Simplifying Planning Law in Wales

Planning law in Wales is unnecessarily complicated and, in places, difficult to understand’ – not our words, but those of The Law Commission which has been asked by the Welsh Government to review Welsh planning law and make proposals for technical reforms. The problems with the Welsh legislation partly stem from the fact that the planning legislation in Wales has not been consolidated since the Town and Country Planning Act in 1990 but also because the law in England and the law in Wales has increasingly gone in different directions. The Law Commission explains that, for example, new legislation made in the Welsh Assembly and in Parliament might apply to Wales only, to England only, or to both, which makes the legislation extremely hard to navigate.

The reason for The Law Commission’s current involvement is that the Welsh Government is preparing a new Planning Code, which it is hoped will receive Royal Assent in 2020. The Law Commission therefore carried out a scoping exercise in June 2016 and produced a scoping paper setting out their preliminary proposals, and on 30th November they produced a full Consultation Paper which sets out their conclusions on the scope of the project and outlines their proposals for technical reforms.

The consultation process lasts for three months - until 1 March 2018 - after which date The Law Commission will use the responses received to produce a final report for the Welsh Government.

The Consultation Paper and more details can be found here: http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/planning-law-in-wales/

The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.