The High Court today ruled that virtual meetings of Local Authorities will not be permitted beyond 7 May 2021, to the wide disbelief and dismay of many councillors across the country, especially those with small premises which can’t accommodate social distancing, and COVID-hit budgets that really don’t need to be stretched to funding larger facilities…
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We’re delighted to have been appointed by Devonshire Homes to work with them on an exciting new project in North Devon. Beautiful homes and a lovely client. Watch this space!
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has announced that the housebuilding sector is bouncing back, with 35,710 dwellings started and 45,000 completed between July and September 2020 – up 111% and 185% respectively on the previous quarter. Click here for further information. Image by talented architects and masterplanners LHC.
As we plunge into another lockdown (and does anyone really believe it will end mid February?) the Government has at least sought to provide some relief by announcing it will invest up to £830 million from the Future High Streets Fund. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said yesterday the money will be invested in 72 areas…
In response to feedback – much of it negative, particularly from rural Local Authorities – the Government yesterday revised its formula for calculating local housing need. The Government has set a target of building 300,000 new homes across England, each year until the mid-’20s. The new approach seeks to encourage more of these to be…
In his last letter as Chief Planner, Steve Quartermain CBE urged Local Authorities to keep the wheels of the Planning machine turning, saying: ‘Be practical, be pragmatic and let’s plan for the recovery.’ He asked decision-makers to employ ‘all options available’, including the delegation of committee decisions where appropriate, and the use of technology-based discussions…
Thanks to the lockdown, ‘concalls’ and ‘vid-meets’ are the new norm and, by and large, many of us in the Planning world are managing to do ‘business as usual’. However, as much progress as there has been in IT systems, infrastructure and our collective tech-savviness, operating virtually can be frustrating at times. We’ve found the…
Dear Friends and Colleagues In light of the current situation we wanted to share some of the forward planning Seaxburh Partners has been doing in order to support our clients and development teams in the coming months. As you’re aware, we already work from home offices and therefore our day-to-day work will continue as normal.…
We are delighted to report that the future of the Oliver Buildings at Anchorwood Bank, Barnstaple has been secured. A resolution to grant planning permission was made by unanimous decision at the North Devon Council Planning Committee meeting today, supported by Barnstaple Town Council. The proposal by our client Wessex Investors and their partner Acorn…
It’s moving achingly slowly – but at least it is moving forwards. Mid Devon has now reported that “The Inspector has carefully considered the material contained in ED20, ED21, ED22 and ED23 and has no further questions at this stage. On that basis, the Inspector is content for the Council to publish its draft Main…
