The document discusses the development permitting process in Ghana, emphasizing its importance for managing physical development, ensuring public safety, and promoting economic growth. It outlines legal frameworks, including the Local Governance Act and the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, as well as the procedures required for obtaining permits and the implications of development charges. Additionally, it highlights challenges experienced in the current permitting process, including inefficiencies and varying procedures across regions.

1. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Development and Planning
Permit
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
02/06/2024 1

2. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Development Permitting
• The main instrument for controlling or
managing physical development.
• Effective development permitting promotes
orderliness, convenience of movement, public
safety and enhanced economic development.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
2

3. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Development Permit
• Development permit in this context refers to
permits issued in relation to planning and
building applications.
• Effective planning combined with proactive
development management is also known to
have enhanced aesthetics of human settlements
and improved environmental sustainability
throughout the world.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
3

4. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Legal Basis
• Local Governance Act (2016) Act 936
• Land Use and Spatial Planning Act (2016) Act
925
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
4

5. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Local Governance Act (2016)
Act 936
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
5

6. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Permit to Carry out physical
development
• A person shall not carry out a physical
development in a district except with the prior
written approval in the form of a written permit
issued by the District Planning Authority.
• A District Planning Authority may approve an
application referred to in subsection (1), before
the adoption of an approved District
Development Plan for the district.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
6

7. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Permit to Carry out physical
development
A District Planning Authority shall consult public
agencies and local communities as may be
prescribed by Regulations issued by the Minister
in the determination of an application for a
permit to develop prior to the adoption of an
approved District Development Plan.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
7

8. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Development charges
• A District Planning Authority may levy a
development charge in respect of a permit to
carry out a physical development.
• Development charges shall be utilised for the
provision of infrastructure and services.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
8

9. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Development charges
• Development charges shall be rated by, payable
to and collected by the District Planning
Authority to the exclusion of any other body,
except in the case of land estates where other
specific bodies take responsibility to provide
infrastructure and services.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
9

10. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Conditionality of Development Permit
• A District Planning Authority may issue a permit
for physical development with conditions or
without conditions.
• Where a District Planning Authority refuses to
issue a permit, or issues a permit with
conditions, that District Planning Authority shall
provide reasons in writing in each case.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
10

11. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Conditionality of Development Permit
• A District Planning Authority may revoke a
permit to develop or impose additional
conditions in respect of a permit already issued.
• Where a District Planning Authority makes a
decision under the above, the District Planning
Authority shall, subject to the receipt of a claim,
pay compensation as it may determine to the
affected person.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
11

12. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Conditionality of Development Permit
• The following activities and any other action,
programme or project shall not require prior
written approval from a District Planning
Authority unless the proposed activity obstructs
or interferes with a community right of space:
• subsistence farming;
• farming in any settlement that comprises a
population of not more than five thousand; and
• small-scale vegetable and flower gardening
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
12

13. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Land Use and Spatial
Planning Act (2016) Act 925
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
13

14. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Permits
• A person shall not undertake any physical
development of land within a district unless that
person has been issued with a permit by the
District Assembly within the jurisdiction in which
the land is situated.
• The Authority shall from time to time prescribe
the levels of permits to be issued by a District
Assembly.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
14

15. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Certification of plans of special
buildings
• A District Assembly may require the design or
plan of specific types of buildings to be
prepared or certified by a registered architect or
engineer or an architectural draughtsman
licensed under an enactment and the layout of
the design or plan to be certified by an
appropriate planning officer or planner.
• Despite the above, a restriction shall not be
imposed on a person in relation to the design or
signing of the plan of a single storey traditional
building with a total floor space of not more
than one hundred and twenty square metres.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
15

16. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Certification of plans of special
buildings
• A person shall not submit to a district planning
authority the plan of a building which is
required to be submitted under the above
unless the plan has been prepared by or under
the supervision of, and is signed by, a person
registered as an architect or an engineer under
an enactment.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
16

17. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Fee for Permit
• A planning authority shall charge a fee for the
grant of a permit for a physical development.
• Where a person applies for a permit for the
change of use of an existing building for the
purpose of compliance with an approved local
plan, the application shall not be subject to
payment of a fee but the District Assembly shall
impose a time limit for compliance.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
17

18. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Fee for Permit
• Subject to further guidelines issued by the
Authority and despite subsection (2), a fee may
be charged if the application for a permit for the
purpose of compliance is brought after the time
limited forcompliance has lapsed.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
18

19. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Fee for Permit
• Subject to guidelines that the Authority, in
consultation with the Lands Commission, the
Ministers responsible for Local Government and
Finance may issue, development charges shall
be determined and collected by a District
Assembly.
• A District Assembly shall allocate part of the
funds generated by that district under this
section to the performance of planning functions
specified under this Act within the district.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
19

20. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
State of Development Permit in Ghana
• The impact of development control is yet to be
felt, judging from the result of various research
findings over the years.
• 16 procedures over 170 days at the cost of
3.5% (warehouse) – from (Doing Buisness in
Ghana, 2022).
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
20

21. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
State of Development Permit in Ghana
• The impact of development control is yet to be
felt, judging from the result of various research
findings over the years.
• 16 procedures over 170 days at the cost of
3.5% (warehouse) – from (Doing Buisness in
Ghana, 2022).
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
21

22. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
State of Development Permit in Ghana
• The procedure for development permitting
differed widely across all these places and this
seriously frustrated business, especially those
that transcend regional and district boundaries.
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
22

23. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
College of Art and Built Environment
Department of Land Economy
Forms of Development Permits
and their Application Process
02/06/2024
Land Use Planning and Administration
Kwabena Obeng Asiama, PhD., MGhIS.
23