VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Amazon picks Darlington for first UK drone deliveries
28/01/2025 Global retailer Amazon has chosen Darlington for the UK launch of drone deliveries. |
37 shops lost each day in 2024, data suggests
02/01/2025 Almost 13,500 retail stores in the UK closed for good last year, equivalent to about 37 shops a day, new data has found. |
M&S triumphant after three-year demolition bid
06/12/2024 Oxford Street’s M&S store can be demolished, the Government has ruled, more than three years after the retailer submitted plans to rebuild the flagship shop. |
Historic London markets set to close
27/11/2024 Two of the capital’s oldest food markets are set to close after the City of London Corporation agreed to pull out of running them. |
New powers for councils to tackle empty shops
12/11/2024 Local authorities will get new powers next month to force landlords to rent out persistently empty high street properties. |
Budget: Chancellor promises to permanently lower business rates
30/10/2024 The chancellor prioritised delivering permanently lower business rates from 2026-27 in the Budget by lowering multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. |
Ministers back Khan to pedestrianise Oxford Street
17/09/2024 The mayor of London has unveiled government-backed plans to pedestrianise the capital's most famous shopping street. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
Lib Dems pledge to scrap business rates
09/04/2024 The Liberal Democrats would deliver tax reforms to ‘revive struggling high streets’, leader Ed Davey will announce today. |
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. |
Councils call for ‘autonomy’ under EPR
26/02/2024 Councils must still have the autonomy to run waste services according to local need under new packaging reforms, the Local Government Association has said. |
Vape industry proposes alcohol-style licensing scheme
21/02/2024 A first-of-its kind licensing framework for the UK vape industry is being put forward in Parliament today. |
The Trading Standards Crisis
15/02/2024 John Herriman, chief executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, discusses the impact of the local government funding crisis on Trading Standards. |
Vape sniffer dog uncovers £18.5k of contraband
27/11/2023 A sniffer dog has helped Lancashire County Council’s Trading Standards team uncover thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit e-cigarettes and tobacco. |
Brighton Christmas market cancelled
17/11/2023 Residents of Brighton and Hove will have to miss out on the Christmas market this year after the city council failed to find a commercial partner to fund it. |
Bury Market partially closes for RAAC safety checks
27/10/2023 Bury Market’s indoor stalls, which contain Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, have been closed for safety works. |
High street facing ‘terminal decline’, union warns
09/10/2023 The high street may be facing a ‘terminal decline’ as more than 420,000 traditional retail jobs have been lost since 2010, the union GMB has warned. |
Council buys £14m shopping centre
04/10/2023 Fareham Borough Council has spent £14m acquiring the town’s high street shopping centre and adjoining properties. |
Pubs 'vanishing' at alarming rate as closures jump 50%
18/09/2023 The number of pubs that have been demolished or converted into other types of use has risen dramatically, with over 380 ‘vanishing’ this year. |
Council signs deal for Oxford Street revamp
14/09/2023 Westminster City Council has signed a new agreement and approved the next stage of a £90m investment in Oxford Street this week. |
Oxford to build hundreds of affordable homes
17/08/2023 Oxford City Council has approved plans to develop 294 affordable homes, along with new retail spaces and community facilities. |
Councils need ‘cohesive plan’ after loss of 6,000 stores
28/07/2023 British Retail Consortium found that Britain lost 6,000 shops in five years and warned that councils must make a ‘cohesive plan’ to revive shopping areas. |
Retailers criticise ‘extended producer responsibility’ scheme
02/06/2023 A plan to make food manufacturers pay councils for the collection and recycling of packaging waste is facing opposition from retailers and manufacturers. |
Crackdown on sale of vapes to children launched
30/05/2023 A review of the rules governing the sale of vapes to under 18s could make it easier for local Trading Standards to issue fines and fixed penalty notices. |
One in 10 takeaways fail food standards inspections
30/05/2023 Councils should be enabled to spend more time ensuring food standards are maintained, study says as one in 10 takeaways are found to have failed inspections. |
Westminster council takes on tax avoiding candy stores
25/05/2023 Westminster City Council has declared war on US-style candy and souvenir stores that are failing to pay business rates or selling illegal or unsafe goods. |
North East has highest percentage of empty shops
10/05/2023 The North East has the highest percentage of empty high street shops in Britain, a new study has revealed. |
New £350m fund could help communities revive high streets
10/08/2022 A new study has called for the creation of a fund that can help local communities takeover empty high street buildings as a record number of shops stand empty. |
Retailers tell Government to fix ‘broken’ business rates system
10/08/2021 Retailers have urged the Government to reform the business rates system as part of the effort to help high streets recover from the pandemic. |
Chelmsford sees largest increase in footfall since easing of lockdown
21/04/2021 Chelmsford has seen the largest increase in footfall since non-essential stores opened earlier this month, but Exeter is where people are going into shops. |
Councillors look abroad to learn how to ‘deliver a high street renaissance’
07/02/2020 District councils are looking to Belgium for ideas about how to revitalize town centres. |
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High street hit as retail employment falls by 85,000
24/10/2019 ‘Weak’ consumer demand and ‘Brexit uncertainty’ have been blamed for the decline of the high street as figures reveal thousands of retail jobs have been lost. |
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High streets see ‘record decline’ in shops as 16 close each day
11/09/2019 High streets have been hit hard this year with a record decline in store numbers being recorded for the first half of 2019. |
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High street retailers call for reform of ‘broken’ business rates
13/08/2019 Over 50 high street retailers have signed a letter calling on Chancellor Sajid Javid to reform the business rates system. |
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Say ‘no to ugliness’, commission tells planners
10/07/2019 Councils should 'say no to ugliness' in their planning decisions, according to a report commissioned by the Government. |
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Protecting town centres
10/06/2019 Debenhams CVA: Josh Myerson and Andrew Haughey explain what councils and local authorities can do to protect their town centres. |
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Council chiefs warn of dangerous ‘must-have’ toys
24/12/2018 Local government leaders are warning Christmas shoppers to avoid potentially dangerous and fake ‘must-have’ toys. |
