He outlined new planning principles for councils to consider when determining planning applications for school developments with local support. The changes will allow school promoters to be confident about progressing their proposals and new free schools to be set up quickly in response to demand from local people.
Local Planning Authorities and the Planning Inspectorate will be expected to take the statement into account as a material consideration when determining all planning applications for school development. Local authorities should:
- Attach very significant weight to the desirability of establishing new schools and to enabling local people to do so.
- Adopt a positive and constructive approach towards applications to create new schools, and seek to mitigate any negative impacts of development through the use of planning conditions or planning obligations, as appropriate.
- Only refuse planning permission for a new school if the adverse planning impacts on the local area outweigh the desirability of establishing a school in that area. Where a local authority refuses permission on this basis, the Government will ask the Planning Inspectorate to deal swiftly with any appeal that is lodged.
The Government will shortly be consulting on proposed changes to the Use Classes Order to reduce unnecessary regulation and make it easier for buildings currently used for other uses to be converted to schools.
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