Local government in Northamptonshire is facing its biggest change in over 40 years.
The eight existing councils will be replaced with two brand new unitary councils on 1 April 2021.
The new West Northamptonshire unitary council will serve the areas of Daventry District, Northampton and South Northants, and the new North Northamptonshire unitary authority will serve Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby and East Northants.
Read more…Legislative updates relevant to prior approval applications for new dwellinghouses (including through change of use) are coming into force from 6 April 2021 and apply to any such application submitted from that point onwards.
Permitted development legislation has been amended in relation to space standards, and specifies that any new dwellinghouse will only be eligible for permitted development rights if it has a gross internal floor area of at least 37 square metres, and complies with the nationally described space standard.
From 6 April 2021, our content within the application system and our fillable PDF forms will be updated to reflect the amended legislation.
The Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) 2021 Directory of Planning Consultants regional digital leaflets are now available for you to download and share.
In line with the RTPI’s aim to become the world’s first “net zero” membership body by reducing its own net carbon emissions to zero by 2025, as well as the new remote nature of working the pandemic has bought about, the Directory leaflets will this year only be available in a digital format created to download and share.
The RTPI Directory of Planning Consultants provides readers with a catalogue of trusted RTPI qualified planning consultants and receives over 52,000 visits annually. It is too late to be included in this year’s digital leaflets, but you can still be included on the main Directory website. Email rtpidirectory@planningportal.co.uk to find out how to include your organisation in the Directory.
Local authorities to have longer to spend right-to-buy receipts
Housing and communities secretary Robert Jenrick has set out a number of reforms to the right-to-buy policy, including extending the time local authorities in England have to spend right-to-buy receipts from three years to five years.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Legal challenge for continuation of virtual planning meetings is lodged
The Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO), Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) and Hertfordshire County Council have lodged a legal challenge in the High Court that seeks a continuation of local authority remote meetings beyond 6 May 2021.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Unlimited fines will apply to fire safety breaches, says government
The Home Office has announced that building owners that breach fire safety regulations could face unlimited fines under measures being introduced in the building safety bill.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Chris Jones, Director at the Planning Portal, has joined a panel of judges to review nominations for the regional Master Builder Awards in the Housebuilder category hosted by the Federation of Master Builders.
The biennial Master Builder Awards celebrate high-quality craftsmanship, exceptional customer service and building excellence delivered by Master Builders across the UK. The ‘Celebrating the Housebuilder’ category allows the focus to shine on smaller creative projects, providing a platform to commend the significant contribution that small and medium-sized construction companies make to the UK construction industry.
Read more…RTPI to raise profile of urban planning globally
The RTPI has launched a strategy that seeks to raise the profile of urban planning as a ‘pivotal’ issue in the global policy to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Government announces £2.7m tree fund
The government has announced a new £2.7 million initiative as part of its plans to increase tree planting and natural regeneration in local communities.
Prithvi Pandya, The Planner
MHCLG appoints firm to reimagine planning notifications
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Innovation UK have appointed Commonplace to help reimagine planning notices.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
As we enter our second springtime that will predominantly be spent at home, it is no surprise to anyone that we have seen vast increases in application numbers for works to tree applications. Throughout 2020 there was a 36 per cent increase in the number of applications when compared to 2019 and when looking for seasonal trends, February 2021 has had the largest increase in applications at 41 per cent when compared to February 2020.
Trees and their importance to society and nature have become more prominent in the news over the last year. The controversial felling of ancient woodlands to make way for ‘High Speed 2’ the new highspeed railway linking London to the West Midlands and then further north to Manchester and Leeds has ignited discussions about the importance of protection of trees.
Read more…Framework for successful community development set out
A framework that identifies a set of principles to ensure that large-scale development delivers the high-quality homes needed to meet demand and the needs of local communities has been published as a poll finds that two-thirds of the public think new development is poor.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Revised local plan submitted for Old Oak Common
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has submitted a revised draft local plan to the Planning Inspectorate that aims to support the creation of more than 25,000 new homes.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
London council announces design team for regeneration scheme
Southwark Council has announced the appointment of a team of architects who will design plans to transform the Currys PC World site on Old Kent Road.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Framework published for homes that provide better quality of life
The Quality of Life Foundation has launched a framework that seeks to address the changes that the development industry can make to make sure that homes are ‘acquired, planned, constructed and managed to actively provide a better quality of life for everyone’.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
First Welsh national spatial strategy published
Housing and local government minister Julie James has launched the national spatial strategy in a 180-page document called Future Wales.
Roger Milne, The Planner
Runnymede adopts CIL charges
Councillors at Runnymede Borough Council have approved a set of community infrastructure levy (CIL) charges that will see developers seeking permission to build within certain areas paying towards the cost of new infrastructure.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Planning Portal are heavily investing in our future service by developing a brand-new website using the latest technology. This includes a cloud-based application service that is flexible enough to cater for the needs of our customers and partners both now and in the future. We are on track for a launch in late quarter two of this year.
The new platform is being developed in-house by our TerraQuest colleagues in Birmingham. It combines our knowledge and insight, gained from nearly 20 years of facilitating online planning submission, and the experience of a team of developers, product owners and user experience specialists.
Read more…
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