Sustainable development and planning news

The fast track to Sustainable Development and Zero Carbon Building- Smelling Salts Optional! Cartbon Green Consulting are offering  another in our series of free CPD seminars on  Sustainable Development, related to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) with a...

Local Authority Slammed for Community Infrastructure Levy Charge Mid Devon District Council has been severely criticised by the Planning Inspectorate for setting a Community Infrastructure Charge (CIL) which could severely compromise the viability of housing...

Bridging the “Performance Gap” of new buildings - At last! The government has announced that a new scheme is set to address the growing gap between the actual performance of a new building  versus it’s design performance. The Government fund addresses a longstanding...

Precedent set with NPPF over the Localism Act Tewkesbury Borough Council’s bitter battle against the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and two major developers to build over 1000 new homes in Gloucestershire has set a major new precedent. The...

Carbon Green set to influence Masterplanning on nearly 3000 homes Carbon Green Consulting are set to work with major developer Hallam Land Management at the very earliest stage of two major developments  in the South East. With the pressure on development to achieve...

First Neighbourhood plan goes to the vote Eden in Cumbria is the first locality  to run a referendum under the current government’s neighbourhood planning policy which offers local people the ability to influence development in their local area.  The referendum on the...

European Union court case with UK over Green Deal tax breaks The European Union has decided to take the UK government to court over it’s decision to offer a reduced VAT rate of 5% on the purchase of all energy saving building materials such as insulation. This was a...

Unwanted Development could plague Councils Councils who have no adopted local plans after the 1st April 2013 will be at risk of the planning inspectorate giving little weight to emerging strategies, thus exposing councils to a “presumption in favour of sustainable...

Highly Energy Efficiency Homes still leaves UK cold A report, issued by the trade body the National House Builders Confederation (NHBC), highlights a number of major issues which the UK development industry needs to overcome before it is able to start building very...

Office to Residential - Government Change of Use plans announced The government has announced it’s radical new plan to give permitted development rights for conversions of office space into flats without the need for planning permission. The government move, as part...