Chewing gum stains
Keep Britain Tidy has allocated grants for local authorities in 2025 for cleaning chewing gum from pavements, as here. That website shows which Councils have received funding over the last four years. Most London boroughs have benefited, some of them two or three times. Residents will be the best judge of how effectively the money has been spent.
New flight paths
The Government is redesigning ‘skyways’ to allow planes to climb quicker during take-off and descend more smoothly, reducing noise and air pollution for residents who live along flight routes. It can also reduce aviation fuel consumption, emissions and flight times. Details are here.
Chief Planner’s update
The MHCLG Chief Planner, Johanna Averley (pictured), has issued a newsletter to local authority planners. It covers a Modernised Planning Committees consultation and speeding up build-out with Completion Notices, a Delayed Homes Penalty and Compulsory Purchase Orders, as in a recent Working Paper and Technical Consultation.
The Government proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill amendments to remove the statutory requirement to consult in the pre-application stage for NSIP applications.
DEFRA is consulting on options for how Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) should be applied and MHCLG issued a related Working [more…]
Protecting nature could be weakened
The lawyer Simon Ricketts has published comments on the Government’s proposals in Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill for a Nature Restoration Levy to be paid by developers and the use of Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs). See the lawyer’s comments here. He points to evidence that organisations have given on the Bill indicating that there could be a weakening or reduction in current levels of environmental protection. Various detailed recommended changes have been submitted.
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Lawyers at Town Legal produced a summary of changes in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PAIB). Civic Voice commented on the Bill with concern about changes to local authorities’ planning committees.
London Forum draws attention, as here, to some of the amendments proposed for the Commons Committee Stage of the Bill and will report progress of that committee on its meetings from 29th April 2025. It has to complete its work by 22nd May 2025.
Business waste
The Local Government Association published a report ‘Let’s Do Business Waste’ last September with recommendations. However, there have been more problems with commercial waste littering high streets and Create Streets has issued a ‘Rubbish Refuse’ report with its own proposals for dealing with businesses’ waste bags on pavements which can half the perceived pleasantness of the public realm.
Climate change and heritage
The Government has released the fourth round of climate adaptation reporting for the heritage sector as here. The report outlines the risks climate change poses to the UK’s historic environment and provides guidance on how heritage organisations can adapt to these challenges. It highlights the need for resilience planning and sustainable conservation strategies.
Natural flood management
The Government reviewed the latest research on natural flood management and updated the ‘Working with Natural Processes’ evidence directory. The measures protect, restore or emulate the natural functions of rivers, floodplains, catchments and the coast to reduce flooding and coastal erosion. The report and findings are here.
Environment improvement
There is a statement from DEFRA’s Secretary of State, Steve Reed, providing an update on the rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) launched on 30 July 2024. It sets out key strategic findings from the rapid review and plans for revising the EIP.
Land use
The Government is consulting until 25th April 2025 for preparation of a Land Use Framework creating a toolkit to support decision making, “with England now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.”
Didn’t find what you’re looking for? Try a new search:
![Manual for streets 2010 [CiHT]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/manua-for-streets-2-1-scaled-e1776252588896.jpg?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Manual for Streets update
Environmental Outcomes Reports
Chief Planning Officer’s newsletter
![Statutory consultees jigsaw - inspired by image by Markus Winkler [Unsplash] and made with AI](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Statutory_consultees.jpg?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1)
Statutory Consultees
Statutory consultees play an important role in the planning application process by providing expert advice on significant environmental, transport, safety, and heritage issues. There are currently 13 organisations that local planning authorities [more…]
Most Popular This Week
-
Using AI in your Civic Society
📆 Thu 30th April | 18:30 - 20:30
🚩 77 Cowcross Street, EC1M 6EL (map)
Artificial Intelligence is everywhere in the news and in business these days – we even used it to generate the image for this event. How can it help your civic society ? Do you need to be an expert? (No!) Civic societies are often under-resourced, and at this event we’ll show that with a little knowledge, illustrated with examples, AI can bolster your resources in several useful ways, without necessarily spending a penny. Please book here ( https://www.londonforum.org.uk/events/using-ai-in-your-civic-society#booking ). Agenda Firstly by way of introduction, we’ll look at some novel…
-
Member Services Committee meeting
📅 Thu 7th May | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room B1 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)