Planning Inspectorate

Executive agency in the United Kingdom

Planning Inspectorate

Independent experts, inspiring confidence and shaping exceptional communities, now and for future generations.
Agency overview
Jurisdiction| England
Headquarters| Temple Quay, Bristol
Employees| 700 including 360 Planning Inspectors
Minister responsible|

* Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

Agency executive|

* Paul Morrison

Parent department| Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Website| gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

The Planning Inspectorate (sometimes referred to as PINS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of the United Kingdom Government with responsibility for making decisions and providing recommendations and advice on a range of land use planning-related issues across England.[1] The Planning Inspectorate deals with planning appeals, nationally significant infrastructure projects, planning permission, examinations of Local Plans and other planning-related and specialist casework.[2]

## History

[edit]

The Planning Inspectorate traces its roots back to the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1909 and the birth of the planning system in the UK. John Burns (1858–1943), the first member of the working class to become a government Minister, was President of the Local Government Board and responsible for the 1909 Housing Act. He appointed Thomas Adams (1871–1940) as Town Planning Assistant – a precursor to the current role of Chief Planning Inspector.[3]

Subsequent Acts have included the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919, the Town Planning Act of 1925, the Town and Country Planning Acts of 1932, 1947 and 990.

Between 1977 and 2001 the inspectorate was based in Tollgate House, Bristol before moving to its current headquarters at Temple Quay House, Bristol.

The National Planning Policy Framework (Community Involvement) Bill 2013-14 proposed to abolish the Planning Inspectorate.[4]

On 9 May 2019, in a Written Statement, the Welsh Government (WG) signalled its intention to establish a separate, dedicated Planning Inspectorate for Wales due to the ongoing divergence of the regimes in England and Wales.[5] On 01 October 2021, the staff and functions of Planning Inspectorate for Wales transferred to the Welsh Government.[6] The new division is called Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (Welsh: Penderfyniadau Cynllunio ac Amgylchedd Cymru).

In 2024, the Planning Inspectorate rejected a proposal to build 1,322 homes a year in Oxford amid a local housing crisis. The Planning Inspectorate said there were no exceptional circumstances justifying the need for more homes.[7]

## Organisation

[edit]

The Inspectorate is headquartered at Temple Quay House in Bristol.

The Inspectorate employs salaried staff and also contracts non-salaried Inspectors (NSIs). [8]

Planning inspectors, appointed by the Secretary of State and said 'to stand in the shoes of the Secretary of State', are given power by Schedule 6 to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Town and Country Planning (Determination of Appeals by Appointed Persons) (Prescribed Classes) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/420) to determine the appeals which are mostly against refusals of local planning authorities to grant planning permission.

The Inspectorate operates under primary legislation for the appeals system, which is the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1990 (as amended), the Planning Act 2008 (as amended) which covers the consenting regime for National Infrastructure projects. The Local Plans system is covered by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Frameworks established by related legislation cover other areas of work such as Environmental appeals and Rights of Way casework.

The Planning Inspectorate has three primary roles:

* to help communities shape where they live;
* to operate a fair and sustainable planning system; and
* to help meet future infrastructure needs.[5]

## See also

[edit]

* Planning and Environment Decisions Wales, for similar functions in Wales
* Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters' Unit, for similar functions in Scotland
* Planning Appeals Commission, for similar functions in Northern Ireland

## References

[edit]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Planning Inspectorate" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

1. ^ "What we do". 28 March 2024.
2. ^ "twitter.com/PINSgov". PINS.
3. ^ "The Planning Inspectorate Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14". Planning Inspectorate.
4. ^ "Bill proposes to abolish Planning Inspectorate and cut permitted development rights". LexisNexis.
5. ^ a b Planning Inspectorate, Annual Report and Accounts 2018/19, published 11 July 2019, accessed 3 July 2020
6. ^ Planning Inspectorate, Planning Inspectorate Wales transition to new service, published 13 September 2021, accessed 06 October 2021
7. ^ "Oxford Council mulls next steps after local plan rejected over 'too high' targets". Inside Housing. 2024.
8. ^ "The Planning Inspectorate Annual Report and Accounts 2017/18". Planning Inspectorate.

## External links

[edit]

* The Planning Inspectorate
* Appeals Casework Portal
* National Infrastructure Planning

* v
* t
* e

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

* Headquarters: 2 Marsham Street
* Ashdown House

Ministers|

* Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
* Minister of State for Housing and Planning
* Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Democracy and Local Growth
* Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Building Safety and Homelessness
* Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith, Communities and Resettlement
* Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government

Executive agencies|

* Planning Inspectorate
* Queen Elizabeth II Centre

Non-departmental
public bodies|

* Ebbsfleet Development Corporation
* Homes England
* Housing Ombudsman
* Leasehold Advisory Service
* Regulator of Social Housing
* Valuation Tribunal Service
* Valuation Tribunal for England

Other bodies|

* Architects Registration Board
* Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
* UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation

Category

* v
* t
* e

Construction industry of the United Kingdom

* Construction
* Economy of the United Kingdom

Companies|

| Consultancies
and support
services|

* AKT II
* Amey
* Arcadis
* Architecture firms
* Arup
* Atkins
* Faithful+Gould
* Bierrum
* Buro Happold
* Capita
* COWI
* Cundall
* Egis
* Elliott Wood
* ERM
* GHD
* Hoare Lea
* Jacobs
* Mace
* Mitie
* Pell Frischmann
* Pick Everard
* Mott MacDonald
* Ramboll
* RPS Group
* Stantec
* Sweco
* Systra
* Tetra Tech
* Turner & Townsend
* Wood Group
* WSP

|

House
builders|

| Current|

* Barratt Redrow
* Bellway
* Berkeley
* Bloor
* Boot
* Cala Homes
* Crest Nicholson
* Gleeson
* Keepmoat
* Lendlease
* McCarthy & Stone
* Miller
* Muir
* Persimmon (Charles Church)
* Retirement Villages
* Taylor Wimpey
* George Wimpey
* Taylor Woodrow
* Telford
* United House
* Untypical
* Vistry (Countryside)

|

Defunct|

* Ashtons
* Beazer
* Broseley
* Bryant Homes
* Comben Homes
* Crosby Homes
* Ideal Homes
* Ilke Homes
* McLean Homes
* Stewart Milne Group
* Westbury
* William Leech
* Wilson Bowden

Integrated
construction|

| Current|

* Balfour Beatty
* BAM Construct (BAM Nuttall)
* Bovis
* Costain
* Galliford Try (Morrison Construction)
* Interserve
* ISG
* Keller
* Kier
* Laing O'Rourke
* Lendlease
* Mace
* McLaughlin & Harvey
* Morgan Sindall
* J Murphy & Sons
* Sir Robert McAlpine
* Skanska (Cementation)
* Speller Metcalfe
* Robertson
* Taylor Woodrow Construction
* Tilbury Douglas
* Vinci SA (FM Conway)
* VolkerFitzpatrick
* Wates
* Willmott Dixon

|

Defunct|

* Alfred McAlpine
* Birse
* Buckingham
* Carillion
* Cleveland Bridge & Engineering
* Clugston
* Connaught plc
* Dawnus
* Dorman Long
* HBG (and Higgs & Hill)
* Holland, Hannen & Cubitts
* Jarvis
* John Aird & Co.
* John Brogden and Sons
* Leonard Fairclough & Son
* Linford
* Melville Dundas
* Mowlem
* Pauling & Co.
* Rok
* Shand
* Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Company
* Sir William Arrol & Co.
* Trollope & Colls

Suppliers|

| Current|

* Aggregate Industries
* Artex
* Ashtead
* Breedon
* Brogan
* Buildbase
* Cemex
* Ferguson Enterprises
* Forterra
* Heidelberg Materials UK
* Hope Cement
* HSS Hire
* Ibstock
* Jewson
* Kingspan
* Kingspan Off-Site
* London Brick
* Mero-Schmidlin
* Painter Brothers
* Pilkington
* RMD Kwikform
* Saint-Gobain
* Shepherd
* SIG
* Speedy Hire
* Tarmac
* Tarmac Building Products
* Tata Steel Europe
* Travis Perkins
* Wolseley

|

Defunct|

* Blue Circle Industries
* Redland
* RMC
* Tarmac

Government and
regulatory bodies|

* Chief Construction Adviser to UK Government
* Department for Business and Trade
* Health & Safety Executive
* Infrastructure and Projects Authority
* Local planning authority
* Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
* National Infrastructure Commission
* Planning Inspectorate

Industry
bodies|

* Actuate UK
* British Constructional Steelwork Association
* BSRIA
* Build UK
* Building Engineering Services Association
* Building Research Establishment
* Chartered Institute of Building
* Centre for Digital Built Britain
* Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
* Civil Engineering Contractors Association
* Construction Clients' Group
* Construction Industry Council
* CITB
* Construction Products Association
* Constructing Excellence
* Electrical Contractors' Association
* Electrical Contractors' Association of Scotland
* Electrical Safety Council
* Federation of Master Builders
* Home Builders Federation
* Institution of Civil Engineers
* Institution of Structural Engineers
* National Access and Scaffolding Confederation
* National Federation of Builders
* National Federation of Demolition Contractors
* National House Building Council
* Refined Bitumen Association
* Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
* Scottish Building Federation
* Society of Construction Arbitrators
* Strategic Forum for Construction

Sustainability|

* Association for Environment Conscious Building
* BREEAM
* Code for Sustainable Homes
* EcoHomes
* Energy efficiency in British housing
* Good Homes Alliance
* UK Green Building Council

Other|

* British Construction Industry Awards
* Building
* Building control
* Building regulations in the United Kingdom
* Building regulations approval
* Construction News
* Development control in the United Kingdom
* Modern methods of construction
* New Civil Engineer
* Planning permission
* Retentions
* Town and country planning in the United Kingdom

Category

* v
* t
* e

Town and country planning in the United Kingdom

Legislation and policy|

* Town and Country Planning Act 1990
* General Permitted Development Order
* Highways Act 1980
* Localism Act 2011
* National Planning Policy Framework
* Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004

Applications and Appeals|

* Planning permission in the United Kingdom
* Outline Planning Permission
* Grampian condition
* Nationally significant infrastructure project

Institutions|

* Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
* Planning Inspectorate
* Local planning authority
* Royal Town Planning Institute
* Town and Country Planning Association

Local development framework|

* Core Strategy
* Local plan
* Neighbourhood forum

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