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

PINS publishes 2025 stakeholder survey results and announces operational improvements

The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) has published the results of its 2025 stakeholder survey. The survey found that 75% of respondents rated PINS’ decisions, recommendations and advice as high quality, compared to 74% in 2024. In addition, 36% agreed that the organisation is customer-focused, up from 31% in 2024, although PINS recognises that customer focus remains an area for development. PINS reported that the average decision time for cases decided in September 2025 was 20 weeks, compared to a 25-week average over the previous 12 months. The organisation also announced several operational improvements, including: (1) the introduction of simplified planning appeal procedures for the majority of appeals decided via written representations and the national rollout of its digital appeals service by the end of 2025; (2) plain English training for inspectors on local plans; (3) the launch of a ‘Find a Crown Development’ website for Crown body applications; and (4) updated customer-facing guidance for the Common Land service.

DSIT issues tender notice for AI-augmented planning decision tool

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), acting as agent for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), has issued a tender notice under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) seeking suppliers to develop an AI-augmented planning decision tool. The tool aims to reduce average planning application processing times from eight weeks to four, initially focusing on householder developments, with plans to extend the tool to other application types, including advertisements, changes of use, listed building consents and relevant demolitions in conservation areas. The procurement will follow a competitive flexible procedure under PA 2023, s 20, with a maximum of five suppliers to be invited to tender. The deadline for requests to participate is 21 November 2025. The contract award date is estimated as 6 January 2026. The estimated contract value is £10m (including VAT), and the contract is scheduled to run from 16 January 2026 to 16 May 2028, with a possible extension to May 2029.

Built Environment Committee launches call for evidence on placemaking and community building in new towns

The House of Lords Built Environment Committee has launched a call for evidence as part of the second module of its inquiry into new towns and expanded settlements. This phase of the inquiry will assess whether such developments are a viable solution to housing delivery and if so, how they can be successfully developed. The call follows the New Towns Taskforce’s October 2025 announcement of 12 shortlisted sites identified for potential development of new towns and expanded settlements.

PINS responds to MHCLG on flexibility in local plan examinations

The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) has published a letter from its Chief Executive, Paul Morrison, to the Minister of State, Matthew Pennycook MP, responding to Pennycook's correspondence of 9 October 2025. In the letter, Morrison confirms that inspectors will continue to apply flexibility in local plan examinations where permitted by legislation and national policy, in line with Pennycook's expectation that local plans submitted under the current plan-making system should be treated with appropriate flexibility. The letter also acknowledges the revocation of the March 2014 ministerial letter on Green Belt reviews and welcomes future reforms to the plan-making system, particularly in relation to the Duty to Cooperate. PINS further encourages local authorities to remain in regular contact regarding plan submission timings, utilise the new pre-examination checklist when developing plans and make use of free Advisory Visits to focus plan development on soundness and legal compliance.