Reform UK has set out proposals to significantly deregulate the planning system, including scrapping biodiversity net gain requirements, landfill tax, Section 106 payments and most building standards for brownfield housing schemes. The plans would materially reduce planning and development obligations if adopted.
Blackpool Council has approved its £4m Revoe Community Sports Village, while rejecting Cygnet Healthcare’s proposal to expand a mental health facility near the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. The council also deferred a decision on coastal defence works involving 17 rock groynes, pending further work with the RNLI on safety matters.
Castle Green Homes has appealed Flintshire County Council’s refusal of a 315-home scheme in Ewloe, arguing the committee’s reasons for rejection were unsupported and amounted to unreasonable behaviour. The developer is also seeking full costs and has submitted a revised application for 276 homes while the appeal is considered.
Peak Cluster, a proposed carbon capture and storage pipeline scheme, has asked Wirral Council for a licence to access council land for surveys ahead of any future planning application. The request will be considered by the council’s policy and resources committee, with officers noting that the applicant could otherwise pursue access through statutory powers if the project progresses to a nationally significant infrastructure project.
The housing minister has said the final list of new towns will be announced by the end of the year, after a delay to allow further review of consultation responses and strategic environmental assessments. The programme is intended to support large-scale new settlements and urban extensions, with an emphasis on high-quality design, placemaking and environmental mitigation.
The article argues that Andy Burnham’s regeneration approach in Greater Manchester could become a national model if extended through his new role as Prime Minister. It highlights the role of private investment, brownfield redevelopment, and local decision-making in supporting housing delivery, town-centre renewal and wider economic growth.
Enabling works are due to begin soon on a proposed 1,715-place Category C prison near Leyland, following the appointment of a contractor reported to be Laing O’Rourke. The scheme has had a lengthy and contested planning history, including refusals by Chorley Council and the Planning Inspectorate before government approval in December 2024.
Centre for Cities has argued that English cities have significantly lower residential density around rail stations than comparable French and Japanese cities, and that this represents a major opportunity to increase housing supply. It recommends faster transfer of Network Rail land to mayoral city regions, alongside greater use of Mayoral Development Corporations and Mayoral Development Orders to accelerate station-area development.
The Law Society of England and Wales has warned against extending judicial review reforms beyond Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects without stronger evidence. It argues that any wider changes to planning regimes, including housing, should be based on published data and must preserve access to justice and public participation.
The Ministry of Justice has awarded an enabling works contract for a planned £236m prison near Leyland, Lancashire, as part of its Alliance 4 New Prisons programme. The scheme, which has planning permission, is intended to provide around 1,700 prison places and includes associated buildings and site works, while a separate £110m package will fund prison conversions and land acquisition for future capacity.
Hallam Land Management has initiated the planning process for a large residential scheme near Crewe by seeking an Environmental Impact Assessment scoping opinion for land around Moss Lane, Leighton North. The indicative masterplan could accommodate up to 1,700 homes alongside provision for over-55s housing, a primary school, a local centre and ancillary retail.
Preston City Council’s planning team has accepted an alternative approach to meeting affordable housing requirements for a 443-home scheme in Cottam. The proposal treats the scheme alongside a neighbouring 100% affordable development, allowing the combined projects to meet the council’s 30% affordable housing target and removing a viability review mechanism that developers said could hinder funding.
