This Guidance Note provides a summary of key changes made to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published on 24 July 2018. The guidance note has been updated to reflect NPPF amendments published by the government on 19 February 2019. The guidance note must be read alongside the NPPF 2019 and the Government's guidance set out in the online Planning Practice Guidance (PPG).
As of 20 March 2019, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 (“the Act”) will come into force for residential tenancies in England. This legislation amends the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 so that landlords must ensure their property is fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and then maintain this standard throughout the tenancy. If they fail to do this, tenants will have the right to take legal action. The Government is heralding this new law as “a landmark moment for the rented sector”. The purpose of this guide is to explain what this means for private landlords.
This briefing note provides the latest information and the background to Natural England’s position statement and guidance on the use of burning as a tool for blanket bog restoration in the uplands. You can also read more about what the CLA has been doing.
Are dogs allowed on public rights of way? Should they be on leads? The rules vary according to the type of access, so it not surprising that many people are confused. This updated guidance explains the rules for dogs on various types of access land, and how Public Spaces Protection Orders work. It also covers landowners’ responsibilities towards dogs on public access land, and for their own animals.
The Government is consulting on the introduction of biodiversity net gain into the planning system in England. The CLA response supports this ambition, which should help strengthen public support for development and could allow landowners to provide biodiversity off-sets. It stresses, however, the need to ensure net gain does not negatively affect the viability of rural development.
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/land-use/net-gain/
HM Treasury and MHCLG were concerned that some owners of self-catering holiday accommodation were using the current flexibility on Small Business Rate Relief to avoid paying both Council Tax and non-domestic rates when no real business has existed. This consultation aims to better define, for non-domestic rates, what constitutes a self-catering business.
The Government and Historic England are consulting on a Listed Building Consent Order (LBCO) to allow the Canal & River Trust to carry out defined routine work to listed structures without having to obtain listed building consent each time, under various conditions. The CLA response supports this. It also stresses the need to have further LBCOs allowing carefully-defined routine works to listed buildings in any ownership, following proposals made by a Historic Environment Forum working group in which the CLA is involved.
Every year the Secretary of State (DEFRA) publishes an announcement of Secretary of State appointed member vacancies on National Park Authorities and AONB Conservation Boards. The CLA advertises these vacancies to its members because of the importance of ensuring that the land management and rural business voice is represented on these Authorities and Boards. This guidance note aims to encourage CLA members to apply for these positions by providing guidance about fulfilling the Essential Criteria and the Nolan Principles.
UWE Bristol is delighted to announce the launch of Scale up 4 Growth (S4G), a brand new programme offering grant funding and expert support to businesses in the West of England with ambitions to grow, expand and scale.
The Welsh Government consulted on proposals to update Planning Policy in Wales, to bring it in line with principles of sustainability now expressed in the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.
