Planning legislation has been framed over many years to grapple with climate change and there is no doubt that there is real impetus at all levels of development to ensure that climate targets are met. In this blog we discuss...more
12/16/2021
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Buildings ,
Infrastructure ,
National Environmental Policies ,
Net Zero ,
Real Estate Development ,
Sustainability ,
UK ,
Urban Planning & Development
One of the more ambitious provisions of the new Environment Act 2021 is the mandatory requirement for new developments to provide a 10% biodiversity net gain. Whilst this requirement has no legal effect yet (and will be...more
Changes to the NPPF published by MHCLG on 20 July 2021 reflect the Government’s manifesto commitment to making ‘beauty’ and place making a strategic theme in national planning policy. In this Insight we explain how the new...more
Confirmation that the Government is examining new ways to increase build out rates could see the introduction of levies where planning permissions are not built out as expected. In this blog we remind ourselves that these...more
A new requirement for Fire Statements to be submitted with certain planning applications for high rise residential buildings and for the HSE to be consulted on such applications is intended to take effect from 1 August 2021. ...more
Following Secretary of State intervention, the planning policy for tall buildings in the adopted version of the London Plan was changed to allow borough-level development plans to lead on the detail. What does this mean for...more
The new London Plan 2021 was adopted on 2 March, four years after its first inception. During the plan making process it came under much central government scrutiny and criticism....more
The recent appeal decision in Hillside Parks Limited v Snowdonia National Park Authority [2020]1 has led some to question whether the established rules around ‘drop-in’ permissions have been curtailed; some authors query...more
The long awaited Planning White Paper was finally published on 6 August 2020 for consultation which, as promised, proposes radical changes to the current planning system that are not short of ambition.
This is not the...more
The introduction of a new ‘broad’ use class aimed at revitalising town centres was announced by Robert Jenrick MP in early July 2020 and follows a 2018/2019 consultation on measures to support high streets.
This week the...more
The Government yesterday published its Business and Planning Bill. The Bill includes an assortment of measures to support businesses as the country transitions from lockdown into recovery, including the introduction of new...more
A recent High Court ruling in the case of R (Swire) v Secretary of State [2020] has highlighted the subtleties in the approach to screening decisions and particularly in the assessment of measures to mitigate the adverse...more
MHCLG has confirmed that all planning permissions due to expire during the lockdown period will be extended until 1 April 2021. In this blog we examine the details of this announcement....more
Planning reform is once again back in the spotlight and is expected to play a central role in the UK’s economic recovery from the Covid crisis. Although we do not know the nature of the reforms at this stage, there is much...more
The Government’s immediate planning response to the coronavirus pandemic taking hold in the UK focussed on ensuring that planning committee meetings could continue and take place remotely and on the introduction of some...more
The Scottish Parliament introduced emergency legislation in the form of the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill on 31 March 2020 to mitigate some of the impacts of Covid 19 in Scotland. The Bill received Royal Assent on 6 April 2020....more
MHCLG published some of its proposals for planning reform in its ‘Planning for the Future’ statement on 12 March 2020, which largely builds on the Conservative Manifesto 2019 promises. However, more measures for reform are on...more
Measures were unveiled by the Chancellor in the Spring Statement which will be of interest to those in the development industry, particularly the announcement that the forthcoming Environment Bill will make it mandatory for...more