Planning
Leader threatens legal challenge over tunnel
Thurrock Council’s leader has threatened a judicial review of Highways England’s plan for a Lower Thames Crossing.
Brokenshire writes: Lifting the barriers to building
Councils are the ‘sleeping giant’ of our housing system, as James Brokenshire explains, and now is the time to remove the barriers preventing them from delivering the homes their communities need.
Questions over cost of Labour's local government promises
Senior Labour figures delivered a raft of local government-related policy announcements at their annual conference this week – but questions remain over how to fund fresh promises.
Councils should benefit from land value uplift - MPs
Increases in land value that result from public policy decisions should be shared with councils instead of ending up in the pockets of private developers, MPs have said.
Housing minister defends planning changes
Housing minister Kit Malthouse has asked for time for new policies to ‘bed in’ as he was quizzed by MPs.
Ups and downs for districts
Ian Miller gives an overview of the latest decisions and indecisions to affect district councils.
Officers push for CPO reforms
Council officers are pushing for reforms to the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) regime, claiming caps on land values would speed up the delivery of new housebuilding.
Private leaseholders need assurance over Grenfell cladding
Leaseholders are enduring a miserable existence with properties rendered worthless because they have similar cladding to the Grenfell Tower. Paul Wheeler calls on the Government to act.
LGA in social rents plea
Ministers should drop plans to ditch social rents from the official definition of affordable homes while Britain continues to struggle to build new council housing, Smith Square has urged.
My final year as chair, I’ll be fighting for fairer housing
Local Government Association chairman Lord Porter outlines his agenda for the next 12 months and reflects on how the events of Grenfell has strengthened his resolve to push for safe, affordable housing for all.
Let's stop the housing numbers game
Lawrence Conway says we must focus on housing needs, not numbers.
Planning functions ‘downgraded’ by councils
Planning has been ‘downgraded’ in more than eight out of 10 local authorities, town planners have found.
House of Fraser pulls out of major council development
Troubled department store House of Fraser has pulled out of a major retail development led by Cheshire West & Chester Council.
Community asset transfer is a public policy win-win
Community asset transfer reduces the burden on the public sector while capitalizing communities, writes Tony Armstrong.
Manufacturing park to create 7k jobs and draw £400m investment
An ambitious project to create thousands of jobs and generate hundreds of millions of pounds of investment has been given the green light.
Planning Bill progresses despite opposition
Scottish opposition parties have called for changes after expressing concerns about the Government’s proposed Planning Bill.
LGA in homes warning
Up to 165,000 homes could be built without council support if the Government ploughs ahead with controversial planning policy changes, town halls warned today.
Public practice makes perfect
Sarah Cary says public planners are doing a herculean job, but there simply are not enough of them.
Raynsford: Planning system not fit for purpose
The UK planning system is ‘not fit for purpose’ and needs reforming in order to be more focused on the interests and wellbeing of citizens, according to a former local government minister Nick Raynsford.
A new approach to joined-up planning
Philip Atkins calls for a county-wide perspective on housing and planning policy.