10/10/2018

As work gets under way on a box park development in High Wycombe, Ben Henderson and James Nelson of the Real Estate and Development team at Blaser Mills Law look forward to the impact it could have on the town centre’s regeneration. With a decline of its traditional high street, High Wycombe has been striving for new ways to invoke some spirit and identity into the local area. Now Docklands-based Container City has begun work to create an exciting new space in the town centre, combining

10/02/2018

Simon Dimmick, partner in Blandy & Blandy’s planning & environmental law team, explains 10 important points to remember when it comes to Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). 1.     Submit the additional information form with any planning application – our experience is some local planning authorities will not validate the application without it. 2.     Apply for any exemptions/reliefs in good time – the charging/collecting authority needs to make a decision on whether or not they will grant

10/01/2018

The sale of the Microsoft campus has been described as an illustration of the value of Thames Valley Park. Costar News has reported that London-based real estate investment manager, Valesco Group, along with AIP Asset Management, headquartered in Seoul, have exchanged contracts to buy the IT giant’s 246, 138 sq ft UK HQ campus for £100m. The investment in the three buildings is backed by a consortium of South Korean institutional investors. Charlie Nicholson, partner at Vail Williams which is

09/28/2018

Rebecca Thomas, legal practice director at BrookStreet des Roches, explains the risks involved where leases are not formally documented.​ Owners of commercial property often want to allow someone into occupation without the time and expense of negotiating a lease. There is a tendency in these situations to just allow the occupation on an informal basis, not involving lawyers or thinking too much about the nature of the occupation. This is fine while the parties all agree on what they are

09/20/2018

Following the announcement of the Government’s choice of ‘Route B’ for the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway, we asked some of our sponsors and partners for their thoughts on it. The issues, it seems, go much deeper than the recent announcement. Planner Tim Burden says the Government’s choice of route for the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway has revealed a clash between local and strategic decision-making. Roads minister Jesse Norman announced on September 12, the choice of ‘Route B’, the central

10/16/2018

A decision to refuse a new secondary school in Oxford has been reversed by the council’s planning review committee. Oxford City Council’s east area planning committee voted on Wednesday, September 5, to refuse plans for the 1,260-pupil Swan School on land at Marston, citing traffic and safety fears. Officers had recommended approval despite objections from nearby residents. But the council called in the decision and its planning review committee approved the plan on October 15. The

10/16/2018

Swindon’s regeneration company is to be merged into the council's economy team. Forward Swindon Ltd (FSL) has been working alongside Swindon Borough Council’s economy team since the start of the year and now FSL chief executive Simon Brigden is to leave and the two teams merge. The announcement came after a FSL board meeting on Friday, October 12. FSL is already owned by the council but has operated at arms length and had its own board and a mandate to drive some of the town's key regeneration

10/15/2018

Run this past me again. A developer wants to demolish a brand new 50,000 sq ft office building which cost £18 million, which has a confirmed interest from a quality tenant, BSRIA, which wants to relocate from Bracknell and free its current site for housing. Has the world gone mad ? Maybe not upon reflection as this unusual situation raises some intriguing issues for the Thames Valley property market to chew over.  - The land is of greater value as residential than commercial, even when one