Building without planning consent
The media has recently reported on three cases regarding building on property without planning consent. Sir Cliff Richard and his conservatory Runnymede Council ordered Sir Cliff Richard to demolish...
View ArticleGovernment announces crackdown on ‘garden-grabbing’
The Government has given local councils in England more powers to stop developers building homes on gardens (otherwise known as ‘garden-grabbing’). In its coalition agreement, published on 20 May, the...
View ArticleRegional house-building targets have been scrapped
The Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has scrapped Regional Strategies and their centrally-imposed building targets – fulfilling a commitment which the Government made in its Coalition Agreement on 20...
View ArticleDevelopers ‘in limbo’ following change in planning
I recently wrote about the Government’s decision this month to officially scrap Regional Strategies and their centrally-imposed home building targets – and the problems that this change would initially...
View ArticleHousebuilder launches legal challenge to Government’s abolition of the...
Last month, I wrote that the abolition of the Regional Strategies in May and the general uncertainty over the Government’s planning policy had left housebuilders ‘in limbo’, with a number of...
View ArticleHigh Court rules that the Government acted unlawfully in revoking the...
The High Court has ruled today (10 November) that the Communities and Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles, acted unlawfully when he unilaterally revoked the Regional Strategies in England. Back in...
View ArticleLocal authorities could be given new powers to set their planning fees
In a move that will be of particular interest to developers, the Department for Communities and Local Government has published a consultation paper on its proposals to change planning application fees...
View ArticleLocal authorities seek freedom to charge for listed buildings applications
Since I wrote my article on the Government’s proposals to reform the planning application fee system, so that local authorities can set their planning fees, an interesting development has come to...
View ArticleGovernment suffers another setback over the scrapping of the Regional Strategies
The Government has suffered a further setback after the High Court ruled that, until further notice, local planning authorities should not take into account the Government’s intention to abolish the...
View ArticlePlanning Inspectorate issues new Regional Strategies statement
Another week, another development in the ongoing Regional Strategies saga. In November, I wrote that, following a judicial review launched by Cala Homes (South) Ltd, the High Court had ruled that the...
View ArticleHousebuilder loses legal challenge over abolition of the Regional Strategies
Housebuilder Cala Homes (South) Ltd has lost its High Court challenge against the Government’s claim that its intention to abolish the Regional Strategies should be considered by local planning...
View ArticleCala Homes v The Government: The battle continues…
Housebuilder Cala Homes (South) Ltd has been granted permission to appeal its recent High Court defeat in its long-running legal battle against the Government’s claim that its intention to abolish the...
View ArticleThe Budget: what are the implications for planning?
The Budget Report, published yesterday, criticised the planning system, stating that it has “held back investment and created distortions in the way that businesses compete, deterring development and...
View ArticleGovernment selects areas that will trial new neighbourhood planning powers
The Government has announced the names of 17 areas that will trial its neighbourhood planning reforms. The reforms, which were unveiled in the Localism Bill (click here for more details), are designed...
View ArticleGovernment to carry out environmental assessment of its decision to revoke...
On 5 April, planning minister Bob Neill announced in a parliamentary ministerial statement that the Government will assess the environmental impact of revoking each regional strategy… possibly to avoid...
View ArticleCala Homes v The Government: The Court of Appeal hearing has begun…
Cala Homes (South) Ltd’s long-running legal battle with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has now reached the Court of Appeal. Cala Homes is challenging the Government’s claim...
View ArticleGovernment wants all planning decisions to be made within 12 months
Grant Shapps, the Housing minister, announced yesterday (10 May) that he will launch a consultation on introducing a guarantee to determine all planning applications within 12 months. The 12-month...
View ArticleBreaking news: Cala loses appeal over scrapping of regional planning targets
The Court of Appeal has today (27 May) rejected the judicial review appeal by Cala Homes (South) Ltd over the Government’s decision to revoke the Regional Strategies. Cala had claimed that the...
View ArticleGovernment unveils new ‘guarantee’ to reduce planning bureaucracy
As part of its ongoing programme to simplify the planning system, the Government has unveiled proposals for the creation of a planning ‘guarantee’ which would ensure that no application for planning...
View ArticleAccess works did not constitute lawful implementation of a planning permission
In the recent case Greyfort Properties v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt by a developer to use a planning permission granted 37...
View ArticlePlanning law changes will make it easier to re-submit planning applications
The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order 2010 (DMPO) has been amended to extend the time developments can take advantage of exemptions in the DMPO. Developments that have...
View ArticleGovernment announces its housing plan: what’s in it for housebuilders?
The Government recently announced that it intends to implement several measures to boost housebuilding (and the economy) in the UK. The proposed measures that are will be of most interest to...
View ArticleGovernment publishes proposals on planning performance and the planning...
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has published a consultation paper on its proposals to permit certain planning applicants to submit their planning application directly to the...
View ArticleWhat should developers look out for in 2013?
There are a lot changes expected to take place in 2013 that will affect the property industry in general. The following issues will be of particular interest to developers and housebuilders: The...
View ArticleGood news for developers: changes to judicial review will assist development
The Government has announced new measures that will combat applications for “meritless” judicial reviews in England that hold up development projects. The Justice secretary Chris Grayling said that the...
View ArticleGood news for developers: the new time limits for judicial review will come...
Following its announcement in April that it would reform the judicial review system in relation to planning cases (full details are here), the Ministry of Justice has confirmed that the changes will...
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