Development Consent Orders - A Practical Introduction

Introduction

Development Consent Orders (‘DCOs’) were introduced in the 2008 Planning Act for major infrastructure projects. They are intended to speed up the decision-making process for these types of development to enable the UK to build much needed infrastructure more speedily.

There have been many amendments to the original legislation, for example enabling alterations to be made more speedily and bringing the procedure under the wing of the Secretary of State to deal with the perceived democratic deficit of the original scheme.

What development is covered by the DCO procedure; how is it used in practice; the examination process and how to input objections/comments to the application?

Although your client or the local authority may not be a party to the proposed development, you will need to know how to deal with DCO applications in their area, and landowners will need to know how to be represented in the event of proposals affecting their land.

This virtual classroom seminar is aimed at practitioners who want a sound grounding of the DCO procedure. It is intended for those who are new to the process and need an introduction to the use of the system.

The new Government has swiftly announced major changes to planning policy and law.

A completely revised NPPF has been issued for consultation with only an 8 week period for consultation. Major changes proposed are:

• Housing targets being mandatory not advisory
• New “Grey Belt“ land which can be developed in the Green belt
• Housing numbers increased for some Authorities by 100%
• All references to beauty deleted and good design emphasized
• Proposal for Planning fees to be increased
• Planning and Infrastructure Bill and English Devolution Bill to be placed before Parliament

These matters will all be considered in this seminar.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• Schemes which can be the subject of DCO procedure
• Possible associated development
• Procedure for consultation and submission of development for consideration
• The examination procedure
• What are the necessary contents of a DCO?
• Enforcement
• An update on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.