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10 key things that happened in the Planning world last week...

Ten of the biggest stories from the past week, including news that Sir Roger Scruton has been dismissed as chair of the government's beautiful buildings commission, following what the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) described as "unacceptable comments" made by the writer and philosopher.

The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, was announced by the MHCLG last November with the aim of promoting "beautiful buildings". More.

A local authority in Lancashire has been ordered to pay partial appeal costs, after an inspector found it had "acted unreasonably" in failing to provide evidence behind its reasons for refusal of plans for 40 homes. More.

A property owner who did not comply with the terms of their planning permission for a development in Southend, Essex has been fined £25,000. More.

Plans have been approved for a 457-home mixed use scheme on a former industrial site in north west London, despite its proposed affordable housing provision falling short of local policy requirements. More.

Councillors in Northampton have endorsed a draft local plan that proposes allocating 81 new sites for 4,750 homes and stepping up housing delivery levels to tackle a shortfall against adopted joint core strategy targets. More.

Councillors have rejected land promoter Gladman Development's plans for 115 homes on an unallocated greenfield site near Mancetter in Warwickshire after officers advised the proposed scheme would cause harm to Roman archaeological sites. More.

An application for a railway line between Bristol and Portishead is to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate this summer, after the government confirmed £31 million of funding for the project, according to one of its promoters. More.

A town and parish council in South Oxfordshire have agreed the appointment of a community engagement consultant as part of a neighbourhood plan review. More.

The High Court has blocked a Suffolk parish council's legal challenge against a planning consent for a new school under the flight path of an RAF base, after a judge rejected its claim that the approval raised human rights issues. More.

Developers have submitted plans for a 288,000 square metres logistics hub on green belt land near Warrington. More.

Source: Planning Resource

15 April 2019