Action urged after record low in Q4 home completions - Business News - Business - WalesOnline

Action urged after record low in Q4 home completions - Business News - Business - WalesOnline:


Several times a month a Welsh person calls me to ask if I can remove a local occupancy restriction on a house they want to buy because the lender has said they don't consider these dwellings, in 90% of cases I can do so but increasingly the Welsh Government has allowed LPAs to impose even more onerous restrictions that the Planning Inspectorate have declared compatible with the Local Development Plan and which supported by Planning Policy Wales. Decision letters written weeks apart contain conflicting opinions from the same inspector, no declaration that it is lawful because the inspector isn't a lawyer!

Over the years I have taken a great interest in occupancy restrictions because in my opinion they are not enforceable in court and one LPA obtained a legal opinion that confirmed this, much to their surprise.

Over the last few months I have asked the Financial Services Authority whether lenders fully understood the complexity of Section 106 agreements which attempt to restrict occupancy, tenure and price. One lender's valuer said the banking group wasn't interested in the problems purchasers faced as long as the bank could sell on the open market following repossession, I passed this on to the FSA and I believe that lender has now pulled out of the market.

There are two cases before the EU courts which conflict with the Treaty of Rome, one in Ireland and one in Belgium, in the Irish case the planners appear to have side-stepped the issue by saying they now comply, I don't belie they do and nor do the EU who have been watching this since 2007. The Belgian case is very interesting because an opinion presented to the court shows the decree is not compatible with EU law in a number of ways, it also raises the question of whether the procurement rules have been breached because of the contract entered into by the public body and what is seen to be the private supplier of the dwelling, or something like that.

My point is that the housing market is in part being stifled by the political desire to have a proportion  of 'affordable homes' on a site (OR EVEN 100%!) and this is achieved by use of a Section 106 agreement but the agreement also attempts to restrict occupancy to locals who can't raise the finance because of the "Mortgage Risk" posed by the restricted resale conditions.

Something radical needs to be done or more people will be living in Granny's back bedroom, the situation would be even worse if so many of our youngsters didn't leave Wales to find work.


'via Blog this'

Mis-selling redress delayed for millions - Telegraph

Mis-selling redress delayed for millions - Telegraph:

"Is it morally acceptable for a regulator to pocket £10.5m when the firm is unlikely to to repay ALL customers?

If a bank sold this worthless cover as part of a package the bank itself should be held responsible.

Since 1987 I have hoped that regulation would prevent this from happening, instead it appears to be worsening as each day goes by yet the same regulator has just changed its name and carried on as before.

Regulation is bust."

'via Blog this'

Planning Portal - Cornwall bids for second-home planning controls

Planning Portal - Cornwall bids for second-home planning controls:

'via Blog this'

Above the law?

Martin Goodall's Planning Law Blog: Barn conversions again

Martin Goodall's Planning Law Blog: Barn conversions again:

'via Blog this'


In my capacity as consultant to financial services firms I see so many inconsistencies in decisions handed down from the regulators, the Ombudsman and the compensation scheme that baffle me, planning is no different.

Let's call it regulatory arbitrage.

I have followed particular inspectors and found they offer conflicting views within weeks of previous decisions even when using the same circumstances to argue for or against an appellant.

This is worse than an LPA postcode lottery, this is unacceptable service from PINS. But what do you do about it?

My solution would be to have more than one inspector but even then there is no guarantee of consistency so spending a shed (or barn) load of money on an appeal which in logic should follow precedent and be allowed only to find that something odd happens and you have lost and set a new precedent yourself.

Of course the argument is that the Financial Ombudsman Service decides each complaint on its own particular facts and merits, so does the Planning Inspectorate apparently, both allow one person to make a final decision but at least the FOS has a two or even three tier system of checks and balances. Not that this ends in a logical conclusion!

Is it right that a planning inspector can be judge, jury and executioner without any real independent scrutiny?

I deal with planning obligations contained within a legal agreement, these agreements must be lawful and enforceable yet PINS uses inspectors who are not lawyers, they treat the appeal or 'complaint' as a matter to be determined in accordance with planning law instead of English or EU law.

I have been told that there are changes ahead in the way appeals are handled in Wales, I look forward to seeing a system that is quicker and less cumbersome but ultimately it just needs to be consistent, please.

While I am writing, this is just a thought after studying website visitor stats, could your publicly displayed thoughts on all things planning attract attention from your adversary and prejudice the outcome of your next case?

Eric Daniels grilled on banking standards - Live - Telegraph

Eric Daniels grilled on banking standards - Live - Telegraph

Sums up the amount of knowledge possessed by bankers, ZERO

Banks mis-sold more than 90pc of rate swaps, says FSA - Telegraph

Banks mis-sold more than 90pc of rate swaps, says FSA - Telegraph

 How do you put a bankrupt back in the position he/she would have been in had the bank not done the dirty?

Restaurant boss starts pay revolt on bank swaps - Telegraph

Restaurant boss starts pay revolt on bank swaps - Telegraph

What a flaming shambles, the banks can't afford to unpick all the sh*te they were feeding off when times seemed so wonderful.

What has regulation done for society?

Was it Adair Turner who coined the term 'socially useful'?

I prefer the term SOCIALLY USELESS sir.