Real Estate Development Notes

Q1 Healthcheck / Q2 Predictions: Brexit, Mayor, PRS, Housing and Planning Bill, airport expansion

Author: Matthew White, Partner and Head of Planning, Real Estate, London In the week before Christmas, the daffodils were blooming, the birds were …

Planning Update: office to residential conversion rights made permanent, Mayor's advice to local authorities on avoiding these rights, Mayor's viability disclosure requirements, and CIL and mezzanine floors

Authors: Matthew White, Partner and Head of Planning, and Lucy Morton, Professional Support Lawyer, Planning, London Today's post is a planning update, …

How to solve a housing crisis: commercial viability, land value and affordable housing

Author: Martyn Jarvis, Associate, Planning, Real Estate, London The UK is facing a housing crisis, most pronounced in London, and this is set to be a …

What to look forward to in 2016: Planning changes on the horizon

Herbert Smith Freehills' real estate development team are monitoring a number of areas of law likely to change during 2016.  Here is a summary …

"Blaming the planning system for the housing crisis is like blaming traffic accidents on the laws of physics.  Housing is a political failure which …

Indexation calculations for Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

In areas where a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging schedule has been adopted,  the formula in the CIL Regulations must be used to …

Brexit stage left

Julie Vaughan, senior associate in the Environment team at Herbert Smith Freehills, co-authored an article for Estates Gazette on the legal impact …

Development Management Procedure Order 2015

The updated Development Management Procedure Order 2015 consolidates a range of previous changes, but also brought in (from 15th April 2015): • ‘Deemed …

Historic England (previously English Heritage)

Since 15 April 2015, Historic England has been the name for the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England (previously English Heritage). …

EIA thresholds reduced

The regulations relating to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) set out various 'thresholds' for the purposes of determining whether development needs …

Demolition in Conservation Areas - no permitted development rights

Since 1 October 2013 Conservation Area Consent has not been necessary for demolition of an unlisted building or enclosure in a …

Vacant Building Credit - abolished

In November 2014, the Government published a Ministerial Statement which outlined a policy known as 'vacant building credit' whereby buildings which were …