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
For developers bringing forward any residential development, the affordable housing package will be one of the most important elements of ensuring a scheme actually gets consent – particularly in the current political and policy environment. But while it is easy to focus only on those crucial headlines – number of units, tenure, and size – … Read more
Last week, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (“SoS”), James Brokenshire MP, published a written statement in which he announced that he would no longer give reasons for calling-in or declining to call-in planning applications. This comes just short of six months after the Court of Appeal ruling in SAVE Britain’s … Read more
In our blog post of 10 December 2018 (see here), we discussed the potential impact on developers and landlords of changes to permitted development (PD) rights and Use Class A which were being consulted on by the government. Despite widespread criticism, and counter to some calls for a greater role for local authorities in securing … Read more
Last week, we published a post (see here) noting that the Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy 2 (‘MCIL2’) was due to come into force on 1 April 2019, setting out details of the new charges, which developments would be affected and the implications for developers. By a letter dated 28 February 2019, the Greater London Authority (‘GLA’) has now … Read more
The Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy 2, or ‘MCIL2’, is a new charging schedule for the Mayor’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charge. It sets new (higher) rates for Mayoral CIL and is due to take effect on 1 April 2019. (It is technically possible that the Mayor may change his mind about MCIL2 before 1 April 2019, but … Read more
