Planning Magazine

The government has suggested handing MPs the power to authorise the development consent of “critical energy projects” so that they would be granted the same status as an Act of Parliament and thereby better protected from legal challenges. planningresource.co.uk/article/195900…

The government will respond to a consultation on changing the role of statutory consultees in the planning system in the next eight weeks and consult on the first of its environmental delivery plans “in the coming months”, the housing minister has said. planningresource.co.uk/article/195892…

The government’s next stage of planning reforms will involve a “renewed emphasis on removing ‘grit’ from the planning process to ensure that the application journey is as fast and easy as possible”, the planning minister has announced. planningresource.co.uk/article/195892…

There is a need to "make planning sexy" to entice people into the profession, a combined authority planning chief has told a conference, though the government’s chief planner has said she is “optimistic” about young people choosing a career in the sector. planningresource.co.uk/article/195890…

The Royal Town Planning Institute’s policy lead has called for the introduction of a national framework to help the new spatial development strategies work together and support them with “heavy lifting”. planningresource.co.uk/article/195900…

A council has blamed the government for “thwarting” the preparation of its new local plan, accusing ministers of “barking out contradictory commands” on national planning requirements and local government reorganisation “like a drunken drill sergeant”. planningresource.co.uk/article/195899…

EXCLUSIVE 🚨 Natural England has admitted that it has not set aside any money to monitor its nutrient mitigation scheme, despite its chief executive Marian Spain saying the agency would do so. Story 👇 planningresource.co.uk/article/195870…

An inspector has refused a developer’s appeal against a council’s refusal of its proposals to build a “part ten storey, part 28 storey” tower block containing 110 flats on the banks of the River Thames in London. planningresource.co.uk/article/195884…

A Labour MP and member of an influential select committee has argued that habitats regulations should be loosened to unlock infrastructure, adding that government conservation adviser Natural England should take a less “maximalist” approach. planningresource.co.uk/article/195876…

New rules that would introduce a national planning decisions delegation scheme could lead to planners becoming more risk-averse, a former Greater London Authority digital planning lead has warned, who said he is “terrified” by the prospect. planningresource.co.uk/article/195876…

The housing secretary Steve Reed has said the new version of the National Planning Policy Framework is expected to be published “very very shortly”, but described the length of consultations on such national policy changes as “very frustrating”. planningresource.co.uk/article/195883…

The chief executive of a major listed housebuilder has said an inspector’s decision to refuse its proposed 867-home development is "fundamentally wrong" and “demonstrates the extreme uncertainty developers continue to experience within the planning system” planningresource.co.uk/article/195884…

The chancellor has signalled that she will announce new legislation to give Parliament the authority to approve what she describes as critical 'clean energy' schemes and better protect infrastructure projects from judicial review. planningresource.co.uk/article/195884…

NEW The chancellor Rachel Reeves has signalled that she will announce new legislation to give Parliament the authority to approve what she describes as critical "clean energy" schemes, in order to better protect such projects from judicial review planningresource.co.uk/article/195884…

Planning enforcement officers at a local authority are investigating complaints related to construction works at a 200-home scheme being developed on the council's behalf, it has been revealed. planningresource.co.uk/article/195847…

A council is to scrap its emerging local plan that has cost almost £600,000 to prepare so far and will start work on a new version, three years after it withdrew a previous draft development strategy from examination. planningresource.co.uk/article/195847…

Housing minister Baroness Taylor will open the Planning Summit, which focuses on the practical steps that organisations can take to make the most of the government’s pro-growth planning agenda, with a keynote speech. planningresource.co.uk/article/195848…

The High Court has heard a legal challenge against a local authority’s solar farm approval, after a neighbouring landowner claimed the sharing of a draft officer’s report with the developer ahead of the planning committee meeting was “procedurally unfair” planningresource.co.uk/article/195848…

Neighbourhood planning toolkits recently published by the government have been criticised by lawyers and consultants for recycling older guidance and described as “condescending”. planningresource.co.uk/article/195848…

An inspector has dismissed a volume housebuilder’s appeal to redevelop a shopping centre with an 867-home mixed-use scheme despite the site’s allocation in the local development plan and the borough’s “acute” housing need, citing heritage harm. planningresource.co.uk/article/195867…