Achieving greater planning potential for clients via GPDO

Do you wish that sometimes you could wave a magic wand and planning approval would be granted? Sadly one doesn't yet exist, but possibly the next best thing is the GPDO that grants a blanket deemed consent for various types of development through all its 40+ categories.

Most people are familiar with the need to apply for planning permission to develop. However fewer are aware of the usefulness of the GPDOs deemed consents and that they are not just for householder developments, but for a whole range of uses and development.

Whilst planning applications will require a judgement of policy and effect from the local authority, the GPDO (General Permitted Development Order) requires a simple determination of fact to establish if your development constitutes permitted development. The resulting development will have a Certificate of Lawfulness of either permitted development or use which has the same weight as a planning permission and is a much lighter process.  

How might this be applied to your own cases? If you deal with commercial development, the attached case study illustrates how this part of the planning system can apply for commercial schemes. To demonstrate the wide range, other GPDO cases I am currently dealing with include the laying of railtrack at a mine; using the deemed consent argument to build a case for a planning permission for a granny annex and; an appeal for replacement dwelling in the Green Belt also using the deemed consent argument to support the case for a larger dwelling.

As can be seen from just these few examples from my current cases, the GPDO is immensely broad and can be used in a number of different ways, directly or indirectly, for the benefit of your clients. When coupled with attention to the functional design aspects of a scheme, as with the granny annex, it can be a very powerful tool indeed. 

With the changes to the planning system, the GPDO and Use Classes Order are being broadened still further, making them even more useful.