After a bumpy start but ahead of schedule, the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission (or the “BBBBC”) this week published its Interim Report. Set up by the government in November 2018, the BBBBC has been tasked with “[tackling] the challenge of poor-quality design and build of homes and places” and finding a way of ensuring … Read more
Often in Central London, development is to be carried out in the vicinity of a disused burial ground. A recent example of this involved minor works and the location of a temporary building on top of a disused Church of England burial ground, assumed to be consecrated land. The site, therefore, was subject to Ecclesiastical Law … Read more
The term “proceeds of crime” tends to conjure up images of popular HBO crime dramas and 1950s gambling rings. It certainly doesn’t tend to be associated in most people’s minds with subdivision of flats without planning consent. But it should be. Southwark Council have recently won a £1.2m proceeds of crime confiscation order from a … Read more
A report commissioned for the Labour Party entitled “Land for the Many” has been published, proposing radical changes to the way that land is used and controlled in the United Kingdom. It makes many recommendations which are described as “proposals to the Labour Party” to consider as part of its policy development process in advance … Read more
Current crises in housing and in town centres have placed greater emphasis on the role that local authorities can and should play in compulsorily acquiring land to promote much needed development, whether to implement local plan policies or to help progress consented schemes. In a series of back-to-basics posts we will discuss the various stages … Read more
On 14 May 2019, the Planning Inspectorate published its Inquiries Review Action Plan to explain how it intends to implement the recommendations of Bridget Rosewell CBE’s Independent Review of Planning Appeal Inquiries. This blog considers what progress has been made and what are the main challenges to full implementation. The Rosewell Review The PINS Action Plan … Read more
Campaigners trying to block the expansion of Heathrow Airport have failed in their bid to persuade the High Court that the Government’s decision to designate the Airports National Policy Statement (“ANPS”), including the process which led to the designation, was flawed by legal error. The ANPS is a policy document which sets out the Government’s … Read more
The emergence of renewable energy such as wind and solar has brought about the need to store the electricity that is generated when it is not needed. Technological advancements mean that it is becoming increasingly feasible to store large quantities of energy in small-scale facilities. Electricity storage therefore provides vital flexibility to the UK’s energy … Read more
