{"id":6634,"date":"2026-09-29T17:57:57","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=6634"},"modified":"2026-09-29T17:57:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T17:57:57","slug":"pub-planning-september-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/pub-planning-september-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Pub Planning &#8211; September 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Planning law changes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">August saw some significant events on the planning front.&nbsp; Changes are being made to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to strengthen the protection accorded to pubs.&nbsp; The aim is to standardise the approach taken by planning authorities throughout England and the changes take effect immediately.&nbsp; In most cases, those applying for the demolition of or change of use for a pub already need to prove that the pub is not viable but this is often a token gesture.&nbsp; Now they will have to prove that the pub has been marketed without success for at least a year.&nbsp; Some authorities have a shorter period, usually in order to avoid properties standing empty.&nbsp; Planning authorities will also be required to consider a pub\u2019s value as a community meeting place. &nbsp;The recent proposal to restrict protection to the last pub in an area has been dropped.&nbsp; The changes very much reflect the provisions of policy HC7 in the current Greater London Plan, something into which CAMRA London Region had a significant input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just to clarify, a planning authority is in most cases the local authority.&nbsp; It is possible however for other bodies to have planning responsibilities, either in addition to or instead of the local authority.&nbsp; The Mayor of London\u2019s new body covering Oxford Street, the Oxford Street Development Corporation, is an example of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Community Right to Buy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the passing into law of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, new Community Right to Buy provisions will come into effect once the necessary regulations and guidance are issued.&nbsp; It is also likely that this exercise will include a review of the Asset of Community Value (ACV) process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new powers will give community groups first refusal on the purchase of an ACV-listed community asset once it is put up for sale. &nbsp;In the event of any dispute over the purchase price, the local authority will have the power to appoint an independent valuer to set the price based on market value. &nbsp;The moratorium period that starts once the property is placed on sale and gives a community group the time to raise funds has also been extended from six months to a year.&nbsp; For the first time, a group proposing an asset for listing as an ACV will have a right of appeal against a council\u2019s refusal. &nbsp;The new rules apply to existing ACVs, not just new ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Readers will recall that the previous Community Right to Buy Fund was suddenly curtailed in 2024, leaving several community groups deeply disappointed, given all the work that they had done.&nbsp; A new fund, called the Pride in Place Community Right to Buy Fund, worth \u00a361 million, has now been announced.&nbsp; It will apply in particular to pubs, clubs and community centres, with the aim of reversing the decline in shared public spaces and to help revitalise local high streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Planning law changes August saw some significant events on the planning front.&nbsp; Changes are being made to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to strengthen the protection accorded to pubs.&nbsp;&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6634"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6636,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6634\/revisions\/6636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}