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Welcome from the Bell Pottinger Local Government & Planning Team
Welcome to Bell Pottinger Local Government & Planning Team's Summer 2009 newsletter. It has been a busy 6 months for politics and planning with a raft of announcements at both a local and national level. In this edition of our newsletter we look closely at the fall out from the local and European elections and the raft of changes and announcements at a national level that have followed.
It has also been a busy few months for the Bell Pottinger team with both Barratt Homes and English Heritage appointing the team to advise them. We have also seen success at Wandsworth's planning committee for our client, Living River, and their plans for residential moorings at Oyster Wharf.
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Political change offers property industry few certainties |
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June started badly for the Government with an extremely poor performance at the European and local elections. In the local elections, Labour finished third, with just 22% of the vote, losing nearly 300 council seats and leaving them without a single County Council in England.
The results were even worse in the European elections. Labour received only 15% of the vote and finished behind the Conservatives in Wales who topped the poll, and were heavily defeated by the SNP in Scotland. The night was a success for both the Conservatives and UKIP who increased their share of the vote from 2004, and finished well above Labour. The results cast serious doubt over the leadership of Gordon Brown who, it is rumoured, narrowly avoided a challenge to his leadership in the hours after the polls closed. These rumours followed a week of turmoil for the Prime Minister, as Cabinet members James Purnell and Hazel Blears resigned in advance of the elections.
To read the story in full, please click here.
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Westminster & Whitehall
The Conservative Party confirm their plan to abolish the IPC
A letter published last week written by Caroline Spelman MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has set out the implications of the Conservatives’ proposals to abolish the Infrastructure Planning Commission.
In the letter sent to her fellow MP's entitled, Abolition of the Infrastructure Planning Commission, she said, "Labour’s proposals for a combination of National Policy Statement documents and the IPC would be undemocratic, as it would mean that planning applications will be approved by the “diktat” of the Secretary of State."
To read further news stories, please click here
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Local Government & the regions
Scotland's planning system (3.8.09)
New measures have come into effect this month in Scotland to speed up and increase public participation in the planning process. Infrastructure Minister, Stewart Stevenson, said the changes will create a more effective “joined up” planning system.
To read further news stories, please click here.
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Client file
Client:
Project:
Our brief was
to secure a
change of use
for a former
public house
in the heart of
Belgravia
together with
a planning
consent for
a luxury family
home.
BPPA was
asked to
ensure
Westminster
councillors
and local
neighbours
were well
briefed and
broadly
supportive
of the
approach.
Status:
The planning
application was
submitted in
July 2009.
"Bell Pottinger’s
understanding of our needs
as a bespoke
developer
have proved
invaluable to
our project”
Alex Michelin,
Director,
Finchatton
To view the
Finchatton
website
please click
here
Diary Dates
Forthcoming housing and planning events.
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