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Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004

Volume 686: debated on Tuesday 7 November 2006

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their assessment of the effect of Part 2 of the Planning and Compulsory PurchaseAct 2004 on the planning system in terms of speed, transparency, the level of bureaucracy and general effectiveness; and what actions they are taking to review the operation of the Act.[HL7816]

As part of the implementation of the new planning system, my department set up in 2005 a three-year research project, the Spatial Plans in Practice, which looks at how the new plan preparation process is being implemented. The aim of the research is to assess the overall effectiveness of the new arrangements in plan preparation and to identify areas needing improvement and good practice which will be disseminated to all practitioners. Outputs from the research are being published on a continuous basis during the three-year life of the project.

In addition, the Barker review of land use planning is exploring the efficiency of planning processes as part of a wider review of planning. The review's final report will be issued towards the end of the year.