Hertfordshire County Council are responsible for planning for waste, minerals (mostly sand and gravel quarries) and for services they provide like schools, libraries and roads. However they are working on a joint strategic plan for South West Hertfordshire together with: Dacorum Borough Council St Albans City and District Council Three Rivers District Council Watford [...]

Suffolk County Council are responsible for planning for minerals, waste, and county council developments such as schools and fire stations. Current Local Plans in Suffolk include: Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council Part 1 of the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan was adopted by Mid Suffolk District Council and Babergh District Council [...]

Local government is currently divided between Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council, which is a separate unitary authority. Under the county council, there are five district councils, Cambridge City Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council and Fenland District Council. The current Strategic Planning position in Cambridgeshire is [...]

The Greensand Ridge offers sweeping vistas over the Forest of Marston Vale, a community forest in Bedfordshire. Once a brickmaking hub, the area now features lakes formed from old clay pits. The Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility processes waste and generates electricity. In addition Universal Studios is set to open its first European theme [...]

Planning in Buckinghamshire offers great opportunities due to its location with Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east and Hertfordshire to the east, together with its position in the Oxford  Cambridge (OxCam) Arc. Buckinghamshire is one of the home counties [...]

As we pass the third quarter of 2025, the Government’s drive for planning reform shows no signs of slowing—continuing to push for faster housing delivery and critical infrastructure upgrades. In this Q3 update, we take a closer look at how local plans are progressing, highlight major National Infrastructure projects shaping the landscape, and explore [...]

The Bedford Borough Local Plan 2040 was submitted for Examination, with Hearing Sessions held during 2023. In November 2023, the Planning Inspector raised significant concerns about the soundness of the plan, particularly around the deliverability of key infrastructure. Without sufficient justification and supporting evidence, the Inspector indicated that the plan may need to be [...]

Central Bedfordshire are progressing a Full Local Plan Review in accordance with the Local Development Scheme (LDS)  updated in January 2025.  The LDS sets out the high-level timeframe for the development of an updated Local Plan. Community Engagement Over the past months, Central Bedfordshire Council has been working closely with residents, town and parish [...]

In March 2022 Natural England announced emerging evidence which identified significant recreational pressure on Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (SAC), more specifically Ashridge Commons and Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) component. Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) which were identified as partly or wholly with the 12.6km Zone of Influence (ZOI) were contacted [...]

Through the first half of 2025, the Government has continued to reaffirm its commitment to planning reform aimed at accelerating housing delivery and infrastructure development. In our Q2 news update, we review the progress of local plans, National Infrastructure projects and recent and forthcoming appeal decisions: National Planning Since April 2025, the UK government [...]