David Lock: Town and Country Planning in the time of Covid-19

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This week we're embarking on our biggest technical challenge of lockdown so far. We've had DLA staff meetings with 60+ attendees (and thankfully the ability to mute each other) and regular 'virtual' meetings with our colleagues, clients and co-consultants since March but we are about to go to another level!

Part one of this blog considered the temporary measures which have been introduced regarding relaxation of the rules on change of use in the high street and the extensions to permissions that have been granted. However, as the economy adapts to different ways of working, shopping, and socialising, there are profound implications for the way in which we will use buildings in the future and the demand for buildings in different sectors.

This two-part blog outlines how the planning system has been temporarily relaxed in response to COVID-19, how the property market might respond to the implications of the pandemic and if more permanent changes to the planning system could help.

When COVID-19 entered our vocabulary earlier this year, the virus was considered to be a great leveller. We all stood an equal chance of being infected, receiving care, recovery and for some, sadly no longer being with loved ones. But in the space of a few months it has become clear that the virus discriminates.

That debt laden Intu finally went into administration last Friday did not come entirely as a shock to many observers of all things retail. While COVID-19 undeniably represents the massive plank that broke the camel's back, the financial picture for the Shopping Centre giant had not been a happy one for some time.

David Lock Associates were asked by the Two Mile Ash Environmental Group (TMAEG) if we could, as part of the company's charitable activities, help the group to secure planning permission for an extension to and enhancement of a recreational route around Two Mile Ash.

Senior Urban Designer Owen Reading questions the role of symbols in our public spaces.

With The Planning Inspectorate's (PINS) move to "virtual" hearings and inquiries, DLA's Duncan Chadwick and Landmark Chambers' Barrister Anjoli Foster give their tips on how to prepare for these digital events.

DLA's Heather Pugh reflects on the commentary on the perceived success of the current round of Garden Villages published by the lobby group Transport for New Homes.