ADD2601 Bishopsgate Goods Yard Planning Performance Agreement

1.1.    Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs) were formally introduced into the planning system on 6 April 2008. These are principally aimed at major planning applications that need substantial amounts of officer time and negotiation throughout the life of the scheme. They allow officers to improve the quality of schemes that are eventually submitted as planning applications and determined. They also allow the GLA to charge for officer time taken up by the larger-scale strategic schemes.

1.2.    A Mayoral Decision (MD2475) on 11 June 2019 gave delegated authority to the Assistant Director to enter into PPAs up to a cap of £250,000.

1.3.    Bishopsgate Goods Yard is a complex regeneration scheme. Outline planning permission was granted at a Mayoral Call In hearing in 2020.

1.4.    The scheme is now entering its next planning phase, the approval of the reserved matters. The resourcing of this work by GLA planning officers will be covered by a PPA with the GLA recovering all costs from the developer. A previous MD (MD2350) set out the expenditure to cover costs associated with the employment of a Planning Officer and other staff time to process the called-in Bishopsgate Goods Yard planning application (Outline Application). MD2568 then extended the period required to complete the outline application. 

2.1.    The principal objective is to maintain an effective, high-quality, strategic planning service at a time of pressure on resources, and growing external and corporate demands, by ensuring there are sufficient resources to deal with pre-application advice and applications – including call-ins by the Mayor. The expected outcomes are: 

• a continuation of the ability to deal with increasing workloads, particularly the pre-application service, by having sufficient resources in place 
• allowing the GLA planning function to keep up with high and rising levels of demand for advice whilst delivering an efficient, fit-for-purpose strategic planning function for the Mayor. 

2.2.    In this case, the PPA will fund a series of pre-application meetings with the applicant (with attendance from Tower Hamlets and Hackney Councils) for the Reserved Matters application that envisages a comprehensive mixed-use redevelopment, delivering an uplift of up to 500 new and affordable homes, as well as commercial, retail, hotel and leisure uses. A concentrated series of meetings are necessary to ensure a deliverable scheme that will meet the Mayor’s objectives and satisfy (as far as possible) the council’s priorities.

2.3.    The ADD will cover the pre-application process for phase 1 of the application. There are likely to be further distinct phases of work which would be treated separately under subsequent PPAs and ADDs. As the Mayor will be the decision-maker, the cost of the processing the application will be covered by the planning application fees.

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, in making these decisions, due regard must be had to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; as well as to advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not. Protected characteristics include age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation (and marriage or civil partnership status, for the duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination only). In this instance the proposals have been considered and are not expected to have any impacts on those with protected characteristics as distinct from anyone else.

Mayoral strategies and priorities 

4.1.    Pre-application advice is fundamental to the implementation of the Mayor’s London Plan, which seeks to ensure that the city meets the challenges of economic and population growth with much-needed housing and commercial floorspace, along with other associated social and transport infrastructure to enable the development. The Mayor’s comments and decisions on referable planning applications are key implementation tools of the London Plan. The pre-application service helps to ensure subsequent applications deliver London Plan objectives. 

Risk-management issues 

4.2.    Regular monitoring of income will be undertaken to ensure the costs of providing the service are covered; and that the income is spent within the Regulations associated with the Local Government Act 2003. 

Conflicts of interest 

4.3.    There are no conflicts of interest to note for any of those involved in the drafting or clearance of the decision.

5.1.    Approval is being sought for expenditure of up to £200,000 for a PPA in respect of the Bishopsgate Goods Yard scheme – Phase 1; and the receipt of £200,000 on a cost-recovery basis from the developer, Bishopsgate Goods Yard Regeneration Limited. 

5.2.    The PPA income and associated expenditure is budgeted for in 2022-23 within the Planning Unit budget. 

5.3.    The costs under this agreement will be capped, and any additional work required on the scheme over the approved amount would be subject to further approval via the Authority’s decision-making process.