate and communicate between each other.
"This would be most evident in cases where policies for some type of development affect infrastructure across local authority borders. For example, if the policies made by one authority would cause roads in the neighbouring authority to become clogged up, the two authorities now have a duty to co-operate in the interests of the public generally.
The much debated abolition of Regional Spatial Strategies is also dealt with in the Act but the abolitions will not happen until the end of January at the earliest as the Government is currently consulting on the environmental impact of abolition."
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