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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 Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common.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 Paper outlines a number of perceived issues with how planning committees operate in England, which the government wishes to address. Among these are: numerous local schemes of delegation fail to set out clearly whether a planning application will be decided by committee or by a planning officer, creating uncertainty for developers excessive time is spent considering applications that comply with the local plan, or post-permission matters, particularly where the site is allocated and clear policy requirements exist in the local plan; this slows decisions on schemes already examined through the local plans process, wasting time and resources on occasion, applications are refused contrary to officer advice and are then overturned at appeal, delaying appropriate development and wasting time and resources at times, committee members lack sufficient understanding of planning law, leaving their decisions more open to being overturned on appeal To address these matters, the Paper puts forward three...
The Action Plan acknowledges that the present planning system is not advancing at the speed needed to meet the 2030 clean power target. Advice from the National Energy Systems Operator ( NESO) reportedly suggests that, although the pipeline holds sufficient projects across most technologies, turning that pipeline into delivery will demand much faster rates of planning and consenting decisions. Some barriers have already been eased — for example, the lifting of the de facto ban on onshore wind in England — yet the Action Plan makes plain that further action remains necessary. With this in mind, it commits to a comprehensive programme of planning reform, outlined below. Resourcing Government will equip bodies across the planning system with the tools they require, including the Planning Inspectorate ( PINS), statutory consultees, local planning authorities ( LPAs) and government consenting teams, by: broadening...
On 16 December 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government released an English Devolution White Paper titled: ‘ Power and partnership: Foundations for growth’. It sets out plans to broaden and intensify devolution across England, giving mayors unparalleled powers and funding, while embedding them in the machinery of government. Why are the proposals being made? The overarching aim is to reset the relationship with local and regional government—empowering local leaders and Mayors to make the right calls for their communities, and working together to foster an inclusive economy, reform public services, and secure improved outcomes. The government also considers Mayors crucial to achieving its commitment to deliver 1.5m homes. What are the key housing and planning proposals? Strategic Authorities and Mayors are proposed to be supported with the following new powers: every area, whether or not it has a Strategic Authority, must prepare a...
What is the background to the revised NPPF? On 12 December 2024, the Government released an updated NPPF, together with its response to the July 2024 consultation on proposed amendments to the NPPF. In a written ministerial statement, Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, said the national policy changes are needed to unlock land for 1.5 million homes and to provide the scale of infrastructure required to support growth. This publication follows an eight-week consultation held from July to September 2024 on revisions to the NPPF, which attracted over 10,000 responses. Measures taken forward include undoing the December 2023 reforms by the previous government, which had made the standard method’s outcome an ‘advisory starting point’ for setting housing requirements. Now, the NPPF again makes clear that LPAs should use a new standard method to assess housing need and to plan their...
In this issue: Planning policy Planning applications and decisions Air quality and climate change Planning issues in energy projects Buildings and building regulations Nationally significant infrastructure projects Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q& As Related Documents Planning policy Revised NPPF and consultation response On 12 November 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ( MHCLG) released an updated National Planning Policy Framework ( NPPF), following its July 2024 consultation on proposed NPPF reforms and wider planning system changes. Alongside the refreshed NPPF, MHCLG issued its formal reply to the consultation. The Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, also published a ministerial statement setting out the intended reforms and principal amendments. The revised NPPF brings forward substantial changes designed to quicken housebuilding and deliver 1.5 million homes. The plan-making provisions in the NPPF will apply three months after publication. See: LNB News 12/12/2024 45. RICS responds to BEC’s report on high...
Key developlments in 2024 2024 has seen notable movement in climate change litigation across the UK and internationally. In the UK, attention has largely centred on whether proposed fossil fuel projects’ Scope 3 emissions were properly addressed within Environmental Impact Assessments ( EIAs) at the planning stage. Internationally, energy-sector disputes have focused on actions against governments for alleged breaches of climate obligations under domestic law or binding international frameworks, alongside claims against corporations arising from their perceived contribution to climate change. For further background on climate litigation generally, including many of the matters noted below, see Practice Note: Climate change litigation. Requirement to consider Scope 3 emissions in EIAs Climate litigation commenced in January 2024 with the ruling in Greenpeace Nordic and Nature & Youth v Energy Ministry ( The North Sea Fields Case). The case challenged the Norwegian government’s omission of Scope 3...
In this issue: Building regulations Housing Planning for nationally significant infrastructure Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Building regulations Building ( Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) ( Wales) Regulations 2024 In the wake of the Building Safety Act 2022, the Building ( Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) ( Wales) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/1268, have been laid. They principally disapply, for Wales, elements of the Building ( Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 and the Building ( Building Control Profession) ( Registration, Sanctions and Appeals) ( Wales) Regulations 2023. These rules define the obligations and criteria for Registered Building Control Approvers ( RBCAs) and any public authorities empowered by the Welsh Ministers to perform building control functions. They also prescribe the procedures for lodging specified forms under the Building Act 1984 and Building Regulations 2010, together with grounds for accepting or rejecting those submissions by applicants to the...
In this issue: Planning appeals When planning permission is needed Planning issues in energy projects Housing Highways and rights of way Buildings and Building Regulations Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A Related Documents Planning appeals PINS confirms planning and enforcement appeal deadlines for the 2024 festive period The Planning Inspectorate ( PINS) has set submission cut-offs for planning and enforcement appeals in England over Christmas and New Year 2024. Parties should meet the standard dates for filing documents in the weeks beginning 23 and 30 December 2024. Where a deadline lands on a bank holiday, filings must be made before that day. Although case officers may assess extension requests individually, no deadline will run past 10 January 2025. For enforcement matters, PINS has no power to prolong the period for lodging an...
In this issue: Planning applications and decisions Trees Planning appeals Planning policy Public rights of way and definitive maps Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Planning applications and decisions MHCLG publishes statement on changes to housing design and quality The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ( MHCLG) has issued a written ministerial statement setting out major shifts in its stance on housing design and quality. Reconfirming its ambition to accelerate delivery and create 1.5 million new homes within five years, MHCLG signalled forthcoming updates to the National Design Guide and the National Model Design Code in Spring 2025. It also unveiled a £46m support package for local planning authorities to recruit and train planners, strengthening design expertise and capacity. MHCLG will furthermore convene quarterly Steering Boards on design and placemaking to inform and guide development for large-scale sites and communities. In parallel, the Office for Place will close, with its...
R (on the application of Smallbrook) v Birmingham City Council (transcript) [2024] EWHC 2535 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? One of the standout planning court battles of the past two years is Marks and Spencer’s High Court challenge over the proposed rebuild of its Marble Arch store on Oxford Street, Marks and Spencer Plc v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2024] EWHC 4542 ( Admin). The significance of Smallbrook lies in adopting that ruling’s approach: supplementary planning documents do not form part of the statutory development plan and so are not local plan policies. The judgment also usefully restates several legal points: the weight attributed by a planning committee to material considerations arising from a proposal, and any alternatives, is a matter for the local authority’s planning judgement; the court will not replace it there is no...
In this issue: Nationally significant infrastructure projects Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 Environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment and appropriate assessment Marine planning Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q& A Related Documents Nationally significant infrastructure projects Welsh Government proposes to accelerate infrastructure planning decisions The Welsh Government has set out measures to speed up nationally significant planning decisions, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy schemes. Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, confirmed intentions to: delegate determination powers to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales for renewable projects up to 50 megawatts, which could cut overall decision periods by at least 12 weeks tackle the shortage of planners at both local and national levels and strengthen capacity for handling Developments of National Significance...
In this issue: Housing Planning applications and decisions Planning policy Lex Talk®Planning: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A Related Documents Housing New Towns Taskforce launches call for evidence on development opportunities The New Towns Taskforce, tasked with advising government on suitable places for new communities by July 2025, has now formally opened a call for evidence. This call aims to collect early-stage information on the major development prospects currently. It invites proposals with regional significance for housing numbers, supply and economic growth. The Taskforce will utilise further sources, including its own spatial analysis, to shape recommendations on potential new towns. The call for evidence closes on 13 December 2024. See: LNB News 04/11/2024 28......
Evans v Bridgend County Borough Council [2024] EWHC 2607 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? When an LPA is considering whether to refuse to determine a repeat proposal, officers must not delve into its merits or decide that it is futile. The pivotal issue is whether the fresh proposal is the same as, or substantially the same as, the earlier refused scheme. That exercise is one of planning judgment, carried out by assessing each proposal on its own terms. A feature shared with the earlier scheme that was previously decisive against it is a relevant similarity for that planning judgment. Conversely, a proposal covering only half of the former site and seeking a reduced level of housing development is, in rational terms, unlikely to be substantially the same... What is the legal background? An LPA has a...
In this issue: Autumn Budget Nationally significant infrastructure projects Heritage and natural environment Planning and flood risk Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A Related Documents Autumn Budget Key planning announcements in the Autumn Budget In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, unveiled a suite of proposals affecting the planning system. Delivering new infrastructure, supported by significant investment, together with reform of planning, was framed as one of seven pillars for driving economic growth. Actions to boost housebuilding, funding for transport and energy infrastructure, and a pledge to hasten the remediation of unsafe buildings also appear. To raise the planning system’s effectiveness and remove barriers to growth, the government set out a package of...
In this issue: Building regulations Housing Nationally significant infrastructure projects Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Building regulations HSE publishes guidance on investigating RBIs and RBCAs The Health and Safety Executive ( HSE) has issued two guidance notes on inquiries undertaken by the Building Safety Regulator ( BSR): Registered building inspectors: professional misconduct and criminal offences sets out in which situations, and by what means, the BSR may investigate a registered building inspector; and Building control bodies: contraventions and criminal offences outlines when and how the BSR can investigate a registered building control approver See: LNB News 22/10/2024 116. MHCLG publishes new building control guidance on reversions The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ( MHCLG) has released new Building control practice guidance on reversion......
Bain v Secretary of State for Transport [2024] EWHC 2216 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The sole ground that proceeded posed a targeted issue: when must an economic statement be refreshed under paragraph 4.5 of the National Policy Statement for National Networks ( December 2014), which requires that applications for road and rail schemes are normally accompanied by a business case aligned with Treasury Green Book principles. The economic case within a transport business case evaluates the economic, environmental and social consequences of a scheme, with the breadth of information tailored to the scale of the development. This material assists the decision-maker in weighing the proposal’s adverse impacts and benefits. Under paragraph 4.7, both updates—and whether they are needed—should be addressed in a proportionate way. The key takeaway is that, where there is a material interval between an...
In this issue: Planning applications and decisions Environmental impact assessment Housing Planning policy Nationally significant infrastructure projects Planning and air pollution Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A Related Documents Planning applications and decisions Court of Appeal quashes planning permission for failing to consider noise, and comments on the interpretation of planning permission ( Ariyo v Richmond Upon Thames LBC) In R on the Application of Ariyo v Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council [2024] EWCA Civ 960, the Court of Appeal examined whether the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames (the LPA) acted unlawfully in granting consent for a garden area and associated structure to operate as a restaurant. The permission was overturned because noise effects—an important material consideration—were not assessed. The ruling also underscores the need for...
South Lakeland Action on Climate Change— Towards Transition v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2024] EWHC 2349 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment brings welcome clarity to the steps required when conducting EIAs and provides an important steer on how the courts will treat applications that depend on ‘substitution’ reasoning. The central message is straightforward: developers and planning authorities must ensure the EIA includes an appraisal of downstream emissions arising from the proposal. It will not suffice to maintain that such emissions need not be assessed simply because they will be counterbalanced or ‘offset’ by some other factor. While the ruling leaves scope for promoters to argue that their scheme has a neutral environmental effect by advancing a substitution case, any material relied upon must be scrutinised under the 2011 regulations, enabling public...
In this issue: Biodiversity Compulsory purchase Development consent orders Building regulations Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A Related Documents Biodiversity Biodiversity gain plan templates for phased developments released The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has issued templates for preparing a biodiversity gain plan for phased developments......
In this issue: Planning policy Planning appeals Retained EU Law Lex Talk®Planning: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q& A Related Documents Planning policy Industry bodies’ responses to NPPF consultation The Construction Industry Council ( CIC) has issued its response to the National Planning Policy Framework ( NPPF) consultation. While the CIC backs the government’s aim to speed up housebuilding, it also highlighted several reservations about the government’s plans, including: that the NPPF does not tackle the poor standard of housing often produced through permitted development rights......
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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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