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Policy & Legislation
Policy, legislation and guidance produced by the government or its designated bodies. Use adopted sections if you wish to see only policy or legislation in force or emerging sections if you are looking for consultation documents where central government is inviting opinion prior to the implementation of policy or legislation.
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Adopted Policy & Guidance
Here you will find the most recently published government policy and guidance. These are all documents that have been adopted upon publication.
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Developments of national significance: Welsh guidance updated
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Planning practice guidance updated - Light pollution, Community infrastructure levy, health and safe communities, hazardous substances
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Planning practice guidance updated - Air quality
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Infrastructure Update: Written statement
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National Design Guide
Adopted Legislation
Locate adopted legislation including Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments/Rules.
Consultations & Emerging Policy
Latest consultations and reports on government policy and guidance.
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Permitted Development and Allotments - Welsh Government consultation
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Development Corporation Reform: Technical consultation
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Net gain: Summary of responses and government response
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Delivery of Housing through the Planning System- Welsh Government consultation
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Gypsy and Traveller sites: the revised planning definition's impact on assessing accommodation needs
Legislation In Progress
Track the progress of legislation through the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments as well as the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies.
Fresh thinking on the DCP blog
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Bah humbug
The cold within a planning inspector “froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out... -
Oh no it isn’t!
Well, we are approaching pantomime season. An appeal against refusal of a lawful development certificate for a loft conversion with dormer windows at a house in south London has been... -
Cross it off the list
No doubt it is invariably with the best of intentions that planning authorities attach planning conditions to planning permissions, but they do not always pass the scrutiny of planning...
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Policy & Legislation News
BPF calls for strengthened presumption in favour of sustainable development
The National Planning Policy Framework's (NPPF's) presumption in favour of sustainable development should be "refreshed" to ensure that "all but the most misguided" applications are approved, a property industry lobby group has said.
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.
Key Topics
Guidance and legislation documents, news and in-depth coverage of key policy areas.
Briefing Notes
Parliamentary briefing documents on adopted and emerging policy/legislation
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Implementation of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 - Briefing paper
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Housing and Planning Bill: Report on Committee Stage
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Solar Farms: Funding, planning and impacts
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Nationally significant infrastructure projects and housing: briefing note
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Housing and Planning Bill briefing paper published
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Planning for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects: Briefing Paper
Policy & Legislation In Depth
How new planning guidance on CIL changes the system: the Planning Briefing
What the latest changes to government guidance are, and how they affect practitioners. By Isabella Kaminski.
The planning promises expected in the general election manifestos
While the Conservatives' manifesto is likely to continue the current government's focus on the 'beauty' agenda and further planning deregulation to speed up housing delivery, observers predict that Labour will make building affordable homes and land value capture key policy pledges.
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.
How the general election is likely to affect councils and developers
The announcement of the 12 December general election is unlikely to affect the progress of planning applications but could cause delays to local plan timetables and potentially divert planning staff resources, according to practitioners.
How the general election impacts the government's policy and legislation agenda
While a number of key policy announcements expected before Christmas have now been shelved until after the general elections, most should survive a change in government in some form, observers expect.
How the new national design guidance changes the system: the Planning Briefing
How planning guidance on design has changed and what it, and the new National Design Guide, means for you. By Mark Wilding.
The implications of the Environment Bill's proposed requirement for two new types of mitigation plan
Measures in the government's new Environment Bill, including proposals for councils to produce spatial "nature recovery strategies" and for developers to prepare biodiversity net gain plans, have prompted concerns about fresh burdens on practitioners.
How the recent Planning Practice Guidance revisions change the system
How government planning advice changed this summer, and what it means for you. By Colin Marrs.
