The Planning Inspectorate for England (sometimes referred to as PINS) is an
executive agency of the
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities of the
United Kingdom Government with responsibility for making decisions and providing recommendations and advice on a range of land use planning-related issues across
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. The Planning Inspectorate deals with
planning appeals,
nationally significant infrastructure projects,
planning permission
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...
, examinations of
Local Plans and other planning-related and specialist casework.
History
The Planning Inspectorate traces its roots back to the
Housing, Town Planning Act 1909 and the birth of the
planning system in the UK.
John Burns
John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...
(1858–1943), the first member of the working class to become a government Minister, was President of the Local Government Board and responsible for the 1909 Housing Act. He appointed
Thomas Adams (1871–1940) as Town Planning Assistant – a precursor to the current role of Chief Planning Inspector.
Subsequent Acts have included the
Housing and Town Planning Act 1919, the Town Planning Act of 1925, the Town and Country Planning Acts of 1932,
of 1947 and
of 1990.
Between 1977 and 2001 the inspectorate was based in
Tollgate House
Tollgate House was a nineteen floor office building in the city of Bristol, England. It was located at the southern end of the M32 motorway leading into the city centre.
History
The building was completed in 1975 and was the second tallest build ...
, Bristol before moving to its current headquarters at Temple Quay House, Bristol.
The National Planning Policy Framework (Community Involvement) Bill 2013-14 proposed to abolish the Planning Inspectorate.
On 9 May 2019, in a Written Statement, the Welsh Government (WG) signalled its intention to establish a separate, dedicated Planning Inspectorate for Wales due to the ongoing divergence of the regimes in England and Wales.
[Planning Inspectorate]
Annual Report and Accounts 2018/19
published 11 July 2019, accessed 3 July 2020 On 01 October 2021, the staff and functions of Planning Inspectorate for Wales transferred to Welsh Government. The new division is called Planning and Environment Decisions Wales ( cy, Penderfyniadau Cynllunio ac Amgylchedd Cymru).
Organisation
The Inspectorate is headquartered at Temple Quay House in
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...
.
The Inspectorate employs salaried staff and also contracts non-salaried Inspectors (NSIs).
Planning inspectors, appointed by the Secretary of State and said 'to stand in the shoes of the Secretary of State', are given power by Schedule 6 to the
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
The Town and Country Planning Act 1990c 8 is an act of the United Kingdom Parliament regulating the development of land in England and Wales. It is a central part of English land law in that it concerns town and country planning in the United ...
and the Town and Country Planning (Determination of Appeals by Appointed Persons) (Prescribed Classes) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/420) to determine the appeals which are mostly against refusals of local planning authorities to grant planning permission.
The Inspectorate operates under primary legislation for the appeals system, which is the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1990 (as amended), the Planning Act 2008 (as amended) which covers the consenting regime for National Infrastructure projects. The Local Plans system is covered by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Frameworks established by related legislation cover other areas of work such as Environmental appeals and Rights of Way casework.
The Planning Inspectorate has three primary roles:
*to help communities shape where they live;
*to operate a fair and sustainable planning system; and
*to help meet future infrastructure needs.
See also
*
Planning and Environment Decisions Wales, for similar functions in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
*
Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters' Unit, for similar functions in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
*
Planning Appeals Commission, for similar functions in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
References
External links
The Planning InspectorateAppeals Casework PortalNational Infrastructure Planning
{{UK planning
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government
Interested parties in planning in England
Interested parties in planning in Wales
Organisations based in Bristol
Regulators of England
Regulators of Wales