England: You will see a lot of headlines similar to this throughout the week. It is of course the usual scaremongering tactics from the likes of the Daily Telegraph and the Campaign to Protect “Rural” England cashing in on the one year anniversary of the publication of the National Planning Policy […]
Office to residential permitted development rights to come into force end of May
Planning Minister Nick Boles is reported as stating that the government’s new permitted development rights for change of use from B1(a) offices to C3 residential will come into force on 30 May 2013. So soon we find out which Councils have gotten exemptions and whether the conditions of the new […]
STILL wondering when planning fees are going up?
Yep so are we. It seems that the draft Regulations are still going through the Parliamentary affirmative resolution procedure which needs to be completed before they can be made and brought into force. The draft Regulations which set out the new fees indicate that they will come into force the day after […]
Government all over the shop on planning…
Well its a topical pun in a month that began with… Day one – Saturday: Eric Pickles announces that current permitted development rights to create a flat in disused space above a shop (Use Classes A1 or A2) will from 01 October be extended to allow you to (wait for […]
Wondering exactly when planning fees are increasing?
So are we! But the chances are that it will be 01 October – a favourite date for bringing in this kind of change and three years to the day since the last increase. Planning fees are increasing by 15%. Here’s a question: has the cost of delivering the planning […]
Reducing the hysteric interest in Listed Buildings
The Government (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) is consulting on a range of proposals which aim to reduce the troublesome burden on listed building owners and Councils of the need to seek Listed Building Consent. Contrary to the views of many a conservation officer, Listed Building Consent (LBC) is not […]
Eric the Abolisher still cannot slay the RSS beast
Oh Eric, remember the glee when you announced the destruction of the regional tier of the Development Plan back in the summer of 2010? “Communities will no longer have to endure the previous government’s failed Soviet tractor style top-down planning targets…” But oh dear Eric, here we are two years on and we are […]
Planning Inspectorate operating at snail’s pace
If you have recently lodged a planning appeal or are about to do so, you may wish to know that your appeal is unlikely to be registered for some time. The Planning Inspectorate used to reliably confirm that your appeal is valid and set a start date for the process […]
Planning fees to go up by 15% in the autumn
Among a new range of proposals for tinkering with the planning system announced yesterday by Planning Minister Greg Clark was the news that finally the Government is to scrap the (dreadful) idea of locally-set planning fees but instead is planning a straightforward 15% hike on the current fees in the […]
At last! The Pure Town Planning NPPF Briefing Note is here…
“Keep Calm and Carry On” – you see it written everywhere these days. But that is the message we are giving to clients about the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) having had a chance to read it, digest it and knock it about a bit at planning appeal hearings. Check out […]