Exotic pet society fails in legal action against council over cancelled event – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 5th, 2015 in animals, interpretation, judicial review, local government, news by sally

‘A district council has defeated a judicial review challenge over its decision to warn a racecourse owner of “a substantial risk of unlawful activity” taking place at a meeting of private breeders of reptiles and amphibians.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 4th August 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Subjective suitability – Nearly Legal

‘At issue in this second appeal from a s.204 appeal was whether it was reasonable for Ms Poshteh to have refused an offer of accommodation. Both parties agreed that the property was objectively suitable. The question then was the second part of the two stage test in Housing Act 1996 section 193(7F):

(7F) The local housing authority shall not –

(a) make a final offer of accommodation under Part 6 for the purposes of subsection (7);

… unless they are satisfied that the accommodation is suitable for the applicant and that it is reasonable for him to accept the offer.”’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 2nd August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Bedroom Tax and separated families – UT again – Nearly Legal

‘The Upper Tribunal has another go at the separated families issue in CH 0062 2015-00 and this time, unsurprisingly, shuts down completely the FTT dissenting position in a Middlesborough FTT decision, while upholding and amplifying MR v North Tyneside.’

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Nearly Legal, 1st August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Disinheritance and the law: why you can’t leave your money to whoever you please – The Guardian

Posted August 3rd, 2015 in appeals, charities, consent, local government, news, probate, statistics, trusts, wills by sally

‘When Melita Jackson decided to disinherit her daughter Heather, she knew what she was doing, and her decision was clear. Now a court has ruled that Heather still has a right to a share of her estate. As Britain experiences a surge in will disputes, is our sense of what we owe our children changing?’

Full story

The Guardian, 31st July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Street skaters may find their latest moves land them in court – but they are fighting back – The Independent

‘Campaigners claim Public Space Protection Orders are ‘criminalising young people just for being young’.’
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The Independent, 1st August 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Judge refuses council permission to appeal decision on ownership of sculpture – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 31st, 2015 in appeals, artistic works, local government, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has refused the London Borough of Bromley permission to appeal in its battle with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets over the ownership of a Henry Moore sculpture.’
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Local Government Lawyer, 30th July 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Judge orders damages and not award of contract after flawed tender – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 30th, 2015 in contracts, damages, local government, news, tenders by sally

‘A High Court judge has decided that a council which ran a “fundamentally flawed” tender evaluation process should be required to pay the claimant damages rather award it the contract.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th July 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Littlewood v Powys County Council – WLR Daily

Posted July 30th, 2015 in estate agents, law reports, local government, regulations by sally

Littlewood v Powys County Council [2015] EWHC 2125 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 336

‘For the purposes of Schedule 2 to the Estate Agents Act 1979, where the making of an order under section 3 of the Act prohibiting an unfit person from acting as an estate agent had been delegated to an adjudicator, it was that adjudicator who personally had to hear oral representations from the person affected. The local authority’s proposed procedure whereby the adjudicator, who was the actual decision-maker, only received an audio recording and verbatim transcript of the proceedings before an investigator did not comply with the requirements of the 1979 Act and was unlawful.’

WLR Daily, 23rd July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

IM Properties Development Ltd v Lichfield District Council – WLR Daily

Posted July 30th, 2015 in law reports, local government, planning by sally

IM Properties Development Ltd v Lichfield District Council [2015] EWHC 2077 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 328

‘Changes of substance could be made to a local plan following recommendations by an inspector pursuant to section 20(7)–(7C) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.’

WLR Daily, 20th July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (Hunt) v North Somerset Council – WLR Daily

Regina (Hunt) v North Somerset Council [2015] UKSC 51; [2015] WLR (D) 331

‘Where a claimant for judicial review had sought a quashing order but not declaratory relief and the court, having found the defendant to have acted unlawfully, refused the quashing order due to the passage of time, it was not obliged of its own initiative to grant a declaration.’

WLR Daily, 22nd July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (Champion) v North Norfolk District Council and another – WLR Daily

Regina (Champion) v North Norfolk District Council and another [2015] UKSC 52; [2015] WLR (D) 333

‘The formal procedures prescribed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) legislation, including screening, preparation of an environmental statement and mandatory public consultation, had no counterpart in the habitats legislation. The decision whether an EIA was required had to be taken early in the planning process, although a negative decision might be reviewed subsequently. Mitigation measures might properly be considered at the screening stage and, where appropriate, included in the environmental statement.’

WLR Daily, 22nd July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Child Protection and Data Protection – Panopticon

‘The spectre of Jimmy Saville casts a long shadow and now it extends to data protection, the Data Protection Act 1998 being the latest august and uniformly popular institution (following the BBC, Broadmoor and Margaret Thatcher to name just some) to suffer as a result of his actions. The perennial sight of investigations and public inquiries into historic sex abuse of children in local authority, chiefly arising out of the wider ramifications of Operation Yewtree, has provided a very ready explanation for local authorities for the need to retain child protection data.’

Full story

Panopticon, 23rd July 2015

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Couple fined £650 for taking sons out of school to visit ill grandfather – The Guardian

Posted July 28th, 2015 in education, fines, local government, news, school children by sally

‘A couple who took their children out of school without permission to visit their sick grandfather overseas have been fined by a magistrates court in Preston.’
Full story

The Guardian, 24th July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Primary considerations – Nearly Legal

Posted July 28th, 2015 in appeals, children, housing, local government, news by sally

‘In Mohamoud v RB Kensington and Chelsea and Saleem v Wandsworth LBC [2015] EWCA Civ 780, the Court of Appeal were faced with the difficult argument about the interaction between section 11, Children Act 2004 and possession proceedings brought by a local authority against unsuccessful applicants for homelessness assistance. In Huzrat v Wandsworth LBC [2013] EWCA Civ 1865, the Court had previously found that there was no room for the use of section 11 to gloss the clear questions which a local authority must ask itself to determine whether an applicant is intentionally homeless, but that is very different from the question in Mohamoud. After all, mandatory possession proceedings have clear consequences.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 24th July 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

London borough defeats High Court challenge to basement policy – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 28th, 2015 in local government, London, news, planning by sally

‘The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea has fought off a High Court challenge to its revised basement policy.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 27th July 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The ABCs of ACVs – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted July 28th, 2015 in listed buildings, local government, news, planning by sally

‘As of eight weeks ago, visitors to Maida Vale have one less pub to drink in. That’s because in April, overzealous developers bulldozed The Carlton Tavern public house to the ground. Local residents can breathe a sigh of relief, however, for the pub is going to be rebuilt brick by brick – such is the punishment meted out to the developers for bulldozing the pub in violation of planning rules. View the report on the BBC website. ‘

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 10th June 2015

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Listed Building Prosecutions: A Practical Guide “Pitfalls Which Local Planning Authorities Should Avoid” – No. 5 Chambers

Posted July 28th, 2015 in crime, listed buildings, local government, news, planning, prosecutions by sally

‘There are three principal weapons in the local authority armoury to tackle breaches of planning control in respect of listed buildings: (i) criminal prosecution (ii) listed building enforcement notice and (iii) injunction pursuant to section 44A (1) of the Listed Buildings Act 1990. They are not mutually incompatible. Criminal prosecution can be pursued alongside service of an enforcement notice or injunctive proceedings.’

Full story

No. 5 Chambers, 2nd July 2015

Source: www.no5.com

Supreme Court refuses relief despite legal defect before planning permission – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 27th, 2015 in EC law, environmental protection, local government, news, planning by sally

‘The Supreme Council has refused to grant relief despite finding a legal defect in the procedure prior to a district council’s grant of planning permission for a development, in a key case relating to appropriate assessments, EIA assessments and mitigation measures.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd July 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Developer ordered to rebuild historic pub after demolishing it without planning permission – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 23rd, 2015 in construction industry, local government, news, planning by sally

‘Udhyam Amin was accused of trying to get planning permission ‘by the back door’ after pulling down the Alchemist pub in Battersea.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 23rd July 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Country’s worst landlord blames tenants for property convictions – The Guardian

Posted July 23rd, 2015 in landlord & tenant, local government, news, prosecutions, victims by sally

‘A London landlord has been convicted for property offences seven times but believes she is the victim, not her tenants.’

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk