Brexit

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Brexit

On 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its membership of the EU, with a majority voting in favour of the UK leaving the EU, a process known as Brexit.

On 29 March 2017, the UK government served formal notice under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) to terminate the UK's membership of the EU.

Negotiations between the UK and the EU relating to the withdrawal of the UK commenced in June 2017 and culminated in the Withdrawal Agreement, an international treaty implemented in domestic law by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (EU(WA)A 2020).

As of exit day (11pm on 31 January 2020) the UK ceased to be an EU Member State. The UK initially entered an implementation period during which the UK continued to be treated by the

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Latest Planning News

High Court clarifies the scope and procedure for the Secretary of State’s review of National Policy Statements (Re Transport Action Network Ltd v Secretary of State for Transport)

Planning analysis: The court confirmed that statutory consultation of a National Policy Statement (NPS) (or any review thereof) must be carried out in accordance with the ‘Sedley principles’ that require the consultation to be carried out when the proposals are at a ‘formative stage’ and the need for ‘conscientious consideration’ of consultation responses. The court clarified that these principles were limited to matters which a reasonable reader would think was within the scope of the consultation rather than a subjective test as to what the Secretary of State (SoS)’s intention was in the consultation. Written by Brendon Lee, Partner at HCR Hewitsons.

Prime Minister announces new AI tool to accelerate planning permissions process

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has announced the launch of ‘Extract’—an AI tool, developed by the government in collaboration with Google DeepMind—to support planning officers and local councils in England. Extract, which uses the Gemini AI model, will assist councils in digitising planning documents by converting handwritten records and maps into data. In trials conducted across Hillingdon, Nuneaton & Bedworth, and Exeter councils, the tool digitised planning records in just three minutes, compared to the one to two hours typically required for manual processing. The government plans to roll out Extract to all English councils by spring 2026, aiming to reduce the estimated 250,000 hours spent annually on manual document checks. The digitised planning data will be uploaded to a publicly accessible GOV.UK service page.

DESNZ and MHCLG to mandate solar panel installation on new build homes under Future Homes Standard

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have announced that the upcoming Future Homes Standard (FSH), expected to be published in autumn 2025, will amend the Building Regulations, SI 2010/2214, to mandate solar panel installation on new build homes. The FSH will make renewable electricity generation—primarily through solar panels—a functional requirement, with limited exemptions for practical constraints such as excessive shading or tree cover. In 2023, the previous government proposed that new build homes must either have solar panel coverage equivalent to 40% of the building’s floor area or none at all. The current government intends to revise this approach, requiring developers who cannot meet the full 40% coverage to still install a reasonable amount of solar panels. The FSH will also require new homes to be built with low carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps and heat networks.

Court provides guidance on temporary permitted development rights (Shaman v Lambeth Council)

Planning analysis: In Shaman v Lambeth LBC, the court found that the Council had acted unlawfully and irrationally in granting a certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development (CLOPUD) for a series of festivals in Brockwell Park. In this case, the park would not revert to normal use until 37 days after the commencement of the change of use—a period that ‘incontrovertibly’ exceeded the 28 day limit. The judgment clarifies the interpretation of temporary permitted development rights.

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