Law firm Geldards has advised Nottingham City Council on a £12.6m contract with Balfour Beatty for the construction of a new landmark bridge across the River Trent to improve sustainability links and connectively across the city.

A national scheme of delegation setting out which types of applications should be determined by officers and which should go to committee, controls over the size of planning committees that will see “unwieldy” committees banned, and mandatory training for planning committee members are among the reforms set out in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduced in Parliament today (11 March).

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced plans to establish 75 'neighbourhood boards' with powers to decide on how to spend up to £20m in funding in their areas.

The Government has accepted all 58 recommendations in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report, and will introduce a new single construction regulator “to ensure those responsible for building safety are held to account”.

Law firm Bevan Brittan has advised the East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership – which consists of Hastings Borough, Rother District and Wealden District councils – on a seven-year extension and variation with Biffa related to services including waste collection, street and beach cleansing.

An insulation manufacturer has launched a judicial review challenge against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's decision to exclude the company from council building projects over claims the firm was implicated in the Grenfell Tower fire.

External auditors reporting on Birmingham City Council's implementation of its Oracle system have highlighted a culture where "either bad news was not welcome, or officers felt uncomfortable to communicate bad news".

The Government has published its long-awaited National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) which sets out eight actions contracting authorities should take “to return public procurement back into the service of the country and working people”.

More than 100 sites across England have been put forward for consideration to be part of the next generation of new towns, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has said.

The First-Tier Tribunal has dismissed an appeal by a requester over documents held by an external law firm that advised Sheffield City Council on a CPO inquiry for a proposed redevelopment nearly 20 years ago.

Spelthorne Borough Council has carried out a review after external auditors called on it to "urgently" assess the governance and oversight of a wholly owned subsidiary company, having found conflicts of interest connected to the company's staffing.

Government plans to change the judicial review process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) could risk "sidelining public accountability, diluting the rule of law and causing practical issues in the courts", a legal reform group has warned.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has launched an inquiry that will consider potential new mechanisms for land value capture (LVC) in order to help boost house building and fund affordable housing and public infrastructure.

Law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised Torbay Council on its first ‘Hotels to Homes’ scheme, a project to convert former hotels into high quality affordable housing.

The Government has committed to reducing the number of permission stages against Development Consent Orders (DCOs) issued for large infrastructure projects in an attempt to keep nationally significant schemes from being held up by legal disputes.

Law firm Browne Jacobson has advised Norwich City Council on its acquisition of Anglia Square Shopping Centre, in Norwich, from Columbia Threadneedle Investments.

Arun District Council must pay towards Littlehampton Harbour Board’s bill for capital works to maintain the harbour, having lost a High Court case in which it argued the board’s demand was unlawful.

Bristol City Council has been forced to rethink a plan to buy energy from community groups after advice that this might fall foul of public procurement rules.

Law firm Burges Salmon has advised Birmingham City Council on the sale of 487 homes to Legal & General Affordable Homes.

A public inquiry is set to take place after a local campaign group complained about the impact of a £200m busway connecting Cambourne and Cambridge on the region’s countryside.

The Law Commission has published a consultation paper on compulsory purchase, as part of its review of the current "complex and inaccessible" law on compulsory purchase and compensation.

The Government has detailed a series of reforms aimed at expanding and simplifying compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) in a consultation launched today (19 December).

The Government has relaunched the Net Zero Council, which will have representation from local government and civil society for the first time.

The ban on local authorities establishing their own bus companies will be lifted under the Bus Services Bill, which was introduced in the House of Lords today (17 December).

The Department for Business and Trade has published a guide for public authorities on assessing whether a subsidy or scheme is consistent with the principles of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

Law firm TLT has advised SNG (Sovereign Network Group) on its purchase of a number of affordable homes in Brent Cross Town, as part of the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration project.

Law firm Browne Jacobson has advised Celtic Freeport, the largest freeport in Wales, during the establishment of its governing body, and submission of outline and full business cases to establish special tax sites across 500 hectares of land in South-West Wales.

The Prime Minister has attacked “the nimbys, the regulators, the blockers and bureaucrats…the alliance of naysayers” as he unveiled a target of fast-tracking decisions on 150 major infrastructure projects in this Parliament.

Many London boroughs are not prepared for the expiry of private finance initiative (PFI) contracts and are hampered by lack of resources in addressing this.

The Department for Business and Trade is to consult on refinements to the UK subsidy control regime.