By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property Town and county halls across the country are in a state of near panic as plans are brought forward by the Government for a major restructuring of local government. This would see the abolition of county, district, borough and some city councils …

By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property Everyone complains about the planning system: developers and planners complain because it is too long, complicated and has uncertainty; residents complain because their voices are never heard or taken into account; councillors complain that developers always try and avoid S106 of affordable …

By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property  The future of the car has been debated ad infinitum in recent years but the pandemic has perhaps added a new dimension. As new homes and communities being designed now will have to serve its residents for decades to come, should we be looking again …

By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property Is the Brentwood Borough Council (BBC) local plan going to go down the same path as others where there is a reliance on garden communities for a large proportion of housing numbers? BBC submitted its local plan in March and the inspectors …

  by Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property  The restrictions imposed on us all to counter the coronavirus have been severe and unsettling. Many have been forced to work from home, some for the very first time. The experience for most has been surprising – the technology is reliable and does …

  by Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property  Uttlesford District Council has called an Extraordinary Council Meeting (ECM) next Thursday to consider a recommendation from officers to withdraw the local plan. The two inspectors, Louise Crosby and Elaine Worthington, the same inspectors as for St Albans, had expressed serious concerns over …

  by Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property  In the latest instalment on the saga of the St Albans Local plan the inspectors have written to the council detailing why the Examination in Public was suspended and it does not make good reading. The council has the second-oldest local plan in …

By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property Very much like Essex, which we covered last month, Kent has seen inroads by UKIP into several councils over the past five years, mainly at the expense of the Conservatives. This influence has dissipated somewhat in recent years although several councils still …