Click on a button below for a subset of articles on the indicated tag. You can sign up or subscribe to all news using Feed Readers / RSS 
Government announcements
Bill Butler has been appointed by the Government as the first chair of the Local Audit Office.
The Government has made a response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee report on housing conditions in temporary accommodation.
Councils can issue fines of up to £7,000 from 22 June 2026, if landlords are found to have serious hazards in their rented properties.
Details have been published for the Government’s plan for capital investment to transform healthcare infrastructure over the next decade.
Views are sought on the future of the Post Office.
Vagrancy Act repealed
The Government repealed the Vagrancy Act on Monday 29 June 2026, ending nearly two centuries of legislation that has criminalised rough sleeping and begging. More details.
Clarification of CIL on home extensions and build
Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, wrote a letter to all local authorities on how Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) should be applied to large home extensions and self-build.
Due to procedural errors and confusion about the 2014 process, some householders have failed to obtain an exemption. The Government is to consult on amendments to the CIL Regulations to deal with the issues. It provides clarity to local authorities over their existing discretion to take action as they see appropriate in specific cases.
Action on extreme heat
The GLA has issued a Heat Ready London report.
The Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee has pushed the Government on action to tackle the “silent killer” of extreme heat.
In a letter he asks the Government how it plans to tackle overheating in hospitals, care homes, schools and prisons, as well as measures such as establishing maximum workplace temperatures, prescribing active cooling such as air conditioning, changing school timetables and ensuring new housing is resilient to future heat. Details are in this article June heatwave: Urgent action needed on “silent killer”
The GLA has published a [more…]
How Effective is Planning Enforcement? Meeting Record & Video
Last week we held a well-attended talk on the subject of Planning Enforcement, chaired by Brian Keane of PE&T, which we recorded.
Our two guest speakers were both subject matter experts, each with decades of experience: Roald Piper of Westminster, and Tim Rolt of Brent both managing their respective council’s enforcement teams. The thoroughly engaged audience enjoyed the often amusing anecdotes, and posed incisive questions in Q&A sessions following each speaker – included in the recording.
Using a transcript, we’ve created a 1000 word summary record of the meeting – also posted on the event page – which includes [more…]
Consultation on Heathrow expansion
A Draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS) consultation has been published with a deadline for responses by 1st September 2026.
London Forum has prepared a briefing note for its members and asks you to feed your views back to us on the consultation questions in it by 7th August if possible; so that the London Forum can submit comments to the government before the deadline.
We also very much encourage you in parallel to respond directly to the government, both as a society and as individuals.
AI tool to halve planning decision times
A new AI facility is being tested in Barnet and Camden boroughs to speed up decision times.
The facility assesses applications, summarises key information and provides planning officers with an initial assessment they can consider.
The aim is to halve decision times to four weeks on the 70% of all applications which are submitted by householders.
A second AI tool helps planning officers convert decades-old planning documents and maps, sometimes with handwritten notes, into readily usable data in minutes
Please see the Government’s announcement, the Extract tool details are here, video demo below
![Cross-Keys [Photo: Hammersmith Society/Collins]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Cross-Keys-Hammersmith.jpg?fit=2560%2C2040&ssl=1)
Social Housing Bill
The Social Housing Bill has passed through stages in the House of Lords, where the latest version is available, and will be considered next by MPs.
The Government published details of the Bill, updated to 15th June 2026, stating that “The Social Housing Bill will protect much-needed social housing stock, give affordable housing providers the clarity and confidence they need to build more social homes, and better protect tenants.”
Biodiversity Net Gain applies to NSIP schemes
Since May 2026, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) has applied in England to nationally significant infrastructure projects, as well as housing and smaller developments. This means those implementing major road, rail and energy schemes now have a legal obligation to leave biodiversity in a measurably better state than before construction started. Further BNG changes are being considered by Government for July 2026.
It gives community organisations a better basis for making representations to planning authorities on development proposals.
Government details about Biodiversity Net Gain have been updated.
Chief Planner’s newsletter June 2026
Joanna Averley’s latest newsletter to local authorities’ planning officers covers:-
Policy and Guidance Updates
- New Plan-Making System Update
- Compulsory Purchase
- National Scheme of Delegation for Planning Decisions
- Department for Transport: forthcoming cost recovery regulations
- Active Travel England: new statutory role in local plans and supplementary plans
- Historic England Good Practice Guide on archaeology and solar farms
- Neighbourhood Planning Guidance and Toolkits
Funding Opportunities, Research and Events
- Demolition or retrofit?
- NSIP Innovation and Capacity Fund
- Update on Planning recruitment
- MHCLG Planning Skills and Capacity Survey
The thicket of detailed standards thwarting housebuilding in London is not the answer
Ben Derbyshire asks whether it is time to rethink the section 106 system and regulatory framework for housebuilding in London in this Housing Today article
London delivered less than 6% of its target for 88,000 new homes in 2025. Some of the issues impacting delivery are completely beyond local control – interest rates, supply chain inflation, global economic uncertainty and so on.
But increasingly there are sources saying the regulatory burden on new home building is even more significant. Emergency measures (fiddling while Rome burns?) reducing such requirements have been proposed to address this calamity. Maybe [more…]