Room 106

This week, we are launching the first of a new monthly series examining the key appeal and court decisions from the past four weeks.Joining me is our technical editor David Dewar who compiles our long-running Casebook section of Planning's weekly bulletin and formerly the magazine, which highlights the key appeal and legal decisions from that week.This week, we will be discussing: Two notable green belt appeal decisions, one of which concerns the new grey belt designation in national policy and the other the new test around brownfield development. Appeal decision trends showing how the new national policy on calculating housing need is causing housing land supply positions to worsen in a number of local authorities.A Court of Appeal decision that clarifies how national planning practice guidance carries the same weight as the National Planning Policy Framework.More information on all these cases can be found in the March edition of Monthly Casebook on Planning Resource.Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

This week, we will be examining the government’s publication of its flagship Planning and Infrastructure Bill, focusing on the following measures:Allowing councils to set their own planning application fees up to the level of cost recovery.Changing decision-making by planning committees.Introducing formal strategic planning arrangements. Setting up a centralised nature restoration fund that developers would contribute to.In addition, we discuss the housing ministry’s simultaneous announcement of changes to the way that statutory consultees are involved in the development management process.We’ll also be rounding up the key planning news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the sector. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be examining:Why many developers are predicting that planning application volumes – particularly for new homes – will rise sharply this year following the Labour government’s wide-ranging changes to the planning system. Whether the planning system will be able to cope in the event of a hike in application numbers.We’ll also be rounding up the key planning news from the past week, including the publication of the government’s flagship Planning and Infrastructure Bill, to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the sector. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

This week, we will be focusing on new planning guidance that’s been published by the housing ministry.We will be discussing:The long-awaited new guidance on how new national planning policy on green belt should be applied.Other new guidance on development on brownfield land, transitional arrangements for joint local plans, and how planners should take account of new local nature recovery strategies. In addition, we will be talking about the government announcing that it will take forward key elements of the previous administration’s radical changes to the plan-making system.We’ll also be rounding up the other key news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the planning sector. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be discussing the government’s plans to accelerate the involvement of statutory consultees, such as government agencies, in the planning process. We’ll examine why:There are concerns about the role of such bodies in planning. How justified these concerns are. How the government is likely to respond to the issue.We’ll also be rounding up the other key news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the planning sector. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

This week, we will be focusing on a series of planning announcements made last week by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and housing secretary Angela Rayner. We'll be discussing: Where the proposals for new towns submitted to the government's task force have come from, what requirements they will have to meet, and what happens next.What type of housing schemes are going to be prioritised for attention under the Whitehall-backed New Homes Accelerator scheme, which offers planning support to unblock stalled schemes. What we know about the over £3 million of grants for local councils to bolster planning capacity announced last week. In addition, we discuss the housing secretary quashing a decision by her predecessor, which allowed the expansion of a car park in a national landscape, for failing to apply a new duty to support such protected sites and national parks.We’ll also be rounding up the other key news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the planning sector. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be discussing whether, in the wake of claims about corruption in planning that have been widely rejected by the sector, the planning system is more compromised by developer influence than practitioners think.In particular, we'll be examining: How common are cases of criminal corruption in planning? Why is there a perception that it's a problem?  Beyond issues of corruption, are there questions around the relationships between developers and planning decision-makers? How well are such conflicts of interest managed in the planning process?Concerns about councillors working as consultants to the development industry in lobbying or public affairs firms.We’ll also be rounding up the other key news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the planning sector. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

This week, we will be discussing a series of planning announcements made by chancellor Rachel Reeves in an effort to boost economic growth. We're going to focus on:Her promise of a review of the statutory consultee system to “slash planning system red tape”. Her announcement of changes to the environmental assessment regime.The prime minister's proposal to limit objectors’ chances to overturn major infrastructure decisions in the courts from three to one or two.In addition, we discuss our exclusive revelation that the government has admitted that £100 million of “additional” funding promised to local planning authorities for next year is in fact “not new money”.We’ll also be rounding up the other key news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the planning sector. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

In this Deep Dive edition, we’ll be discussing:The new National Planning Policy Framework’s (NPPF) introduction of ‘golden rules’ that apply to developer contributions for development on green belt land, and how the government has softened the rules in the final version compared to the draft.The devolution white paper’s proposals for groups of councils to draw up new sub-regional strategic development plans, and how they would work.We’ll also be rounding up the other key news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the planning sector. Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.