‘Disaster’ planning law opposed – BBC News
“Environmental groups are campaigning against planning laws they claim will lead to ‘faceless bureaucrats’ taking decisions on major projects.”
BBC News, 9th June 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: planning
High court shuts landbanking firm – The Guardian
“An illegal landbanking scheme which sold plots of land to investors with the promise of big profits has had its assets frozen following action by the City watchdog.”
The Guardian, 4th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Fine threatened over posters of missing moggy – The Guardian
“A woman was threatened with a fine by her local council for putting posters on lampposts to find the owners of a lost cat. Public-spirited Joy Tracey wanted to reunite Copper the ginger tom with his owners after he was found whimpering in a garden.”
The Guardian, 24th May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
London Borough of Haringey v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another – WLR Daily
“In holding that there were material considerations that warranted a departure from the claimant’s statutory development plan under s 38 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the inspector appointed by the first defendant had made a material error of fact amounting to an error in law when he granted planning permission under s 174(2)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to the second defendant for the unauthorised use for education, training and worship of a unit in premises within an area designated by the claimant in its development plan as a ‘defined employment area industrial location’.”
WLR Daily, 10th May 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Rumbled: farmer who hid his illegal castle behind the hay – The Independent
“Mr Fidler, 59, built a mock-Tudor castle, complete with ramparts and cannons, on his farm in Salfords, Surrey in 2000. Because it was on green-belt land and unlikely to get planning permission, he concealed it behind a 40ft stack of hay bales, covered with a blue tarpaulin. He, his wife Linda, 39, and son, Harry, seven, moved in and in August 2006 he removed the hay bales and revealed their castle.”
The Independent, 10th May 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Goodall v Peak District National Park Authority – WLR Daily
Goodall v Peak District National Park Authority; [2008] WLR (D) 99
“The 28 day time limit for appealing against an enforcement notice prescribed by s174(3) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 was not incompatible with the right to a fair trial guaranteed by art 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”
WLR Daily, 9th April 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Regina (Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust) v Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corpn – WLR Daily
“In considering the tension between the purposes of s136 of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 (bringing land into effective use) and s40 of the Natural Environment Act 2000 (conserving biodiversity) a benevolent construction should be given to planning decisions and, where a claimant contended that a decision was procedurally flawed, it was right to look behind the words used and see what had in substance been decided.”
WLR Daily, 25th February 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
New rules for front gardens to fight floods – The Guardian
“The government yesterday declared war on the traditional right of homeowners to cover their front gardens with asphalt, as part of a drive to save water and reduce the risk of flooding. New legislation will mean that only areas made of gravel or porous bricks or paving, which provide better drainage than hard surfaces, will not need planning permission.”
The Guardian, 8th February 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
White v Herefordshire Council – Times Law Report
Court of Appeal
“A purchase notice under Part VI of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 could not be amended but there was nothing to prevent the landowner from serving a second notice if, for example, the planning authority decided the first was defective.”
The Times, 25th January 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Blears unveils planning shake-up – BBC News
“Plans to streamline the English planning system which would speed up decisions on big, national projects have been outlined by the government.”
BBC News, 27th November 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Government presses ahead with planning shake-up – The Independent
“The Government today confirmed its commitment to pressing ahead with reforms to the planning system which have attracted criticism from green groups.”
The Independent, 6th November 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Govt. reforms of planning laws ‘likely illegal’ – Daily Telegraph
“Proposals to force through major developments such as airports or nuclear power stations by limiting the scope for public objections are likely to be ruled illegal, lawyers have warned the Government.”
Daily Telegraph, 23rd October 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Ministry must reveal advice to Prescott over controversial tower – The Guardian
“The Information Tribunal has ruled that civil servants’ advice to ministers on major planning decisions should be disclosed to anyone who asks for it once the decision is taken.”
The Guardian, 11th June 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Supermarkets do not make law, says Gov – Daily Telegraph
“The Government is facing claims that its planning policy, unveiled last month, was unduly influenced by the supermarket giants, which lobbied to scrap rules safeguarding Britain’s town centres.”
Daily Telegraph, 4th June 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Squatter wins £2m London plot after 18-year stay – The Independent
For most people a property on Hampstead Heath would be many mortgages or lottery tickets away, but a squatter has been granted the rights to a plot of land worth £2m for nothing.
The Independent, 24th May 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Inquiry still seeks planning expert on supermarkets – The Times
“The Competition Commission is struggling to find an expert to advise on planning issues, which form a key part of its inquiry into the grocery market.”
The Times, 17th April 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
