Planning, Environment and Property Newsletter – Winter 2026 Edition

Welcome to our Winter 2026 edition of the Planning, Environment & Property Newsletter. No one could have missed MHCLG’s big early Christmas present – publication of a substantially revised draft of the NPPF, with a consultation on the changes open until 10 March 2026. If you haven’t fancied wading through the full 123 pages in detail no need to worry, members of our PEP team have provided their analysis of the draft in bitesize videos which can be accessed here.

From the 3rd – 5th March we will be hosting our inaugural Planning Environment and Property Week. This week will see three half day seminars covering: Planning & Infrastructure (3rd March), Property (4th March) and Environment & Energy (5th March).

We kick off this edition with an article from John Pugh-Smith where he looks at one of the challenges facing the Government’s quest to build 1.5m homes, namely stalled sites where there are existing consents linked to section 106 agreements which remain unviable to develop. He explores this issue as it arose in the recent planning appeal at Chilmington Green, Ashford and concludes by offering some possible solutions to the issue pending MHCLG’s awaited “full reset” of Section 106 obligations.

In addition, we have articles covering:

• Matthew Wyard considers Maher v Investalet Limited [2025] EWHC 3133 (Ch) which addresses whether a company administrator can seek vacant possession against trespassers under s.234 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
• Dan Kozelko looks at the decision in R (on the application of Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (“LADACAN”) v Secretary of State for Transport [2025] EWHC 3206 (Admin). A challenge to the Development Consent Order granting consent for expansion of Luton Airport and provides an important analysis of the proper assessment of carbon emissions as part of the environmental impact assessment following the Supreme Court’s decision in Finch [2024] UKSC 20.
• Christopher Moss covers R (Halton Borough Council) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2025] EWCA Civ 1566 in which the Court of Appeal considered whether a Local Planning Authority had behaved unreasonably in withdrawing its support for a planning application in the course of a called-in inquiry following answers given by its expert in cross-examination.
• Lastly, Ella Grodzinski addresses Epping Forest District Council v Somani Hotels Ltd [2025] EWHC 2937 (KB), Mould J’s decision on whether to grant a final injunction restraining the owners of the Bell Hotel from using it to house asylum seekers.

We do hope you enjoy this edition of the PEP newsletter and look forward to seeing many of you during our Planning Environment and Property Week.

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