As a New Year dawns, so too does a renewed focus on planning reform. The Government’s drive for faster housing delivery and critical infrastructure upgrades shows no sign of slowing. In this Q4 update, we look back at the final months of 2025—tracking local plan progress, spotlighting major National Infrastructure projects shaping the future, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

The Government has announced significant reforms to the planning appeals process under the written representations procedure, set to take effect by the end of 2025. These changes aim to streamline the system by restricting appeal evidence to what was originally submitted with the planning application. What’s Changing? Under the new rules: No new evidence or arguments can be introduced at [...]

Through the beginning of 2025 the Government has continued to reaffirm its commitment to planning reform to accelerate housing delivery and infrastructure development. In our Q1 news update, we review the progress of local plans and recent and forthcoming planning decisions: National Planning On 11 March 2025, the Government introduced the Planning and Infrastructure [...]

In April, Anglian Water hosted a developer webinar focused on ‘Delivering Sustainable Growth’. Despite limited attendance, the key message was clear: following an internal review, Anglian Water (AW) has identified capacity issues at their wastewater recycling centres, formerly known as sewage treatment works. AW manages approximately 1,100 facilities across the Anglian region. Each facility [...]

The Bedford to Cambridge section of East West Rail (EWR), including proposed new stations at Bedford St Johns, Tempsford and Cambourne, has been designated as a project of national significance. This means that an application will be made to the Secretary of State for Transport for a Development Consent Order (DCO), for consent to [...]

The government are committed to delivering the ambition of up to a million new homes by 2050 across the Oxford-Cambridge Arc Growth Corridor to maximise its sustainable economic growth. To make that vision a reality, £445 million is being provided to the Didcot and Cambridge infrastructure projects. The government have also secured a joint [...]