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 […]
Reprieve for developers on SuDS law
Developers, does the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 mean anything to you? Well perhaps it should, at least if you are planning to develop in England or Wales over the next few years. Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 requires the inclusion of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) as […]
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 […]
Changes afoot to the English heritage planning system…
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill has recently completed its second reading in the House of Commons. It doesn’t much sound like one planners need to be worried about but actually it includes several proposed changes to the heritage planning regime. The stated aim of the proposals is “to improve the operation […]
Worried about new “concealment” enforcement powers in the Localism Act?
Over the last few months we have noticed that the thing people are most consistently searching for information about on our website is the new enforcement powers brought by the Localism Act 2011 – specifically that intended to crack down on concealed breaches of planning (see previous post here). There has been far […]
Unlawful decisions stall Basingstoke planning policy progress
Back in February we reported on the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council pre-submission Core Strategy consultation. Progress on the Core Strategy has now been halted by a successful legal challenge brought about by the Manydown Company Limited in relation to the failure of the Council to allocate land for housing development at […]
Localism Act – new enforcement powers to come into force
The snappily titled “Localism Act 2011 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional, Transitory and Saving Provisions) Order 2012” confirms that the section of the Localism Act which deals with changes to planning enforcement comes into force on 06 April 2012. Perhaps the most noteworthy new power available to Local Authorities is at […]
Localism Act – new planning enforcement powers
The Government has issued a commencement order bringing various parts of the Localism Act 2011 into immediate force. They have also confirmed that some remaining key changes will come into effect in April including the strengthening of planning enforcement powers for Local Authorities. The first of these new enforcement powers […]