Three London town halls could be converted into hotels, as councils aim to rationalise their property in the wake of an average 4.4% cut to local authority budgets.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council is about to appoint Lambert Smith Hampton to sell the 19th-century Fulham Town Hall (pictured), pending a final cabinet …

Blackburn Council is set to appeal a government decision which approved developer Lend Lease’s £700m retail development in Tithebarn, Preston last year.
Despite the Secretary of State’s decision to give the development, which is anchored by John Lewis and Marks and Spencer, planning permission in November 2010, Councillor Dave Harling, executive …

The government has today published its draft Localism Bill that will bring forward huge changes to the UK planning system.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles said the new bill – which will be laid before Parliament later this afternoon – would return powers to local councils and communities. It includes measures to …

Wirral Waters, Peel’s £4.5bn regeneration scheme in Merseyside, has been granted final planning approval by the secretary of state.
The 17m sq ft plan for the East Float site on the derelict docks in Birkenhead was approved by Wirral council’s planning committee last month. But it needed final approval by the …

Ownership of public assets should be transferred to community groups, think tank ResPublica has said
In a new reported, called To Buy, To Bid, To Build: Community Rights for an Asset Owning Democracy, it said that letting communities buy assets such as libraries, swimming pools and village halls would improve public …

Birmingham City Council has saved £3m in the last 12 months by vacating leasehold properties.
The council announced today that its Working for the Future programme had resulted in a number of buildings being vacated, creating savings on running costs and rent.
Staff have vacated city centre leased properties including Alpha Tower, …

Aberdeen City Council has agreed to set up a city development company into which it will transfer publicly-owned assets for redevelopment.
Last night, councillors on the enterprise, planning and infrastructure committee voted in favour of the project to create a development company called One Aberdeen, despite concerns from members of the …

Communities secretary Eric Pickles acted unlawfully in unilaterally revoking the system of regional planning strategies in England, the High Court has found today.
The court has given its judgment in the judicial review brought by housebuilder Cala Homes against the revocation of regional planning. It found that the secretary of state …

The government is set to introduce a presumption in favour of viable development as part of its national planning framework, which is due to be published next year.
The rule will mean that, in areas lacking their own “neighbourhood plans” that have been put together by local communities, developments that are …

The government plans to introduce a bill next July that will allow local authorities to fund regeneration by borrowing against future business rate rises, using tax increment financing (TIF).
The Department for Communities and Local Government has today published a business plan setting out its policy objectives and its deadlines for …