12/10/2018

The delayed draft Local Plan for South Oxfordshire goes before councillors this week but there are concerns over whether the county can now meet its housing target. In May, South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) asked officers to reassess all its main sites for housing after controversy, particularly around the allocation of Chalgrove Airfield. Now, although three new sites – Grenoble Road, Bayswater Brook and Northfield - have been added, SODC expects to deliver fewer homes over the plan

12/06/2018

Karen Jones, partner in Blandy & Blandy's planning & environmental law team, reviews the latest situation regarding the Government's Road Investment Strategy 2 and the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway in the light of a likely judicial review. The Government announced in 2015 that it was preparing its Road Investment Strategy 2 and that studies were required to identify the right investment decisions. One such strategic study was in respect of the Oxford to Cambridge expressway. A consultation by

11/16/2018

Tim Burden and Taylor Cherrett, director and associate director respectively at Turley, weigh up how plans for a single unitary authority for Buckinghamshire could affect planning, infrastructure and decision making in the county. On 1 November 2018, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, James Brokenshire, announced that proposals for a new unitary authority covering Buckinghamshire were to be given the backing of Government. The  Local Government Update:

11/05/2018

The news that five councils in Buckinghamshire are to be replaced with one unitary authority has been met with a mixed - but overall positive - response from those involved in the county's future development. Secretary of state James Brokenshire announced on Thursday, November 1, that after considering two options, one for two unitary councils and another for one, he has opted for the latter, subject to Parliamentary approval. It means Buckinghamshire County Council and the district councils

10/30/2018

Following Chancellor, Philip Hammond’s Budget speech on Monday, October 29, partner and head of business rates at Vail Williams, James FitzGibbon, gives his views on whether or not the changes go far enough. On Monday, the Chancellor cut business rates by a third for two years for small businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 and under, in a bid to help save the British high street, but whilst the cut is to be welcomed, it simply does not go far enough. The fact remains that liabilities

12/14/2018

A 1990s office building in the centre of Maidenhead may be demolished for a new one almost double its size. Kings Chase in King Street, just yards from the railway station has proved difficult to let and now Maizelands and Arringford has proposed a new 135, 166 sq ft building with two commercial units on the ground floor. The proposed six-storey building submitted to the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead will sit behind the Grade ll–listed Jubilee Clock Tower and its design by

12/14/2018

Plans have been submitted for a development of 1,400 homes on land south west of Aylesbury. Through its agent, Nexus Planning, Gleeson Strategic Land has proposed the homes along with a community building, a two-form entry primary school,  green space including play areas and parks and a new link road. The green space in the application submitted to Ayelsbury Vale District Council, will account for more than 50 per cent of the 106-hectare site which runs along the north east side of a section

12/13/2018

Public consultation events take place in January over the regeneration of Farnborough’s Civic Quarter site. The Rushmoor Development Partnership, a joint venture between Rushmoor Borough Council and Hill Investment Partnerships, is working with architects, GT3, on options for a major regeneration of the area which includes a community centre, library, former police station, leisure centre, Westmead House offices and a car park. A planning application is being prepared for submission in Summer