News and Resources

I have a simple suggestion this week, sparked by thinking about two judicial review cases, almost 20 years apart, both involving challenges to the adequacy of environmental impact assessment processes in relation to particular schemes. In both of them the indefatigable claimant environmental lawyer Richard Buxton was on the winning side. (If anyone asks why …

No-one embarks lightly on litigation but there have been two striking examples this week of what it can achieve. Sometimes it doesn’t even need a hearing (first example) and sometimes it’s on the final roll of the dice (second example). Westferry Printworks The Secretary of State’s decision to grant planning permission, against his inspector’s recommendations, …

On 13 May 2020, MHCLG published: Guidance: coronavirus planning update Guidance: Coronavirus compulsory purchase Guidance: Coronavirus community infrastructure levy Guidance: construction site working hours Q&A Guidance: consultation and pre-decision matters Guidance: plan-making Guidance: neighbourhood planning On the same day, the Planning Inspectorate updated its guidance on site visits, hearings, inquiries and events. On 14 May …

“The past exists only in our memories, the future only in our plans. The present is our only reality. The tree that you are aware of intellectually, because of that small time lag, is always in the past and therefore is always unreal. Any intellectually conceived object is always in the past and therefore unreal. …

As the motivational cliche goes, there is no I in team. That’s as maybe. But, where I = Inquiry, nor is there yet any I on Teams (or on Zoom, on Skype, on BlueJeans, or even on Google Hangouts). The Planning Inspectorate’s 28 April 2020 update Planning Inspectorate casework continues as first pilot digital hearing …

Five out of five proposals for housing development have been approved by the Secretary of State so far in April 2020, in each instance in accordance with his inspectors’ recommendations. Chronologically: 1 April – Vauxhall Cross Island, Lambeth The Secretary of State approved a called in application for “the construction of a mixed-use development comprising …

The Clap for Our Carers phenomenon reflects heartfelt gratitude for what is currently being done, for all of us, by NHS staff, carers and others carrying out essential services. But clapping is glib. Many of us no doubt feel uneasy. After all many or most of those to whom we owe so much: ⁃ are …

Miles Gibson rightly spotted, in his good CBRE piece Community Infrastructure Levy – ten years old, but COVID-19 is its biggest test (7 April 2020), that the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations came into force just over ten years ago, on 6 April 2010. (And who better to point it out, given that until 2011 Miles …

Happily, last week’s blog post, on the the scope for remote planning committee meetings, was superseded by regulation 5 of the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 although of course there will be some practical challenges for authorities …

[Subsequent note: much of this post is now superseded by regulation 5 of the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020] Things are moving fast. My blog post last week was titled What To Do? This week focuses on …