Court of Appeal confirms position on ‘switching’ planning permissions to avoid S. 106

R (Robert Hitchins Ltd) v Worcestershire County Council [2015] EWCA Civ 1060
The Court of Appeal has found in favour of a developer who attempted to switch between two similar planning permissions in order to avoid a £1m s. 106 liability. The result is a strong precedent for other developers with the same advantage…
To read the whole article, click here.

In case you missed it – Britain’s most energy-efficient home?

Architect Colin Usher has won the 2015 Buildings and Energy Efficiency Awards for designing a house that costs just £15 a year to run…
To read the whole article, click here.

Back by popular demand – The origins of place names in England

In England, prior to the 15th Century, the majority of place names were adaptations of the location or features of the landscape or referred to the land ownership. We explore the most common names and prefixes in use around Britain today…
To read the whole article, click here.

The Property Market Monthly Fact File – December 2015

The property market fact file is a collection of data compiled each month by our Chartered Surveyors and the propertysurveying.co.uk team; collating survey data, statistics, trends and information from the property market. This aims to provide a single place where anyone with an interest in UK property can find the information they need.
To read the monthly fact file, click here.

Mortgage Market Update

Various sources are claiming that now is as good a time to buy a property as there has ever been, with interest rates low and the property market surging forward. We have compiled stats from various sources around the country to give you a complete view of the mortgage market, in case you are looking to invest…
To read the whole article, click here.

Council billed £40,000 for mother and child human rights breaches

Ref. Medway Council v M & T (By Her Children’s Guardian) [2015] EWFC B164
Following established breaches under the Human Rights Act 1998, Medway Council have been ordered to pay damages of £20,000 to mother and child respectively. Her Honour Judge Lazarus commented that there had been an ‘alarming history’ of the unlawful accommodation of the girl by the authority for a period exceeding two years.

To read the whole article, click here.

The Property Market Monthly Fact File – November 2015

The property market fact file is a collection of data compiled each month by our Chartered Surveyors and the propertysurveying.co.uk team; collating survey data, statistics, trends and information from the property market. This aims to provide a single place where anyone with an interest in UK property can find the information they need.

To read the monthly fact file, click here.

High Court adjourns proceedings in long running straw bales planning case

Ref. Fidler v Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government (2009)
A famous case of concealment from the planning authority has hit the High Court again, with proceedings for contempt of court now being heard. The case, which concerned a wall of bales erected to hide an elaborate mock-Tudor house with crenelated towers, is commonly cited in planning law…

To read the whole article, click here.

In case you missed it – Widow banned from her new property because it was the ‘wrong colour’ – leaving her homeless

Jayne Fawcett, aged 62, left “homeless” after being told that she must change the colour of the property that she designed with her late husband…

To read the whole article, click here.