News and Resources

Faithful reader, life’s hard enough and I’m giving you another week off from a proper blog post. However… The High Court rulings and planning appeal decisions keep coming and it’s worth subscribing to the Town Library free weekly updates for those, including great summaries of every High Court ruling, prepared by my Town Legal colleagues. …

Time is money. Time is unmet needs. Time is unrealised public benefits. I just wanted to capture some of the current, frankly depressing, data that is out there on application and appeal timescales. The purpose of this post is to underline that there is a significant problem to be addressed. What to do about it …

Westminster City Council’s deputy leader Councillor Melvyn Caplan resigned yesterday (12 August 2021) over the summer fiasco of the temporary viewing platform that has been built next to Marble Arch, in the middle of the gyratory roundabout where Park Lane meets Oxford Street. From WCC’s press statement Westminster City Council update on Marble Arch Mound: …

A personal rant, with apologies. Did you see that quote in the Daily Mail about the long awaited Planning Bill? “A Government source said ministers would be in ‘listening mode’ on the issue when Parliament returns in September, adding: ‘We’ll listen and we’ll move. ‘We can take some of the edges off that are upsetting …

This is a month in which we have seen the Government announce that it would be reviewing its National Networks (i.e. roads and rail) National Policy Statement to take account of net zero carbon commitments and in the meantime fend off a challenge to its current road investment strategy (RIS2): R (Transport Action Network Limited …

“Let’s see what more announcements the coming week brings…” was my sign off to last week’s ‘Twas The Week Before Recess blog post. After this week your holiday reading now includes: A new NPPF and national model design code The revised NPPF was published on 20 July 2021, along with the new national model design …

The House of Commons and House of Lords both rise on 22 July 2021 and are due to return on 6 September 2021, which means that each year this week and next we always see many documents published and announcements made. Much festivity. This week last year the Planning White Paper was eagerly awaited of …

“…in a taxing Act one has to look merely at what is clearly said. There is no room for any intendment. There is no equity about a tax. There is no presumption as to a tax. Nothing is to be read in, nothing is to be implied. One can only look fairly at the language …

To what extent is human safety, and the safe construction of buildings, a matter for the planning system? It can be difficult to determine and this blog post just scratches the surface – there’s a book to be written by someone (not me!) on the subject. Last week the High Court handed down judgment in …

What are “very special circumstances” which may justify the grant of planning permission for inappropriate development in the green belt? Of course there is no definitive answer to that question. As set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (this is about application of national policy, rather than a matter of legislation), it is for …