Planning

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed proposals from the Department of Communities and Local Government which aim to make the appeals system for business rates more efficient.

The consultation was launched this week by High Streets Minister Marcus Jones, who claims that the plans will ensure businesses can be confident that their valuations are fair whilst attempting to curb the number of speculative appeals going through the system.

Under the proposed reforms, businesses would go through a 3-stage process:

ACS has urged MPs to support the development of new convenience stores ahead of a debate on pub conversions.

In a statement, the Department for Communities and Local Government said that they plan to ‘bring forward secondary legislation at the earliest opportunity so that in England the listing of a pub as an Asset of Community Value will trigger a removal of the national permitted development rights for the change of use or demolition of those pubs that communities have identified as providing the most community benefit.’

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed a report by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee criticising the application of planning policy by local authorities.  In its report on the operation of the National Planning Policy Framework, the Committee has drawn attention to shortcomings in the way planning decisions are reached, and has made a number of recommendations relating to town centres and retail planning, including:

MPs have raised question about the effectiveness of the planning system to direct new retail investment in town centres during an oral evidence session on the National Planning Policy Framework.  John Pugh MP for Southport and member of the Communities and Local Government Selection Committee referenced ACS’ (the Association of Convenience Stores) report ‘Retail Planning Decision Under the NPPF’ during the evidence session.

We hear from CAMRA this morning that 31 pubs are closing each week. I’ll start and finish this blog with a personal observation you may wish to dismiss as just that.