Daily Archives: 12/01/2010

The farmer who secretly built a house designed like a castle and lived in it for four years while it was hidden behind bales of straw has lost a High Court bid to block its demolition. A judge ruled that … Continue reading →

Research by cost consultants has revealed that a new energy efficient replica of Buckingham Palace could be built for £320M. Faithful+Gould, a part of the Atkins group, undertook a technical assessment of the current Buckingham Palace as part of a … Continue reading →

Communities and Local Government has formally launched a consultation on which Ordnance Survey datasets can be made freely available as part of moves to make publicly-held information more accessible. Communities minister John Denham said: “The Government is setting out here … Continue reading →

Lancaster City Council and developers Centros are rethinking their proposals for the retail-led redevelopment of the Canal Corridor North area of the city following community secretary John Denham’s rejection of the scheme, acting on the recommendation of a planning inspector. … Continue reading →

Public authorities are failing in their statutory duty to tell voluntary organisations and campaign groups of their right to appeal a refusal of a freedom of information request. A new study by researchers at the University of Strathclyde found that … Continue reading →

The Planning Portal is starting 2010 with a series of free events aimed at planning agents and applicants to promote the benefits of submitting planning applications online. The events will take place during January and February 2010 – see website … Continue reading →

The National Trust has appointed Helen Browning as its Director of External Affairs. Helen, an organic farmer on 1,350 tenanted acres in Wiltshire, joins the Trust from the Soil Association where she was most recently Policy Advisor. She will take … Continue reading →

The RIBA expects to invite the first architects to join its Register of Conservation Architects in the spring, ahead of an operational launch of the register this summer as plans are progressing as a result of RIBA Council’s decision to … Continue reading →