Biodiversity Net Gain: when conditions are used and when legal agreements are required
When conditions are appropriate for BNG and when legal agreements are required.
Insights
Occasional short notes or comments on planning matters relevant to public-facing commercial development. These are not deep dives into legislation, rather snipits and comments for quick evaluation.
Accelerating planning decisions: reform measures and their real-world impact
Reforms are increasing the focus on timely decisions, making clear scoping and concise submissions more important than ever.
Local Plan reform: what developers should expect in 2026
Local Plan reform is expected to simplify plan-making and place renewed emphasis on understanding plan status at the point of determination.
What the proposed NPPF changes mean for decisions in 2026
Proposed revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) signal a continued push for faster decisions and a stronger focus on delivery.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: practical considerations for commercial development
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduces measures to streamline planning and underlines the need for early, proportionate technical review.
Biodiversity Net Gain for minor and smaller developments: what applies and where the exceptions sit
How BNG applies to minor schemes, including exemptions, delivery routes and common risks.
Biodiversity Net Gain: practical implications for commercial development
A practical overview of how BNG affects programme, cost and delivery for commercial development.
When committee decisions are legally vulnerable
How committee decisions can become legally vulnerable when reasons are unclear or unsupported by policy and evidence.
Grey belt in practice: policy opportunity or planning risk?
Grey belt arguments remain highly site-specific and require careful assessment of Green Belt function and local policy interpretation.
Other useful articles
Additional or historic articles and reference notes that complement the main Insights list.