News and Resources

…really don’t want other people to have houses, do they? The prime minister can hardly be surprised when the affluent home-owning constituents of Chesham and Amersham register a protest vote against his plans for change, thinking that in some way he is coming for their beautiful part of the country, even though it bristles with …

Certificates of lawfulness are very useful, but care is still needed, as two recent cases illustrate. But first, to explain about the two types of certificate provided for under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the consequent jargon about CLEUDs and CLOPUDs. The “certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development” (“CLEUD”) procedure, …

I tweeted that yesterday was the 5th anniversary of my first simonicity blog post. 273 posts later and 496,000 words (War and Peace = 587,000 words) and to what effect? As I also said, it can be deflating to look back. So many posts expressing frustration about the same topics, yes obviously CIL, but also …

The Government’s First Homes announcements this week mean that we all need to understand the practicalities as to how this new form of discounted market sale housing will work and to plan around three key implementation dates. On 24 May 2021 we had the formal ministerial statement together with the publication of MHCLG guidance providing …

Government approves plan to turn Whitechapel Bell Foundry into boutique hotel (The Standard, 17 May 2021). Well, what do we think about that? Bell foundry that cast Big Ben can be turned into boutique hotel, UK government says – Decision has drawn wave of criticism from culture and heritage professionals, accusing government of ‘money-grabbing philistinism’ …

Nine months on from that planning white paper, we have seen no external signs of progress. All eyes on the Queen’s Speech on 11 May 2021. Was there to be a narrowing down of previous options; a reflection on the consultation process; a programme set out of further work to be carried out ahead of …

Choiceplace Properties Limited v Secretary of State (Dove J, 27 April 2021) amounts to a short and sharp lesson for applicants and their advisers: make sure your application plans are accurate, not just in relation to your development proposals but as to the relationship of the proposals to the existing streetscape or landscape, particularly if …

There will be no blog post this weekend, in memory of Stephen Ashworth. I commend his Dentons partner Roy Pinnock’s LinkedIn post and the many wonderful comments it elicited. Stephen – if only we could all cut through the nonsense like you could. You were the one I looked up to, always did. My condolences …

Great Bob Dylan album, almost. This post collects together in one place some of the recent planning, environmental and compulsory purchase litigation in relation to the High Speed Two rail project. R (Keir) v Natural England (16 April 2021, Lang J; further hearing before Holgate J, 23 April 2021, judgment reserved) This is the interim …

The community infrastructure levy system, in its application to lay individuals in particular, is monstrous, absurdly over-engineered, often badly administered and unfairly opaque. Could anyone disagree after reading Lang J’s judgment handed down yesterday in R (Trent) v Hertsmere Borough Council (16 April 2021)? (Or for another example see my 19 January 2019 blog post …