Room 106

This is the sixth edition of our new monthly series examining the key recent appeal and court decisions in which we speak to technical editor David Dewar who compiles Planning's long-running Casebook section. 

This month, we will be discussing: 

• The energy secretary's consent for a large off-shore wind farm in the Irish Sea that took account of the risk of so-called "wake effects"; 
• A planning inspector allowing 39 homes on green belt land on the basis that it would enable the refurbishment of a listed building; 
• The risk of costs being awarded against councils in appeal cases where they are deemed to have acted unreasonably; 
• The High Court blocking a council's attempt to enforce affordable housing provision after the site of a permitted development is sold to a new owner.

More information on all these cases can be found in the October 2025 edition of Casebook on Planning Resource. 

Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. 

Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningmag 

Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this edition, we’ll be discussing: 

• A significant announcement on local government reorganisation and what it could mean for planning.
• A city council taking legal action against three developers whom it says collectively owe it almost £1 million in unpaid section 106 contributions.
• The launch of a £10 million government tender for the creation of a new “planning tool” to enable “AI-augmented decision-making for planning applications”.

Key planning news, and why it is important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for 50 years.

Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @PlanningMag 

Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this deep-dive edition, we’ll be discussing an exclusive Planning report into England’s 30 biggest and busiest local planning authorities — who are these councils and what are the key findings into their staffing and activity levels?

Key planning news, and why it is important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for 50 years.

Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @PlanningMag 

Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this edition, we’ll be discussing: 

• The Supreme Court overturning a Court of Appeal ruling that upheld the refusal on nutrient pollution grounds of a developer’s bid to discharge conditions relating to a 650-home scheme.
• The housing ministry and the mayor of London announcing an “emergency” package of measures aiming to boost housebuilding in the capital that includes a relaxation of affordable housing requirements.
• A report from the Parliamentary watchdog on the developer contribution system that warns ministers about a “drought of planners in local authorities”.
• Plus the other biggest planning news stories from the past week.

Key planning news, and why it is important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for 50 years.

Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @PlanningMag 

Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• An important letter from housing minister Matthew Pennycook to the Planning Inspectorate in which he gives advice to inspectors examining local plans with a particular focus on green belt reviews.
• The government publishing a series of amendments to its flagship Planning and Infrastructure Bill. 
• And the announcement of a deal between two government departments, two statutory consultees and a water company that seeks to enable the delivery of 21,000 new homes.
• Plus the other biggest planning news stories from the past week.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this deep-dive edition, we’ll be we’ll be taking a look at:

• How a court ruling confirms the difficulty for councils in using green belt openness as a way to resist development.
• And our exclusive research on the local authorities we predict will have weakened planning protections after the next housing delivery test results.
• We’ll also be rounding up the key planning news from the past week to make sure you’re up to speed on all the goings-on in the sector.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the fifth edition of our new monthly series examining the key appeal and court decisions from the past four weeks.

As before, we speak to technical editor David Dewar, who compiles the long-running Casebook section of Planning. 

This month, we will be discussing: 

• How inspectors are assessing industrial schemes and the importance of local need.
• An appeal case that shows how inspectors are balancing requirements for accessibility against local housing need. 
• Growing numbers of appeals over proposals for battery storage schemes and the substantial weight that inspectors are placing on their benefits.
• The High Court upholding a ministerial consent for new homes in a national landscape dismissing a challenge that claimed it contravened a new legal duty.

More information on all these cases can be found in the October 2025 edition of Casebook on Planning Resource. 

Key planning news, and why it’s important, brought to you by the team behind Planning magazine, the leading source of independent intelligence for planning professionals for more than 50 years. 

Find the latest planning news at planningresource.co.uk and @planningMag 

Room 106 was the Professional Publishers Association’s Podcast of the Year 2023/24. It was also highly commended in the Best Use of Audio category in the Association of Online Publishers’ Digital Publishing Awards 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this edition, we’ll be discussing: 

• The planning highlights from last week’s Labour Party Conference.
• A government inspector announcing that a joint local plan in a key growth area of the country has failed a legal duty.
• And three big planning decisions by the housing minister.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this deep-dive edition, we’ll be taking a look ahead at: 

• The government responding to the initial findings of its New Towns Taskforce, which has called for 12 locations to be taken forward.
• And discussing our exclusive survey on the planning consultancies that allow the most working from home.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The secret chamber where all the latest planning announcements and decisions are issued before extracting the key information for planning professionals. 

In this edition, we’ll be discussing:  

• The Labour government's first local plan intervention.
• Long-awaited new national planning guidance on the flood risk sequential test. 
• And the first planning pronouncements by the new housing secretary.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.