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News & Analysis
The latest UK town planning news, including development management, housing, retail & town centres, development plans, key appeal decisions, NPPF and changes to the planning system.
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Johnson 'considering measures to compel release of public land for new homes'
A report that the Conservative leader Boris Johnson is considering measures to encourage public bodies to 'release thousands of pockets of under-used land for homes' features in today's newspaper round-up.

The councils that we predict will have to produce a housing delivery action plan for the first time under the 2019 test
Twenty-three councils would, under the 2019 housing delivery test, have to for the first time produce a housing delivery action plan outlining how they will boost the provision of new homes in their area, according to research by Planning.

The 20 councils we predict will be able reduce their housing land supply thanks to the 2019 delivery test
Twenty councils are likely to be able to reduce their housing land supply under the 2019 housing delivery test, according to research by Planning.
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Shropshire Council secures injunction to stop developer selling affordable homes on open market
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The 19 councils we predict will be required to increase their housing land supply under the 2019 delivery test
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51-storey Birmingham PRS tower approved after airport agrees to increase flight heights
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What lies behind councils' vociferous criticism of local plan inspectors?
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How the Tory pledge to review the Oxbridge Expressway will affect the road corridor's development
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The 112 councils in line to face the next set of housing delivery test sanctions
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Local Plan Watch: High Court dismisses Surrey local plan challenge
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10 key things that happened this week
- Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth Durham County Council Durham
- Principal Planner Walbrook Planning Consultants Bath, Somerset
- Planning Officer Eastleigh Borough Council Eastleigh, Hampshire
- Conservation Officer Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Dudley, West Midlands
- Senior Town Planner | Secure planning for Netflix and work on bespoke developments! Lewis Davey Guildford, Surrey
Latest Features & Analysis

The top ten appeal and call-in decisions of 2019
We summarise the ten most frequently downloaded decisions from the COMPASS online appeals database during 2019.

Does the Conservative manifesto indicate lower housebuilding ambitions?
The Conservative Party's new general election manifesto includes lower short-term housebuilding targets than its 2017 predecessor. Some commentators wonder whether the party is downscaling its housing delivery ambitions.

Why tens of thousands of homes are built in high flood risk areas every year
Around 24,000 homes were built in high flood risk areas in England in 2016/17. In the aftermath of more severe floods, the figure may seem baffling, but the vast majority have the regulator's backing.
Latest Comment
Party manifestos reveal different definitions of housing crisis, by Chris Brown
The manifestos are out and the battle of the housing numbers is on again. This time they come with a degree more pragmatism than we have seen in recent years. And they highlight two different definitions of the housing 'crisis'.
Legal Viewpoint: Tribunal ruling on retail case tests scope of legal privilege
In a recent case involving competing retail proposals in Yorkshire, the Information Rights Tribunal considered disclosure of instructions to counsel in the context of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Hard to gauge the impact of any eventual Brexit on planning and development, by Cliff Hague
With the election in full swing, it remains difficult to know just what form Brexit might take - if indeed it happens. It is even harder to guess what impacts it might have on planning and development.
Consultants are cautious about the economy, but optimistic about their businesses, by Richard Garlick
Planning consultants are, by and large, much less optimistic about the economy than they were a year ago. 55 per cent of respondents to our 2018 survey of planning consultants said that the economic climate for development would improve over the next 12 months. This year that figure has fallen to 12 per cent.
Legal Viewpoint: How infrastructure levy can bite on relatively modest developments
The Court of Appeal has considered some of the nuts and bolts of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) regime for the first time. The facts illustrate the potential jeopardy faced by developers from provisions that are complex and, at their core, still open to varying interpretations.
Spare a thought for the housebuilder's in-house planner, by Graeme Bell
Nick gulped. The stress of the quarterly review was getting to him. Not that he was a shrinking violet, he regarded himself as a tough cookie, but the worry of having to justify the poor progress of the planning applications was grinding him down.
Latest CIL Watch
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Chiltern and South Bucks Councils - CIL draft charging schedule submitted for examination
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Rushcliffe Council - CIL charging schedule adopted
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Harrogate Council - CIL draft charging schedule submitted for examination
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Arun Council - CIL draft charging schedule submitted for examination
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Havering Council - CIL charging schedule adopted
Policy News & Updates
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BPF calls for strengthened presumption in favour of sustainable development
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Permitted Development and Allotments - Welsh Government consultation
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2019 election manifestos: where the parties stand on key planning issues
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Labour pledges to force developers to build 'at least' 50,000 discounted homes
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Tory manifesto promises planning changes to support discounted homes for 'local people'