A new planning advice service has been launched aimed at cutting red tape for developers and reducing costs for local authorities.
Run by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), it allows developers and other parties to enquire about any plot of land.
The HSE said the service would ‘help business take advantage of commercial opportunities and aid the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of local authorities’, once it is fully up and running next March.
Peter Brown, head of HSE’s hazardous installations policy division, said: ‘The advisory service is being planned and designed around what users need.
‘Discussions with developers and other parties involved in the planning process have indicated that being able to find out more detail about a piece of land in advance of purchase helps to quicken the development process and can also save significant costs.
‘By enabling easier and more transparent access to HSE’s Land Use Planning advice, developers and planners will be able to get quick or even immediate answers to queries related to a plot of land they may be interested in purchasing or developing.’