.The Government has announced the biggest shake-up to planning for years. There are proposals for new zoned areas of land, a change in how financial contributions are made, digital planning initiatives, more public involvement in plan-making, and lots more. But it is all consultation at the moment, which means for now all planning applications and appeals are still the same.

The planning system likes its neat categories of different types of uses. The Government has recently announced a shake-up of this for commercial uses, combining many uses into one general class. This means that many changes of use are not going to need planning permission, in an attempt to provide more freedom for high streets and businesses. As ever, there are limitations on this, so you'll need to check the legislation or with Councils.

Having recently announced that blocks of flats can add additional storeys without planning permission, the Government has said houses can too. But there is a process of 'prior approval' which means details still need to be checked and approved with the Council. So don't get too excited just yet - the Council can still have a say.

We have appeared in one of the UK's largest magazines for new-builds, renovation and extensions - the Self Build & Design magazine - with an article on the essential guide to submit planning appeals
www.selfbuildanddesign.com

For many months the development industry has been wondering if the Government would relax permitted development rights to allow buildings to extend upwards. This has recently been announced, and two floors to existing blocks of flats can be added to provide additional flats. There are a lot of caveats and requirements to be met, though.

One of the Government's recent announcements is to give the Planning Inspectorate the ability to use more than one procedure (written representations, hearings and Inquiries) at the same time when dealing with an appeal. More details to follow, but the Government says this will make appeals happen faster.