Preserving the natural beauty of scenic areas has always been a central objective of planning policy. However, as a Court of Appeal ruling showed, such considerations cannot always be decisive when the economic benefits of job creation and tourism are put into the balance.
Residential landlords who fail to meet their extensive legal obligations put themselves at risk of severe financial consequences and reliance on the advice of professional letting agents is no defence.
Entering into property transactions without expert legal advice is always a hostage to fortune. A restaurateur found that out after he was dishonestly induced to enter into an illegal sub-lease of commercial premises by a businessman whom he trusted as a friend.
Increases in the value of your main or only home are exempt from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) – but proving that a property is your principal private residence (PPR) can be far from easy and that is why taking legal advice on the issue is always wise.
Preservation of heritage assets is an important objective of the planning regime and even minimal harm to their setting will be weighed in the balance against developers.
One of the more draconian powers wielded by judges is to order compulsory winding up of companies that operate contrary to the public interest. However, the High Court ruled in a guideline case that two companies in the business of assisting their clients to avoid paying non-domestic rates (NDRs) do not fall into that category.
Restrictions on the use to which land can be put do not always stand the test of time and that is why the law permits their discharge or modification. In a case on point, the Upper Tribunal (UT) opened the way for construction of new homes on a site which had hitherto been protected from development.
A developer wished to build up to 330 new homes on farmland but faced opposition from the local authority and a regional branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Sham legal documents are created for all sorts of nefarious purposes, but judges are thankfully well practised at spotting them. In a case on point, a bogus lease created with the intention of evading business rates failed to convince the High Court.After receiving non-domestic rates demands for over £62,000 from a local authority, a commercial property owner claimed that it had not been in rateable occupation of the premises during the relevant period, having leased them to a corporate tenant.
Public authorities are bound by procurement rules of ever increasing complexity in their commercial dealings with the private sector. The Court of Appeal, however, managed to find its way through the maze in ruling that the lease of advertising hoardings on local authority-owned land fell outside the regulatory regime.
The mere fact that a development proposal may encounter difficulties and eventually prove undeliverable does not generally justify a refusal of planning permission. The High Court made that point in breathing new life into plans to construct a whole new neighbourhood of 1,200 homes.
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