Since the Government published its Productivity Plan earlier this month, the more eye-catching proposals for planning reform have been the subject of extensive commentary. Plans to create a “zonal system” for the development of brownfield land, for example, have been widely discussed, as has the notion of introducing housing into the regime for infrastructure planning.
Monthly Archives: July 2015
Pushing the Boundaries
A private member’s bill proposes mandatory expert determination of boundary disputes by surveyors A private member’s bill entitled ‘Property Boundaries (Resolution of Disputes) Bill’ would force disputes over boundaries to follow an expert determination procedure involving the appointment of up to three surveyors. When would the new scheme apply? Under the Bill, where a landowner
Government blows cold on wind energy
Following its manifesto commitment to “give local people the final say” on applications for onshore wind developments, the government has made controversial policy changes. Although these directly affect only the wind industry, they are important to the wider development sector because of their implications for the way in which other types of contentious development might
It’s no holiday for service charges
The Supreme Court has upheld the general rule that irrespective of how imprudent a term in a lease may be, the courts will be very reluctant to reject it, because the purpose of contractual interpretation by the courts is to identify what the parties agreed, and not what the parties should have agreed. The case
Demystifying the “Without prejudice” label
The ability to make an offer to settle a dispute, without that offer coming to the attention of the court or (as the case may be) an arbitrator, is a vital tool in the dispute resolution armoury. However, both practical experience and the case law teach us that the term can be misapplied, without proper