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Iain Downer
Aug 13, 20212 min read
Housing shortfall sufficient to demonstrate very special circumstances in Green Belt proposal
Land that traverses the boundary between St Albans City and District Council and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has been granted...
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Iain Downer
Aug 13, 20213 min read
Are developers being held to ransom with requests for extensions of time?
Article 34 of The town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 – the DMPO – sets out the requirement...
2000

Mary Bean
Aug 13, 20214 min read
NPPF 2021: The Key Changes
A new version of the National Planning Policy Framework has been published as a follow on from the ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful...
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Mary Bean
Jul 15, 20212 min read
Local Authorities to receive £50,000 for National Model Design Code participation
Back in May, the Housing Minister Christopher Pincher revealed the local authorities which will be testing the application of the...
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Iain Downer
Jul 15, 20212 min read
Objective Reasonableness: When is an outbuilding reasonably required?
Judging whether an outbuilding ought to be considered ‘incidental to the enjoyment of the dwelling’ is not always easy. The provision...
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Mary Bean
Jul 12, 20214 min read
The Burning Issue: How can the planning system impact bid to hit net-zero target?
2021 is a make-or-break year for climate action, with the window to prevent the worst impacts of climate change closing rapidly on us....
290


Mary Bean
Jun 9, 20212 min read
Sex & The City: Gender Equality in Urban Planning
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused setbacks all over the world, however, as restrictions are slowly lifting, a new light has been shone...
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Iain Downer
May 27, 20215 min read
Class Q as a Fallback: Beware of False Prophets
A number of recent articles have described new appeal cases on Class Q as ‘paving the way for new builds’, however, the fallback...
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Mary Bean
May 17, 20212 min read
"No longer fit for human habitation": Rebuilding the planning system from the ground up
Following on from the Queen’s Speech earlier this week, proposals for the long-awaited new planning bill were announced as a follow-up to...
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Iain Downer
Apr 28, 20211 min read
Class Q expands team to offer architecture and design services
Whatever the size or complexity of the project, our architectural team offer a complete and bespoke service, from initial concept...
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Iain Downer
Apr 27, 20213 min read
New PD right allowing for town-centre Commercial to Residential to come into effect in August 2021
The government's controversial proposal to allow a range of town centre uses to convert to housing under a new permitted development (PD)...
590


Iain Downer
Mar 25, 20213 min read
Application for prior approval approved two months following refusal of the same proposal
Our application for the change of use of a former agricultural building to form one dwelling was submitted to Wokingham Borough Council...
5090

Iain Downer
Feb 25, 20212 min read
The 2020 Housing Delivery Test: Has your council lost its planning powers?
What is the Housing Delivery Test? The Housing Delivery Test is an annual measurement of housing delivery in the area of relevant...
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Iain Downer
Feb 15, 20211 min read
Class Q receives consent for the conversion of former pig-rearing buildings to two dwellings
Class Q is pleased to have received approval from North Kesteven District Council for the conversion of disused piggery buildings to form...
2720


Iain Downer
Jan 15, 20214 min read
The convoluted relationship between openness and visual impact in Green Belt proposals
The concept of ‘openness of the Green Belt’, and its relationship (if any) to visual impact, has been a point of constant discussion....
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Iain Downer
Nov 18, 20206 min read
Some councils putting local plans on hold in response to planning white paper
A handful of councils have so far announced that they are delaying work on their local plans due in whole or in part to the government's...
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Iain Downer
Nov 5, 20203 min read
Application for conversion of barns approved despite repeated requests for withdrawal
Our application for the redevelopment of 4 former agricultural buildings has been approved by Mid-Suffolk District Council following...
5590


Iain Downer
Oct 27, 20202 min read
New dwellings judged preferable to barn conversions
Replacing two barns in the Somerset countryside with two new dwellings would produce a better result than a fallback option allowing...
3350


Iain Downer
Aug 30, 20203 min read
Class Q PD rights granted despite building's use as "party room and domestic store"
Our application for the conversion of an agricultural stone barn to a dwelling has been approved by Rutland City Council in spite of the...
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