<p><strong>Changes to planning delivery grant</strong></p> <p>The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is currently consulting on its reform of the planning delivery grant in response to Kate Barker’s recommendation to incentivise local authorities. The purpose of a new housing and planning delivery grant (HPDG) is to provide an incentive to local authorities to respond more effectively to local housing pressure.</p> <p>Currently, planning delivery grant rewards local authorities that decide 60% of major applications within 13 weeks and 65% of minor applications within eight weeks. Some claim this has led to hasty rejections in order to meet performance targets and ensure extra funding.</p> <p>The new housing and planning delivery grant will make Kate Barker’s proposal to pay an incentive proportionately based on the increase in housing in a locality the basis for a new system. HBF head of planning Andrew Whitaker said: “We are keen to incentivise local authorities to deliver housing, especially if it encourages local authorities to be more proactive in bringing sites forward for development.”</p> <p>The DCLG is also consulting on proposed changes to the town and country planning (general development procedure) order 1995 (GDPO) regarding the validation of planning applications. The document out for consultation proposes …