If you were expecting to hear confirmation that final Parliamentary approval to the increase in planning application fees by 20% and the introduction of new planning consent categories regarding applications for Permission in Principle were to be confirmed this year then you will be sadly disappointed. Brexit once again gets in the way of Parliament [...]
The Government’s Chief Planner, Steve Quartermain has said at a recent rural housing summit that the Government is giving serious consideration to revising the NPPF “towards the back-end of the year.” He indicated changes may reflect a need to update the NPPF concerning the process for assessing local area housing needs. A consultation will be [...]
Barwood Homes recent application to have the earlier High Court ruling overturned which clarifies the concept that the presumption in favour of sustainable development is “a golden thread” running through the NPPF as being “holy misconceived” has now been clarified by the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal has stated that the “inspector made a [...]
On 19 July 2017 two important reforms came into force relating to Neighbourhood Plans. The first means that a Local Planning Authority has to have regard when making decisions concerning valid planning applications to a “post examination” un-made Neighbourhood Development Plan as a material consideration. The second major reform is that prior to a draft [...]
You might have thought that the recent Supreme Court verdict on the application and meaning of NPPF paragraph’s 14 and 49 would clarify this very important matter of planning principal. Prior to the Supreme Courts deliberations, it seems that earlier Appeal Court rulings had relied on a broad interpretation of Paragraph 49 allowing two [...]
At long last the White Paper has been revealed. Is it the answer to solving the so called ‘broken housing market’? Unlikely in our view, the various initiatives and promises are welcome but they really do not amount to much more than further tinkering. Planning The Government has committed to consulting on the principle of [...]
Yes, you heard it from us; new commercial buildings will all have to include green or solar roofs or a combination of the two. Do not worry though, this is the latest initiative finally passed by the French Government. The French Biodiversity Law was finally enacted at the beginning of the Autumn 2016…and of course [...]
The Government has recently announced its support for 12 new garden settlements. These will share a meagre £6m fund to assist with delivery over the next 2 years. The Garden Village concept is an extension of the existing Garden Town programme and will comprise schemes between 1,500 and 10,000 homes. The fund will be used [...]
A recently published survey of 91 Local Authorities and a number of small to medium sized house builders undertaken by the Federation of Master Builders [FMB] and the Local Government Information Unit [LGIU] reveals a number of interesting statistics about housing development delivery and how the situation might be improved. The Chief Executive of the [...]
The Government has announced 30 Starter Home Land Fund partnerships with local authorities across England, with the aim of delivering at least 30,000 starter homes by 2020. Construction is due to start this year on the first wave of discounted homes aimed at young people aged between 23 and 40 trying to get on to the property ladder. [...]