Local Authority round-up 14/04/23

Commercial

£110 million funding under the Rural England Prosperity Fund

The government has announced that eligible councils across rural England will receive funding under the Rural England Prosperity Fund to support rural business and community groups. £110 million had been available for eligible councils in order for them to invest in initiatives such as farm diversification, projects to boost rural tourism, and community infrastructure projects including electric vehicle charging stations. Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said “Driving investment in rural areas is a vital part of our vision for levelling up the country. The new Rural Prosperity Fund replaces the bureaucratic EU funding system – allowing us to work closely with local leaders to direct funding where it is most needed to close the rural productivity gap, create job opportunities and protect the English countryside. This confirmed spending will allow local authorities to deliver on their plans to level up businesses and communities in rural areas from today, in line with their residents’ priorities.”

For more information please click here.

£775,000 in grants to help councils crack down on fly-tipping

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow has announced £775,000 in grants for councils in order for them to roll out projects which will help to crack down on fly-tipping and waste crime. The funding will be used by councils on projects such as providing portable CCTV cameras to patrol and capture footage across Northumberland, anti-climb fencing to protect neighbourhood areas in Hyndburn and larger recycling bins in better locations in Mansfield. Councils will have six months to roll out the initiatives after which time they will need to feedback on how the projects worked in practice in order to help other councils to do the same.

For more information please click here.

Regulatory

New Air Quality Strategy

The government has launched a consultation on providing a framework to support local action to improve air quality. The draft strategy includes:

• Outlining the actions councils can undertake to improve air quality
• Setting out actions for councils to reduce emissions of fine particulate matter, the pollutant most damaging to health
• Providing a framework to enable councils to make the best use of their powers and deliver for their communities

Once the government has considered responses to the consultation it will publish a final strategy which will outline how councils in England should use their existing powers and responsibilities more effectively to deliver improvements to air quality. Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said “By taking action in communities across the country, local authorities have a pivotal role to play in improving air quality, and they should listen to local residents and local businesses to find solutions that work best for their local area.”

For more information please click here.

Planning and housing

Short-term lets to need planning permission

The Government has announced new rules to give communities greater control over short-term lets in their areas which it says will strengthen the tourism sector. A consultation by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will propose introducing a requirement for planning permission to be gained for a home to be used as a short-term let. It says this will help support local people in areas where high numbers of holiday lets are preventing them from finding affordable housing. It will also consider whether to give owners flexibility to let out their home for up to a specified number of nights in a calendar year without the need for planning permission. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said “This new world of ultra-flexible short term lets gives tourists more choice than ever before, but it should not come at the expense of local people being able to own their own home and stay local. The Government wants to help areas get the balance right, and today we have an incomplete picture of the size and spread of our short term lets market. This consultation on a national registration scheme will give us the data we need to assess the position and enable us to address the concerns communities face.”

For more information please click here.

Upcoming webinars

Webinar series: Data Protection

Register your interest for our on-going webinar series on ‘Data Protection’ for in-house lawyers, DPOs and senior management in private and public sector organisations. The series will run throughout 2023 providing attendees with up to date information on key Data Protection topics. The short one hour sessions will be delivered by our experts with allocated time for you to ask any questions you may have. The next in our series ‘Data Subject Access Request’ will take place on 16 May 2023.

For more information or to book your place please click here.

Housing Management Law School – Spring term

On 25th April at 10am our Housing Management Law School returns for it’s Spring term. The Law School is taught by two of our very own expert Social Housing lawyers, John Murray and Simon Thirtle. It is free to attend and exists to deliver training to Registered Providers of Social Housing across the country, educating and updating their housing management staff with the essential legal knowledge that they need. The Law School is held over 90 minutes and covers three sections, in this session we will be discussing News, Committal Proceedings and The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill.

For more information or to book your place please click here.

Employment law update

Ward Hadaway’s employment law update is back this Spring. Taking place via Zoom on Wednesday 26th April at 10am. Our experts will ensure your team is kept in the loop, covering recent and upcoming updates in legislation, case law and pending Tribunal decisions, focusing throughout on the practical points of what this means for employers and HR teams.

For more information or to book your place please click here.

If you have any questions about the issues raised in this update, please do not hesitate to get in touch.