Government to cut down planning red tape

The government is planning major changes to planning laws that will mean householders will have less red tape to deal with when making home improvements.

The planning white paper aims to make it easier to carry out home improvements such as extensions and conservatives, as well as encouraging environmentally-friendly home improvements.

Under the proposals, planning permission for minor home improvements and adding eco-friendly features such as solar panels will no longer be required "where it is clear they have little or no impact on neighbouring properties."

The planning application process is also set to get simpler, along with a fast-track appeals system seeing standard householder appeal decisions go from 16 to eight weeks.

Additionally, minor amendments to planning permission, such as moving the position of a door after the permission has been granted, will no longer need a further full planning application.

However, local authorities will have more powers to deal with what they consider "eyesore developments".

The plans were welcomed by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), who said the moves would help ensure home improvement will be "far less onerous" than they currently are.

However, the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) was more critical of the plans.

"We welcome efforts to cut red tape on microgeneration or small-scale applications so that planning attention can be focussed where it needs to be. But unless good design is entrenched into the planning system, it just means that poor decisions can be made a little more quickly," Jack Pringle, Riba president.