Gypsies and Travellers: “A litmus test not of democracy but of civil society” – No. 5 Chambers

Posted January 6th, 2015 in equality, housing, human rights, news, planning, race discrimination, travellers by sally

‘“[T]here is force in the observation attributed to Václav Havel, no doubt informed by the dire experience of central Europe: “The Gipsies are a litmus test not of democracy but of civil society”.” So said Lord Bingham of Cornhill in the House of Lords in South Buckinghamshire DC v Porter (No 1).’

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No. 5 Chambers, 18th December 2014

Source: www.no5.com

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 – NearlyLegal

‘This was a judicial review of LB Enfield’s plans for borough wide additional HMO licensing and selective licensing of all PRS properties. It did not go well for Enfield, who appear to have not quite grasped the consultation requirements.’

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NearlyLegal, 3rd January 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Regina (Larkfleet Homes Ltd) v Rutland County Council – WLR Daily

Posted December 18th, 2014 in law reports, local government, planning by sally

Regina (Larkfleet Homes Ltd) v Rutland County Council [2014] EWHC 4095 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 534

‘Section 17(7)(za) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and regulation 5 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 did not prevent the allocation of precise sites for particular development in a neighbourhood development plan.’

WLR Daily, 8th December 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (HS2 Action Alliance Ltd and another) v Secretary of State for Transport and another – WLR Daily

Regina (HS2 Action Alliance Ltd and another) v Secretary of State for Transport and another [2014] EWCA Civ 1578; [2014] WLR (D) 526

‘The “safeguarding directions” issued by the Secretary of State for Transport, exercising statutory powers, for phase 1 of the proposed high speed rail network (“HS2”) linking London to Manchester did not fall within the scope of plans and programmes which set the framework for future development consent of projects within the meaning of articles 2(a) and 3(2) of Parliament and Council Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment.’

WLR Daily, 9th December 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

HS2 campaigners lose Court of Appeal challenge – BBC News

Posted December 9th, 2014 in appeals, news, planning, railways by sally

‘Campaigners have lost their latest legal challenge to the first phase of the proposed HS2 high-speed rail line.’

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BBC News, 9th December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rights to light – making the law more transparent – Law Commission

Posted December 4th, 2014 in human rights, Law Commission, news, planning, reports by sally

‘In a report published today, the Law Commission is recommending reforms to the law governing rights to light that will strike a balance between the interests of landowners and the law’s recognition of the need for appropriate development.’

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Law Commission, 4th December 2014

Source: www.lawcommission.justice.gov.uk

Regina (Joicey) v Northumberland County Council – WLR Daily

Posted December 2nd, 2014 in disclosure, documents, energy, law reports, local government, noise, planning by sally

Regina (Joicey) v Northumberland County Council [2014] EWHC 3657 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 506

‘As in failure to take account of relevant material consideration cases, so also in a case involving a breach of statutory duty to disclose information, relief would be granted unless the decision-maker could demonstrate that the decision in question would inevitably have been the same had the decision-maker acted as he was required to do.’

WLR Daily, 7th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Why domestic Aarhus rules are not wide enough to comply with the Convention – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Back to Aarhus and the constant problem we have in the UK making sure that the cost of planning and environmental litigation is not prohibitively expensive.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 1st December 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

High Court judge rejects challenge to 400-home planning consent, despite planning officer’s mistaken advice – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 27th, 2014 in judicial review, local government, news, planning, reports by sally

‘A High Court judge has refused to quash a decision to grant planning consent for 400 homes within the Surrey countryside, after deciding that a council was not misled by a planning officer’s mistaken advice.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th November 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Public access to local authority information: transparency with teeth – Panopticon

Posted November 21st, 2014 in documents, freedom of information, local government, news, planning by tracey

‘The Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations are the dominant statutory regimes for public transparency, but they are of course not the only ones. A good example is the regime under the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), particularly sections 100A-K. Those provisions govern public access to local authority meetings, as well as the public availability of minutes, reports, background documents and so on for such meetings, subject to provisions for exempt information (Schedule 12A). A recent judgment of the Admin Court (Cranston J) in a planning matter, Joicey v Northumberland County Council [2014] EWHC 3657 (Admin) illustrates the importance of compliance with that regime for public access to information.’

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Panopticon, 20th November 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

High Court judge dismisses challenge to Ealing shopping centre planning permission – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 20th, 2014 in appeals, local government, news, planning, substitution by tracey

‘A High Court judge has dismissed a challenge to Ealing Council’s approval of plans to redevelop the Oaks Shopping Centre in west London, after disagreeing with claims that the substitution of a councillor on the Council’s planning committee was unlawful.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th November 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Private Law Remedies in Environmental Law – Mouse or Lion? – Thirty Nine Essex Street

Posted November 18th, 2014 in environmental protection, human rights, news, nuisance, planning, pollution by sally

‘With statutory regulation covering an ever increasing area in Environmental Law, the question arises as to whether private law remedies have a meaningful role to play in that arena?’

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Thirty Nine Essex Street, September 2014

Source: www.39essex.com

Love Thy Neighbour – An update on Neighbourhood plans – No. 5 Chambers

Posted November 17th, 2014 in environmental protection, housing, local government, news, planning by sally

‘Chris Young & James Corbet Burcher recently gave a talk titled ‘Love Thy Neighbour: An update on Neighbourhood plans’ at the No5 Chambers Annual Planning Review in London.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 16th October 2014

Source: www.no5.com

Of cricket balls and Velux windows – a victory for Lord Denning and the common law right to hit a good six – Sports Law Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

‘Flying cricket balls and noisy motorbikes have a long history of testing the legal balance between the public interest in sport and the private interest in the peaceful enjoyment of land or the avoidance of injury.’

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Sports Law Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 13th November 2014

Source: www.sportslawbulletin.org

Landlord ordered to pay £280k after breaching enforcement notices on flats – Local Government Lawyer

‘A landlord who built an outbuilding and converted it into six small flats without planning permission has been ordered to pay more than £280,000.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th November 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Wind turbines, noise and public information – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 10th, 2014 in consultations, delay, judicial review, local government, news, noise, planning by sally

‘An interesting decision about a Council not supplying some key information about a wind turbine project to the public until very late in the day. Can an objector apply to set the grant of permission aside? Answer: yes, unless the Council can show that it would have inevitably have come to the same conclusion, even if the information had been made public earlier.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th November 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Southwark to bring judicial review over plans for ‘super-sewer’ for London – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 3rd, 2014 in consultations, judicial review, local government, London, news, planning, sewerage by sally

‘Southwark Council has applied to the High Court to bring judicial review proceedings over ministers’ approval of plans for the so-called ‘super-sewer’ in London.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd November 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Redhill Aerodrome Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and others – WLR Daily

Posted October 28th, 2014 in airports, appeals, law reports, planning by sally

Redhill Aerodrome Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and others [2014] EWCA Civ 1386; [2014] WLR (D) 448

‘The phrase “any other harm” in paragraph 88 of the National Planning Policy Framework did not mean only harm to the Green Belt, but included any other harm that was relevant for planning purposes. If a planning proposal was not in accordance with the policies in the development plan for the protection of the countryside, the planning permission should be refused having regard to the planning policy framework as a whole.’

WLR Daily, 24th October 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Redhill Aerodrome Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and others – WLR Daily

Posted October 7th, 2014 in airports, appeals, law reports, planning by sally

Redhill Aerodrome Ltd v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and others [2014] EWHC 2476 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 406

‘The phrase “any other harm” in paragraph 88 of the National Planning Policy Framework (“NPPF”) meant only harm to the Green Belt.’

WLR Daily, 18th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Government defends JR reforms, attacks impact of challenges on development – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 5th, 2014 in budgets, judicial review, news, planning by tracey

‘The Government has defended its reforms to judicial review, saying it is “particularly keen to reduce the extent to which legal challenge unduly hinders economic development and regeneration”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th September 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk