Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP’s announcement of recent that Commissioners will take over the administration of Liverpool City Council shook the city, but should developers and anyone who received planning permission in the last four years be worried?
The Commissioners have been asked to investigate concerns about planning, highways, regeneration, and property management at Liverpool City Council specifically, so planning permissions and the decision-making processes that led to them may be under scrutiny.
Ordinary routes of planning challenges are likely to have long expired. Planning permissions are being implemented and built out throughout the Liverpool City Region. However, what if you don’t want to build out what you have approved? What happens if you need to revise a development that received planning permission in the last four years?
It seems plausible that these are the applications that will fall under the remit of the Commissioners and may require a greater degree of support at this stage.
This potentially straddles legal aspects in several nuance areas; planning, environmental, government administration, local authority process and procedure.
Local Planning Authorities have a plethora of powers that could be exercised to revoke an earlier approved permission or prevent a development from being implement, despite it having received planning permission previously.
If you have any of the following in the Liverpool city region:
- Planning permission granted in the last four years implemented in the last 12 months
- Planning permission due to expire in the next 12 months
- A scheme with permission that requires revision
Then it would be worthwhile to take a moment to consider how this will be received by the Local Planning Authority, particularly if that is Liverpool City Council.
If in doubt, please get in touch with Pamela Chesterman, Head of Planning Pamela@prosperitylaw.com or 07422725202.
For further information and a deeper understanding of planning law, refer to this comprehensive guide written by Pamela earlier this year ‘Understand Planning Law’.
