This chapter sets out the means by which this UDP will be implemented. It also considers the need to monitor the effectiveness of its policies and undertake reviews when necessary. The importance of monitoring is recognised in both the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the London Plan, which place a duty on every local planning authority to keep under review matters affecting the planning and development of its area, and to carry out surveys where necessary in rder to test the effectiveness of the policies. The principal guidance on development plans, PPS1 and PPS12, emphasises the government’s commitment to a land use system which is plan-led and stresses the importance of development plans being up to date.

The most important strategic policy that will guide the monitoring and implementation of this Unitary Development Plan is as follows.

• Policy GMon 

The Plan contains policies and proposals relating to the entire borough, to designated areas of the borough as well as specific sites. These are all contained in the Plan’s Written Statement. Specific sites which are allocated for development in various chapters of the Written Statement are also listed in the Schedule at the end of this chapter. These are sites which are expected, with some degree of certainty, to be brought forward for development or implementation during the Plan period. Other sites and development proposals which come forward during its period will be considered in the light of the borough-wide and area-wide policies. All policies and proposals affecting specific sites and areas of the borough are shown on the Proposals Map. If any discrepancy arises between the contents of Part 2 of the Written Statement and the Proposals Map, the former will prevail.

In implementing this UDP, the council will act in accordance with the guiding principles and aims of the Plan.

The principal objective of the planning system is to deliver sustainable development (which is in line with the council’s corporate priorities) while ensuring the government’s social, environmental and economic objectives are realised.

In dealing with planning applications, the council welcomes and encourages discussion before an application for development, especially in the case of major or complex development proposals. So that the council can provide this service to a consistent and high standard, it has adopted a system of pre-application advice.

The council considers each development scheme on its merits and reaches a decision based on whether the application accords with this Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Where applications do not meet these requirements, they may be refused. However, in some instances, it may be possible to make acceptable development proposals which might otherwise be unacceptable, through the use of planning conditions (see Department of the Environment Circular 11/95) or, where this is not possible, through planning obligations.

The legislative framework for legal obligations is currently contained within Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The act has been interpreted in Planning Circular 05/05 Planning Obligations, which recommends a more systematic and pre-defined approach to planning obligations. Local Planning Authorities should define the appropriate level of planning contributions for all types of development proposal in advance of a planning application being made. Circular 05/05 explains that planning agreements are private agreements negotiated, usually in the context of planning applications, between Local Planning Authorities and persons with an interest in a piece of land (or ‘developers’), and intended to make acceptable development which would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms. Planning obligations can also be secured through unilateral undertakings by developers. For example, planning obligations might be used:

• To prescribe the nature of a development (e.g. by requiring that a given proportion of housing is affordable); or
• To secure a contribution from a developer to compensate for loss or damage created by a development (e.g. loss of open space); or
• To mitigate a development’s impact (e.g. through increased public transport provision).

The outcome of all such uses of planning obligations should be that the proposed development is made to accord with published local, regional or national planning policies.

Further information in respect of the national legislative framework and the processes associated with planning obligations are contained in the council’s overarching Supplementary Planning Document on Planning Obligations. The framework described in that document explicitly identifies the potential for contributions to support new community infrastructure, identifies the need to look at the impacts of development cumulatively and the potential for the pooling of contributions.

The London Plan and the Sub-Regional Development Framework – North London (2006) both identify the need for the provision of social infrastructure to meet needs arising from new housing development.

Therefore, when considering proposals for development which requires planning permission, the council will seek the attainment, either through provision by the developer or through financial payment of all or part of the cost of provision, of appropriate planning benefits which are necessary to support the development. There are a wide range of planning benefits which the council considers would be appropriate for planning obligations. However, the council’s key priorities for planning obligations are as set out in Policy IMP1.

In applying Policy IMP1, the range of planning obligations will be a matter for negotiation between the council and the developer.

Planning Briefs and Planning Guidance

The council will continue its established practice of preparing planning briefs and development frameworks for important potential development sites, to provide more detailed guidance for their future development or re-use. Guidance will continue to be available to all prospective developers on the design, layout and landscaping of proposals, both in the form of informal advice and published design guidance. Developers will continue to be encouraged to consult the council at an early stage before submitting a planning application. In addition, the council will work together with the private sector in order to regenerate key sites in the borough. All planning briefs and supplementary planning or design guidance will conform to the policies of this Plan.

Supplementary Planning Documents

In addition to its overarching SPD on planning obligations, council will produce a series of Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) that set out a clear and consistent framework for securing planning contributions from development. Barnet’s Local Development Scheme sets out the expected production timetable to address the following topics:

• Giving an overarching view of planning obligations;
• Contributions from development to education, libraries and lifelong learning;
• A discussion of contributions to affordable housing;
• Contributions from development to culture, recreation, sports facilities and open spaces;
• Contributions to transport and infrastructure from development; and
• The need for contributions to health facilities from development.

All SPDs which discuss contributions from development will be prepared in accordance with the framework in the Supplementary Planning Document on Planning Obligations, and will properly involve the public and other stakeholders.

Permitted Development

Certain types of development are exempt from the need for specific planning permission. Furthermore, some development by government departments, statutory authorities and other public sector bodies can be carried out without the local authority’s permission. These types of development are listed in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. The council will encourage agencies and individuals to implement such schemes in accordance with the policies of this Plan.

Where breaches of planning control occur, legal proceedings will be initiated when it is considered appropriate to resolve the breach of the planning control.

Consultation and Co-ordination with Other Authorities

The council will continue to seek wherever appropriate, the views of local residents, amenity groups, local organisations and others who may be affected by development proposals. A wide range of public sector agencies can influence the implementation of this Plan’s policies by the manner in which they exercise their functions – the council will work with all such agencies to ensure they act in accordance with the policies of this Plan. Some of its policies and proposals may have direct or indirect effects on neighbouring local authority areas, just as the planning activities of those authorities may well affect Barnet. The council will therefore continue to coordinate with other local authorities individually and through the Greater London Authority and the South East of England Regional Assembly.

Under the new planning system introduced by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the council has produced a Statement of Community Involvement (as part of its Local Development Framework) which sets out how and when the local community and other stakeholders will be consulted on the preparation and revision of development plan documents and on planning applications. Developers who undertake pre-application community involvement initiatives are encouraged, as a minimum, to meet the consultation arrangements set out in the Statement of Community Involvement.

Monitoring and Review

A general policy (GMon) to monitor and review matters affecting the UDP’s policies and proposals is contained in Part I – a necessity in order to meet government recommendations of good practice.

The council will continue to monitor development trends in the borough, changes in population and economic and social trends influencing the shape of future development. This will be fundamental to keeping the UDP’s policies and proposals up to date, and therefore needs to be undertaken continuously and with a high degree of consistency and accuracy. In this sense, the Local Planning Authority will be acting no differently from any other organisation in the public or private sector – it will be monitoring information which relates to the effectiveness of its policies and decisions, as well as the various external factors which influence its business of guiding and controlling development.

The council will keep the UDP policies and proposals under review with the benefit of the most up to date information from the monitoring system. The results of monitoring will be analysed and any trends and patterns established will influence decisions about whether UDP policies and proposals should be changed or remain unaltered. Other things will affect the review process, not least new government advice or legislation. Strategic advice and guidance from the Mayor of London will also influence the process.

It is a basic duty of a Local Planning Authority to keep under review matters affecting the planning and development of its area, and to carry out surveys where necessary to fulfil this requirement. PPG12 states that UDPs should be kept up to date, and since the Plan is expected to be comprehensive, the monitoring system must be also. Legislation gives indications of the types of factors to be monitored, for example:

• The physical and economic characteristics of the area (including land uses).
• Population information.
• The performance of the transport system.

The council has undertaken a sustainability appraisal of the policies contained in the UDP (in line ith the provisions of PPG12). Most policies will have environmental, social and economic implications which have been appraised, so that an optimum approach consistent with the aims of the Plan can be adopted. This sustainability appraisal of the UDP will be used continuously to guide any amendments to it. It will also be used in future reviews of the UDP, and in preparing any Supplementary Planning Guidance.

A regular report will be produced to fulfil the commitment to monitor and review the contents of the Plan, based on the most recent information available and the results of recent survey and monitoring work. The report will examine selectively major subject areas, with the intention of initiating any alterations required to the Plan. Any changes will be made in consultation with the local community.

The Schedule of Proposals lists sites on which some change or action is expected, or regarded as desirable, during the lifetime of this Plan (i.e. between now and 2016). It includes sites where some hange would be desirable in order to avoid unnecessary blight, and for which it is the council’s intention to grant planning permission providing that an acceptable scheme, in accordance with the policies of the UDP, is submitted. The general inclusion criteria are:

• For residential schemes – where they are for 10 or more self-contained units, or where the site area equals or exceeds 0.4 hectares.
• For all other schemes including mixed uses – when the gross floor area equals/exceeds 1,000m² or where the site area equals/exceeds 1.0 hectares.
• For smaller-sized schemes – only those that might generate significant increases in noise, traffic and other nuisance in the immediate area. 

The sites are shown on the Proposals Map with a reference number linking them with the Schedule. Proposals prefixed with an “H” involve housing. Road schemes which have an implication for the strategic road network are prefixed with a “T”. Action is expected on these schemes, but their timeframes remain unknown (the Greater London Authority is the responsible highway authority for what were trunk roads, now known as ‘GLA roads’).