Three months after Mary Portas’ high profile review, the UK Government has dealt a hammer blow to one of the current cornerstones of our beloved high streets. The timing of this blow is even more unfortunate when you consider the UK’s town centres currently have the highest average vacancy rates since records began (now 14.6%). […]
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Successive governments have toyed with the idea of taxing profits made when securing planning permission. Indeed, betterment was a cornerstone of the early planning legislation. A land tax has been tried by successive governments but abandoned for some reason or another – principally the concern that it would cause the property market to stop working […]
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It is not often that I find myself congratulating the Welsh Government. Today, however, I take off my woolly hat to them. They have released proposals to change planning policy to be more friendly towards new development and inward investment. The credit crunch and recession have been with us for a number of years and […]
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Well we have it at last. The Localism Bill was signed into legislation last week and is now the Localism Act 2011. Considering the fanfare that surrounded the Bill’s introduction, the passing of the Act was the legislative equivalent of Bonfire Night in the rain. Not surprising really, though. Perhaps before making such an issue […]
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As much as I try and avoid addressing the same topic in my blog twice, I simply cannot not stay quiet over the Welsh Government’s limp wristed efforts to support the economy of this fair nation. Last week Carwyn Jones as good as shrugged his shoulders and told us there is no money to support […]
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For many years it was the case that Wales led the way in proactively encouraging development and the jobs that this could bring. While England and its planning system wrapped itself up in red tape, I was proud to be able to say that the Welsh approach was a simple and pragmatic one of supporting […]
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Up until a few years ago it was quite possible to ring up a local planning authority, speak to an officer about a proposal, reach a view as to whether it was likely to be a runner or not, and that would be the end of the matter. Now it seems that there is a […]
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I was asked this week to submit representations to a deposit plan on behalf of a landowner who wants the boundary of a town centre allocation extended a few hundred metres to include his site. It’s a great idea. It is a prime development site that could readily be developed in a manner that supports […]
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Yesterday the new Environment Minister at the Welsh Government accepted, apparently without reservation, the recommendations of a research study that the planning system in Wales needs to be more focused on supporting development that brings jobs. It is disappointing that it has taken until we are at the tail end of the economic downturn for […]
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