Policy
Floods covered for another month as insurance deadline looms
As the 30th June looms with no concrete agreement on flood insurance in sight, British insurers have agreed to carry on offering flood insurance for an extra month, until 31st July 2013.
Required Reading: Stamp duty land tax and prime residential property
Anthony Hennessy of Brecher deftly guides us through the SDLT maze, summarising the factors that owners of high value property should now be considering...
BPF calls for a review of the review process
The British Property Federation has today called for the government to consider further reforms to streamline the judicial review process and reduce the unnecessary delay and cost to development projects.
Are we nearly there yet, Merv?
As Mervyn King announces that the end of the recession is "in sight", it's time to stop all the navel gazing, says Trevor Abrahmsohn; things are brightening up...
HS2 gathers pace with Environmental statement consultation
The first phase of HS2 picked up speed yeaterday (16 May 2013), with the launch of consultations on the project’s draft Environmental statement (ES).
RBKC rejig; New planning line-up unveiled
The top brass at the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea have undergone something of a reshuffle, announcing a raft of internal changes including a new Chairman of the Planning Committee.
Off-Plan: Only 15% of respondents supported extended permitted development rights
Only 15% of respondents to the Government's consultation supported new permitted development rights that double the size of extensions allowed without the need for planning permission, according to results…
HS2: Majority of compensation applications “turned down”
299 of the 455 applications made by homeowners living in the shadow of HS2's first stage have been rejected, according to reports today.
“One Stop Shop” for infrastructure planning opens for business
A new "one-stop-shop service for planning consents" will, according to Whitehall, make major infrastructure projects easier to get off the ground by reducing the number of bodies developers need to consult…
Letting Agents: Lackeys of the State?
A £10,000 fine if immigration details are wrong? For Pete's sake, give letting agents a break says Trevor Abrahmsohn...
The ramifications of the immigration problem facing the UK are horrendous.
New immigration laws to tackle “beds in sheds”
"Tough" measures that will see lettings agents take a front-line role in tackling immigration, announced in yesterday’s (8 May 2013) Queen’s Speech, have not gone down well in the industry (read what…
Office Politics: Most of central London exempt from new permitted development rights
Areas in seventeen local authorities - including vast swathes of central London - have been exempted from new rights that make it easier to convert offices into resi, due to "exceptional economic circumstances".