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. [...]
We understand that amendments to the Neighbourhood Planning Bill are emerging. One of the most significant is certain to add yet a further layer of risk to a developers planning application programme. It is proposed that the bill be altered to include a requirement for local planning authorities to consult neighbourhood planning bodies on decisions [...]
The Planning & Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell has lifted his earlier holding decision made in May 2016 preventing the adoption of the replacement Birmingham City Council Development Plan. The City Council had to provide further evidence that it had maximised the identification of available brown field sites within the urban area for housing before moving [...]
The Court of Appeal recently considered a case, Palmer vs Herefordshire Council & Another that provides further clarity on the weight that should be given to the possible effect of development on listed heritage assets and how application reports to a Planning Committee should be drafted. The decision confirms that under S66 of the Planning [...]
The High Court has found a policy detailed in the St. Ives Neighbourhood Plan that prevents new housing being used as second homes to be lawful. The St. Ives town Neighbourhood Plan is the first in the UK to restrict occupancy of any new dwelling as ‘Principal Residence’. This is solely aimed at decreasing [...]
The news regarding the disposal of up to 30% of the defence estate also comes as Network Rail announces plans to unlock land for 12,000 new homes by 2020. Around 5,000 homes will be developed on surplus sites in London, 3,000 in Manchester and the north, 1,700 in the Midlands and East and 1,400 [...]