News and Resources

I need to declare an interest as I’ve recently been acting for an electronic communications code operator but… Ouseley J’s ruling in Westminster City Council v Secretary of State & New World Payphones Limited (5 February 2019) raises more questions than some of the media headlines would suggest. Background New World Payphones is the operator …

“Getting messy isn’t it?” was how I ended my 26 January 2019 blog post The Secretary Of State & London. Two more decisions to note since that blog post: VIP Trading Estate and VIP Industrial Estate, Charlton I suspect that this is the first example of a London Mayor calling in an application for his …

In this week of all Brexit weeks it was interesting to see the approach of the Court of Appeal in a case, R (Shirley) v Secretary of State (Court of Appeal, 25 January 2019), which turned on the practical extent of the Secretary of State’s duty to give effect to the objectives of the Air …

The Secretary of State wrote last year to the Mayor of London: “I am not convinced your assessment of need reflects the full extent of housing need in London to tackle affordability problems. I have listened carefully to yours, and others, representations, and I am clear that the public interest lies with ensuring you deliver …

Failing to serve a CIL notice can have huge consequences, as R (Shropshire Council) v Secretary of State (Mr C M G Ockleton, vice president of the Upper Tribunal, sitting as a High Court judge, 16 January 2019) illustrates. Mr Jones, a self-builder, secured planning permission for a large new home with triple garage. Good …

Faraday v West Berkshire Council (Court of Appeal, 14 November 2018) is essential reading for those advising on development agreements between local authorities and developers: the fact that the developer has the benefit of an option as to whether to take an interest in the relevant land and carry out the development does not prevent …

DEFRA published its Protecting and enhancing England’s trees and woodlands consultation paper on 30 December 2018, with a deadline of 28 February 2019 for responses. The proposals include imposing new statutory duties on local authorities: ⁃ “a duty to consult on the felling of street trees” ⁃ “a duty to report on tree felling and …

I’m conscious that these posts (this is the 149th) sometimes don’t age well – they try to capture a point in time and I don’t go back to change them unless I’ve got something really wrong or, worse still, there’s a misplaced apostrophe (they’re written on an ipad, on a train or at the kitchen …

“And through it all the Office for Environmental Protection A lot of love and affection Whether I’m right or wrong..” The Secretary of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, presented the draft Environment (Principles and Governance) Bill to Parliament on 19 December 2018. It is important that we understand the new regime that …

One of the many frustrating aspects of the Community Infrastructure Levy regime is the confusing and limited nature of any right to appeal, which is particularly concerning given the varying interpretations given to the Regulations by different collecting authorities. The first difficulty is working out what the appeal route in any particular situation is. Appeals …