Stockton Council in County Durham remains the only authority in the country to offer a comprehensive online planning application and review service.

And locals are being urged to make use of the new technology, which is not only available 24 hours a day, but is also quicker and more practical than typical printed planning application services. (more…)

Housing minister Yvette Cooper has set aside £2 million for the development of ‘eco-towns’, which will be complete with efficient, non-polluting structures and strong transport links.

Forty-five councils nationwide with housing constraints have applied for government subsidies via the New Growth Points scheme, having submitted plans for new low carbon or zero carbon settlements that make use of brownfield land, as the remit dictates. (more…)

A group of building and planning stakeholders has called for the gap between the private and the public sectors to be closed.

The unique consortium’s report, entitled ‘Future Planners: Propositions for the next age of planning’, suggests that bridging this gap and using resources from both sectors is the only way in which the profession can prosper. (more…)

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has today released a new planning guide designed to help encourage the development of sustainable communities.

The guide addresses the issues faced by regional authorities and local strategic partnerships (LSPs), and aims to help both work together more effectively to deliver better designed and more manageable communities. (more…)

Communities and Local Government has awarded the London Borough of Redbridge the sum of £2.3 million to help realise a transformation of the area.

Awarded via the Growth Area Funding (GAF) initiative, the sum will be used to acquire land as part of a broader project to overhaul local planning, with a new landmark public square and improved street design.

(more…)