Tag: Rural planning

Keir Starmer’s X tweet of 25th May ruffled many feathers in the housebuilding industry. But does he have a point, or is he in fact missing said point? As a reminder, Starmer’s tweet was: ‘This is my message to housebuilders: get on with it. If you promise homes, you have to build them. As part…

Whether you’re a fan or not, it would be hard to miss the huge buzz surrounding Clarkson’s Farm, an Amazon Prime series chronicling the former Top Gear host’s latest endeavour – running his 1,000-acre farm in the Cotswolds himself following the retirement of his farm manager. The series has brought huge public awareness to the…

Midnight tonight (20th May 2025) marks the official end of the transitional arrangements that allowed applicants to apply under either the ‘old’ or ‘new’ version of Class Q. Now that the 2024 version is the only version available for the foreseeable future, we have taken a deep-dive into the legislation and provided a summary of…

I was putting the world to rights on the phone with my mother a few days ago, and she recommended I listen to the Reith Lectures on BBC Sounds. I duly did, and given the underlying call to action within the lecture, I made a point to sit down and reflect on what this excellent…

The Planning Inspectorate published updated procedural guidance last week, detailing their new streamlined process for Part 1 (written representations) appeals. This new process had been mooted in consultation documents over the last year or so, but PINS has now confirmed that all planning applications validated on or after 1st April 2026 will follow the new…

Put 31st July in your diary, because we finally have a date for the new BNG exemptions. The government confirmed last week that it will be bringing new changes to Biodiversity Net Gain into force by 31st July 2026, depending on parliamentary scheduling. The much-awaited changes follow a consultation undertaken by DEFRA in 2025, and…

Dog walking fields are proving increasingly popular with farmers, and it’s no surprise. Changes to subsidies following Brexit and the latest changes to inheritance tax have encouraged farmers to diversify their incomes and make use of less productive pieces of land. With the surge in dog ownership following the pandemic, demand for secure places to exercise dogs is strong. However,…

Labour’s bid to dismantle barriers in the planning system and speed up delivery continue to play out in practice. The most recent announcement from Secretary of State Steve Reed is that nine councils will have their planning authorities revoked under Section 62A due to poor performance. How S62A works Section 62A of the Town and…

Norfolk and Suffolk were listed as priority areas for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), which will see the extinguishment of district and county councils and their replacement with larger unitary authorities (UAs). As part of the government’s move towards devolution, these new UAs will be governed by an elected mayor, similar to those in place in…

A recent High Court ruling in relation to a Judicial Review made by a local resident found that the claimant was not prejudiced by the Council not re-consulting on amended plans. Article 15 of the Development Management Procedure Order requires local planning authorities (LPAs) to conduct a 21 public consultation once an application has been…