All planning articles
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FeaturesThere’s a major blockage in the housing pipeline – and it looks likely to get much worse
A growing number of water companies are objecting to planning applications on the basis that there is not enough local sewage treatment capacity to cope with the new homes required, Joey Gardiner reports
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NewsGovernment announces late-stage planning bill changes in bid to speed up housing, energy and water schemes
Ministers to be given new powers to stop councils refusing planning permission while they consider using ‘call-in’ powers
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CommentWill the CLC building control approval guidance be a gateway to success?
These short guidance notes aim to reduce rejections and delays by providing more clarity on what information to include in gateway 2 applications
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CommentNow is not the time to panic about low planning approvals
As poor statistics continue to roll in Steve Reed and Matthew Pennycook must hold their nerve, stick to their plan and be patient, argues Paul Smith
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CommentUnpacking the Building Safety Regulator reforms that aim to unlock high-rise delays
What operational changes are being made to help the Building Safety Regulator tackle the excessive gateway approval waits on high-rise residential schemes?
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CommentThe government must be brutal in reducing planning burdens to help SME housebuilders deliver
There is no chance of meeting the 1.5 million homes target without smaller firms delivering. This government should be bolder in reforming planning to help them do it, argues Paul Smith
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FeaturesNansledan: can design codes and long-term stewardship deliver better housing?
Mary Richardson visits Nansledan, the Duchy of Cornwall’s urban extension to Newquay in Cornwall. While its traditional architecture divides opinion, she finds that the project raises important questions about planning and designing new housing at scale
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CommentWill the gateway 2 building safety delays lead to more disputes?
As planning gridlock keeps schemes on hold and fingers are pointed, who will carry the can for delay costs? And will clients simply opt out of new-build HRBs altogether?
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Information - BuildingCPD 08 2025: Understanding and identifying grey belt land
As pressure mounts to deliver new housing and infrastructure in England, the Green Belt – long considered sacrosanct – is once again at the centre of planning debate
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NewsHowells named as lead architect on 1,400-home Canning Town scheme
Site neighbours two other large Howells-designed developments at mouth of River Lea
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NewsFavourite emerges on £200m City office in Moorgate
Tenter House scheme finally on verge of construction after near 30-year development saga
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NewsErith lands concrete work on £300m Old Street roundabout tower
Office scheme set to be built by Multiplex will replace former HQ building
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CommentWhy puddles are the latest in a long list of obstacles to building the homes we need
The planning system no longer recognises the difference between rivers and puddles and this must be fixed, says Paul Smith
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News‘Housebuilders do not sit on land’ – HBF hits back at Rayner’s plan for slow build-out fines
Trade body calls on government to focus instead on the ‘actual reasons’ for subdued supply
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CommentLand banking by housebuilders: the baseless conspiracy theory that refuses to go away
Despite numerous reviews finding no evidence of housebuilders deliberately withholding land from the market, we are again having to talk about ‘unbuilt’ homes, writes Paul Smith
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FeaturesIt’s deja vu all over again: Can the Ox-Cam Arc work second time around?
The chancellor has given her backing to an expansion plan for the corridor connecting Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge, including thousands of homes, which the previous government dropped. Joey Gardiner asks what hope the industry can have
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CommentPlanning reform and housing delivery in the year ahead – a lot to do but the signs are promising
Paul Smith describes the current planning reform landscape and finds positivity in the government’s general direction of travel
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CommentBacking the builders over the blockers signals real intent from the government
Labour’s development ambitions are bold and challenging. Industry must work with the government to create a positive cycle of growth, says Viral Desai at AtkinsRéalis
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NewsGrey belt policy ‘unlikely to have significant impact’ on housebuilding, Lords committee finds
Lord Moylan warns Angela Rayner that policy has been “rushed and incoherent”
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FeaturesThe 1.5 million-home question: Does the government’s planning reform programme add up?
Ministers unleashed a barrage of planning reforms in the dying days of 2024. Joey Gardiner asks if these can give the industry the boost it needs to get anywhere close to the government’s ambitious housebuilding target?