Town planning news, appeals, best practice

Developer seeks consent for 325 countryside homes in South Oxfordshire during plan deadlock

By Mark Wilding, 10 September 2019

A developer has submitted plans for a major housing scheme on an unallocated greenfield site in South Oxfordshire, as the local authority seeks to break an impasse over its stalled emerging local plan.

Related headlines

Inspector refuses plans for 265 homes in Derbyshire countryside

A planning inspector has dismissed an appeal over plans to build 265 homes in Derbyshire countryside on the grounds that the scheme would harm the character and appearance of the area.

23-storey build-to-rent tower approved in Reading town centre

Revised plans for a 23-storey tower comprising 335 build-to-rent flats in Reading town centre have been given the green light after planners advised that the developer's increased affordable housing offer outweighed a clash with the council's tall building policies.

14-storey office tower approved in Newcastle despite Historic England concerns

Newcastle councillors have approved plans for a 14-storey city centre office building despite heritage concerns raised by Historic England, after officers advised that the proposal's public benefits outweighed the potential harm to nearby listed buildings.

Council 'releasing green belt land for people who will never exist'

A claim that a Midlands council is releasing green belt land unnecessarily based on 'over-inflated' housing projections features in today's newspaper round-up.

The authorities at risk of losing planning powers because of poor appeal records

By Adam Branson, 5 September 2019

Seven local planning authorities (LPAs) could be at risk of 'special measures' designation after the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) released its latest set of planning performance statistics, it has emerged.

Five report-writing pitfalls that have cost councils this year

By Bryan Johnston, 5 September 2019

We summarise five 2019 rulings in which planning officers' reports or recommendations were found flawed by the courts. By Bryan Johnston.

Five things you need to know about updated CIL guidance

By Mark Wilding, 3 September 2019

Planning practice guidance (PPG) has been updated to reflect new Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) regulations that came into force on 1 September. Here are five key things you need to know about the changes.

How local industrial strategies will impact on planning

By Ben Kochan, 5 September 2019

Local industrial strategies can provide the basis for councils to go for ambitious levels of housing and employment growth, but development plans will need to allocate land to reflect their priorities, say commentators.

Legal challenges: what you need to know

By Colin Marrs, 5 September 2019

In February, the High Court overturned a planning permission issued by the London Borough of Lewisham, after concluding that a planning officer's report failed to take into account the impact on a neighbour of vibrations arising from the development.

Need to know: What planners need to know about new land use guidance

By Chris Marsh, 5 September 2019

The latest guidance is likely to mean councils having to be more rigorous in protecting allocated employment sites yet to be developed, says Chris Marsh.

Design guidance never creates well designed places, by Chris Brown

By Chris Brown, 5 September 2019

We aren't short of guidance on what makes a good place so it's intriguing to see Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) commissioning consultancy Tibbalds to write a 'visual design guide' to form part of the Planning Practice Guidance supporting the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)