Cities are responsible for around 75% of global CO2 emissions. To effectively battle climate change, urban hubs will need to be in the vanguard. A handful of cities are aware of this responsibility, and willingly placed themselves on the front lines in the effort to decarbonise. Across the UK, mainland Europe and the Asia Pacific, … Read more

Court orders UK Government to lay revised strategy before Parliament by 31 March 2023. Climate change is a global problem. These are the opening words of Mr Justice Holgate’s judgment in respect of a legal challenge to the adequacy of the UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy (NZS) and the statutory reporting undertaken in connection with … Read more

The Environment Act 2021 is a major piece of legislation which radically transforms environmental governance in the UK. Through four cornerstones the Act: establishes a new supra regulator of regulators, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), which can investigate any public authority failing to comply with environmental law obligations and launch a new environmental review … Read more

It might seem an odd time to be publishing our second “Back to Basics” blog on the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). We have, of course, recently been blessed with the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which, amongst other things, has given us a glimpse into the new world of CIL’s replacement, the Infrastructure Levy (IL). However, … Read more

The Building Safety Bill has finally finished its legislative journey. On 28 April 2022 it was granted Royal Assent, thereby becoming the Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act). Given the size of the Act, it’s no surprise that it took a few days to work out which of the many proposed amendments to the Bill … Read more

Reports that the Planning Bill has been dropped, and that planning reforms first proposed by June 2020’s Planning White Paper will instead be progressed through the “levelling up” agenda, seem to be on the button. From a planning perspective, closer attention must now be paid to what the Levelling Up White Paper has to say. … Read more

The London planning team at Herbert Smith Freehills has a new blog focused on infrastructure planning, Energy and Infrastructure Consenting Notes. The team has promoted some of the biggest and most high-profile nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) applications to go through the Planning Act 2008 process, from the Hinkley Point and Sizewell new nuclear power … Read more

There is shared interest in ensuring that the decline of town centres is reversed and high-streets are regenerated. Investors are increasingly interested in achieving social value through improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of communities. Many owners and developers are leading the way by taking a community-first approach, ensuring that the social impact of … Read more