Adoption news and new SPDs at Birmingham

On 7th December 2021, Birmingham City Council took the decision to adopt the Development Management in Birmingham (DMB) Development Plan Document. The DMB now forms part of the statutory local development plan for the City, in addition to the Birmingham Development Plan, adopted 2017.

Policies in the DMB supersede the remaining ‘saved’ policies in the 2005 Birmingham Unitary Development Plan and provides detailed policies relevant to the determination of planning applications. Planning law requires that applications for planning permission be determined in accordance with the development plan, which now includes the DMB, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The window of opportunity for anyone aggrieved by the decision to adopt the DMB must apply to the High Court by 19th January 2022 under the terms of Section 113 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

Two co-living Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) have also been prepared by Birmingham City Council to provide more detail on implementing policies in the DMB Document, ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation’ and ‘Large-scale Purpose-Built Shared Accommodation’. These draft SPDs were considered by Cabinet on 13th December 2021 and are due to go out to six week public consultation later in the month.