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Planning news – 26 May 2022

Survey: Councillors want councils to move to hybrid way of holding meetings
Responding to a survey, 72 per cent of councillors say moving to a hybrid model of holding meetings could attract more younger people, ethnic minorities and women to stand in local elections.
Laura Edgar, The Planner

Government pledges £15m for garden communities
Housing minister Stuart Andrew has announced £15 million in funding to support the delivery of thousands of homes in garden communities across England.
Laura Edgar, The Planner

154 homes approved for Rochester development
Medway Council has granted planning permission for phase seven of Rochester Riverside in Medway, a £419 million regeneration scheme.
Laura Edgar, The Planner

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The date of our next Webinar has changed

We recently announced the next instalment in our Planning Portal Webinar series. Due to the upcoming Jubilee bank holiday weekend, we have taken the decision to move the date of episode 7.

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Don’t miss out on the next Portal webinar

There have been some very significant updates in the planning and building industry over the last few weeks, and we’re making some changes at the Planning Portal.  

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Planning Portal responds to the draft Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill

Planning Portal have been eagerly awaiting government’s plans regarding the future of planning legislation, having responded to the initial ‘Future of Planning’ Whitepaper published in 2020. Now that we’ve had a chance to review and digest the new Bill, we delighted to see expansion of several important areas for digital planning.

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Were you unable to join us for our conference in April?

You can now access the recordings of the four morning sessions over on the Planning Portal Community Hub!

The four videos cover four of the biggest topics in the planning and building industry at the moment:

  • Urban regeneration
  • The building safety programme
  • Beyond Net Zero
  • Future of Planning – Local Plans
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52,075 applications submitted through Planning Portal in April 2022

There has been a total of 52,075 applications submitted through Planning Portal in April 2022. This is a reduction of 20% in application submissions when compared to 2021. This is culminating in a 16% total reduction for the year to date.

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Launch of the 12 remaining Prior Approval online application types

We enabled the 12 remaining Prior Approval application types on Thursday 19 May 2022. This covers all the Prior Approval requirements that have been introduced via amendments to permitted development legislation over the last couple of years and allows users to create and submit these applications to any Local Authority in England. 

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Planning news – 12 May 2022

Planning reforms to be folded into new Levelling up and Regeneration Bill
More rights for local residents to determine the design of developments are elements of planning reform added into the new bill announced by Prince Charles in the Queen’s Speech.
Martin Read, The Planner

Guide on retrofitting published
A guide intended to provide industry and stakeholders with a common approach to commercial retrofit through the lens of net-zero carbon has been published.
Laura Edgar, The Planner

Charity pledges to put nature in recovery by 2030
The Wildlife Trusts has set out a strategy to reverse the decline of nature and put people at the heart of restoration projects.
Laura Edgar, The Planner

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The latest update to our application service

In case you missed it, last week we provided an update to the Planning Portal’s online planning application service, focussing on uploading supporting documents. The update included new document descriptions, multiple list views and an updated completion page.

We created a helpful video so you can see the changes in action!

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Planning news – 5 May 2022

Built environment professionals seek to improve diversity
Membership bodies working across the built environment have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will see them work together to create a ‘more diverse, equitable and inclusive sector’.
Laura Edgar, The Planner

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