Author: Matthew White, Partner and Head of Planning, Real Estate, London
Matthew White, Partner and Head of Planning in the London team at Herbert Smith Freehills has written two recent articles: in "First Dibs for Londoners", published in the Planner magazine, Matthew explores the new Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's promise to offer new housing to Londoners first, and in a separate article published in Estates Gazette, "Planning: A Modest Proposal", Matthew argues that local government planning decisions should be taken away from elected committees and determined by planning officers.
Please click on the links below to read Matthew's articles in the Planner magazine and Estates Gazette.
First Dibs for Londoners (Matthew White, Legal Landscape, the Planner Magazine, June 2016 edition)
New Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has promised to give "first dibs" on housing to Londoners. Khan said that he would expect developers to market new homes to Londoners first, to prevent wealthy international investors buying properties and using them as asset lockers rather than homes. Matthew White looks and how and whether it would be possible for Khan as Mayor to do this.
Click here to continue reading the article in the Planner Magazine.
Planning: A Modest Proposal (Matthew White, Estates Gazette, 4 June 2016)
Local government planning decisions should be taken away from elected committees and determined by planning officers
It happened again recently: the planning system got the blame for bad news. When an RICS survey revealed that housebuilding in Britain grew at the slowest rate in almost three years during the first quarter of 2016, delays in the planning system were identified as one of the primary causes.
Yet only two months earlier, government figures revealed that the number of new-build homes being started and finished in England was at its highest level since 2008. The planning system didn’t change dramatically between February and April, nor did delays increase suddenly. So why does everyone acquiesce in this monumental exercise in scapegoating?
Click here to continue reading the article on the Estates Gazette website.
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The articles published on this website, current at the dates of publication set out above, are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action.