By Ruby Burdett, Consultant  The UK government have recently laid out a plethora of radical reforms to the planning system and local government. The planning reforms, which aim to modernise and speed up the planning process, are within the Planning White Paper published in August, and the local government reform white …

By Alia Khan, Consultant  Cambridge has experienced high rates of economic growth for decades, with a particular emphasis on business research centres that lead the world in science and innovation.  It does, however, face an historic challenge in being able to provide affordable housing despite the city thriving economically. The …

By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property  Not usually associated but these two districts are currently on a similar path: planning inspectors have found both wanting in their duty to cooperate with adjoining authorities. Sevenoaks was in the High Court earlier this month with a judicial review of its inspector’s …

The Government has embarked upon ambitious reforms both of the planning system and, at the same time, local government structure. A step too far? Perhaps not as proposals for both do seem to complement each other. It is clear, however, that we have to prepare ourselves for a period of …

Inspectors have written to at least two authorities in Essex with unadopted local plans asking them to review their housing need numbers. This follows publication of the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2018 household projections. The figures, published on 29th June, predict the number of households in England to …

This month we bring you news on the St Albans Local Plan, new government-appointed chief planner, projections on the housing and rental markets, COVID-19 and long-term strategic planning and much more… Housing and rental market demand surges in UK Following the Government’s announcement last month to reopen estate agents, data …

By Alia Khan, Consultant  The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has appointed Joanna Averley as its new chief planner. She is the first female chief planner and assumes her post from September. Averley joins Whitehall from the Commission of Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), where she …

By Alia Khan, Consultant  Following the Government’s announcement last month to reopen estate agents, data sets emerging from the industry show a significant release of pent-up demand in both the housing and rental market in the UK. Although this was to be expected, the level of interest is a surprise. The …