The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. 

The Act has brought about a number of key changes to the planning system. The following key changes are of particular note:

1. The requirement for local authorities to have a design code in place which will set out things like where homes will be built, how they will look etc. 
2. The introduction of a new ‘Infrastructure Levy’ to replace the Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 planning obligations. The rates and thresholds will be set in charging schedules by local planning authorities so that they can be tailored to local circumstances. 
3. The requirement for local authorities to prepare infrastructure delivery strategies in order to outline how they intend to spend the levy. 
4. Greater weight will be given to local plans, neighbourhood plans and spatial development strategies proposed by mayors or combined authorities when decisions are made on applications, and local plans, minerals and waste plans, supplementary plans and neighbourhood plans will all be required to take account of new local nature recovery strategies.  
5. A requirement for each local authority to prepare a local plan, detailing only locally specific matters. Policies on issues more generally that will apply to most areas will be contained within a suite of National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) which will be subject to consultation, except in exceptional circumstances, but will not require parliamentary approval. Local plans and NDMPs will carry the same weight and should both be fully taken into account when making decisions. 
6. A requirement that policies designated as NDMPs will have regard to the need to mitigate, and adapt to, climate change, taking into account the range of climate scenarios and risks relevant to the policies being developed. 
7. The abolition of the duty to cooperate. Groups of authorities will be able to collaborate to produce a voluntary spatial development strategy on specific cross-boundary issues. 
8. The introduction of a new power for planning authorities to create supplementary plans for use where policies for specific sites need to be prepared quickly. 
9. The introduction of neighbourhood priorities statements which will provide communities with a simpler and more accessible way to set out their key priorities and preferences for their local areas and will need to be taken into account by local authorities when preparing local plans. 
10. The introduction of a ‘street votes system’ which will permit residents to propose development on their street and hold a vote on whether it should be given planning permission. The Act confers regulation-making powers relating to the preparation and making of an order, and regulation-making power on the Secretary of State to specify or describe development to be excluded from the remit of street vote development orders. 
11. The introduction of a new route to allow the Crown to apply directly to the Secretary of State to determine nationally important development.
12. The removal of current loopholes which are being exploited in relation to planning enforcement. The changes are intended to strengthen the powers of local planning authorities and include the introduction of enforcement warning notices, making timescales more consistent, and allowing additional time for investigation of breaches. 
13. Providing designated heritage assets, such as parks and gardens and World Heritage Sites, the same statutory protection in the planning system as listed buildings and conservation areas. 
14. Changes to the compulsory purchase order system will allow local authorities to acquire brownfield land compulsorily for regeneration in their area. Ministers will also be able to disapply the hope value of land obtained via a compulsory purchase order where justified. 
15. The introduction of a new locally-led Urban Development Corporation (LUDC) the purpose of which will be to allow non-mayoral areas to pursue a LUDC for the purposes of regeneration for their area which will be accountable to local authorities rather than the Secretary of State.
16. The increase in planning application fees which are to be raised by 35% for major applications and 25% for minor applications and the expansion of the existing performance framework to measure performance across a broader range of measures.
17. A simplification of the power to issue completion notices to make it easier for planning authorities to issue completion notices to developers to complete their projects and the introduction of commencement notices which will be required when a scheme with planning permission starts on site. 
18. The piloting of 'Community Land Auctions' will allow planning authorities to partially base their land allocation decisions on the option price of sites offered to them by developers; authorities will allocate land based on both planning considerations and the option price, and will then auction the development rights onto a successful bidder once land is allocated in the adopted plan. 
19. Making current powers which require developers to engage with communities before an application is submitted a permanent requirement. 
20. The introduction of a power for councils to refuse to determine an application for planning permission in cases where there was a previous application relating to land within the authority’s area and development was not begun or has been carried out unreasonably slowly. 
21. The introduction of a power for the Secretary of State to allow certain public authorities to charge fees for the provision of advice, information or other assistance in connection with Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project applications.
22. The introduction of a new duty on councils in relation to granting permission for self-build and custom-build housing. Any demand within a 12-month period for self-build or custom-build housing that has not been met should be included in the next 12-month period. Further, the Secretary of State will be able to specify descriptions of planning permissions or permissions in principle that will count as development permissions for the purpose of a local planning authority complying with its duty to meet the demand for self-build and custom-build housing.
23. A new power for the Secretary of State to permit a person taking part in certain proceedings relating to planning, development or the compulsory purchase of land to do so wholly or partly remotely. Councils will not be afforded the same right.
24. A new power for the Secretary of State to require a local planning authority to reimburse the Government for expenditure in connection with local plan advice costs. 

It should be noted that the majority of the changes made by the Act will have not commenced and will require secondary legislation, particularly the sections directly related to development management and plan-making.

If you have any questions regarding the changes brought in by the Act or wish to discuss the Act further please do not hesitate to contact Max Howarth or Stuart Evans.