Posts by JN
Be Planning Appeal-Ready from 1 April
New rules for planning appeals under the written representations procedure come into force on the first day of April, with the aim of speeding up the process, but this throws up some additional risks for the industry… From 1 April 2026, the rules governing the vast majority of planning appeals in England are changing –…
Read MoreHope for the Ox-Cam Corridor?
A ‘supreme planning authority’ could revive the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor… The Oxford–Cambridge Corridor has long been promoted as one of the UK’s greatest untapped economic opportunities. Stretching across roughly 100 miles and connecting two world-leading university cities, the corridor has the potential to become a powerhouse for science, technology, innovation and housing delivery. Yet despite ambitious…
Read MoreBiodiversity Net Gain: A welcome shift for SME developers
A recent government announcement has offered a lifeline for smaller developers, whose hands have been tied by BNG regulations… The government has announced a significant change in how Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) will apply to small development sites, confirming that schemes below 0.2 hectares will be exempt from the requirement to deliver a minimum 10%…
Read MoreA Busy Month for the Planning Industry
The past month has brought one of the most significant waves of planning reform announcements in years, with the government pursuing an aggressive strategy to accelerate housing delivery, cut perceived bureaucracy, and reconfigure the relationship between central and local decision-making… First, in the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed a substantial £48 million boost to…
Read More1.5m Homes Target: Ambition or Illusion?
The Government’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament has again made headlines – and not for the right reasons… The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has written to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), with a warning that the government is going to miss its target of building 1.5…
Read MoreNew Towns: Balancing Ambition with Quality
The drive for new towns continues, but there are some important lessons to be learned if they are to prove successful… The government’s recent announcement of an expert taskforce to identify potential locations for new towns marks a renewed ambition to tackle the housing challenge through large-scale planned growth. The New Towns Taskforce will explore…
Read MoreThe Widening Gap between Application and Build
Planning applications are on the up, but two significant hurdles are delaying new homes… Recent figures from TerraQuest’s Planning Portal reveal that planning applications for new homes jumped by nearly a third between April and June 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. In total, 69,597 new homes were applied for in Q2, up…
Read MoreGrey Belt Proves a Grey Area for Planners
Recent appeal decisions show that ‘Grey Belt’ continues to be subject to interpretation… As we have previously reported, the latest updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) include significant changes to Green Belt policy, particularly regarding the definition and assessment of ‘Grey Belt’ land. These changes aim to streamline the planning process for development…
Read MoreAI Tool Promises to Cut Planning Backlogs and Delays
The new AI assistant – Extract – enables old files, maps and notes to be transformed into accurate digital data in seconds… The rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a contentious subject, depending upon what industry you work within. While it may be entertaining social media users, who have enjoyed turning themselves into boxed action…
Read MoreRay of Hope for SME Developers over BNG
New working paper suggests small sites will be exempt from the requirement for 10% biodiversity net gain… The subject of biodiversity net gain (BNG) has been a bone of contention for smaller developers since the start, but a ray of hope has been offered by the government. As we have said previously, the requirement to…
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