This year marks 20 years since I started my career in planning.
In 2006, I joined Horsham District Council’s Planning Department, where I spent the first eight years of my planning career working within the local authority before moving into private planning consultancy.
Twenty years later, I am still working extensively within Horsham planning, although now from the other side of the process, representing homeowners, landowners, businesses and developers through WPS Planning.
Having experienced the system from both sides provides an interesting perspective on just how much planning has changed.
The fundamental questions remain familiar: Is the development acceptable? What effect will it have on its neighbours? Does it fit its surroundings? Is the location appropriate?
But the system surrounding those questions has become considerably more complicated.
Horsham Planning in 2006
When I started at Horsham District Council in 2006, the planning system was certainly not simple. Planning officers still dealt with significant caseloads, difficult applications, objections, negotiations, committee reports and appeals.
However, the policy and technical environment was very different.
Applications tended to involve fewer supporting documents and fewer specialist considerations. The planning officer was often able to spend a greater proportion of their time concentrating on the fundamental planning merits of a proposal, its use, design, relationship with neighbouring properties and compliance with local planning policy.
National planning policy was also structured very differently.
Rather than today’s National Planning Policy Framework, national policy was spread across Planning Policy Guidance notes and Planning Policy Statements covering individual subjects.
The first NPPF did not arrive until 2012.
Since then, national planning policy has been revised repeatedly. For applicants, this means the policy environment within which a site is considered can change substantially over a relatively short period.
The Planning Officer’s job has changed
One of the biggest differences I see between planning in 2006 and planning today is the sheer breadth of matters that can now form part of determining what initially appears to be a relatively straightforward application.
A planning officer today may need to consider matters such as biodiversity net gain, nutrient or water neutrality, habitats, drainage, flood risk, highways, trees, heritage, housing supply, viability, affordable housing and increasingly detailed validation requirements.
Not every application engages all of these issues, but the overall process has unquestionably become more technically demanding.
From an applicant’s perspective, it can sometimes feel frustrating when an application takes longer than expected or when there is limited opportunity for discussion with an officer. Having previously worked within a planning department, I also appreciate the pressures that exist on the other side of the process.
Planning officers have to determine applications within prescribed timescales while balancing local and national policy, technical consultee responses, representations from neighbours and parish councils, changing legislation and, in many cases, substantial workloads.
That makes getting an application right at the beginning increasingly important.
Government Policy has become much more fluid
Another major change has been the speed at which national planning policy evolves.
Housing delivery is a particularly good example.
Successive governments have made significant changes to housing requirements, housing land supply and the circumstances in which national policy supports development.
For landowners and developers, this creates an important point: the planning prospects of a site are not necessarily static.
A site that was refused several years ago should not automatically be written off forever. Equally, a site that appeared relatively straightforward several years ago may now face additional policy or technical requirements.
Planning history remains important, but it needs to be considered against the policy framework that applies today.
Horsham itself is changing
There are significant changes taking place locally too.
Changes to local planning policy and the preparation of future development plans will continue to influence where new homes, employment development and infrastructure are directed across Horsham District.
For anyone who owns land with development potential, it is therefore important to understand both the current development plan and the direction in which future policy is moving.
Changes in national policy can also alter the weight given to different considerations locally, meaning that development opportunities should be reviewed periodically rather than assessed once and forgotten.
Is it harder to get planning permission Today?
It is tempting to answer this with a simple yes or no, but after 20 years in planning I don’t think that accurately reflects how the system works.
Some forms of development have become considerably more complicated because of additional policy, environmental and technical requirements.
Conversely, changes to national policy can create opportunities for development that might previously have struggled to obtain permission.
What has undoubtedly changed is the importance of strategy.
Submitting drawings and waiting to see what the Council says can be an expensive approach.
Before making a planning application, it is increasingly important to understand the site’s planning history, the development plan, current national policy, technical constraints and the likely concerns of the planning authority.
From Horsham Planning Officer to Planning Consultant
Having started my career within Horsham Planning in 2006, and having spent eight years working at Horsham District Council, I have seen the planning system from both sides.
That experience continues to influence the way I approach applications today.
Understanding how a planning officer is likely to assess an application and what information they need in order to reach a positive recommendation, is just as important as understanding the aspirations of the applicant.
The objective should not simply be to submit an application.
It should be to identify the potential problems early, develop the strongest planning case available and submit an application that makes it as straightforward as possible for the planning authority to reach a positive decision.
Considering a Planning Application in Horsham?
If you are considering developing land, extending or altering a property, changing the use of a building or challenging a planning refusal, obtaining advice before committing to an application can save considerable time and expense.
WPS Planning provides independent Horsham planning advice to homeowners, landowners, businesses and developers throughout Horsham District.
Services include planning appraisals and feasibility advice, pre-application submissions, planning applications, Certificates of Lawfulness, changes of use, planning appeals and planning enforcement advice.
With 20 years’ planning experience, beginning within Horsham District Council’s own Planning Department, WPS Planning can provide an early assessment of your proposal and advise on the most appropriate strategy before you proceed.
Considering a planning project in Horsham? Contact WPS Planning to discuss your site and the best way forward.