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R (Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ltd) v Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling reinforces the constitutional divide between the courts and the legislature. It explains that the scheme and framework of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) embody that separation of powers, and that any judicial attempt to recognise and enforce a common law obligation on Welsh Ministers to consult prior to introducing legislation in the Senedd would trespass upon that boundary. This is not a departure from established principle; case law has already upheld comparable rules for lawmakers in Scotland and at Westminster. However, this is the first express confirmation of the position for Welsh lawmakers, and the first time this dimension of the GWA 2006 has been analysed in such depth. The court examined earlier
The solution arrived through the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a quasi‑judicial body handling mass claims, created under UN Security Council Resolution 687. By addressing environmental harm—most notably via its ‘F4’ claim class—the UNCC set a seminal benchmark shaping how international law and contemporary arbitral panels allocate financial responsibility for wartime ecological devastation. With present-day wars in areas such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East bringing dam breaches, strikes on chemical facilities, and the burning of farmland, the UNCC’s legacy endures as an essential reference point for states, global investors, and companies engaged in post‑conflict arbitration. The F4 claims: Quantifying the unquantifiable Prior to the 1990s, mechanisms in international law for war reparations overwhelmingly favoured property loss, foregone earnings, and bodily injury. The natural world was commonly treated as a mute, non-compensable victim of armed hostilities...
Understanding the farming business as a business Many farms still use long-standing structures that arose by habit, not strategy. Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common. While once effective, such setups can cause major issues around succession, tax planning and involving the next generation. A corporate team can take a fresh, business-led view of the farm, asking: Who owns the land and other critical assets? Who manages daily operations? Who carries the risk and who enjoys the return? What is the enduring plan for succession? From this review, the team can confirm whether the current setup is fit for purpose or if an alternative — for example an updated partnership agreement, a company, a limited liability partnership, or a blended model — would better meet the family’s aims. Tax efficiency through joined-up advice Tax sits at the centre of most
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The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs issued the government’s Water White Paper, ‘ A new vision for water’, in January 2026 and laid it before Parliament on 20 January 2026 as CP 1490. An erratum dated 5 February 2026 alters the wording on page 28 regarding the timetable for scrapping falling block tariffs. Framed as a response to sustained scrutiny of industry performance, it serves as a springboard for ‘once-in-a-generation’ reform. It builds on measures already taken by government, including the Water Special Measures Act and a declared £104 billion investment programme for 2025 to 2030. It also follows the Independent Water Commission led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, tasked with diagnosing systemic failings and proposing structural reform. For planning lawyers, the central takeaway is that the White Paper treats planning, infrastructure delivery and development as mutually dependent. Overhaul of the...
The Town and Country Planning ( Appeals) ( Written Representations Procedure) ( England) ( Amendment and Saving Provision) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/122 The Town and Country Planning ( Appeals) ( Written Representations Procedure) ( England) ( Amendment and Saving Provision) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/122 (the Amendment Regulations), revise the Town and Country Planning ( Appeals) ( Written Representations Procedure) ( England) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/452 (the 2009 Regulations). Finalised on 10 February 2026, they come into effect on 1 April 2026. While the Regulations extend to England and Wales, in practical terms they relate to appeals against planning determinations in England......
In this issue: Planning conditions, obligations and CIL Planning policy Planning enforcement Planning applications and decisions Planning appeals and objections Planning issues in energy projects Housing Major infrastructure projects Buildings and Building Regulations Lex Talk®Planning: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Planning conditions, obligations and CIL Policy statement: a roadmap for section 106 delivery in England On 29 January 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ( MHCLG) issued a policy statement describing a short-term measure to free up stalled section 106 ( S 106) affordable housing, set alongside a wider reform programme to strengthen the efficiency, consistency and long-term resilience of S 106 delivery. The statement also notes the government’s intention to keep S 106 at the heart of securing...
For a comparable summary and forward look produced last year, consult News Analysis: Key energy law developments—end of year review 2024 and what to expect in 2025. We host a portfolio of energy law trackers monitoring significant legal and policy shifts, both sector-wide and within discrete subject areas (many of which are cited in this News Analysis). For fuller information on these tools, see: Energy law trackers—overview. Additional updates and commentary are delivered through our current awareness alerts and highlights. Select ‘ Create Alert’ within your ‘ Alerts’ tab on Lexis+® and adjust your personal preferences to subscribe. Authored by Ben Pearson and Ruth Jaun, PSL Energy. Overarching energy policy What were the key developments in 2025? Since July 2024, one of the UK government’s primary missions has been to establish the UK as a clean energy superpower. Against that backdrop, and as the UK moves...
In this issue Planning issues in energy projects Heritage and natural environment Housing Planning applications and decisions Major infrastructure projects Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Planning issues in energy projects The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 ( PIA 2025), which gained Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, ushers in extensive planning reform across the UK economy. Although PIA 2025 spans numerous markets and industries, it also contains targeted measures for the energy sector. These measures—and what they mean for energy developers and investors—are considered in a News Analysis by Rory Bennett, counsel, and Lucy Bruce Jones, partner, of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, together with the Lexis+® Energy and Planning teams: The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025-implications for the energy sector. Heritage and natural...
Introduction PIA 2025 unveils pivotal adjustments for the energy industry, intended to accelerate the delivery of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects ( NSIPs) across England and Wales. The package seeks to clear barriers that have for years stalled economic expansion and delayed the roll‑out of clean power. At its heart sits a commitment to fast‑track 150 major planning determinations within the life of the current Parliament. For the energy sector specifically, PIA 2025 reshapes the NSIP framework, requires routine revisions to National Policy Statements ( NPSs), empowers Ofgem and ministers to hasten grid connection changes, and offers backing for long‑duration electricity storage ( LDES) and renewable deployment. Developers should see gains from simpler, more streamlined pre‑application processes, improved land‑access powers, and tighter, more targeted examinations, whilst funders are expected to benefit from increased certainty through Ofgem’s strengthened duties. Despite these advances, further change may still be...
In this issue: Planning policy Buildings and Building Regulations Major infrastructure projects Planning applications and decisions Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Planning policy Design and placemaking Planning Practice Guidance consultation The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ( MHCLG) has launched a consultation to gather views on the user-friendliness of a combined draft of the Design and Placemaking Planning Practice Guidance, together with linked alterations to national planning policy. The exercise requests feedback on the draft’s clarity and usability, its fit with the draft text and the National Planning Policy Framework ( NPPF), and the associated proposed changes to national planning policy, so the final guidance can be refined to better support high-quality design and placemaking in both plan-making and decision-taking. Issued on 21 January 2026 and covering England, it invites comments on the draft Design and Placemaking Planning Practice Guidance, which has been brought...
In this issue: Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 Planning conditions, obligations and CIL Major infrastructure projects Planning applications and decisions Highways and rights of way Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 Environmental Delivery Plans and Nature Levies under Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025: key issues for practitioners In this article, Alexa Culver, legal counsel at RSK Wilding, considers the principal practitioner questions raised by Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, which became law on 18 December 2025. Her analysis outlines how the new system of Environmental Delivery Plans ( EDPs) and nature restoration levies could let developers deal with a wide array of...
R (on the application of Arcelormittal Kent Wire Ltd) v Medway Council [2026] EWHC 40 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling serves as a clear prompt that disputes over ‘scope creep’ in a permission typically turn on the language of the operative section of the decision notice and on whether the application is expressly incorporated. In this case, the court held that phrases such as ‘in accordance with your application’ within the operative grant import the application, so the permission is not to be construed as authorising uses that were never sought, even where the description of development is expansive. It further confirms that conditions cannot lawfully enlarge the nature or reach of the authorised development; generic references in conditions to a wider class will not be read as extending the grant. For developers and local planning...
Part 3 of the Landmark Planning and Infrastructure Act becomes law On 18 December 2025, PIA 2025 entered into law. This note sets out the immediate implications for practitioners. It introduces new nature levies that developers may choose to pay, or in some instances be compelled to pay, instead of satisfying certain specified environmental obligations linked to the development consent process. The potential reach is wide: any ‘environmental feature’ in England—including features in or beneath waters adjacent to England, and the English offshore regions—can be addressed through voluntary or mandatory levies in place of the existing mitigation and compensation measures required by environmental laws. Business as usual for now For the moment, there is no change for development, planning or nature recovery. Adjustments to current environmental protections will not apply until new ‘nature restoration levy regulations’ are made, and the first ‘...
In this issue: Planning issues in energy projects Flood risk and development Buildings and Building Regulations Major infrastructure projects Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Planning issues in energy projects National nuclear energy policy statement EN-7 comes into force The government has now implemented the National Policy Statement ( NPS) for nuclear power generation, EN-7. Taking effect on 18 December 2025, it establishes the principal policy basis for evaluating nationally significant nuclear fission proposals. EN-7 sits within the Planning Act 2008 regime for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects ( NSIPs) and will guide the secretary of state when determining development consent applications, read alongside the overarching energy policy statement, EN-1. This statement replaces EN-6, which applied to nuclear schemes anticipated to be deployable by the end of 2025. By removing that previous cut-off, EN-7...
Why has a new ( EIP) been published? EA 2021, s 8 obliges a Secretary of State to issue an EIP, and under section 10 it has to be revisited every five years. As the last EIP appeared in 2023, the government had no legal duty to reassess it yet. Nonetheless, delivery of the 2023 Plan drew heavy critique. The Office for Environmental Protection ( OEP), which is tasked by statute with tracking progress in improving the environment in line with the current environmental improvement plan, reported that out of 43 targets and commitments, the government was largely on course for 9, partially on course for 12, and largely off course for 20. In 2024, ministers initiated a rapid review of EIP 2023. They concluded there were key areas where delivery of the EIP needed strengthening. Presenting the new plan, the...
The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 It represents the end point of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which arrived in the House of Commons in March 2025. As it moved through Parliament, the Bill was repeatedly reworked at Committee, Report and Third Reading in the Commons, then further altered again by the Lords. In the government’s press release, the Act is cast very firmly as advancing a growth-first programme. It is widely hailed as a ‘landmark’ reform set to ‘tear down barriers to growth’ and to ‘get spades in the ground faster’, with Ministers explicitly highlighting its purpose in freeing schemes ‘stuck in planning limbo’ and in bringing forward more homes, cleaner energy and essential infrastructure at a much greater pace. The Housing Secretary has presented it as beginning ‘a new era to build 1.5 million homes’, while the Chancellor has...
In this issue: Planning policy Major infrastructure projects Buildings and Building Regulations Marine planning Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q& As Planning Highlights 2025/2026 Planning policy Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 receives Royal Assent On 18 December 2025, the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 secured Royal Assent, completing the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill first brought to the House of Commons in March 2025. The Bill was altered at Committee, Report and Third Reading in the Commons, then amended again in the Lords. Government messaging casts the Act as central to a pro‑growth programme: a landmark reform designed to remove barriers and get construction moving faster. Ministers highlight its role in freeing projects long stalled in the planning system and in speeding up the delivery of homes, clean energy and vital...
A fresh consultation on revisions to the NPPF and associated planning reforms was issued on 16 December 2025 by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ( MHCLG). Entitled ‘ National Planning Policy Framework: proposed reforms and other changes to the planning system’, it invites feedback on a draft replacement NPPF, together with a package of measures covering: data centres and on-site energy generation standardised viability inputs site thresholds The consultation runs until 11:45pm on 10 March 2026 and applies to England only. Further, more granular commentary on particular elements will be provided in due course, including detailed analysis of specific parts. What is the background to the consultation? The NPPF first appeared in 2012 and has undergone multiple revisions. The Labour government issued a refreshed NPPF in December 2024 after consulting on a set of proposed amendments over the summer. That 2024...
In this issue: Nationally significant infrastructure projects Planning appeals Planning policy Planning issues in energy projects Buildings and building regulations Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q& As Related Documents Nationally significant infrastructure projects Court clarifies Finch’s reach for aviation emissions in dismissing airport expansion DCO challenge ( Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise v SST) In Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise v Secretary of State for Transport [2025] EWHC 3206 ( Admin), the court ruled that Finch does not oblige decision‑makers to put numbers on all downstream climate consequences. The touchstone is whether an effect is probable and amenable to a meaningful appraisal using the evidence and benchmarks to hand. For aviation schemes, outbound emissions may lawfully be judged against national carbon...
In this issue: Planning policy Environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment and appropriate assessment Planning applications and decisions Nationally significant infrastructure projects Lex Talk®Planning: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Planning policy Consultations on emergency measures to support housebuilding in London The government has opened a consultation on two initiatives aimed at boosting housebuilding in London: a temporary borough-level Community Infrastructure Levy ( CIL) relief for specified residential developments, and permanent revisions to the Mayor of London’s planning powers relating to applications of potential strategic importance. The consultation launched on 27 November 2025 and will close on 22 January 2026. Separately, the Greater London Authority is consulting on draft ‘ Support for Housebuilding’ London Plan Guidance. The proposals include time-limited adjustments to minimum cycle-parking requirements and housing design guidance, plus the...
Halton Borough Council v The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2025] EWCA Civ 1566 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling affirms that, in a called-in inquiry, a local planning authority is not acting unreasonably merely because its expert revises their position under cross-examination and the authority consequently withdraws backing for a scheme. Where an expert properly acknowledges in evidence that, applying the relevant guidance, they would now advise against permission, that change can legitimately justify the authority’s shift in stance and the application’s withdrawal. The court makes clear there is no ‘normal procedural requirement’ for an authority to stress-test or rehearse its expert beforehand to ensure their evidence will withstand cross-examination. Authorities may rely on apparently competent expert advice that meets the usual evidential threshold; they are not expected to second‑guess their own experts unless...
R (on the application of Oceana UK) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and others [2025] EWHC 2984 ( Admin) What was the background? The dispute stemmed from a judicial review issued by Oceana UK against the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Climate Change, challenging three ‘appropriate assessments’ undertaken at the licensing phase of the 33rd Seaward Oil and Gas Licensing Round. Those assessments were intended to fulfil the Secretary of State’s obligations under regulation 5(1) of the Offshore Petroleum Activities ( Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001 (the 2001 Regulations). The 2001 regime gives offshore effect to the Habitats Directive in a manner closely akin to the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 that govern onshore planning decisions. Oceana contended that the licensing-stage assessments did not satisfy the precautionary requirement for ‘complete, precise and definitive’ conclusions, because...
On 27 November 2025, the government issued four linked publications explaining how the new local plan-making system will work under the LURA 2023... Create or update a local plan using the new system — a new collection acting as the central hub for the regime, assembling draft guidance, templates and links to supporting material 30-month local plan process: an overview — draft guidance setting out the mandatory 30-month timetable and the principal steps from notice through to adoption Rollout of the new local plan-making system – guidance — clarifies how and when the new system will commence, the transition from the legacy 2012 Regulations regime, and the backstop dates for plan preparation Plan-making regulations explainer — a detailed summary of what forthcoming secondary legislation will require procedurally, including new consultation, timetable and Gateway duties All four were published together to give local...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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