Planning
'Radical shake-up' for planning
The Scottish Government has hailed a ‘radical shake-up’ after the passing of the Planning Bill yesterday.
Choices, choices...
Ray Lee says councils are expected to ‘exhaust every avenue’ to meet their housing needs figure. But Elmbridge BC had thousands of green belt objections following its first Regulation 18 consultation, creating a hard to ignore political mandate.
Driving ahead with digitisation
A digital transformation programme has led to identified savings of more than £580,000 over 10 years at Craven DC, says Paul Shevlin.
Planning permission for council sports centre quashed
Elmbridge BC may be forced to demolish its multi-million pound sports hub after a High Court judge ruled it was granted planning permission unlawfully.
Rebalancing the planning relationship
John Fuller is looking forward to seeing if housing minister Kit Malthouse's hints translate into solutions contained in the expected accelerated planning Green Paper.
Labour report calls for radical tax and planning reforms
Replacing council tax and business rates are among the radical policies proposed in a report commissioned by the Labour Party.
Banbury broadens its offer for residents
Cherwell DC bought the existing shopping centre in Banbury and the site for a new leisure and retail expansion. The council has a responsibility to ensure the success of these investments and of the town, says Adele Taylor
London council budgets slashed 17% over last decade
London’s local authority budgets have dropped by nearly a fifth – 17% – per head over the last eight years, a new study has revealed.
Counties can help speed delivery of the right homes in the right places
We must move away from simply 'planning by numbers' when it comes to housing and instead seek to create genuine and sustainable communities, says Peter French
Planning system comes under fire from MPs
The Government’s approach to increasing housebuilding via the planning system has been described as ‘trite nonsense’ by an MP.
Factor inclusivity in from day one
Tackling social exclusion cannot end at the planning committee or once legal agreements are signed, according to Paul Hackett.
Rule change signalled following London 'social cleansing' accusation
Local government secretary James Brokenshire has signalled a possible change to the rules to help councils facing an influx of London’s homeless.
Councillors grill Capita over planning service
Directors of an outsourced planning service have been taken to task by councillors.
Scrapping permitted development will lead to better quality housing schemes
Senior researcher at the Fabian Society Jason Brock argues that a broken planning system is harming the future of our town centres and making Britain’s housing crisis worse.
A solid partnership was key to the new vision for Bracknell
A ‘solid public-private partnership’ was critical to making the masterplan for Bracknell’s transformation work, says Cllr Marc Brunel-Walker.
Extracting quality from the Future High Streets Fund
Retail expert Bill Grimsey says the £675m Future High Streets Fund is welcome, but the Government is forcing the pace on bids and leaving councils without the time to put together quality schemes.
Brokenshire announces Accelerated Housing Green Paper
A Green Paper aiming to speed up the planning process will be published later this year, communities Secretary James Brokenshire has announced.
Housing minister urges councils to revive HRA building
Minister Kit Malthouse has expressed a preference for building new homes using Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) instead of creating property companies.
Brokenshire backtracks after blocking Baptist bid
A judicial review next month has been averted after communities secretary James Brokenshire backtracked on a decision to block a planning application for 220 homes.
Planners in growth and infrastructure warning
Large-scale infrastructure projects and construction-led economic growth in Scotland are at risk if under-resourcing of the planning system continues.