I read an article recently which told the story of an Oxford philosopher who spent a long evening with colleagues furiously debating the meaning of life. After eventually collapsing into bed, he awoke in the middle of the night with a brilliant thought. He scribbled it down on a pad beside the bed and went … Read more
Yesterday, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published the Business and Planning Bill 2019-2020 and supporting guidance. This is not the fundamental reform to the planning system that we have been told to expect; rather the Bill contains largely temporary measures to “support the transition from immediate [Covid-19] crisis response and lockdown … Read more
The landscape for real estate M&A has changed considerably over the past few months. For those more familiar with real estate M&A, there will be a perceptible shift in the way deals are managed and negotiated going forward. We have prepared a briefing exploring how future real estate M&A is likely to differ and what … Read more
In his introduction to the recent Policy Exchange publication “Planning Anew“, the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP has stated that the government will “focus on creating beautiful, environmentally friendly places”. This reference to beauty appears to be another indication that at least some of the recommendations set out in the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission’s … Read more
As businesses start to work out how to repair the economic damage caused by lockdown many are looking at ways to release capital from their balance sheets as an alternative to traditional financing routes. One option open to owner occupiers of real estate assets is a sale and leaseback, where an asset is sold (for … Read more
In light of the restrictions on movement imposed by the Public Health (Coronavirus) (England) Regulations 2020, last week the government issued some guidance aimed primarily at owners and operators of public places in England (Coronavirus (COVID-19): Safer Public Places – Urban Centres and Green Spaces (13 May 2020)). The guidance has no legal impact and … Read more
On 28 February, we reported that, in a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeal held in R (on the application of Plan B Earth and others) v Secretary of State for Transport [2020] EWCA Civ 214 that government policy in relation to the expansion of Heathrow Airport was unlawful. This was on the ground that … Read more
COVID-19 has proved to be a catalyst for changes to the planning system designed to respond to the rapidly changing economic climate. The government this week published guidance on postponing payments of developer contributions such as planning obligations and CIL in order to alleviate one of the obvious obstacles to development coming forward. What kind … Read more
The Government’s decision that it will temporarily ban landlords from serving statutory demands or issuing winding up petitions has sent shockwaves through much of the investment property market. In a press release on 23 April 2020, the Government announced that statutory demands served on “companies” between 1 March and 30 June 2020, and winding-up petitions … Read more
