Planning - A user’s guide to the mayor of London’s oar

The London boroughs retain their development control responsibilities, but the mayor is a statutory consultee for planning applications of potentially strategic importance. He can comment on these applications and can direct a borough to refuse planning permission. At present he cannot, unfortunately, direct approval.

When will an application be referred?

The mayor has no power to call in an application. Referral takes place if the planning application meets the criteria in the Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2000. The criteria appear quite specific, but their impact frequently confuses applicants and local planning authorities.

They hold particular problems for those creating mixed-use developments. There are other pitfalls where proposals might be contrary to local development plans or to the objectives of the London Plan.

Referral process

Referral can take place in two ways:

• Where, in the view of a local planning authority, an application requires consideration, then the mayor’s office will be consulted.
• Where the criteria of the Mayor of London Order apply, then the local planning authority should not grant permission without first consulting the mayor. The mayor must respond within 14 days – a period that could potentially make a significant impact on the eight or 13 weeks allowed for the determination of an application.

These might relate to the level and type of affordable housing proposed, the health of Londoners, use of the River Thames, waste disposal, highways and all the factors that come under the banner of sustainability. Energy-efficiency and Lifetime Homes standards are frequently important issues.

When is a planning application of “strategic” importance?

A proposal will be referred to the mayor when it meets any of the following criteria:

• Includes more than 500 homes
• Includes housing and occupies more than 10 hectares
• Includes non-residential uses and exceeds given floor spaces – 15,000 m² to 30,000 m², depending on location
• Exceeds given heights – 25 m to 75 m, depending on location
• Includes specified transport infrastructure
• Involves the loss of 200 homes or 4 hectares of housing land
• Involves the loss of 4 hectares of specified commercial uses
• Involves the loss of 2 hectares of playing fields
• Includes 1000 m² of new or changed uses on green belt or metropolitan open land
• Departs from the relevant borough’s local plan and includes more than 150 homes or more than 2500 m² of specified commercial uses
• Provides more than 200 parking spaces for non-residential uses.

That summary hides some pitfalls. A housing development of as little as 15,000 m² can be referred to the mayor simply by virtue of including one small shop, which means that it contains non-residential accommodation.

The technicalities of the legislation can also increase its impact. Floor space in a mixed-use scheme includes basement car parking and the width of external walls.

Developers must be sure to look beyond current circumstances. An application can be referred both in relation to the local development plan in force and in relation to drafts in the pipeline.

Intervention by a higher authority

The secretary of state is notified whenever the mayor’s power to direct refusal is exercised, and can override the direction.

Delivering within the system

Developers may wish to avoid the effects of referral. Through referral, a proposal that conforms to the policies of the relevant local development plan becomes directly subject to the policy aspirations of the London Plan. A subsequent direction to refuse can lead to further delay, reduced viability or significant redesign.

It is essential that advice on planning is sought at an early stage to achieve a scheme that will meet the mayor’s approval or avoid referral altogether.

The mayor’s office encourages informal pre-application discussions, and experience of how to use and present viability/toolkit evidence to the mayor is essential, especially relating to affordable housing. A professional approach to the mayor’s office can help avoid unnecessary delays, shorten timescales for achieving the grant of planning permission and glean maximum benefit from informal discussions.

The future

The mayor’s power to direct refusal is bringing pressure to bear on those boroughs out of step with regional policies. The mayor’s housing policies – especially the onerous levels of affordable housing sought – are affecting provision of all tenures of housing in some areas of London.

The next step could be to give the mayor the power to direct approval as well as rejection. A logical conclusion might be that the current powers are widened to make the mayor the sole determining authority for large-scale strategic applications.

By John Foddy, planning and development partner at property consultancy King Sturge