Bromley first to approve John Lewis homes
26/07/2024 Councillors have approved retailer John Lewis’ plans to build a housing block above a Waitrose store in Bromley town centre. |
Interview: Fighting climate change in court and as a councillor
25/07/2024 Fresh from a landmark legal win said to have ‘fundamentally changed’ the planning landscape around fossil fuels, Sarah Finch chats to LocalGov about her experience taking action on the climate – both in the courts, and as a councillor. |
Call for clarity on decarbonising buildings
25/07/2024 The Government’s net zero and economic growth ambitions could be ‘derailed by a lack of clarity’ on decarbonising older buildings, a report has argued. |
Planning funding restoration needed to meet homes target
23/07/2024 Labour will have to return planning department funding back to 2010 levels to achieve its ambition of 1.5 million homes, a network of councils has said. |
York council green lights government hub
23/07/2024 City of York Council has signed off on plans to construct a six-storey government hub near the city centre. |
Plans to boost Teesside Freeport vehicle and access approved
22/07/2024 Plans for new transport facilities to support the growing number of vehicles entering the Teesworks site on Teesside have been given the green light. |
King’s Speech: Labour commits to ‘modernising planning committees’
17/07/2024 The Labour Government will deliver its aim of building 1.5 million houses by ‘modernising planning committees.’ |
King's Speech: Devolution takes centre stage
17/07/2024 The announcement of an English Devolution Bill took centre stage in the King's Speech. |
King's Speech: A plan for devolution
17/07/2024 The new Labour Government has set out a widespread plan for devolution and economic growth in its Parliamentary timetable, with central diktat reserved for planning proposals. |
Council faces legal challenge over poultry unit
15/07/2024 A legal challenge has been launched over Shropshire Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a major intensive poultry unit. |
Plans for £2.3bn ‘Venice of Britain’ scrapped
15/07/2024 Planning applications for a £2.3bn town on the site of a former power station on the Hampshire coast have been withdrawn. |
Pro-growth planning could deliver 407,000 jobs
10/07/2024 A pro-growth planning environment could deliver 407,000 jobs and 55.7 million square feet of commercial floorspace in central London by 2045, study says. |
The Grey Belt: Is it the panacea that is needed?
10/07/2024 The new Government plans to ‘get Britain building again’ by releasing 'Grey Belt' land. William Nichols, Regional Director, Lanpro looks at what this means. |
Rayner: Labour ready to ‘transfer power out of Whitehall’
09/07/2024 Deputy PM Angela Rayner is set to tell regional mayors that Labour is ready to ‘transfer power out of Whitehall’ through a major programme of devolution. |
Reeves: Labour set to bring back housebuilding targets
08/07/2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce today that she will bring back compulsory housebuilding targets. |
Pub owner threatened with legal action over mural
03/07/2024 A landlord has been threatened with legal action by the local council after he commissioned a painting of a bull on the side of his 17th century pub. |
NextGov: Resolving the housing crisis
28/06/2024 The Home Builders Federation’s (HBF) policy and external affairs manager, Laura Markus, discusses what the next government should do to tackle the housing crisis. |
Labour will need to back up strategic planning 'with teeth'
27/06/2024 Labour’s proposed push for a return to strategic planning will need to be ‘backed up with teeth’, an expert has suggested. |
Two-thirds of renewables projects fail to pass planning stage
25/06/2024 Almost two-thirds of applications for renewable energy projects failed to make it through the planning process in the past five years, research has revealed. |
Planning officer boost needed to meet parties' housing goals
21/06/2024 A major boost to planning department resources would be needed to meet the housebuilding aims of any of the main parties, experts have said this week. |
Landmark fossil fuel ruling has ‘profound’ implications for planning
20/06/2024 A historic legal judgement has ‘fundamentally changed’ the landscape around planning permission for fossil fuel extraction, campaigners have said. |
Council to restrict new takeaway sites
20/06/2024 New measures to limit the development of new hot food takeaway sites have been introduced by Newcastle City Council. |
Questions raised over funding for housebuilding pledges
19/06/2024 A think-tank has warned that a lack of cash for affordable housing will make political parties’ ambitious housebuilding targets difficult to achieve. |
NextGov: Planning under the next government
19/06/2024 Mike Kiely, chair of the Planning Officers Society, calls on the next government to build a more efficient and effective planning system. |
Planning London under Labour
17/06/2024 Grant Leggett, Executive Director and Head of Boyer’s London planning team, looks at the impact of a future Labour government on planning in London. |
Norfolk opposes 184km pylon scheme
14/06/2024 Councillors in Norfolk have objected to a National Grid proposal to construct an electricity transmission line across three counties. |
Birmingham councillors sign off on £1.9bn redevelopment
14/06/2024 Birmingham City Council's planning committee has given the go ahead to developer Lendlease for the £1.9bn redevelopment of the Smithfield site. |
Labour manifesto pledges Right to Buy curbs
13/06/2024 Labour has opened the door to reining in Right to Buy in its manifesto, published today. |
John Lewis appealing leaves Ealing reeling
12/06/2024 Ealing Council said it was ‘extremely disappointed’ after an unexpected appeal by John Lewis over the firm’s plans to build rental homes. |
Council spends £1m in bid to speed up planning
12/06/2024 Wiltshire Council will pour an extra £1m into its planning department this year to process applications more quickly and improve customer service. |
Conservatives pledge business rates retention expansion
11/06/2024 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to create business rates retention zones as he launched the Conservatives’ General Election manifesto today. |
260,000 social homes lost in a decade
10/06/2024 More than a quarter of a million social housing homes have been lost in England in the last ten years, analysis of government statistics has found. |
The flaws in ‘Clarkson’s clause’
10/06/2024 Following Jeremy Clarkson-inspired legislative changes around planning permission in rural areas, Kerry Booth, Rural Services Network, shares her concerns. |
Birmingham planners back £1.9bn Smithfield redevelopment
07/06/2024 Plans to redevelop Birmingham’s former Smithfield wholesale markets have taken another step forward as city council planners recommend approval. |
Council demolishes ‘Britain's biggest man cave’
03/06/2024 Forest of Dean District Council has set to work demolishing a leisure complex that was built without planning permission by a local millionaire. |
Council rejects film studio plans despite Hollywood backing
31/05/2024 Buckinghamshire councillors have rejected permission for a proposed film studio despite the plans receiving the backing of Hollywood royalty. |
High Court judge in trees ruling
31/05/2024 Councils and developers relying on planning permission exemptions to preservation orders cannot automatically cut down protected trees, High Court rules. |
High Court dismisses Bibby Stockholm legal challenge
23/05/2024 The High Court has dismissed a legal case challenging the Government’s controversial use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to house asylum seekers off the coast. |
Housing crisis has become ‘significantly worse’ in past year
21/05/2024 Three-quarters of councillors believe the housing crisis has become significantly worse in the past year, according to a major survey of planning authorities in England and Wales. |
‘Clarkson's clause’ introduced to cut red tape for farmers
21/05/2024 New planning laws coming into effect today will enable farmers to convert disused agricultural buildings into homes and shops without planning permission. |
Auditors raise doubts over biodiversity enforcement
17/05/2024 Auditors have questioned whether local authorities will be able to effectively ensure compliance and enforcement of biodiversity net gain (BNG). |
Councils urged not to approve solar farms on farmland
15/05/2024 The Government is set today to warn councils that they should not grant planning permission for solar farms on high-quality farmland unless ‘necessary’. |
Think-tank calls for regeneration funding overhaul
07/05/2024 Councils should be able to hold a regeneration account to more efficiently allocate capital for regeneration projects, a think-tank has argued. |
Demolition of Only Fools and Horses tower set for 2027
07/05/2024 The iconic London tower block whose exterior served as Nelson Mandela House in the opening credits of Only Fools and Horses is set to be demolished in 2027. |
Councils spend £45m on planning appeal advice
03/05/2024 Councils spent £45m over the past three years on external legal advice relating to planning appeals, according to a freedom of information request. |
Councils cut back housebuilding plans
03/05/2024 New research has found that 15 local authorities have recently cut the number of homes they intend to build over the next decade by at least 10%. |
Council loses £600k buying back land it sold ‘wrongly’
02/05/2024 Shrewsbury Town Council has spent £1.34m buying back land it had ‘wrongly’ deemed ‘surplus to requirements’. |
Crooked House inquiry postponed
02/05/2024 An inquiry into South Staffordshire Council’s order for the Crooked House to be rebuilt has been postponed. |
Bristol officers accused of 'misleading' over development
26/04/2024 Officers at Bristol City Council have been accused of providing ‘misleading’ advice linked to a decision to approve a controversial 28-storey development. |
Brum councillors reject ‘bonkers’ skyscraper scheme
26/04/2024 Birmingham City Council members have rejected a planning proposal for a 42-storey skyscraper to be built atop a Grade-II listed former hospital. |
Avatar director James Cameron backs studio plans
24/04/2024 Oscar winning film director James Cameron has thrown his weight behind proposals for a new film studio in west of London. |
Leveraging data to reverse the planning staff decline
22/04/2024 Scott Goodwin, divisional director Land, Property and Public Protection, Idox, explains how rapid access to easily consumed data can transform planning teams. |
Asylum seekers moved from RAF Wethersfield due to incomplete safety checks
18/04/2024 The Home Office has moved 70 people away from an asylum accommodation site after it failed to complete necessary safety checks on time. |
Officers recommend refusal of Birmingham skyscraper plans
18/04/2024 Plans for a 42-storey skyscraper in Birmingham city centre have been recommended for refusal over heritage concerns. |
Sandringham to go solar
17/04/2024 Planning documents submitted to the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk have revealed King Charles's plans for a solar farm at Sandringham. |
Council charges for ‘fast-track’ planning service
03/04/2024 Residents in Epsom and Ewell can pay to have planning applications decided faster as part of a new council service. |
Crooked House owners appeal against rebuild order
28/03/2024 The owners of ‘Britain’s wonkiest inn’ have lodged an appeal against an order to rebuild the popular lopsided pub. |
Aslyum centre site could host prison
25/03/2024 Braintree DC has warned it faces intervention from a second Government department when the Home Office ends its use of a former airfield as an asylum centre. |
Call for reintroduction of housing targets
22/03/2024 A cross-party coalition representing 27 mid-sized regional British cities has called for the next Government to reintroduce local housebuilding targets. |
Planning permission for large solar farm refused
21/03/2024 The Government has turned down plans to build a large solar farm in rural Northamptonshire. |
Planning for senior housing ‘stalled’, survey reveals
21/03/2024 Less than a third of local authorities do not have clear policies in place to support housing for seniors, new research has revealed. |
Hopes for regen scheme revived after Home Office scales back asylum plan
20/03/2024 A £300m council-led regeneration scheme threatened when Whitehall commandeered the site for asylum accommodation could now go ahead. |
‘Toxic’ 15-minute city phrase cut from Oxford local plan
08/03/2024 Oxford City Council has removed mention of ‘15-minute cities’ from its local plan, claiming the concept has become ‘too toxic and incendiary’, The Times has reported. |
Gove urged to ‘listen’ to Cambridge on housing plans
07/03/2024 Communities need ‘far more detail’ and to have their say on government plans for a major expansion of housing around Cambridge, local leaders have said. |
Mayor accused of pushing for unlawful planning committee change
04/03/2024 Mayor Ben Houchen and Simon Clarke MP have been accused of trying to pressure Redcar and Cleveland's planning committee to act unlawfully. |
High Court overrules Gove on M&S demolition
04/03/2024 The Government’s decision to block Marks & Spencer’s plans to demolish and redevelop its flagship central London store was unlawful, the High Court has ruled. |
Drive to tackle planning officer shortage ‘crisis’
29/02/2024 The Government is supporting a push to address the nationwide shortage of planning enforcement officers. |
Councils near Gatwick raise alarm over runway plan
27/02/2024 Local authorities near Gatwick have raised concerns over the potential increase in noise and air pollution if the airport brings another runway into use. |
Regulator calls for 'substantial' planning intervention
26/02/2024 The planning system requires ‘substantial intervention’ by the Government to ensure consistent delivery of new homes, a major study has concluded. |
Planning inspectors acted unlawfully over council’s net zero plans
22/02/2024 Planning inspectors were wrong to describe West Oxfordshire District Council’s net zero plans for a garden village as ‘too rigorous’, a High Court judge has ruled. |
£34m council land sale set for High Court
20/02/2024 The High Court will consider whether to review Hertfordshire County Council’s sale of a former airfield to a rail freight company. |
‘Brownfield first’ reforms unveiled
14/02/2024 Councils in England will be told to prioritise brownfield development and be ‘less bureaucratic’ in their approach to building on previously developed land. |
Historic gas lamps receive Grade II listing
13/02/2024 Four historic gas lamps in central London are set to receive Grade II-listed status. |
Controversial Colston statue to move to museum
13/02/2024 The controversial Bristol statue of transatlantic slave trader Edward Colston, which was torn down by protestors in 2020, is set to be moved to a museum. |
Further planning reforms on way, says Gove
12/02/2024 Empty shops could be quickly converted into homes and developers given fresh incentives to build on brownfield sites under ministers’ latest plans to expedite housebuilding. |
Council apologises after Weetabix factory confusion
07/02/2024 North Northamptonshire Council apologises after confusion over the location of a Weetabix factory led to the planning department consulting the wrong street. |
New legal bid as long-term asylum site plans confirmed
02/02/2024 West Lindsey DC has launched a fresh legal challenge after the Home Office confirmed its intention to use RAF Scampton to house asylum seekers. |
Officer-member relations ‘fractured’ at Wrexham
01/02/2024 Issues in Wrexham County Borough Council’s planning service mean it is hindered in fulfilling its role, an audit has found. |
Council slams ‘lack of transparency’ over RAF Wethersfield extension
31/01/2024 Braintree District Council has criticised the Home Office after its plans emerged to extend the use of a former airfield for asylum accommodation by three years. |
Greta Thunberg joins Hampshire airport protest
29/01/2024 Residents, councillors and Extinction Rebellion activists were joined by climate campaigner Greta Thunberg to protest the expansion of a private jet facility at the weekend. |
Call for ‘different approach’ to brownfield
24/01/2024 A more ‘systematic, interventionist and collaborative’ method could ‘significantly’ increase the regeneration of brownfield sites in Wales, according to a new report. |
City Hall to decide on Wimbledon expansion plans
23/01/2024 The Mayor of London’s office has called in a controversial planning application to expand Wimbledon’s tennis grounds. |
Underfunding of planning teams barrier to growth
22/01/2024 Nine out of 10 SME home builders have warned that underfunded local authority planning departments are hindering the construction of new housing. |
Local plan review process ‘ineffective’
18/01/2024 Reform is urgently required to improve the local plan review process and increase the number of up-to-date plans, according to new research. |
North Yorkshire Council greenlights £21m garrison redevelopment
15/01/2024 North Yorkshire Council has signed off on a £21m redevelopment project for Catterick Garrison's town centre to offer support for Armed Forces personnel. |
Survey reveals support for biodiversity scheme
10/01/2024 Most people in Britain support an upcoming requirement for developers to invest in improving local habitats, a survey has revealed. |
The separation of planning and landowning powers
02/01/2024 Gemma Duncan and William Murrin, Sharpe Pritchard, discuss planning and landowning powers and the implications of a recent High Court judgement. |
Thinking ahead: housing delivery in 2024
21/12/2023 With 2024 almost certain to be an election year, Colin Brown, head of Planning & Development, Carter Jonas discusses what policies for housing delivery we are likely to see discussed. |
Council confirms asylum centre appeal
21/12/2023 West Lindsey DC is to appeal against the dismissal of its judicial review over the Home Office’s asylum centre plans. |
Review of 2023: a year in planning
20/12/2023 Karen Charles, executive director, Boyer (part of Leaders Romans Group), takes a look back at developments in planning policy over the last year. |
Councils told to revise local plan timetables
20/12/2023 The housing secretary has instructed seven local authorities to revise their timetables for delivering their local plans. |
Gove threatens to strip councils of planning powers
19/12/2023 Michael Gove has threatened to strip local authorities of their responsibilities for planning if they ‘drag their feet’ when coming up with housing plans. |
Council told to stick with ‘unsuitable’ local plan
01/12/2023 The Government has told Erewash Borough Council to stick with its emerging local plan, which has been branded ‘out-of-date and unsuitable’ by the authority. |
PM promises to limit council tree felling
29/11/2023 Residents will have to be consulted before local authorities remove trees in their areas, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced. |
Autumn Statement: Planning system to prioritise EV charging
22/11/2023 The Autumn Statement gave a major boost to the electric vehicle (EV) market with £2bn of investment and a pledge to reform the planning system. |
Autumn Statement: Councils to be able to recover planning costs
22/11/2023 Councils will be able to recover the costs of business planning applications in return for being required to meet faster timelines, Chancellor says. |
High Court approves M&S judicial review
21/11/2023 The High Court has approved an application for a judicial review from M&S after Michael Gove blocked plans to redevelop the retailers Oxford Street store. |
Watchdog proposes planning reforms
16/11/2023 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has drawn up proposed reforms to the planning system. |
Streamlining of local plans presents the solution to addressing housing need
13/11/2023 David Churchill, partner at Carter Jonas (London), argues that a well-informed, collaborative approach to housing delivery has the potential to reform our attitudes and approach to housebuilding. |
‘Stark inconsistency’ across London on Build to Rent
08/11/2023 Planning policy across London boroughs ‘could do far more’ to provide a comprehensive basis for the delivery of Built to Rent (BtR) schemes, a report has argued. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.