In his first real task as Planning Minister, Nick Boles signed The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 – the legislation which forms the mainstay of Mr Pickles crusade to champion flag-flying. You will be delighted to know that as of 12 October you will be […]
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 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 […]