The Government must by law require planning authorities to take account of property deeds, restrictive covenants and legal access rights before granting planning permission.

This reform must prevent planning authorities from approving developments that would block legal access when deeds and conveyance documents expressly prohibit it. Even after providing evidence that the proposal would substantially interfere with legal access, safety and use of property, permission can still be granted. Councils habitually consider deeds and property rights outside the scope of the planning process. We believe homeowners shouldn’t be forced into highly costly civil court proceedings to enforce rights already protected by legally binding documents.