England: In a statement made yesterday, the Government has announced that the temporary permitted development right allowing the change of use of offices to residential dwellings will definitely now be made permanent. Further details have been provided today in the form of a statement by Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis. […]
Government seek to appeal affordable homes threshold ruling
England: The government has been given permission by the Court of Appeal to appeal to it against the recent High Court ruling that struck down the national 10-unit affordable threshold. The judgement (which we reported here) issued in July resulted in the quashing of the government’s 8-month old policy that residential schemes of […]
National 10-unit affordable threshold struck down by court ruling
England: In a surprise High Court ruling issued on Friday (31 July) the Government’s policy for a national affordable housing threshold (of 10-units or 1000 sqm), which was introduced back in November, has been quashed. The policy no longer applies effective immediately. In the same decision the vacant building credit is […]
What? Planning reforms but no Pure Town Planning briefing note?
England: There have been a lot of headlines about reform to the planning system since the Budget last week and already clients have been asking when the Pure Town Planning briefing note will be available. I’m sorry to disappoint but there won’t be one this time. After plenty of speculation, the measures […]
Latest changes to permitted development rights…
England: The Government has just laid The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 – the first consolidated permitted development order since 1995. It’s about time as the 1995 order was subject to over 20 separate amendment orders – ten of which under the present Government. The consolidated […]
Legal challenge to new 10-unit affordable housing threshold policy
England: So it seems West Berkshire and Reading Borough Councils have taken the plunge and applied to the High Court for a Judicial Review of the Government’s new 10-unit affordable housing threshold policy introduced at the end of November (see our report on that policy here). We don’t have details of […]
Further permitted development changes may not happen before the General Election
England: Over the Christmas period the Department for Communities and Local Government published its Ninth Statement of New Regulation: January to June 2015 setting out the measures it anticipates bringing forward in that period (in practice between now and the General Election in May). Absent from that list are additional changes to […]
Government introduces national 10-unit affordable housing threshold
England: On Friday (28 November 2014) the Government quietly announced the introduction of a national 10-unit affordable housing threshold. This policy was first muted in last years Autumn Statement and then consulted upon in the proposals in March. Finally now the policy comes into effect. The policy is introduced by way of a few […]
Approved: B1(a) to C3 Prior Approval Application in Hinckley, Leicestershire
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council: Pure Town Planning’s list of planning approvals further afield continues to grow… We are delighted to announce that we have recently helped a client to secure consent for a prior approval application in Hinckley, Leicestershire to convert a redundant town centre office into residential use. The scheme will […]
The Government wonders if we’d like more changes to permitted development rights
England: Here we go again, another consultation on changes to the planning system from the Department for Communities and Local Government. This time the Government are seeking views on a whole range of proposed measures but probably most relevant to our clients will be further possible changes to permitted development rights. […]