Recent Posts
![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-12-06-1-23-00-517-durhamRESIZE-20161205042711855.jpg)
Durham County Council puts local plan on hold until Housing White Paper is published
The delay in publishing DCLG's Housing White Paper appears to be having a knock on effect for some local planning authorities and their...
07/12/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-12-02-9-37-13-430-5319347781_171ecf0527.jpg)
In the first week of Advent, DCLG gave to me....
This the first of four posts based on a popular Christmas song, each of which will contain a quick recap of the week's news from DCLG. In...
02/12/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-11-30-12-41-36-893-cityhallRESIZE-20161128094824873.jpg)
GLA opens consultation on new affordable housing guidance
The Greater London Authority is currently consulting on new supplementary planning guidance that addresses the tricky issue of securing...
30/11/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907d0b00e7e0b9c20f4ba/2016-11-21-4-19-09-611-logo.png)
Enforced Pooling or better manager competition?
It is an inherent contradiction in capitalism that, to be totally successful, it must become monopolistic, and therefore be a total...
24/11/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907d0b00e7e0b9c20f4ba/2016-11-23-5-01-13-192-21885_Land-Registry-PCS.jpg)
Land Registry Privatisation laid to rest - until next time
Tucked into the Autumn statement today is a footnote that the government has decided not to proceed with Land Registry Privatisation. So...
24/11/16![](https://res.cloudinary.com/irwin-mitchell-llp/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:best/https://www.irwinmitchell.com/medialibrary/IrwinMitchellcom - NEW/news and insights images - NEW/passle-fallback-image.jpg)
The Last Autumn Statement.... but no Housing White Paper
Philip Hammond has just delivered the Autumn Statement and wiser heads than mine will be analysing its contents as I type. Although the...
23/11/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-11-17-8-52-06-119-Housing-minister-Gavin-Barwell.jpg)
Barwell hints at further development land tax in housing white paper
In a speech at the London Property Summit last week, Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell, indicated that the development industry's...
17/11/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-11-16-9-11-55-887-houses-london.jpg)
Redfern Review: Collapse in home ownership due to lack of money - not lack of supply
Jeremy Corbyn's review of the housing market, which is due to be published today, has bucked the trend for blaming a lack of housing...
16/11/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-11-04-2-01-01-427-PINSHQ920-20161104123437756.jpg)
The cost of poor decision making: research gives insight into planning costs awards against Councils
Most of us who work in the development sector are aware that local authority planning committees can be highly unpredictable - with local...
04/11/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-11-04-9-27-25-048-brutalism-balfron-tower-getty-rf.jpg)
(Brutalist) Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
Given the widely publicised events of this week, you could be forgiven for missing the declaration of war that was hidden in a speech by ...
04/11/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-10-28-12-16-15-111-infrastructure2RESIZE-20161028095921886.jpg)
Response to CIL Review to be in DCLG Planning White Paper
After months of waiting, it looks as if we finally have an indication as to when we will get to see the outcome of the CIL Review that...
28/10/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/56090697b00e7e0b9c20f4b6/2016-10-19-12-04-14-196-5804af693580e_coffeeshop.jpeg)
Chai-rise living?
Bisnow.com have picked up on research from CBRE considering which commercial premises are most popular in residential areas. This is...
21/10/16![](https://res.cloudinary.com/irwin-mitchell-llp/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:best/https://www.irwinmitchell.com/medialibrary/IrwinMitchellcom - NEW/news and insights images - NEW/passle-fallback-image.jpg)
Are PD rights to demolish offices and rebuild as residential finally coming off the back burner?
Waiting on decisions from central government can, on occasion, feel a lot like watching the proverbial pot that never boils. The most...
21/10/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-10-14-8-12-26-837-newt1-xlarge_transfPORw1OYkprwbYua1CjJOimzkb8jkykKkPC-FnwIMgc.jpg)
Is that a newt in your pocket?
For a highly protected species Great Crested Newts have made quite a habit of popping up in inconvenient places. As most in the industry...
14/10/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-10-10-8-24-42-587-Nicola-Gooch.jpg)
When secondary legislation drives you to rant in the media... CIL article in Estates Gazette
Below is a link to an article of mine that was published in Estates Gazette over the weekend. The article is entitled "10 things I hate...
10/10/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-10-03-1-25-15-673-sajid920-2016100311220765.jpg)
Communities Secretary: Housing is Number One Priority
It appears, from today's coverage in Planning Resource , that Sajid Javid's speech at the conservative party conference was very...
03/10/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/56090697b00e7e0b9c20f4b6/2016-10-03-9-50-48-918-ham-xlarge_transqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpg)
Details emerge about £5bn new housing funding
Conservative ministers are going to announce at Conference that two new housing finance pots will be launched. The first (£3bn) is...
03/10/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-09-26-4-57-53-315-PINSHQresize-20160926103326113.jpg)
Weighty Considerations: Local Plan Policies vs the Small Sites Exemption
When the Court of Appeal upheld the 'small sites exemption' last May, many small developers breathed a huge sigh of relief. The policy ...
27/09/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-09-21-7-48-14-356-14770821388_737fe8a6e8.jpg)
Staying Out of the Twilight Zone: CIL and Transitional S.73 Applications
Given the number of times that the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 have been amended, it is not surprising that there are...
21/09/16![](https://res.cloudinary.com/irwin-mitchell-llp/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:best/https://www.irwinmitchell.com/medialibrary/IrwinMitchellcom - NEW/news and insights images - NEW/passle-fallback-image.jpg)
Here come the (planning) consultations....
DCLG is currently consulting on the details of two of the main planks of the new Neighbourhood Planning Bill. Improving the use of...
16/09/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/561274a6b00e7e093c85d43e/2016-09-16-8-22-15-493-8340319731_0e1a8cc4a0.jpg)
Academy to save millions by installing solar panels
Wellacre Academy in Greater Manchester has announced completion of a 430kw solar installation. It is expected this will save the school...
16/09/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-09-13-2-13-30-743-PW290716_Gavin-Barwell-MP_Flickr_cred-Cabinet-Office.jpg)
Barwell: Government softening commitment to starter homes and promising greater support for PRS
In an article published in Property Week today, Gavin Barwell, our newest Planning Minister, has indicated that the Government is...
13/09/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-09-13-1-25-52-510-8695587413_e04c162156.jpg)
Can Town Planning make us better people?
The idea that there is a strong link between the health and wellbeing of a community and the architectural environment in which they live...
13/09/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907d0b00e7e0b9c20f4ba/2016-09-13-10-23-05-084-logo.png)
"You will lose one pound in every eight but there will be no recession"
Or so says the Chief economist of CBRE Global Investors at the annual conference of the European Public Real Estate in Paris, putting it...
13/09/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/561274a6b00e7e093c85d43e/2016-09-07-3-45-25-598-3904.jpg)
Land Registry Privatisation plans- on hold!
Controversial proposals put forward by the Government to privatise the Land Registry have been put on hold. A consultation process on...
08/09/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/56090697b00e7e0b9c20f4b6/2016-09-07-12-57-05-715-1823402_Mace-Pokemon-warning-2.jpg)
popular electronic telephone game causes construction consternation
Keen digital observers will know that, for now, Pokémon Go is wildly popular. We understand that it encourages people to experience the...
07/09/16![](https://res.cloudinary.com/irwin-mitchell-llp/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:best/https://www.irwinmitchell.com/medialibrary/IrwinMitchellcom - NEW/news and insights images - NEW/passle-fallback-image.jpg)
EU Guidance published on nearly zero-energy buildings
In the EU, 40% of all energy consumption comes from buildings. To try and tackle this, on 3 December 2015, 16 leading EU companies...
06/09/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/560907bc3d94740a947e0567/2016-09-05-9-11-07-105-2619252633_490431d93d.jpg)
Autumn: A season of mists and more planning reform?
Summer is officially over: It is noticeably darker in the evenings; schools are back in session and a new parliamentary term has begun....
05/09/16![](https://images.passle.net/400x400/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/56090697b00e7e0b9c20f4b6/2016-08-25-12-32-59-379-Housebuilding-2-400x310.jpg)
rumours of Get Britain Building III
There is a widely held hope that the Government will announce a new housing supply stimulus package in the Autumn Statement, as part of...
05/09/16![](https://res.cloudinary.com/irwin-mitchell-llp/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:best/https://www.irwinmitchell.com/medialibrary/IrwinMitchellcom - NEW/news and insights images - NEW/passle-fallback-image.jpg)
Still tons of bricks in the property industry...
In heartening if slightly indignant news the Brick Development Association has confirmed that there is no structural shortage in the...
05/09/16