Planning

Fresh proposals aim to 'level the playing field' for smaller property developers, by cutting out planning committees & trimming red tape.

Housebuilders could face fines or even lose sites if construction is delayed.

Policy shift means currently-protected sites in the capital could be opened-up for housebuilding.

Squire & Partners-designed riverside development approved after a decade-long planning battle.

New residential buildings will complete Electric Boulevard, and create 306 new homes including specialist 'senior living' apartments.

Yezdan Izzet runs through the key considerations for those planning rooftop extensions on prime London property, and debunks one of the big misconceptions around this type of scheme.

'Wandsworth Council has made the wrong call,' says property developer Rockwell, which had hoped to create 110 new homes on a prominent riverside site.

Surveys by both Savills & Knight Frank point to rising residential development activity this year, although land values dipped in Q1.

Approvals by planning authorities in England fell in Q4, with residential consents down 10% from the previous year.

'Naturally, some challenges & potential for refinement have been identified,' concludes Carter Jonas after analysing the implementation, variation & future challenges of Biodiversity Net Gain policies.

Carter Jonas' Head of Planning & Development talks us through some major proposed changes to the planning regime.

The government wants to remove the involvement of 'statutory consultees' (such as Sport England, Theatres Trust & The Gardens Trust) from planning decisions.