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 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
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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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
Online application numbers in England and Wales
While submission numbers are not reaching the heights of 2021, March 2022 still saw a 20% increase on figures seen in 2020. With construction being closed at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, this caused changes to the application numbers we would typically expect to see.
Despite this however, the data from 2022 is still significantly higher, showing an overall increase in online application submission trends.
Access the full summary report
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The Building Safety Bill has received Royal Assent. This was a Bill to make provision about the safety of people in or about buildings and the standard of buildings, to amend the Architects Act 1997, and to amend provision about complaints made to a housing ombudsman.
The Bill received Royal Ascent 28 April 2022. The following content has been taken from the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Building Safety Regulator eBulletin. Further information about the Bill’s progress can be found here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3021.
Read more…As discussed in our latest webinar, work is underway to add the 12 most recent types of Prior Approval application to our online system. We expect to make these available to users and Local Authorities in the next month or so.
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Developers agree funding for building safety repairs
The government has announced an agreement that means the industry will contribute £5 billion to address building safety following the fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Government announces £7.6m rail innovation competition
Rail minister Wendy Morton has announced a first-of-a-kind competition in partnership with Innovate UK for firms specialising in innovation to modernise the railways. The winners would receive up to £7.6 million.
Prithvi Pandya, The Planner
We have less than a week to go until our Spring Conference 2022 and have added even more great sessions to the agenda.
Gordon Norrie, head of applications and innovation at StatMap Ltd will be running a session on Thursday 28 April, 14:00 – 15:00pm titled ‘The pitfalls and considerations for moving to Cloud-based planning systems’.
Read more…1,000 homes to be built in South West over five years
A ‘multimillion-pound’ package will see 1,000 homes built across Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset over the next five years.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Lincolnshire solar park granted consent
Energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has granted a development consent order (DCO) for Little Crow Solar Park in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
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