In light of the new measures put in place by the UK government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many projects are being assessed to determine whether they can continue or whether work should pause. Local authorities are putting in place appropriate measures for their areas to protect the health and safety of the public … Read more
This week, offices, schools and public places are being closed in response to COVID-19. Herbert Smith Freehills continues to provide a full client service, with our teams mostly working remotely but, as with all businesses, those involved in planning are trying to work out the best ways to continue with projects and what accommodations need … Read more
The HSF Intellectual Property team has produced an interesting podcast on the problems associated with the use of architects’ designs where specific permissions are not in place, and the impact on development projects. The podcast covers: What sort of works attract copyright? How could these copyright works be infringed? Who owns copyright in architects’ designs? … Read more
This blog was first posted on HSF’s Public Law Notes on Thursday, 27 February 2020. Today in a unanimous decision the Court of Appeal found that the current Government policy in relation to the expansion of Heathrow Airport is unlawful. Background The Court of Appeal has today handed down two related judgments both concerned with … Read more
All eyes will be on the Supreme Court this July, as it hears the developer’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision in Alexander Devine Children’s Cancer Trust v Millgate Developments Limited and others [2018] EWCA Civ 2679, a case in which a developer built social housing in knowing breach of covenant. The Court of … Read more
After a considerable period of consultation, RICS have this week published the new “Code for leasing business premises” (1st edition, February 2020) (the New Code) which, according to RICS, aims to make the process of commercial lease negotiations faster, more transparent and fairer. There is also hope that the new requirements will encourage businesses to … Read more
Community involvement sits at the heart of the planning process. Evidence shows that enabling people to participate in the decisions that affect them improves confidence in dealing with local issues, builds bridges between citizens and the government, fosters engagement, and increases social capital. It also increases people’s understanding of how decisions are taken, which can … Read more
The Environment Bill 2020 was re-introduced into the House of Commons last week. It is an updated version of the bill published in October 2019 that was withdrawn due to the General Election (see here for our blog post on this). If adopted, it will be the most substantial piece of primary legislation on the … Read more
The future of HS2 looked uncertain for a while but reports that Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid will back the project may pave the way for the government to announce that it will go ahead with what is currently the largest infrastructure project in Europe. The Oakervee Report On 21 August 2019, Transport Secretary … Read more
