The article discusses the town and country planning regulations that are in place in the UK as of now
Outline of the Planning System
The responsibility of undertaking town and country planning rests with the Local Planning Authority (LPA) in the district/unitary/ or the London Borough Council of the area. It is the primary of the duty of the LPA to ensure that the land development is carried out in a regular and phased manner.
The LPA is guided by central and local government policies, and with help from the Local Development Framework (LDF) for the area. LDF is a collection of documents telling how LPA will manage the land in the area. This also includes any saved policies from old plans that were planned before the LDF.
Besides the LDF, the local planning authority also seeks help from the guidelines issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government. With respect to Wales, the Welsh Assembly has the responsibility for planning the framework.
Legislation
The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is the main legislation with respect to local planning. There have been many changes to the Act, in order to make it more effective and faster. The Coalition government has made an effort to streamline the process to make it easier for people to comply with planning legislations.
Relevance of Planning to the Transaction
Whether a building can be built, altered or extended depends on the planning law that exists at the time. A buyer looking to buy a property should know if the building he is buying has the necessary permission and that it is used for authorised purpose. The penalty for breach of planning control is heavy and runs with the land. Thus, a buyer with property in breach of planning control can be fined, even though it was his predecessor who had committed the breach.
Sometimes the buyer may have to alter or extend the property or carry out repairs after he has purchased the property and hence has to be aware of the regulations relating to the property. Permission from the LPA is sometimes required to carry out such repair work. If such permission is required, it is the duty of the buyer’s solicitor to advise accordingly before the contract is exchanged. Also, it has to be ascertained whether the planning is to be sought before or after the exchange of contract.
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