Clifford Chance

Court of Appeal Demolishes the Demolition Direction

1 April 2011

In an important decision, the Court of Appeal has held that a major part of the Government's demolition direction is unlawful and, as a result, planning permission may need to be sought for demolition operations in many cases. This judgement may leave many developments which have been consented, or which are still in the consenting process, having to seek a screening opinion for Environmental Impact Assessment under the permitted development order process, and obtain planning permission if the demolition is likely to have significant environmental effects. This briefing considers the judgement and provides some recommendations for developers.

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