Planning

Move would allow mayors to greenlight large-scale developments and have more say on national housing fundingAndy Burnham is expected to give mayors new powers to take control of local planning decisions and greenlight large-scale developments in proposals to be presented next week.The move would allow mayors to “call in” the decisions and direct councils to take them forward or refuse them. Continue reading...

• A fraudulent Los Angeles mayoral poll has sparked concerns regarding potential market manipulation and the integrity of political data. • Former official Alexander Vindman faced public embarrassment after organizing a "victory" fundraiser prior to his actual primary election loss. • In a Florida congressional race, a local hometown candidate successfully defeated a crowded field of outside challengers to secure the nomination.

Jessica ​Bowie, 35, of Albany, allegedly planned to deploy explosive before fleeing ⁠to IS-controlled territory in SyriaUS authorities arrested and charged a New York woman with ⁠planning to carry out an Islamic State-inspired attack on the state’s capitol building in Albany, the justice ⁠department said on ⁠Thursday.Jessica ​Bowie, 35, of Albany, was charged with planning to deploy an explosive device at the state ⁠capitol with the intention of killing public officials and destroying “as much of the building as possible” before fleeing ⁠to IS-controlled territory in Syria, according to John A Eisenberg, assistant attorney general ​for national security. Continue reading...

Thousands more houses could be built near transport hubs including on green belt sitesThe new national planning policy framework is aimed at providing clearer national policies for plan-making and decision-making, meaning that conflicting local policies will carry less weight when they are inconsistent with national policies.Other changes will include:Stronger support in principle for development, meaning a more explicit presumption in favour of building in sustainable locations.Pubs will get protection from being turned into housing or offices with developers having to prove there is no reasonable prospect of keeping a pub as a going concern, including evidence that it was marketed for sale for at least a year.A requirement for at least 40% of homes to be accessible on bigger developments and stronger protections for community facilities.Stronger support for growth and infrastructure including support for AI growth zones and datacentres. Continue reading...

Angela Rayner to launch guidance for ‘default yes’ on developments near transport hubs, including on green belt sitesThousands more homes could be built within 10 minutes of transport hubs, including on green belt sites, under a loosening of planning policy announced by Angela Rayner on Monday.The housing secretary will set out changes to national planning guidance for England that will include an order for councils to have a “default yes” approach to housing developments that are within a reasonable walking distance of well-connected train and tram stations.Stronger support in principle for development, meaning a more explicit presumption in favour of building in sustainable locations.Pubs will get protection from being turned into housing or offices with developers having to prove there is no reasonable prospect of keeping a pub as a going concern, including evidence that it was marketed for sale for at least a year.A requirement for at least 40% of homes to be accessible on bigger developments and stronger protections for community facilities.Stronger support for growth and infrastructure including support for AI growth zones and datacentres. Continue reading...

Lord mayor says public square will be ‘fantastic’ – but business advocate says project’s scale of demolition presents ‘unwanted disruption’Sydneysiders have been given a first glimpse of a new public square set to “unify” the CBD, more 40 years after the project was initially conceived.The City of Sydney on Tuesday released new renders of a plaza that will be built opposite Sydney Town Hall after the council began finalising discussions with the owners of the last of seven buildings that need to be acquired and bulldozed for the project. Continue reading...

• The U.S. and Israel are planning joint military strikes targeting energy sites in Iran, with bombing operations potentially continuing throughout the weekend. • These plans were discussed during a cabinet meeting at Camp David, where President Trump reportedly ordered fresh strikes to force the Islamic Republic to surrender. • In a separate legal development, a Turkish man was arrested in the UK for allegedly using a sham humanitarian organization to funnel money and supplies to Hamas.