Ministers have, on 16 July 2016, confirmed plans for UNITARY COUNCILS in further two-tier areas : –
Gloucestershire, 7.> 1
Derbyshire, 10>2
Warwickshire. 6>2
Worcestershire, 6>2 Read more »
SELECTIVE LICENSING
July 16th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in HousingR ( Howard de Walden Estates Ltd ) v Westminster City Council( 2026 ) EWHC 1731 ( Admin ) holds that designating an area for selective licensing under SECTION 80 of the HOUSING ACT 2004 by reference to ward boundaries was lawful. Every property in a designated area does not have to be inspected or benefit from improvement. It is sufficient that a significant number of properties be inspected and general housing conditions in the area as a whole be improved.
AUDIT
July 14th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Non Judicial ControlThe CODE OF AUDIT PRACTICE of the Auditor General of Wales has been updated, to reflect developments since 2020, including AI and strengthen requirements on proportionality, professional scepticism and audit independence.
BIODIVERSITY
July 14th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Planning and EnvironmentalDEFRA has on Bastille Day 2026 published BIODIVERSITY GAINS REGULATIONS, S.I. 2026/790. Laid before Parliament on 13 July 2026, and coming into force on 6 August 2026, amending MANDATORY BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECTS REQUIRING PLANNING PERMISSION, including an EXEMPTION for smallest developments.
COMPANY DIRECTORS
July 14th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesAn individual Director does NOT have carte blanche to seek to implement a dissenting view by any means he thinks necessary, however covert or disloyal. So rules the Supreme Court in SAXON WOODS INVESTMENTS LTD v COSTA ( 2026 ) UKSC 21.
CONSULTATION
July 14th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsR ( BUJ ) v BROMLEY LBC ( 2026 ) EWCA Civ 888 holds that the Council was under a COMMON LAW DUTY TO CONSULT (1) the users of an adult education centre and ( 2 ) their carers ( a small group of identifiable persons ) before deciding to close it. This was based on fairness, rationality and legitimate expectation.
CLIMATE CHANGE
July 13th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Planning and EnvironmentalA Climate Change Committee Report, published on 8 July 2026, provides advice on what the Seventh Carbon Budget means at local level. It highlights action that local authorities can take in order to support the delivery of the 2050 NET ZERO TARGET.
POWER OF ENTRY
July 10th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Land, Goods and ServicesWhen an acquiring authority seeks to exercise its POWER OF ENTRY FOR SURVEY under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to enter land at a “ reasonable time “, its NOTICE (1) has to be given to every owner or occupier, (2) does not run with the land, and (3) has to include DETAILS OF WHAT IS PROPOSED with such PRECISION as is reasonable and practicable, explaining (i) what is proposed to be done, (ii) where, and (3) when. So held in BARSTOW v GREEN GENERATION ENERGY ( 2026 ) EWHC 1698 ( Admin ).
CONTRACTUAL PAYMENTS
July 7th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsSection 70 of the Procurement Act 2023 requires “ contracting authorities “ to publish information about significant payments under “ public contracts “. The first publication window has begun, on 1 July 2026, with a deadline for PUBLISHING the FIRST SET OF CONTRACT PAYMENT INFORMATION being 29 July 2026. Contracting authorities must publish information, unless exempt, about PAYMENTS OF MORE THAN £30,000 inc VAT, MADE UNDER PUBLIC CONTRACTS FOR PROCUREMENTS COMMENCED UNDER THE ACT FROM 1 April 2026.
JUDICIAL REVIEW
July 2nd, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Judicial Control, Liability and LitigationThe Judgment of Fordham J in R (EXR) v SSHD (2026) EWHC 1568 (Admin) contains a passage as follows:-
“The rubric of judicial review
- Decisions of public authorities must be lawful, in a public law sense. That means – in broad terms – that they must be legal, reasonable and fair. To decide whether they are, the judicial review Court applies objective legal standards. Legality is really concerned with two things: whether the public authority has performed its substantive legal duties; and whether it has made correct conclusions on questions of Fairness is concerned with the legal legitimacy of the public authority’s decision-making process. Reasonableness asks whether an outcome of a decision was beyond the range of responses open to the public authority; and whether the reasoning process involved any recognisable public law error of approach. Sometimes there are nuances and overlaps. There is a species of public law error which involves a material error of an established fact, but nobody says that is relevant to the present case. There is a species of public law error which involves a decision as to a factual question whose lawfulness depends on its correctness, which is highly relevant to the present case.