February, 2012:

More than two-thirds of businesses that have submitted a planning application had to pay for external support at some stage during the application process, according to a survey.

More than two-thirds of businesses that have submitted a planning application had to pay for external support at some stage during the application process, according to a survey.

A High Court judge has ordered three local authorities to reconsider plans to build 9,000 homes in the Broadland area of Norwich.

Newcastle City Council has approved draft plans to scale back the amount of green belt land allocated for housing development within its boundaries.

Newcastle City Council has approved draft plans to scale back the amount of green belt land allocated for housing development within its boundaries.

‘Problems’ with the planning system were described as a ‘blockage’ slowing economic growth during a cabinet meeting yesterday, a spokesman for Number 10 has confirmed.

‘Problems’ with the planning system were described as a ‘blockage’ slowing economic growth during a cabinet meeting yesterday, a spokesman for Number 10 has confirmed.

A Somerset council has urged government officials considering power company EDF Energy’s plans for a nuclear plant at Hinkley Point to hold a dedicated examination session on the scheme’s cumulative impact on the nearby town of Bridgwater.

A Somerset council has urged government officials considering power company EDF Energy’s plans for a nuclear plant at Hinkley Point to hold a dedicated examination session on the scheme’s cumulative impact on the nearby town of Bridgwater.

The Commons communities and local government select committee has announced an inquiry into the operation of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in England.

A masterplan to redevelop South Acton estate in west London as an urban village has been submitted for approval.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles has refused permission for a scheme to build hundreds of homes on farmland in Poole, Dorset, concluding that the impact the development would have on adjoining heathland outweighed its economic benefits.

A £50 million fund aimed at bring vacant homes back into use is open for applications, communities minister Andrew Stunell has announed.

More than two-thirds of local people oppose existing rules that allow betting shops to take over bank and building society premises without the need for planning permission, according to a survey.

An outline planning application has been submitted for the first 1,500 homes at Northstowe, one of the previous government’s eco-town low-carbon housing projects.

Planning approval has been granted for preparatory works at the Alconbury Airfield enterprise zone site near Huntington in Cambridgeshire.

The new council and business-led local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) will lack the clout to foster economic growth unless they are handed more resources, a think-tank report has warned.

A legal fight over plans for an energy-from-waste incinerator in the Cornish countryside has moved to London’s Court of Appeal.

A Suffolk couple face a legal bill of more than £85,000 after losing an Appeal Court challenge against noise from a motor racing venue near their home.

East Lothian Council’s planning convenor has been suspended after lobbying other councillors to reject plans for homes to finance a stadium development.

East Lothian Council’s planning convenor has been suspended after lobbying other councillors to reject plans for homes to finance a stadium development.

Almost ten per cent of new homes that were funded over the past three years under England’s national housing and regeneration quango’s affordable housing funding stream are to be for supported living or older people, according to a report.

Almost ten per cent of new homes that were funded over the past three years under England’s national housing and regeneration quango’s affordable housing funding stream are to be for supported living or older people, according to a report.

Ministers have announced the locations of 12 nature improvement areas (NIAs) that they say will pilot a strategic approach to habitat creation and restoration across wide swathes of England.