Last edited 11 Mar 2019

Authority monitoring report AMR

Local plans are prepared by local planning authorities. They create the framework for the future development of an area and are the starting-point for considering whether planning applications should be approved.

Local development schemes (LDS) set out the programme for preparing the development plan documents (DPD) that will make up the local plan.

The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 introduced a requirement for local planning authorities to make an annual report to the Secretary of State about the implementation of the local development scheme and the extent to which the policies set out in the local plan were being achieved. This was referred to as an Annual Monitoring Report, which had to be published as a single document on a specific date.

However, section 113 of the Localism Act 2011 amended this requirement, renaming the report the Authority Monitoring Report (AMR), allowing it to be published annually rather than on a specific date, and removing the requirement for it to be a single report. This gives local authorities the flexibility to publish a number of component documents when information becomes available, which together make up the AMR. The authority must make these reports available to the public.

The minimum information an AMR should contain is defined in Regulation 34 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. It should:

Set out progress with local plan preparation.
Report on activities relating to the duty to cooperate.
Describe how the implementation of policies in the local plan is progressing.

It may also provide information about the implementation of any neighbourhood plans, and whether there is a need to undertake a partial or full review of the local plan, and may highlight how contributions made by development have been used, such as planning obligations, the community infrastructure levy and new homes bonus payments.

NB the National Infrastructure Commission also publishes an Annual Monitoring Report, setting out its views on the government’s progress over the past year in delivering infrastructure.