Weekly highlights

Weekly highlights

This subtopic is an archive of the weekly round-up of key current awareness and legal updates.

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Latest Planning News

Planning reform working paper—reforming site thresholds

Planning analysis: The government has published a working paper on reforming site size thresholds to support housing delivery on different types of sites. This means taking a gradated approach to the system as a whole—removing and streamlining disproportionate requirements on small and medium sites, while maintaining and strengthening requirements on major development. This analysis looks at the key proposals and implications.

Planning weekly highlights—12 June 2025

This week's edition of Planning weekly highlights includes: High Court decisions on consultation of NPSs and temporary permitted development rights; the Spending Review; a new AI tool to accelerate the planning permissions process and analysis of consultations on: implementation of a new statutory build-out reporting framework, amendments to the BNG framework to support smaller and brownfield development, site thresholds and reform of planning committees.

Defra and Natural England publish guidance on management plans for Protected Landscapes

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Natural England have jointly published guidance on the preparation and review of management plans for Protected Landscapes in England. These landscapes include National Parks, the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads and designated National Landscapes. Management plans are prepared, published, and reviewed by one of the following bodies: (1) the National Park Authority; (2) the Broads Authority; (3) the National Landscape Conservation Board; or (4) a National Landscape Partnership acting on behalf of local authorities with land in the National Landscape. Plans must be published within two to three years of a landscape’s designation, depending on the landscape type, and reviewed every five years.

Modernising planning committees—proposed reforms and implications

Planning analysis: On 28 May 2025, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) launched a technical consultation on proposed reforms to planning committees in England, closing on 23 July 2025. These reforms are part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill's implementation and aim to modernise planning decision-making processes. The proposed reforms seek to enhance the efficiency, consistency, and quality of planning decisions in England. By standardising delegation, optimising committee structures, mandating training, and refining performance metrics, the government aims to create a more responsive planning system that supports sustainable development and economic growth.