Room 106

In this edition, we’ll be: Taking a Deep Dive into the key lessons from how planning inspectors are interpreting the new National Planning Policy Framework in their appeal decisions – what are the trends that practitioners need to be aware of and what are the cases that illustrate them? Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading sour...

In this edition, we’ll be discussing: The latest council to rebel against the government’s requirements to delegate more decisions to officers, and what the repercussions of the widening resistance are likely to be The government’s latest statement on whether development can take place outside settlement boundaries And another recalcitrant council – this one pushing back against an order to submit...

In this edition, we’ll be: Taking a Deep Dive into the government’s planning policy and legislation programme over the next six months – what are the key announcements and measures that we can expect? Discussing some big changes in the planning consultancy market, including the news that one of the country’s largest property consultancies is considering making its whole planning division redundant...

The latest edition of our monthly series examining the key recent appeal and court decisions, in which we speak to technical editor David Dewar, who compiles Planning’s long-running Casebook section. This month, we’ll be discussing: An appeal allowing 249 homes in Oxfordshire that has prompted concerns among practitioners due to the way the inspector assessed the proposal against the new S5 policy...

In this episode, we’ll be talking about: All the planning news from the Conservative Party conference, including details of the Tories’ emerging vision of how they would change the planning system if they were in government. A letter to the Planning Inspectorate from the planning minister Matthew Pennycook highlighting what he calls the “universal tilt” in favour of permission in the new version o...

In this episode, we’ll be talking about: All the planning news from the Labour Party conference, including planning minister Matthew Pennycook opining on whether the government will further update the National Planning Policy Framework and on local authority decision-making. A round-up of what the Green Party has been saying about housing delivery and development at its annual conference last week...

In this episode, we’ll be examining: The latest local plan interventions by the planning minister and how councils at the receiving end are reacting. The publication of the first-ever draft environmental delivery plan under the government’s new nature recovery system. A planning inspector applying a key new policy from the revised National Planning Policy Framework in allowing a large housing sche...

The latest edition of our monthly series examining the key recent appeal and court decisions, in which we speak to technical editor David Dewar, who compiles Planning’s long-running Casebook section. This month, we’ll be discussing: An inspector citing a key new policy in the updated National Planning Policy Framework, one day after the document was published, in assessing a housing proposal in Es...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be examining: What the new National Planning Policy Framework’s simplified heritage impact test means for planners and developers . Why new application call-in powers for mayors could have a game-changing effect on decision-making . Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent inte...

In this episode, we’ll be taking a close look at the government’s surprise announcement of a review of its long-standing local government reorganisation programme . We’ll also be discussing: A Reform UK council mayor declaring he is “extremely unhappy” that planning officers failed to bring a 910-home green belt plan to committee on time . The chancellor announcing that a mechanism to allow Parlia...

In this episode, we’ll be discussing: All the planning news from the Reform UK party conference last weekend. Two new local plan interventions by planning minister Matthew Pennycook. The housing secretary and the planning minister telling councils to “scale up” housing delivery immediately and urging them to “make full use of section 106 opportunities”. And breaking news that the government has pa...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be examining: The implications of the rise of so-called “appeal-ready” planning applications – what are they, why are they more common and what does it mean for planning professionals? Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more tha...

In this episode, we’ll unsurprisingly be discussing last week’s publication of the final version of the new and heavily rewritten National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including: The transitional arrangements for local authorities; New requirements for densification of development; Significant changes to the long-established presumption in favour of sustainable development; And notable revisi...

The latest edition of our monthly series examining the key recent appeal and court decisions, in which we speak to technical editor David Dewar, who compiles Planning ’s long-running Casebook section.  This month, we’ll be discussing: How the refusal of an 800-home mixed-use scheme highlights how specific “footnote 9” policies have to be met when an area is subject to the National Planning Po...

In this special edition, we’ll be giving our first-take briefing on the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including: The easing of planning rules for development around train stations – how these measures have been relaxed in some ways , but tightened up in others . The dropping of proposals in the draft for tougher affordable housing requirements . Giving councils more leeway to...

In this episode, we’ll be discussing: The High Court quashing a council’s consent for a Premier League football club’s green belt training ground following a “serious” failure by planning officers to disclose background papers on the environmental impacts. A series of decisions by planning minister Matthew Pennycook, including the overturning of a council’s approval of plans for a mixed-use scheme...

The latest edition of our monthly series examining the key recent appeal and court decisions, in which we speak to technical editor David Dewar, who compiles Planning ’s long-running Casebook section.  In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be discussing: What the return of Angela Rayner and the retention of Matthew Pennycook, as housing secretary and planning minister, respectively, means for the...

The latest edition of our monthly series examining the key recent appeal and court decisions, in which we speak to technical editor David Dewar, who compiles Planning ’s long-running Casebook section.  In this episode, we’ll be discussing: A series of appointments at the housing ministry as part of the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first cabinet reshuffle – with some familiar faces return...

The latest edition of our monthly series examining the key recent appeal and court decisions, in which we speak to technical editor David Dewar, who compiles Planning ’s long-running Casebook section.  This month, we’ll be discussing: How inspectors are assessing data centre need and weighing up landscape impacts;  A retirement scheme permitted on green belt despite not meeting the 'gold...

The award-winning Planning team extracts the latest key planning news from the blizzard of new information in Room 106, the vault where all new planning information is gathered. In this episode, we’ll be discussing: The arrival of a new prime minister. What are the key planning tasks in Andy Burnham’s in-tray? And what has he said about planning since he became Labour Party at the end of last week...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be examining: Why many practitioners are up in arms about the new 250-word limit for written appeal forms. How a £37k compensation award for a female planning officer reminds the sector to be vigilant about unequal pay. Key planning news, and why it is important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for...

In this episode, we’ll be discussing: The key planning takeaways from the first big speech by the likely Prime Minister-elect Andy Burnham; The planning minister making a last-minute intervention in the examination of the City of London Corporation’s emerging local plan over its potential heritage impacts; And three councils launching a legal challenge against the reduced affordable housing requir...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be casting a spotlight on: The dramatic rise in the number of councils under no overall political control – what does this mean for planning in those areas and how do you keep it moving? Why a judge blocking a council from submitting its local plan for examination has prompted fears of wider plan-making delays Key planning news, and why it is important, brought to...

The latest edition of our monthly series examining the key recent appeal and court decisions, in which we speak to technical editor David Dewar, who compiles Planning’s long-running Casebook section.  This month, we’ll be discussing: An example of a proposal for a solar farm being refused on landscape grounds, bucking the trend for many such schemes being approved on the grounds of their bene...

In this episode, we’ll be discussing: The resignation of the Prime Minister, with new MP and former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham poised to take over – how has the sector reacted and what might this mean for planning and development? Planning minister Matthew Pennycook placing nine councils in special measures for poor-quality decision-making on major planning applications – the first such...