Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council must modify the headlease of a former office building to allow for conversion to residential use, the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has ruled.

A group of 17 NHS foundation trusts have failed to persuade a High Court judge that they are charities and so eligible for substantial reductions on the non-domestic rates payable on the properties they occupy.

The Supreme Court has by a 3-2 majority allowed appeals by Lancashire County Council and NHS Property Services over whether statutory incompatibility defeats an application to register land as a town or village green where the land is held by the public authority for statutory purposes.

The Supreme Court will next week (11 December) hand down a key judgment on village green registration where publically accessible land is held by public authorities pursuant to statutory powers.

Piers Riley-Smith of Kings Chambers has recently secured confirmation of three compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, all at public inquiry.

Camden Council has submitted claims to the High Court to recover costs from the contractor PFIC (Partners for Improvement in Camden) and its principal subcontractors, who previously had responsibility for refurbishment and maintenance of the Chalcots Estate, under a private finance initiative agreement.

The University of London has lost an appeal over whether the Upper Tribunal has power under the Electronic Communications Code to impose on the occupier of a building an agreement permitting access by an operator to determine whether that building is suitable for the installation of electronic communications apparatus.

DAC Beachcroft has advised Blackpool Council on its £47m purchase of the town’s Houndshill Shopping Centre from the receivers of its previous owners, BCC Eiffel.

Vale of White Horse District Council had the right to correct an error on a map of Green Belt boundaries without going through a complete consultation on the matter, the High Court has ruled.

The Court of Appeal will next month (3 December) hear an appeal by Bromley Council over the High Court’s refusal to extend an interim injunction prohibiting camping on 171 open spaces and car parks in the borough.

The London Borough of Southwark has lost a case in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) over whether it can impose service charges on leaseholders on an estate where the heating system pipework has been renovated.

The High Court is this week hearing a test case that will consider whether local authorities and housing associations have acted lawfully in failing to pass on to their tenants any discount or commission agreed with water companies.

A developer, his company and a tree contractor have been fined a combined £420,000 after breaching tree preservation regulations attached to trees near a site that the company was developing.

A local authority has won a High Court battle with a consortium of developers over the interpretation of an overage provision in a s.106 agreement, it has been reported.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised two London councils for the way they tried to recover historic business rate debts.

The Court of Appeal has rejected a case brought by a landowner against Cumbria County Council over the designation of public rights of way.

A High Court master has dismissed a claim against the London Borough of Lambeth for relief against forfeiture for non-payment of service charges reserved as rent.

The High Court is this week hearing a legal challenge to a compulsory purchase order affecting what is said to be the UK’s only ‘Latin village’.

The Court of Appeal has rejected a legal challenge to a London borough’s award of leases for land on which structures that support large digital advertising screens are situated.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a port operator’s appeal in a dispute over Essex County Council’s decision to register part of a port as a town or village green (TVG), it has emerged.

Campaigners have launched a judicial review challenge over Folkestone and Hythe District Council’s decision to grant planning permission for development on land adjacent to the Royal Military Canal, a scheduled ancient monument.

John Hobson QC and Admas Habteslasie of Landmark Chambers represented Birmingham City Council on obtaining, following a public inquiry, the confirmation of the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Local authorities are refusing to let the public access key information on how their money is being spent, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has claimed.

The Legal Services team at Barking and Dagenham Council has this month successfully obtained an interim ‘borough wide unauthorised encampment injunction’ for Thurrock Council.

Electronic signatures can be used to execute documents, including where there is a statutory requirement for a signature, the Law Commission has said.