Section one of North Essex local plan deemed sound
A planning inspector has concluded that section one of the local plan put together by Tendring District, Braintree District and Colchester Borough councils is sound.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Leaseholders will be able to buy their homes as government announces reforms
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has set out measures that will enable leaseholders in England to extend their leases by a maximum term of 990 years at zero ground rent.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Kwarteng becomes energy secretary as Sharma takes on COP presidency full time
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a minor reshuffle to his cabinet. Alok Sharma will take on the role of president of the UN COP26 climate conference in Glasgow this November.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
As we enter into 2021, our team here at the Planning Portal are shifting focus to the year ahead and the positive events we have to look forward to in the coming months. We are in the process of re-platforming the Planning Portal planning application system using insight from our stakeholders, in order to improve our service and implement new features and functions. Looking ahead to November, once again we will be hosting our annual conference. We are excited about the opportunities we have this year to work with our clients and with Local Authorities to drive digital innovation in the planning process and provide a nationwide implementation channel for new reform.
Read more…Prior approval requirements added to PDR for upward extensions
Another prior approval condition has been added to the permitted development right (PDR) that allows upwards extensions to be added to residential and commercial properties without planning permission in England.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Decline in the number of decisions granted by councils
In the year ending September 2020, district-level planning authorities in England granted 311,800 decisions, a decline of 12 per cent compared with the year ending September 2019.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Wind farm off Norfolk coast gains approval
Energy secretary Alok Sharma has granted a development consent order for Ortsted Hornsea Project Three, an offshore wind farm comprising up to 231 turbines.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Please note our Service Desk availability between 24 December and 2 January.
Christmas Eve 09:30 – 15:30
29 December 09:30 – 15:30
30 December 09:30 – 15:30
31 December 09:30 – 15:30
The Service Desk will be closed on public holidays and weekends.
Wishing all our customers and partners an enjoyable break.
As 2020 draws to a close, we are taking the opportunity to look back over the year, understand how drastically things have changed despite a global pandemic and review some of our key achievements.
With so much uncertainty imposed quickly upon everyone, we would like to thank all of our customers and partners for taking a collegiate and collaborative approach to ensure a smooth and successful operational transition to new digital ways of working across planning and building.
It is safe to say that it has been a year like no other, where application submission trends have not followed the usual norm and plummeted in April and May to recover from June onwards with figures above 2019 in comparison. This was not across all application types, although Householder applications in particular have increased beyond comprehension as homeowners adjust to working from home, with proposals to create additional living and working space.
Read more…Overall housing starts slump, says Homes England
Homes England’s housing programmes saw 11,313 new houses started on site and 11,358 homes between 1 April and 30 September 2020.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Government announces cash for 68 green projects
The government has announced that projects in England seeking to protect landscapes and retain thousands of green jobs will receive a share of nearly £40 million of funding.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Land disposal system to change in support of SMEs
Homes England has announced that it is simplifying how it engages with developers and housebuilders to bring its land to the market next year.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
This month we have made some changes to questions that require details of Use Classes to be provided. The content has been updated to better inform users of the specific details of the Use Classes changes that took place on 1 September, and the options for entering the required information.
Read more…The Earned Recognition Project is a partnership between Natural England, the Bat Conservation Trust and the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management. The aims of the project are to design a scheme to streamline the mitigation licensing process for bats in England, raise and maintain professional standards in bat mitigation work and improve outcomes for bats.
Read more…As 2020 draws to an end, it will come as no surprise to anyone that the trends we are seeing throughout the market this month are once again not what we would expect at this time of year. With a variety of lockdowns, tiered systems and ‘firebreaks’ across England and Wales over the last six weeks in an effort to help curb the accelerating spread of COVID-19, you would not have been too amiss to predict similar patterns as those seen in March and April earlier this year. In fact, in keeping with 2020’s bizarre trends, November was another bumper month for the submission of planning applications with 81 more submissions than October and only 18 fewer than July 2020, our highest ever month on record!
Read more…Marginal increase in affordable homes delivered
In England there were 57,644 affordable homes completions during 2019/2020 – a one per cent increase on the number delivered over the previous year, according to statistics published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
Laura Edgar, The Planner
UK planning systems must hold housebuilders to account on design
The housebuilding industry ‘must stop receiving a free pass’ on design, states a report published 7 December.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Charity proposes turning former Nottingham shopping centre into green space
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has set out its proposals to rewild the site of Nottingham’s former Broadmarsh shopping centre.
Laura Edgar, The Planner
Planning Portal Blog 