Explanation of Planning Terms

This glossary is to assist you with enquires you may make or letters to and from local authorities in the UK . Some phrases and formal planning terms may arise when dealing with local planning officers or may appear in official documents and information and planning committee minutes.

The following words, phrases and terminology are most frequently used by local authorities planning officers when dealing with Theatres / Arts Centres / Performance Venues/ Studios. Further information can be found in the Advice Notes of the publications section of www.theatrestrust.org.uk.

The three key things are to:

These terms and their significance are explained below.

Our thanks to Equity member John Levitt, Chair of Save London's Theatres' Campaign, for his help with this glossary.

 

Planning Applications
Generally all planning applications have to go through the Local Authority Planning Committee to be granted or denied.

Change of Use:

This is when an application is to change the use of a venue from performance to something else e.g. a night club, retail outlets, conference centre etc. Change of Use should always be opposed. In the first instance this should be by letter - writing to the Planning Committee.  

Consultation :

This is a specific period (usually 21 days) during which the public and interested bodies are invited to write in with any objections to a planning application (proposal). Finding out about a consultation is the difficult part - local authorities have to publish the information in local press but it is often in the small classified ads section, they also usually put notices on lampposts, and the information should also be on their websites. Open meetings can form part of the consultation period.  

Demolition/Redevelopment/Replacement:

Any of these is generally bad news. The first means the building will be lost completely, the second means that the use of the building will change along with structural redevelopment (eg from a studio to shops) and the third means that a venue could be replaced within a new building on the same site but in a radically different way. For example a 600 seat theatre may be replaced with a 180 seat one; it may not have dressing rooms or any real backstage area; the new architecture could prevent audience circulation; there may not be a bar.

Affordable Housing:

Another warning bell as this is often in a planning application and means the change in use of a venue. You can argue that it has never been housing before and is not suited to such use. Quite often it proves to be luxury flats rather than "affordable" accommodation, but if you see this in a planning application investigate it thoroughly as it is sometimes possible to argue against it.

Objection:

All objections to a planning proposal must be in writing and must be submitted before the end of the Consultation period. Letters must clearly state your case as this may be your only opportunity to object. If you wish to attend the local authority's planning committee meeting to speak against a planning application you must tell the Clerk to the Committee in advance as otherwise you will not be allowed to speak at all. However, not all committees allow speakers. When it is allowed there is a strict time limit (usually 3 minutes), so preparation is vital and speeches must be factually correct. The Clerk can also tell you about the planning committee meeting dates, locations and agendas ie what applications are going to be discussed.

Unitary Development Plan (UDP):

Every Local Authority has one of these. It sets out the authority's policies and proposals for the development and use of land in their area. The development plan guides and informs day to day decisions as to whether or not planning permission should be granted. The UDP identifies particular areas as suitable for housing, industry, retail or other uses, and set out the policies which the authority proposes to apply in deciding whether or not development will be permitted. Therefore it is useful to look at the UDP when working on an objection to see how the planning application sits within the terms of the UDP. Copies of the UDP are held by the local authority at the town hall or council offices. Some authorities have their UDP on their website.

Consultant:

Planning applicants and local authorities often bring in people with specialist knowledge to present plans. These can include architects, barristers, people with acoustic or pollution expertise. They usually speak at hearings, consultation meetings and so on. As an objector you will be up against these people so be as prepared as possible.

Environment Impact Assessment :

The local authority usually asks the planning applicant to provide this and it is a written report on how the area will be affected if planning application gets consent. It can include transport, amenities such as shops and leisure facilities, pollution, landscaping, noise levels, wildlife and so on. You should make sure you get a copy of this report and use it in your campaigning.

Planning Consent :

The local authority has given their permission for the planning application. This lasts for 5 years (although this may be changing to 3 years) and at the end of this time if the applicant has not started work on the project the consent ceases to exist and the planning application process has to start again.

Planning Gain :

This is something that a local authority can impose on an applicant as part of the process of giving consent and it is written into the final 106 Agreement. A gain could be landscaping, a pedestrian crossing or something else that adds extra value to the plan.

106 Agreement :

This is the legal agreement between the planning applicant and local authority that lays out the planning terms, including any gains, and means the applicant is legally obliged to stick to these terms.

Enforcement Notice :

The local authority uses this to enforce a planning decision; often when there is a breach of the plans on which the consent was given. Appeals/Public Enquiry/Calling in :

In some circumstances it is possible to appeal against the local authority consent . Guidelines on what grounds are acceptable include:

  • Proposals for development of major importance i.e. having more than local significance,
  • Proposals giving rise to significant public controversy
  • Proposals which raise important or novel issues of development control
  • Proposals which may set precedents to grant further developments which may cumulatively erode planning principles or policies.

This is done currently by getting the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to "call it in." If they agree to this there will be a Public Enquiry held by the Planning Inspectorate which then reports to the Secretary of State who takes the final decision. Please note there is no guarantee that you can get a consent called in or that it would be overturned. The process is hugely time consuming.

There is a Guide to Planning Appeals available from the Planning Inspectorate, Room 11/09, Tollgate House, Houlton Street , Bristol , BS2 9DJ . Tel: 0117 987 8000. www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk

Use Classes Order (UCOs)

UCOs indicate how a building is categorised as regards its use or function

Sui Generis :

This literally means of its, his or her own kind and in planning means unique. Theatres should always be classed as Sui Generis and it is vital that they are. If you discover a theatre is not categorised in this way you should lobby to get the Sui Generis classification.

Class A3:

Food and Drink - if these are consumed on the premises; take away hot food; restaurants; pubs; snack bars; wine bars. It is generally better if theatre bars /cafes are not classified separately ie should be encompassed under Sui Generis.

Class B1:

Business - offices; research and development; studios, laboratories; high tech and light industrial

Class C1:

Hotels, boarding and guest houses It can also include non-theatre based performance companies and can apply if the performance space is within a hotel, but in this case you should lobby for Sui Generis classification.

Class D1:

Non-residential Institutions - some health services; creche; education; display of works of art; libraries; museums; church halls; places of worship; exhibition halls.

Class D2:

Assembly and Leisure - cinemas; concert hall; music hall; bingo and casino; dance hall; swimming pool; skating rink; gymnasium; indoor and outdoor leisure.

Listing and certificates

Please note: Currently the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is responsible for listing in England , but this will change in 2005 when English Heritage will take it over. In Wales listing is the responsibility of Welsh Historic Monuments (agency of the National Assembly of Wales) in Scotland listing is done by an agency of the Scottish Executive called Historic Scotland, and in Northern Ireland it is the responsibility of the Department of the Environment in Belfast.

Listing:

This is applied to building of special architectural or historic interest. Listing prevents unrestricted demolition, alteration or extension in any manner likely to affect the character of the building in question, without the express consent of the local planning authority or the Secretary of State. Buildings can be listed because of age, rarity, history, architectural merit, and method of construction. Occasionally a building is selected because it has played a part in the life of a famous person, or as the scene for an historically important event. An interesting group of buildings - such as a model village or a square - may also be listed. The older a building is, the more likely it is to be listed. All buildings built before 1700, which survive in anything like their original condition is listed, as are most built between 1700 and 1840. After that date, the criteria become tighter with time, so that post-1945 buildings have to be exceptionally important to be listed. Normally a building must have been in existence at least 30 years.

Anyone can ask for a building to be listed but a proposal should be supported by a location map, a brief description of the building and its date (if known) and any other historical or architectural information, including photographic or visual materials (e.g. plans), which make the building special. This material should be supplemented by photographs of the building, both external elevations and internal details if possible.

Most applications for listing are made because of a particular threat to the building (this is called spot listing); it is important to spell out the nature of the threat and the time scale involved.

If a building has already been rejected for listing in the past few years, the case will only be reconsidered if ‘new information’ is provided.

Listing Grades:

England (DCMS, 2-4 Cockspur Street , London SW1Y 5DH Tel 020 7211 6200) and Wales (CADW Brunel House, 2 Fitzalan Road , Cardiff CF2 1UY Tel 029 2050 0200)

  • Grade I - buildings are of exceptional, usually national, interest
  • Grade II* - buildings are particularly important, of more than special interest
  • Grade II - buildings are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them

Scotland (Historic Scotland , Longmore House, Salisbury Place , Edinburgh , EH9 1SH Tel 0131 668 8600)

  • Grade A - buildings are of national importance
  • Grade B - buildings of regional importance or excellent examples of a period or style
  • Grade CS - buildings of local importance or lesser examples of a period or style

Northern Ireland (Department of the Environment Northern Ireland , Environment and Heritage Service, 5/33 Hill Street , Belfast BT1 2LA , Tel: 028 9023 5000)

  • Grade A -buildings of national importance including both outstanding grand buildings and the fine, little altered example of some important style or date.
  • Grade B+ -buildings that might have merited A status but for relatively minor detracting features such as impurities of design, or lower quality additions or alterations. Also buildings that stand out above the general mass of grade B1 buildings because of exceptional interiors or some other features.
  • Grade B1 and Grade B2 - buildings of local importance or good examples of some period of style. Some degree of alteration or imperfection may be acceptable.  

Conservation Area:

An area within the scope of the local authority which has been designated an area of special historical or architectural interest the character, or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. It covers a geographic area; not every building in the area has to be of special interest in its own right.

Building At Risk (BaR) : is a building that has been identified as an historic building at risk through neglect and decay. Buildings at Risk range from those that are virtually on the point of collapse to those that are just a bit ragged around the edges, and from vacant to inhabited buildings. The bodies responsible for listing have registers of BaRs.

Certificates:

  • Certificate of Lawfulness of Existing Use: this proves the use of a building and can be used to argue against any proposed change in its use eg from a studio to a supermarket. If a theatre/venue/studio or other performance space does not have such a certificate then they should. They are obtained from the local authority and can be applied for by the leaseholder if the current use began more than 10 years before the date of the application.
  • Building Preservation Notice: a form of temporary listing imposed by the local planning authority while the Secretary of State considers if the listing should be made permanent.
  • Certificate of Immunity : this is applied for by developers and is a legal guarantee that the building will not be listed within 5 years of the signing of the certificate. It also prevents a local authority from placing a building preservation notice on the building during the same period. Anyone can apply for a Certificate of Immunity, whether they own the building or not, - another reason for making sure there is a Certificate of Lawfulness of Existing Use in place and that theatres are classed as Sui Generis. You should be aware that the immunity can be extended for a further 5 years.

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