Government unveils planning shake-up

The chancellor George Osborne outlined a far-reaching shake-up of the planning system in the Budget today.

Local authorities will be given a deadline of one year to guarantee a decision on all planning applications including appeals, in one of the budget’s few surprises.

The government will also consult on allowing changes of use from industrial and office to housing without specific planning permission.

Osborne repeated the government’s pledge to introduce a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which communities secretary Eric Pickles is expected to publish more detail on shortly.

Public bodies will also be encouraged to auction land for development through a pilot of land auctions.