Conservative shadow planning minister Bob Neill (pictured) has defended the party’s planning ‘green paper’ against accusations it is unfair to fine councils that don’t meet planning targets.
Neill told a planning seminar run by law firm Eversheds and consultant Terence O’Rourke that the Tory planning ‘green paper’ Open Source Planning was the dramatic overhaul that the planning system needed.
He said it was fair to fine councils if they do not make planning decisions on time because they would get more powers if regional development agencies and regional spatial strategies are dismantled.
“If …

The Northwest Regional Development Agency has provided £10.8m in a bid to attract developers to invest in redeveloping central Salford.
The NWDA aims to provide the infrastructure necessary to support redevelopment in the heart of the town (pictured). The NWDA is putting up £9m and the European Regional Development Fund – which is managed by the NWDA in the northwest – is providing £1.8m.
The NWDA said it wanted the public sector investment to attract private sector developers to redevelop the town centre. It wants a final scheme with 222,000 sq m …

Property consultants and other professional services firms can lobby government directly under a new group that held its first meeting today.
The government has set up the Professional and Business Services Group to represent those in property consultancy as well as accountants, lawyers and other businesses. The group’s aim is to represent professional services and alert government to challenges to the sector in areas such as market regulation.
Sir Michael Snyder, senior partner of accountant Kingston Smith and former chairman of the policy and resources committee at the City of London Corporation …

Next month, former Reed Elsevier chief executive Ian Smith is due to report to government on how it can move 10% of civil service jobs in London and the southeast to other parts of the UK.
The report has been dubbed “Lyons part II”, after a report by Sir Michael Lyons in 2004 that proposed the relocation of 20,000 civil service posts from the south-east.
The government announced this latest review in its December report Smarter Government.
The property world is watching Smith. A recommendation of more civil servant relocations could bring public …

The government needs to bolster its Olympics contingency fund to protect taxpayers from unexpected bills, the National Audit Office has warned.
Today, the NAO has published its report Preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It warned that government and the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has depleted its contingency fund by taking £621m to fund the Olympic Village and the Media Centre.
Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts said that government and LOCOG were currently on time and on budget …

Birmingham City Council has frozen rents for traders at the Bull Ring Market to help them through the recession.
The council said it had frozen rents for stalls at the Bull Ring Rag and Bull Ring Open Market for the 2010/11 financial year. It said this would complement a scheme to create starter stalls with cheaper rents for three months.
The plan was approved on 22 February. it means a basic stall at the Rag Market will cost £16.10 on Saturdays while an Open Market stall on the same day will cost …

Housing minister John Healey has today confirmed nearly £500m of funding to build around 8,000 affordable homes.
Over 3,000 of the homes are expected to be available through the government’s HomeBuy schemes, offering first time buyers a helping hand onto the property ladder. The other 5,000 homes will be available for affordable rent through housing associations.
Healey said he would ensure housing associations, developers and councils benefiting from the money provide apprenticeship opportunities.
The funding will be distributed through the Homes and Communities Agency, the government’s housing delivery body.
Since June, government department Communities …

Business secretary Peter Mandelson backs the idea of setting up a state-run investment bank to fund major infrastructure projects, according to senior Whitehall sources.
Mandelson has met twice with executives at KfW Bank in Germany, which offers capital for major projects, to discuss their business model with a view to copying it in the UK. Plans to create a bank to provide loans in areas that might otherwise be ignored by the private sector, are expected to be announced in April’s Budget.
A newly formed Treasury unit, Infrastructure UK, is examining ways …

Most local authorities will fail to make the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) this year, an auditor has warned.
Today, the Audit Commission revealed in its 11-page report Countdown to IFRS: Implementation in Local Government that only one in seven local authorities was on course to make the transition to IFRS in time for their 2010/11 accounts. It said the biggest challenges for councils were on the financial reporting of properties and leases. Councils need to move to IFRS this financial year.
However, the commission said one in five …

More dialysis at home and chemotherapy in the community would help cut the pressure on hospitals and save money, an Audit Commission report says today.
The Audit Commission – which monitors the spending of 11,000 UK public sector bodies – has published a 68-page report Under Pressure about the financial challenge for councils of an ageing population. It said that providing these services at home was cheaper than doing so in hospitals and fewer hospital admissions would help relieve the pressure on the NHS.
It said around 7,000 patients in England could …