A short tour round the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013

The Coalition’s flagship Growth and Infrastructure Bill is no more.

But do not worry yourselves. Royal Assent has transformed it into the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013. Gone for good are its clauses, to be replaced by sections.

So what are we left with after all of the political grandstanding, the interest group lobbying, the various debates and the horse trading?

Well, to start with the Act only amends other Acts. It does not stand on its own and will never really be referred to as legislation itself. On a practical point though this also reinforces the view that it is important not to use original HMSO copies of legislation when trying to establish what the precise position is because of subsequent and (so it so often seems) continual amendment.

Please also note that not all of the provisions come into force on the date of Royal Assent so that in the text set out below sections with an asterisk come into effect on 25th April 2013 (Royal Assent); the sections with a cross automatically come into effect on 25th June 2013 (two months after Royal Assent), while the remainder will only come into effect by means of later 'commencement order(s)'.

Finally, also note that some provisions provide for the making of detailed delegated or secondary legislation and therefore we will not know precisely what we are in for until we see the regulations or orders in Statutory Instrument.

In the meantime the Act provides as follows:

• S1 allows certain planning applications to be made directly to the Planning Inspectorate instead of to be defined poorly-performing local authorities (s1(1)* so far as it inserts the new section 62B in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended)) 
• Ss2 & 3 provide greater powers to award costs in planning inquiries
• S4* deals with permitted development orders for changes of use and provides for neighbour consultations for house extensions (see my earlier post entitled “Permitted Development, Residential extensions and the law of unintended consequences”)
• S5 removes pre-adoption local development order intervention powers
• S6 restricts local authority’s in what information they can require with planning applications
• S7* allows for modification of s106 agreements relating to affordable housing provisions (New guidance has also been issued dealing with this element)
• S8 deals with local authority disposals of land held for planning purposes at less than best value
• S9* relaxes permitted development rules for telecommunication equipment
• S10 deals with the requirements for reviewing old mineral planning permissions
• Ss11†, 12† & 13 reforms the mechanisms for stopping up and diverting of highways and public paths
• Ss14 - 15, 16* & 17† limits the impact of town and village green registration applications
• Ss18†, 19*, 20 - 21 deals with energy consenting issues
• S22 removes the need to seek consent under the Planning Act for varying certain approvals received under previous regimes
• S23 removes the need for certificates under ss127, 137 & 138 of the Planning Act 2008
• Ss24 & 25 limits the scope of Special Parliamentary Procedure relating to development consent and conpulsory acquisition
• S26* extends the Planning Act regime to certain business and commercial projects
• S27 replaces existing provisions in development consent orders relating to road user charging
• S28 amends the Mayor of London's planning delegation powers
• Ss29† & 30† delay the revaluation of business rates for two years
• S31 introduces the employees’ shares-for-rights scheme
• Ss32*, 33*, 34 - 36 deal with typical procedural provisions relating to Orders, Consequential Amendments, Financial Provisions, Commencement and Title & extent of the Act 
• Schedule 1 puts flesh on the bones of the s1 provisions
• Schedule 2* deals with the s7 modifications
• Schedule 3 deals with the s10 provisions
• Schedule 4* follows on from s16 and adds a new Schedule 1A to the Commons Act 2006.