The Planning Inspectorate for England (sometimes referred to as PINS) is an

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nort ...

of the

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government ...

of the

United Kingdom Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

with responsibility for making decisions and providing recommendations and advice on a range of land use planning-related issues across

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The Planning Inspectorate deals with

planning appeal Development Management, formerly known as planning control, or development control, is the element of the United Kingdom's system of town and country planning through which local government or the Secretary of State, regulates land use and new bu ...

nationally significant infrastructure project Nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIP) are major infrastructure developments in England and Wales that bypass normal local planning requirements. These include proposals for power plants, large renewable energy projects, new airp ...

planning permission Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

, examinations of

Local Plan A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area. The term is usually used in the United Kingdom. A Local Plan is one type of development plan. The development plan guides and shapes day-to-day dec ...

s and other planning-related and specialist casework.

History

The Planning Inspectorate traces its roots back to the Housing, Town Planning Act 1909 and the birth of the planning system in the UK.

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

(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 Thomas Adams may refer to: Politicians * Thomas Adams (MP), Member of Parliament for Bedford *Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586–1667/68), Lord Mayor of London * Thomas Adams (politician) (1730–1788), Virginia delegate to the Continental Cong ...

(1871–1940) as Town Planning Assistant – a precursor to the current role of Chief Planning Inspector. Subsequent Acts have included the

Housing and Town Planning Act 1919 The Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (c 35) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was also known as the Addison Act after Minister of Health, Christopher Addison, who was Minister for Housing. The Act was passed to allow the ...

, the Town Planning Act of 1925, the Town and Country Planning Acts of 1932, of 1947 and of 1990. Between 1977 and 2001 the inspectorate was based in

Tollgate House Tollgate House was a nineteen floor office building in the city of Bristol, England. It was located at the southern end of the M32 motorway leading into the city centre. History The building was completed in 1975 and was the second tallest build ...

, 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. 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.Planning Inspectorate
Annual Report and Accounts 2018/19
published 11 July 2019, accessed 3 July 2020 On 01 October 2021, the staff and functions of Planning Inspectorate for Wales transferred to Welsh Government. The new division is called Planning and Environment Decisions Wales ( cy, Penderfyniadau Cynllunio ac Amgylchedd Cymru).

Organisation

The Inspectorate is headquartered at Temple Quay House in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. The Inspectorate employs salaried staff and also contracts non-salaried Inspectors (NSIs). 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 The Town and Country Planning Act 1990c 8 is an act of the United Kingdom Parliament regulating the development of land in England and Wales. It is a central part of English land law in that it concerns town and country planning in the United Ki ...

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.

References

External links

The Planning InspectorateAppeals Casework PortalNational Infrastructure Planning
{{UK planning Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Interested parties in planning in England Interested parties in planning in Wales Organisations based in Bristol Regulators of England Regulators of Wales

History

Organisation

See also

References

External links