In the recent Sunak reshuffle, Rachael Maclean was ousted from Government, and her position,  to be replaced by Lee Rowley. Some will remember that Rowley took the Housing reins in the interim Truss Government. It is still unclear if he will also be taking on the planning portfolio. The MP …

Welcome to our November issue of Planning ahead. In this issue we have articles on the recent updates to the Levelling Up Bill; the Conservative party conference; the Labour party conference; and the Garden Towns Conference. We also have an article on Intervention and housing need and our usual political and Local Plan updates, as well …

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) intervened in the Spelthorne local plan in late September. The housing minister, Rachel Maclean, sent a letter to the council blocking the authority from rescinding its emerging plan from examination. This was the first time in two years DLUHC has intervened, …

Michael Hardware spoke at the Garden Communities and New Towns Conference held in October in Kensington Town Hall, London, organised by the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF). Speakers relayed progress on the many new garden communities coming forward across the UK. Hardware described the progress of the Harlow …

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, first published in May 2022, has received royal assent after over a year of parliamentary debate. The Bill became an Act on 26 October, after being debated and revised by both parliamentary houses. Changes to planning policy are set to begin coming into effect …

The Conservative Party conference took place in Manchester in October. Housing and planning policy, in the words of housing minister Rachel Maclean, was approached as a “critical” issue, with discussions and speeches stretching from the use of greenfield by the authority of government over local authority plans. Brownfield Land Maclean …

Economy The October annual inflation rate was 6.7%, which was no change since September. It was expected to fall but held higher by increasing fuel prices. It is expected to fall in November and the Government is on track to meet its target of halving the rate to 5.3% by …

The Labour Party Conference in Liverpool was heavy on housing and redevelopment with pledges of new homes and affordable costs repeated from speech to speech. “We are the builders,” was Leader Sir Keir Starmer’s declaration as he pledged 1.5 million new homes in five years if Labour were to be …