Welcome to our first newsletter of 2023. Although probably now a distant memory, we trust you had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year break. In this issue we look at: the Levelling Up Bill, which is currently at its 2nd reading in the House of Lords; the NPPF consultation, which was published by the Government on 22 December; devolution, and how it could be the precursor to local government reforms; housing for older people and the link between levelling up, skills and training, social value, procurement and planning. We also have a political update, our usual local plan update and some news about Chelgate.
Levelling Up and the NPPF The Government really is between a rock and a hard place – it has a manifesto commitment to build 300,000 new homes per year by the middle of the decade, but the majority of those homes are needed in the south east in areas which are predominantly Conservative. More…
Devolution and local government reforms The first part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is to do with devolution, although the media seems to have avoided the topic as it is complex and not that controversial. The Government is wanting to devolve powers and budgets to the regions, to push power closer to the voters. More…
Political update It is difficult to remember a time when we did not have political turmoil – we had BREXIT and COVID, the invasion of Ukraine, and then three leaders inside a few month. Hopefully, we will see a period of relative stability in 2023. More…
Housing needs for older people We have failed to meet their needs for many years. Local plans produced by districts, boroughs and cities across the country rarely have provision for housing for older people, and where they do, it is usually unsophisticated limited to care homes or sheltered accommodation. More…
Levelling Up with skills We hosted a seminar at Harlow College, on behalf of Willmott Dixon, in November. It looked at the connections between public procurement, planning gain, social value and skills and training. More…
