Planning applications: The fundamental role of proper engagement

Peter Kershaw explores the importance of carefully considered engagement with local communities and stakeholders before and after submission of a planning application ‘The participation route has a range of benefits including tapping into local knowledge at an early stage and also helping to create a scheme that will be better attuned to local community needs.’ …
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Development sites: Getting ready for sale

What are the issues to be addressed when preparing a site for sale? Helen Ryan provides practical guidance ‘If the development site is accessed over land owned by a third party, check the physical extent of the access and also the wording. The ideal position is for your land to have a right of access …
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Construction focus: A year in construction cases: part 2

In the second of two articles John Starr reports on some of the most important construction decisions reached over the last 18 months ‘Anchor highlights the fact that the courts are generally willing to find that a binding contract has come into existence even when its terms have not been signed.’ Part 2 of our …
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Private nuisance: Overlooking your privacy

Ellen La considers the Court of Appeal’s decision on privacy rights in the UK ‘The claimants in Fearn asserted that privacy rights arose under the HRA 1998 in respect of their rights to a private and family life and that Tate Gallery was a “hybrid” public authority that was in breach of s6 of the …
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The tech revolution: Can the law keep up with the pace of change?

Miri Stickland and Connor Morrison examine two recent cases in which the interplay between technology and ss1 and 2 of the 1989 Act is considered directly by the courts ‘While Yuen may not constitute binding authority, it does provide useful judicial direction on an important point on which there was previously no authority at all.’ …
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New home insurance: Mind the cap

Michael Craik outlines a case relating to the interpretation of a new home ten-year insurance policy ‘While the outcome of this case was dependent on the wording of the Zurich policy, such ten-year insurance-backed warranties are common (if not a requirement) in new-build developments.’ Manchikalapati v Zurich Insurance plc (t/a Zurich Building Guarantee and Zurich …
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Lost or abandoned objects: Finders keepers?

Mark Pawlowski looks at the case law on the ownership of objects found on or in land ‘Where an object is found attached to realty (ie, land or buildings), the finder (who is not a trespasser) will have some rights but the occupier of the land (or building) will have a superior title.’ The general …
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