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The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), who are the Government’s design advisor, has published new research on private homes built between 2003 and 2006 including flats, houses and bungalows.
The findings showed that in all households:
44 per cent said that there wasn’t enough space for small children to play safely in the kitchen [...]
Shadow communities secretary Caroline Spelman has written to Conservative-controlled local authorities stating an intention to abolish RSSs and regional planning bodies as well as regionally set housing targets. Also in danger of revocation would be the Government’s plan to transfer regional housing and planning powers to Regional Development Agencies and Regional Leaders’ Boards. Spelman’s letter [...]
The Government has introduced a bill called the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill into Parliament and it is currently wending its way through the parliamentary process. If it meets the current expected timetable then the Bill should come into force in April 2010. It will introduce the need for local planning authorities to [...]
DCLG are consulting on the following proposals to simplify the process of getting permission to do minor work to non-residential buildings:
The intention is to grant new permitted development rights for retail and town centre uses, offices, universities, hospitals and industry to allow minor alterations and extensions to proceed without the need for planning permission, [...]
The broad framework for introducing the Community Infrastructure Levy was contained in the Planning Act 2008. The Government has now published detailed proposals for implementing CIL which will come into force in April 2010. CIL is a way of collecting financial contributions from developers to pay for local infrastructure such as roads, schools and flood [...]
The government has issued a consultation paper proposing revisions to both PPG15 – Planning and the Historic Environment and PPG16 –Archeology and Planning. The new PPS15 aims to make the most of England’s historic assets such as Victorian railway stations and canals. It brings together policies on archaeology, historic areas, buildings and landscapes in order [...]
The Mayor’s Outer London commission has recommended to London Mayor Boris Johnson that he should consider a less restrictive car-parking policy in outer London in a bid to encourage commercial development.
The report pointed out that outer London offices were having to compete with adjacent urban centres in the Home Counties like Crawley, Chelmsford and Reading [...]
The Government has announced that the first four successful eco-town sites, which will pioneer innovative design and infrastructure for greener living, are:
Whitehill-Bordon in Hampshire
St Austell (China Clay) in Cornwall
Rackheath in Norfolk
North West Bicester in Oxfordshire
Planning minister John Healey told Parliament that developers in the four successful locations will be able to [...]
The Government has published the UK Renewable Energy Strategy 2009. This document emphasises the need to radically increase our use of renewable electricity, heat and transport in view of the legally binding target of obtaining 15% of our energy from renewable sources by 2020.
The Energy Strategy proposes:
Generating more than 30% of our electricity from [...]
The British Property Federation has issued a Regeneration Manifesto calling for measures to kick start the British building industry following the economic slowdown.
The five suggestions in the report are:
Pay for infrastructure by using the American TIF model
Expand equity sharing – encouraging councils to donate land to make development viable
Use funding for school and hospital building [...]
