CAPTAIN LEE JONES v SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL (2025) EWHC 365 (Admin) is an application for Judicial Review of the Council’s Decision to issue and serve on the Claimant a CIL Stop Notice under Regulation 90 of the Community Infrastructure Regulations 2010. Read more »

Section 70C of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 bears the heading “power to decline to determine retrospective application”.  Its purpose, or one of its purposes, is to prevent repeat planning applications being used to delay or frustrate ENFORCEMENT ACTION by taking many “bites of the cherry”.  In R (MORAN) v MEDWAY COUNCIL (2025) EWHC 350 (Admin) the Council invoked Section 70C in the decision challenged declining to determine a planning application submitted by the Claimant. A LPA can do that under Section 70C(1) Read more »

Planning Policy Guidance is a proper aid to clarifying and understanding the meaning of the NPPF. The NPPF can be amended, or altered, by guidance in the PPF. So held in MEAD v SoS (2025) EWCA 32.

In the EIR Regulation 12(5)(d) relates to the confidentiality of “ proceedings”. What constitutes a “ proceeding “ for this purpose? Does it embrace pre-application planning advice? No, said the FTT in JOPLING v RICHMOND (2024) UKFTT 163 (GRC). There is now a FTT decision to the contrary : MEIRA v LAMBETH (2025) UKFTT 18 (GRC) at paras 20-34 inc, paras 96-98 inc, especially para 97, and paras 120-126 inc, especially para 121.

In England and Wales, a local planning authority (LPA) determining an application for planning permission must have regard to the relevant provisions of the statutory development plan (s.70(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 – TCPA 1990). That determination must be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise (s.38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 – PCPA 2004).

For any area in Wales, by s.38(4) of the PCPA 2004 the development plan comprises:
(1) The National Development Framework for Wales (NDFW)
(2) Any strategic development plan which includes all or part of that area;
(3) The local development plan for that area (LDP).

Each LPA in Wales must “prepare” a LDP for their area (s.62(1) of the PCPA 2004). A draft LDP is subject to public consultation and reconsideration in the light of responses from the public and consultees. When the LPA considers that the draft LDP is ready, they must submit it to the Welsh Ministers (WM) for independent examination by one or more Planning Inspectors, to determine whether the draft satisfies certain legal requirements and is “sound”. A person who has made representations seeking to change the draft LDP is entitled to be heard at the examination held by the Inspector. Many parties and statutory consultees may be involved in this process. At the conclusion of the examination, the Inspector must make recommendations as to whether or not the plan should be adopted, with or without modifications. He must also give reasons for those recommendations (s.64 of the PCPA 2004).

Section 67 of the PCPA 2004 deals with the adoption of a LDP. In summary:
(1) The LPA “may” adopt a LDP as “originally prepared” if the examining Inspector makes a recommendation to that effect, that is with no modifications (s.67(1)); or Read more »

In KEEP CHISWELL GREEN v SoS () 2024 ) EWHC 2723 ( Admin ) the Claimant  on a planning appeal was not allowed. To adsvance submissions based on new material. It is incumbent on parties, including unrepresented parties, to place before the planning decision-maker the material upon which they rely.

The role of the New Towns Taskforce is to advise Ministers on appropriate locations for significant communities. These will include large scale urban extension and regeneration schemes. Locations are to be recommended to Ministers by July 2025. The Taskforce has made a call for evidence by 13 December 2024.

In JONES v ISLE OF ANGLESEY COUNTY COUNCIL (2024) EWHC 2582 (Admin) Mould J at para 32 restated the principles upon which the Court acts when faced with an allegation that a Planning Committee has ben misled by Officer advice. The Court will not read a Planning Officer’s Report with undue rigour, but with reasonable benevolence, bearing in mind that such Reports are written for Councillors with local knowledge. The question for the Court will always be whether, on a fair reading of the Report as a whole, the Officer had misled the Committee in a material way on a matter bearing on their decision, and the error had not been corrected.

Mould J found that there was no such error on this case. At paras 52 and 53 he stated that in considering whether the use of a building has changed from its former use to a new use, the decision-maker can and should take into account both the physical state of the building and its actual use or intended use or attempted use. Each of those matters is capable of being relevant to the question whether the use of the building has changed from its former use to a new use. The relative importance of any or all of those matters will depend on the circumstances of the given case.

A Ministry of Justice Consultation seeks views by 9 December 2024 on options to bring UK policies into compliance with its obligations under the ACCESS TO JUSTICE provisions of the Aarhus Convention to make provision for (i) public access to ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION, (ii) participation in ENVIRUNMENTAL DECISION-MAKING, and (iii) access to justice in CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS.

On 22 September 2024 the Ministry of Housing,  Communities & Local Government has. Published a Policy Paper, “ Brownfield Passport : Making the Most of Urban Land “, inviting views on action that could be taken through the planning system to support the development of brownfield land in urban areas. It proposes options for a form of BROWNFIELD PASSPORT, which would be more specific about the development that should be regarded as acceptable.  T he default answer to suitable proposals would be a straightforward : “ Yes “.

The proposals relate to the principle, the scale, and the form of development, and to the potential wider use of LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ORDERS. These would grant area-wide permissions.

A series of questions are posed.