Room 106

This week, we discuss: Why planning consultants and lawyers are alarmed about new requirements for the early submission of planning obligation agreements as part of written representation appeals;  Three more councils announcing delays to their local plans in response to the government’s proposed national planning policy changes; A council in Oxfordshire being condemned as "wholly irresponsib...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be discussing: Why so many local authorities are spending money on agency staff to work in their planning teams, what problems this causes, and how councils can make best use of them; The planning highlights from last week’s Conservative Party Conference.  We also round up the other key news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-...

In this edition, we examine: The key news from last week’s Labour Party conference in Liverpool, including a possible delay to the publication of the final version of the new National Planning Policy Framework; The government’s publication of new details on its proposal for “brownfield passports” to speed up development on previously used land;  The highlights from the Liberal Democrat autumn...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be examining two big proposed changes in the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF): What revisions to national policy on affordable housing would mean for planners, and how effective they would be in boosting the delivery of homes for social rent;  The implications of the government’s intention to make urban brownfield developments ‘acceptable in pri...

This week, we discuss:  The High Court quashing the secretary of state’s controversial permission for a new coal mine in Cumbria;  Planning inspectors recommending that a council withdraws its local plan due to its “unwillingness” to release green belt sites to meet housing need; Voters in a town overwhelmingly rejected a neighbourhood plan in a referendum after fears were raised about g...

In this Deep Dive, we discuss:  What the proposed cutting of 'beauty' references in the draft NPPF would mean for planners; What the government’s plans to more than double householder application fees might mean for local authorities. PLUS the past fortnight’s other headlines summarised. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leadin...

In this episode, we discuss:  Why councils faced with hikes in housing requirements under Labour’s proposed changes to the assessment method are accelerating plan preparation; What we know about the government’s task force to speed up housing delivery; What the fact that only a handful of applications for government biodiversity gain credits have been made tells us about how the system is ope...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be discussing the five circumstances that are “exceptional” enough to justify releasing green belt in local plans – including the extent of local need – and why, if Labour’s proposed changes to national policy are carried through, it will become more important for councils to know about them. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team beh...

In this episode, we will be discussing: A local authority revealing an unauthorised £826,000 overspend in its planning budget due to a huge application backlog;  How a number of councils halting local plan work due to the new government’s national planning policy changes;  Four local authorities issuing a legal threat to the government over the energy secretary’s “error” in approving a h...

In this Deep Dive edition, we examine: How and why a unitary authority is making an unusually big investment in its planning service; How the proposed National Planning Policy Framework revisions would change local housing need assessment, and what this might mean for planners. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source o...

In this episode, we look in more detail at the government's big planning announcements last week.  We discuss:  The councils that would see their housing need rise most under the government’s proposed new assessment method. The Planning Inspectorate warning the housing minister that his hard line on local plan examination delays will lead to more strategies being either recommended for w...

In this episode, we summarise key changes proposed in the government’s draft revised National Planning Policy Framework, as well as initial reaction from the sector. 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 than 50 years. Find the latest plannin...

In this episode, we will be discussing the first King’s Speech since the new Labour government was elected, which featured two bills proposing changes to the planning system. We will also look at: The appointment of a planning barrister as one of government’s most senior legal advisors following her election to Parliament as an MP; Fury in the industry at an ex-prime ministerial advisor’s cla...

In this Deep Dive edition, we examine the planning issues that are raised by the growth of data centres, including: The current national policy situation; The new Labour government’s attitude towards them; The challenges facing local authorities and developers planning for these kinds of development. PLUS, we round up the other most important news stories of the past seven days. Key planning news,...

This week, we’re focusing on Labour's seismic election victory the plethora of planning changes it announced almost straight away.  This includes: A series of planning announcements made by new chancellor Rachel Reeves in her speech on Monday morning;  A change to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to remove what the government called the “absurd” de facto ban on onshore wind...

In this Deep Dive edition, we discuss an investigation by  Planning  into: How the government measures up to its own local authority planning targets when it comes to speed of decision-making; The effectiveness of the 'special measures' regime to tackle councils’ development management performance. PLUS, we round up the other most important news stories of the past seven days. Key planni...

In this edition, we’re going to talk about:  A landmark ruling by the Supreme Court on an oil drilling project, which legal experts believe could have significant wider implications for planning decisions;   A council revealing that its legal challenge to minister’s consent for a 1,000-home high-rise project has been dropped because it made a ‘procedural error'; New government...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be looking into:  The planning promises made in the Labour Party’s general election manifesto;   Exclusive research by  Planning  predicting the results of the government's next housing delivery test. PLUS, we round up the other most important news stories of the past seven days. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by...

This week, we will be talking about:  Councils delaying local plan work due to next month’s general election;  The planning promises in the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrat manifestos, which were published earlier this week;   The planning proposals that the Labour Party has announced in the campaign so far.  PLUS, we round up the other most important news stories o...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be examining: What planning measures we can expect from the Labour Party’s first 100 days in power if they’re successful in next month’s general election; How the announcement of the general election will impact ongoing and planned planning policy and legislation. PLUS, we round up the other most important news stories of the past seven days. Key planning news, and...

In this episode, we will be discussing: The Labour Party’s new towns policy; The Prime Minister’s surprise announcement of a general election; Parliamentary public spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, criticises the government’s new biodiversity net gain requirement; A council accuses a branch of a countryside charity of spreading “misinformation” about its emergi...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be examining: The impact of newly elected metro mayors on planning and development; The ethical and professional issues raised by a councillor accusing planning officers at his own authority of "lobbying for developers". PLUS, we round up the other most important news stories of the past seven days. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the t...

In this episode, we will be looking at: The latest local authority that the government has placed in planning performance special measures; A council referring allegations of bribery made by three property developers in relation to planning committee decisions to the police; Data revealing the ten highest-rewarded local authority planning leads in 2022/23. PLUS, we round up the other mos...

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be looking at: How a row sparked by an inspector's LinkedIn ‘like’ has highlighted the need for planners to take care when posting on social media; What a spate of ministerial decisions tell us about government attitudes to solar development in the countryside. PLUS, we round up the other most important news stories of the past seven days. Key planning news, and wh...

In this edition, we will be discussing:  Why a series of councils are cutting their housing targets and green belt release levels in their draft local plans; How new affordability data impacts local housing need levels; The latest on Labour’s green belt policies.  PLUS, we round up the other most important news stories of the past seven days. Key planning news, and why it’s important, br...