News & Events

COVID-19

In respect of the impact of the Covid-19 virus, the PEBA Committee has submitted 3 documents to the Planning Inspectorate which suggest a potential way forward towards holding some hearings and simple inquiries remotely. It will be for the Planning Inspectorate to decide whether that is a possibility and if so, how it might be implemented.

The documents can be found below:

PEBA Coronavirus Way Forward 
PINS Procedure Note
Video Conferences – Technical Note

PEBA National Conference 2020 – Back to Basics? Simplifying Planning for a New Decade

Due to COVID-19 this event has been rescheduled from Friday 15th May, to the new date listed below. 

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Date: Friday 2nd October 2020
Location: Ashurst LLP, London Fruit & Wool Exchange, 1 Duval Street, London, E1 6PW
Agenda: Registration from 9.00. Event starts at 9.30. Event finishes at 15.45.

The 2020 PEBA National Conference will assess the latest developments in planning and environmental law and assess policy and procedure in key areas. At the start of a new decade, there are many challenges facing the planning system. A newly elected government has promised a clearer and more accessible planning system, hinted at ambitious reforms to deliver more housing and infrastructure and aims to simplify planning. As well as looking to the future, the conference will provide a comprehensive assessment of the key case law over the last year.

The conference will include papers from leading practitioners at the Bar and a keynote address from The Right Hon Lord Sales, Justice of The Supreme Court. This year the Frances Patterson Paper is being delivered by Mrs Justice Andrews. The National Conference should prove to be an essential day for all those involved in and concerned about planning and the environment.

This event is always a sell out event, so don’t delay in securing your seat.

Pricing:
PEBA Members – £190 + VAT
PEBA Members, under 7 years of call – £80 + VAT

To book your place for the National Conference, please click here

*Please note, that if you have already booked onto the original event date, you do not need to repeat the booking process.

PEBA Annual Dinner 2020

After the success of last year’s Annual Dinner, we are pleased to announce the following details for 2020:

Date: Friday 6th March 2020
Location: Old Hall, Lincolns Inn, London, WC2A 3TL
Dress Code: Lounge Suits

Details for the event are as follows: 
19.00 – Drinks Reception in the Crypt
19.45 – Dinner in the Old Hall
22.45 – Carriages

Ticket prices for the Annual Dinner are: 
£75 – for all members of 7 years call and more
£45 – for members of under 7 years call
£35 – for members of under 2 years call

This event is now fully booked. If you would like to be added onto a reserve list, please email peba@peba.org.uk.

The Chairman and Committee look forward to welcoming you.

Leading Planning Cases Authority Book

As many of you will know, for some time now PEBA has been in discussion with the Planning Court about the production of a core volume, or bundle containing the most frequently cited planning cases. I am delighted to announce that this project has finally come to fruition, with the publication by the ICLR of the Leading Planning Cases Authority Book.

Whilst I have no doubt that everyone will be able to name at least one additional case they think should have been included, the cases selected have been chosen in close consultation with members of the Planning Court (notably Mr Justice Holgate) and Lord Justice Lindblom. Some of the well-known High Court decisions which have not been included are, of course, referred to and endorsed in more recent Court of Appeal authorities such as Mansell v Tonbridge & Malling.

The Planning Court is taking steps to ensure that all judges in the Planning Court have access to a copy of the book, in the expectation that, from 1 January 2020, it will become a standard reference work which reduces the need for the repeated, one-use-only photocopying of judgments for inclusion in the bundles of authorities in individual cases. It will also ensure that the court has cited to it the preferred reports of these cases, in accordance with Practice Direction (Citation of Authorities) [2012] 1 WLR 780.

It is not yet known whether the Planning Court will issue specific guidance on how the book should be used. In the meantime, however, Mr Justice Holgate has indicated that:

• An advocate leaving authorities out of bundles will need to make sure that opponents appreciate that the book is being relied upon.
• An advocate should make it clear in his, or her skeleton that the book will be cited and should give the usual citation references for the cases, plus the relevant internal pagination within the ICLR book.
• An advocate will also need to think about supplying copies of the authorities to a litigant in person. Alternatively, the advocate could lend a copy of the book to that party.

PEBA strongly encourages all members to use the book wherever possible. Copies can be obtained from the ICLR for £95 (or £90 per volume if buying 10 or more). Details can be found at https://www.iclr.co.uk/planningcases/.

PEBA would like to express its gratitude to Richard Ground QC and Ashley Bowes for their hard work in bringing this about.

May 2019 PEBA Update

Further to the Spring 2019 newsletter, we would like to bring your attention to three matters:

1. The PINS fast track appeals pilot is now underway. Do let us know (by informing any member of the PEBA committee) if you have had experience of the operation of the pilot project which you would like us to raise at our next meeting with PINS.
2. Following the highly successful PEBA conference held at Hogan Lovells on 17 May 2019, the next open PEBA events are: (1) the AGM which will be held on Thursday 18 July 2019 at FTB at 5.45 pm; and (2) the annual advocacy seminar to be held on the evening of Thursday 17 October 2019 at Cornerstone at which Christopher Katkowski QC will be speaking on “Post-Rosewell Advocacy.” It is also intended that a roundtable be held at a date to be arranged in the autumn to discuss wellbeing at the Planning Bar.
3. Members will be aware that Sir Duncan Ouseley retired from the High Court bench on 17 May 2019. He was appointed to the High Court in 2000, serving as Lead Judge of the Administrative Court from 2010 to 2015. He has made an outstanding contribution in our field both as an advocate and as a judge and the PEBA committee is considering how best to mark our recognition of this.

PEBA Spring Newsletter 2019

Our last newsletter was produced in July 2018. This newsletter summarises PEBA’s activities since then.

To view our summer newsletter please click here

Women in Planning

For those interested in news and events relevant to Women in Planning, please click here to be referred to their website.

Rosewell Review into Planning Inquiries

The PEBA Questionnaire Response and PEBA Response documents are available to view.

To view the PEBA Questionnaire Response, please click here

To view the PEBA Response documents, please click here

New guidance on presenting Expert Evidence as a Planner at planning appeals

The RTPI and PEBA have collaborated on new expert evidence advice.

To view the document, please click here

Consultation Response

PEBA has replied to the Consultation Paper from the Queen’s Counsel Appointments Scheme.  The response can be viewed here.

PEBA response to consultation on the draft NPPF

PEBA has recently responded to the public consultation being held by MHCLG on the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework.

A copy of the covering letter can be viewed here, and the consultation response can be viewed here.