The Government’s proposed planning reforms could lead to unintended consequences if they go through as drafted according to law firm Beachcroft.

Anne Harrison a specialist planning and environment lawyer at the firm said: “The reforms haven’t been thought through properly and could cause chaos if they go through as currently drafted.

“The new 'presumption in favour of sustainable development', as drafted, is potentially the most damaging element of the proposed changes. This is meant to get development underway whilst keeping vital environmental protections but is actually a disingenuous title. In reality, this will mean that where local authorities have not contemplated a particular type of development and provided for it in their local plan, or if the plan is out of date, a development proposal will automatically be granted planning permission with no assessment and therefore no consideration of how sustainable it is. As a result, this is really a ‘presumption in favour of development’. If that's what the Government intend then they shouldn't be dressing it up as ‘sustainable’.

“In addition, there is no transition period proposed so local authorities will not have any time to amend their plans to bring them in line with the new policies.  As soon as the National Planning Policy Framework is published therefore, their plans will be out of date and the presumption will start to apply.

“The Government has been quick to criticise the current planning regulations but is in grave danger of ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater’ - the outcome could well be the complete opposite of what it’s actually trying to achieve.”