0835 Leisure Summer 08_aw.indd - HLL Humberts Leisure

1APP | The future of planningWelcome to the futureAn overview of recent changes toplanning application submissions inEngland by HLL’s Simon DavisYou may have become aware that the standard planning applicationform on which an application is made has recently changed. Thisis the English Government’s new ‘National Standard PlanningApplication Form’, or 1APP as it is known. The forms were rolledout gradually by individual local authorities but on April 6th 2008,they became the new standard for all planning submissions acrossEngland.New forms & use of the InternetThese new standardised forms are the latest step in theGovernment’s campaign to streamline the planning system andencourage applications to be submitted online. 1APP supersedesthe previous system in which it was necessary to obtain the specificapplication forms of the local authority concerned. The old systemgenerally worked well in that copies of the forms were ordered bypost in advance of the application being submitted. However, asplanning and modern working has evolved, it is now more likely thatapplications will be made either from afar or through the internet.In order to minimise confusion about the details and the numberof completed forms required by each particular authority, thegovernment has decided to rationalise the current system. The resultof this is a new national standard application form and a nationwiderequirement for 3 [1] copies of the form, plans and supportingdocuments to be submitted.The Government are keen to encourage people to use the internetto submit their applications and there are numerous benefits tosubmitting an application through the planning portal. For instance,the online form is tailored to the type of application that is beingmade, meaning that applicants may find themselves answering lessquestions online than they would on the paper form. There arealso useful tools on the planning portal which allow for the correctelectronic form to be chosen, the creation of location plans, thecalculation of fees and for applications to be electronically checkedprior to submission.[1] Although, it should be noted that whilst some local authoritiesnow accept 3 copies of everything, some have interpreted 3 copiesto mean 3 copies of the original (so 4 in total)!36 Summer 2008