15/08/2020
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PLANNING (DEVELOPMENT) PERMIT.
One of the core competencies of a Town Planner is to obtain Planning permit for his clients. Planning permit, development approval, planning approval, development permit are all various terms referring to the same thing. If you are just starting out as a Town Planner, this process can be quite confusing if you do not know how to go about it and equally frustrating with the diverse ups and downs associated with it.
So, here is a breakdown of what planning permit really is and how to go about it.
As an aspiring Town Planner, you would already have a full grasp of what Planning is, but for the purpose of this discourse, lets define planning as the system by which the use and development of land is managed for the benefit of all community. The general target of the system is to guarantee equilibrium between supporting development to be undertaken and equally sustaining, protecting and conserving the environment and local amenities. This is with the notion of creating a better and well balanced environment where people live, work, play, recreate and move around with ease. A wise man once said that ‘failure to plan is tantamount to planning to fail’ and in physical planning, this is so true because planning affects our environment thereby influencing our quality of life and well-being.
Also as an ambitious Town Planner, the word development is not alien to you and we shall define it as ‘Development is an improvement or change on land such as carrying out of any building, mining or other operation in, on, over or under any land or the making of any material change in the use of any land, building, structure or conversion of Land, building structure from its established or approved use’.
Now, Planning permit under section 102 of the Lagos state Urban and Regional Planning Development law 2010 means an approval or asset given for the time being to a development and includes Layouts or Sub-Division Plan, building control authorization given at construction and post- construction stage.
Types of projects that require a planning permit:
1. New development
2. Re- development
3. Renovation
4. Fencing
5. Re-validation (after expiration of 2 years of obtaining permits without commencement of construction)
6. Demolition
WHATS THE NEED FOR A PLANNING PERMIT?
Some of the reasons for the need for a planning permit generally can be summed as follows:
i. To ensure that structures get built at the right place
ii. It helps to balance the development the state/community needs such as new homes, factories, offices, schools, places of worship, health facilities, and transportation routes.
iii. To ensure that the development and growth is environmentally sustainable, meeting the needs of the present without jeopardizing the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs.
Watch out for the concluding part of this article where we shall be considering where to obtain development permits and the requirements for getting development permit for your clients.
Let’s promote our honorable profession, don’t forget to share with your contacts.
