Welcome to our March newsletter, marking hopefully the start of spring. In this issue we look at: the new Housing Minister, Rachel Maclean, and peoples reactions to this; the Westminster debate on updating green belt regulation; the Conservative Councillors Association Local Government Conference and their special guests. We have a political update, our usual local plan update and some comment from us.   New Housing Minster – Rachel Maclean Rachel Maclean has been confirmed as the new Housing Minister. This was due to Lucy Frazer being promoted during Rishi Sunak’s department shake-up on February 7. Maclean becomes the sixth […]

  This month we have four articles looking at this week’s local elections, levelling up, planning gain reform and the current shape of the local plan system. We also have our local plan updates and an invitation to a seminar on Housing Policy and Older People. Please do feel free to get in touch and share your thoughts.   2022 Local Elections It is that time of year again By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property It is that time of year again: tomorrow sees a plethora of district, borough, city and parish elections, together with all the London […]

  This is our first newsletter of 2022 and we have four thought-provoking articles looking at current government policies. Although the NHS reforms are in the process of being implemented, local government reforms are still being formulated or yet to be reviewed. Housing numbers and housing policies are like the planning reforms: yet to be finalised. Local government reforms By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property Despite being pushed into the long grass last year, local government reforms have certainly not gone away. Originally in the 2019 election manifesto, there was a brief reveal in the summer last year […]

  This month we bring you the latest news on the local election results, the planning reforms announced in the Queen’s Speech, an update on virtual Council meetings, and more… Local Elections Takeaways By Kasia Banaś, Account Director  Conservative gains Last week’s local elections were hailed as a big success for the Conservatives who took control of a dozen councils and gained more than 200 new Tory councillors. Local elections and by-elections are traditionally a trying period for a governing party and an opportunity for voters to show their frustrations with those in power. This was not the case this time. The […]

  This month we bring you the latest news on the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, Local Government Reforms, Local Elections, Housing for the ageing population and more… The latest news on the Oxford-Cambridge Arc By Ruby Burdett, Consultant In his budget in spring last year, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak announced the Government’s growth plans for the area connecting Oxford and Cambridge. Almost a year later, after near radio silence on the matter, the Government has revisited the subject and has announced their ambitious plans. MHCLG’s recently issued spatial framework could potentially see out the creation of one million new homes. Plans to […]

  This month we bring you a review of 2020, the latest news on the St Albans local plan, Sevenoaks Council’s Judicial Review ruling appeal and more… All at Chelgate Local wish you a very happy New Year By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property The past year has been one many will understandably want to forget, but it will be remembered for a long time. Chelgate sent its staff to work from home on 10th March which, at the time, seemed a little drastic. The firm worked throughout the lock down although much of the industry did not. […]

  This month we bring you news on the Conservative opposition to the planning white paper, the latest on the local government structure reform, the fate of South Bucks and Chilterns Local Plan, information on the Essex Developer Engagement Events and much more…   Tory backlash on radical reforms By Liam Herbert, Chief Executive Officer It would seem that plans by No 10 and MHCLG to bring root and branch reform of local government have quietly fallen into the very very long grass. Following a robust reaction from many councils and districts Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) […]

  This month we bring you our series of online seminars on forthcoming proposals on reorganisation of local government and planning reforms. Read on for news on the Sevenoaks and St Albans Local Plans, Maidstone’s gamble to keep housing numbers down, the future of Cambridge, and much more…   Sevenoaks to St Albans By Michael Hardware, Director of Planning and Property Not usually associated but these two districts are currently on a similar path: planning inspectors have found both wanting in their duty to cooperate with adjoining authorities. Sevenoaks was in the High Court earlier this month with a judicial […]

This month we bring you news on the St Albans Local Plan, new government-appointed chief planner, projections on the housing and rental markets, COVID-19 and long-term strategic planning and much more… Government appoints new chief planner By Alia Khan, Consultant The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has appointed Joanna Averley as its new chief planner. She is the first female chief planner and assumes her post from September. Averley joins Whitehall from the Commission of Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), where she was the deputy chief executive as well as design director at the Olympic Delivery […]

  This month we bring you housing delivery projections and Covid-19 house prices, and a vision of future working practices. We also recap our Live Planning Events with St Albans DC and provide a Covid-19 update from Maidstone Borough Council Is the UK Housing Delivery Doomed in 2020 by Alia Khan, Consultant A recent analysis conducted by the global property consultancy Knight Frank, suggested that the knock-on effects of the coronavirus will result in 56,000 fewer homes being delivered in the UK this year, a 35 per cent drop. The analysis indicates that, ‘private housing delivery across the UK will […]