McLoughlin Planning ‘PiP’ the rest of the field to the post In Swindon

McLoughlin Planning has successfully secured Permission in Principle (PiP) to construct 6 self-build dwellings on the outskirts of Swindon, outside of the principal urban area of the town.

It was the first PiP application to be determined by Swindon Borough Council since new legislation was introduced in June 2018. The Town and Country Planning (Permission in Principle) (Amendment) Order 2017 came into force with the aim of speeding up housing delivery and giving developers more up-front certainty by separating ‘in principle’ issues (such as land use, location, and amount of development) from technical matters.

The site is located in an area of Swindon that where housing development is only allowed in specific circumstances, which were not met by the proposal. However, McLoughlin Planning was still able to successfully persuade the Council to grant the PiP application due to its five-year housing supply shortfall and the proximity of the site to a strategic allocation in the Local Plan.

The PiP procedure is still very much an under-utilised method of obtaining permission for housing developments, so much so that Swindon Borough Council had never determined a PiP application before and the Planning Portal does not even have an option to submit a PiP application – they must be submitted directly to the Local Planning Authority.

If you would like more information on PiP applications please do not hesitate to contact Joe on 01242 895121 or email joe.seymour@mplanning.co.uk