Planning
RBKC scuppers Notting Hill uber-basement plans after celebrity brouhaha
Kensington & Chelsea planners have rejected proposals for a subterranean extension under an £8m Notting Hill house, after an outcry from celebrity neighbours.
The Great Air Race: Inside the battle for London’s rooftops
Where square footage is at a premium, developing the space above a building can unlock sky-high rewards.
In Developments: Londonewcastle on why Queen’s Park is primed for place-making
How does a developer select a suitable area for a major new scheme?
Berkeley buys QVC building for £105m
Berkeley Group has bought QVC's old offices, Marco Polo House, in Battersea for £105m, outgunning Killian Hurley's Mount Anvil bid for the site, which has planning permission for 456 luxury residential…
Candy gets nod to turn Knightsbridge HQ into a single home
Candy & Candy has won planning permission to turn its own Knightsbridge office into a chunky 13,616 sq ft single residence.
Planning for Dummies: Boles launches simple guidance portal
Planning Minister Nick Boles has (nearly, finally) published a new national online planning guidance resource for public testing and comment.
Pickles wants cameras in planning meetings after bloggers threatened with arrest
Eric Pickles has warned that freedom of speech and independent journalism are under attack in local government, after local residents were threatened with arrest for filming and reporting council meetings.
Defra puts the wind up DECC over rural house prices
There's a storm brewing between the Depart. for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Dept. for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) over what impact wind turbines have on rural house prices.
“Unprecedented” £825k planning fee for Kensington megabasement
A hedge fund manager is going to have to dig deeper than expected after being landed with an £825,000 Section 106 fee for a lumpy basement excavation in Ladbroke Grove.
Full steam ahead for Admiralty Arch hotel and resi scheme
Rafael Serrano has netted formal approval to turn Admiralty Arch into a hotel, private members' club and super-prime private residences, with construction due to kick off early next year.
Super-prime Campden Hill scheme to begin in early 2014
One of Kensington's most anticipated new schemes has just moved a step closer to construction.
Move Along: Traveller sites given marching orders
Eric Pickles has told local councils that they should clamp down quickly on illegal encampments and unauthorised traveller sites, as he announced a new set of guidelines that gives "more power and a stronger…