As we look forward to what we hope is a less tumultuous 2023 our Real Estate Development Yule Blog starting today should provide you with a taste of some of the issues we have been concerned with this year which will continue to be of huge relevance to the real estate industry. We start the … Read more

Over the course of the last couple of years, we have watched with interest as the Building Safety Act made its way through Parliament and, earlier this year, finally became law.  As discussed in previous blogs (here and here, for example), the Act represents a wholesale revision of the planning and construction approval process for … Read more

Conservation covenants were introduced by the Environment Act 2021. They are private, voluntary legal agreements which bind current and future landowners to positive and restrictive conservation related actions. They have been available for use since 30 September 2022, but rules enabling a conservation covenant to be registered as a local land charge came into effect … Read more

Yesterday’s Autumn Statement was keenly awaited by many. Among the news that developers hoped to learn was what we can expect for planning reform, on which see our post here. Have we got the clarity that we were hoping for? To some extent perhaps. From a planning point of view the Autumn Statement may have … Read more

EG reported this afternoon that the government’s Investment Zone policy “is rumoured to be scrapped” in Monday’s Autumn Statement – we will know more in a few days’ time. The uncertainty surrounding this is now unfortunately familiar when it comes to changes to the planning system. Investment Zones were a significant part of the previous … Read more

Matthew Bonye, head of our Real Estate Dispute Resolution team, and Shanna Davison, professional support lawyer, recently shared their thoughts on the mandatory arbitration scheme launched earlier this year by the Government in response to arrears accrued during Covid-related closures. The scheme ran for six months ending on 23 September 2022 and, whilst we may … Read more

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the future of planning. On 23 September, the Chancellor announced the government’s Growth Plan 2022, and last week has seen Conservative Party Conference speeches from the new Levelling Up Minister, Simon Clarke, and the Prime Minister putting (limited) flesh on the bones on the future of levelling … Read more

Friday’s “mini-Budget”, referred to formally by the Government as “The Growth Plan 2022”, was anything but mini. Packed with tax cuts and simplifying measures, there was plenty to interest the real estate world. We highlight the key tax points of interest below (over and above the announcement that corporation tax will remain at 19%, and … Read more