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Commercial Property News

Threat to Manchester Ship Canal Land Values Lifted

Written on May 17, 2013 at 1:34 pm

A threat to land values along the course of the Manchester Ship Canal has been lifted by a Court of Appeal ruling that sluices that have regulated the waterway’s flow for more than a century were wrongly classified as formal flood defences by the Environment Agency (EA). The EA’s decision to place substantial tracts of… Read More »

‘Energy from Waste’ Plant Overcomes Habitat Objections

Written on May 3, 2013 at 6:34 am

Despite concerns being raised in respect of flood risks, pollution and the potential impact on colonies of rare bats, newts and butterflies, the High Court has opened the way for development of a huge ‘energy from waste’ facility to serve the needs of all Buckinghamshire’s 500,000 residents. In July 2012 Buckinghamshire County Council granted planning… Read More »

Watercress Farm Development Receives Go-Ahead

Written on April 26, 2013 at 7:24 am

An attempt by an environmental campaigner to overturn planning permission granted for substantial structural improvements to a watercress farm has failed after the High Court rejected arguments that planners misunderstood and misapplied their powers, creating an opportunity for intensification of commercial activities on the site. The local authority had granted consent for major changes to… Read More »

Property Investor Deceit Victim Awarded £1.4 Million

Written on April 25, 2013 at 1:26 pm

A property investor has won £1.4 million damages after he was inveigled by dishonest means into participation in a land deal which went bad. Two companies and three of their directors were found to have committed the tort of deceit in deliberately failing to inform the investor of the transaction’s true structure. The Russian businessman,… Read More »

Council Must Pay Following ‘Unsafe’ Pier Closure

Written on April 22, 2013 at 2:29 pm

The assignee of the former tenant and operator of a bingo hall and amusement arcade on Hastings Pier is entitled to compensation after the pier was closed to the public amidst concerns in respect of its structural integrity. The High Court ruled that damages were payable after Hastings Borough Council exercised its closure powers under… Read More »

‘Project Splitting’ Threat to Environmental Assessment Rules

Written on April 22, 2013 at 10:37 am

The Court of Appeal has warned local planning authorities to be alert to the danger that the requirement to carry out environmental impact assessments when considering planning applications for industrial developments over one hectare in size may be subverted by splitting projects onto separate sites each of which fall below the geographical threshold. However, in… Read More »

Property Search Companies Triumph in Environmental Information Test Case

Written on April 18, 2013 at 12:49 pm

Property search companies have triumphed in their fight to be given free access to environmental information by local authorities. The First-Tier Tribunal ruled that allowing councils to levy even modest administrative charges to cover the cost of providing such information would defeat the objectives of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Leeds City Council had attempted… Read More »

Wind Turbines ‘Proximity’ Policy Declared Unlawful

Written on April 16, 2013 at 10:42 am

An emerging planning policy by which a local authority sought to impose a sliding scale of minimum distances between wind turbines and residential properties as a material consideration in planning decisions has been struck down as unlawful. The High Court ruled that the emerging policy was ‘plainly in conflict’ with the provisions of the adopted… Read More »

Owner of Rubbish-Strewn Farm Receives Jail Warning

Written on April 10, 2013 at 8:12 am

The freehold owner of a farm which has for years been used as a dumping ground for derelict vehicles, machines and general rubbish in violation of planning control has been warned by a High Court that she could face imprisonment if she does not take action to clean it up. In appealing against an injunction,… Read More »

Grass-Free Beach Declared a Protected ‘Village Green’

Written on March 28, 2013 at 9:52 am

The term ‘village green’ may conjure up to most people an image of a picturesque piece of open grass; however the Court of Appeal has ruled in an important test case that a beach can be regarded as a village green in the eyes of the law even though there is not a blade of… Read More »

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