Blogs
How to protect vulnerable and disabled beneficiaries
Thinking about how you would like your estate to be distributed on your death and how best to provide for your loved ones can sometimes be hard. This can be especially true if you have disabled or vulnerable family members you wish to protect. For instance, you may want to provide for a family me....
Newsletter – Summer 2018 – Town and Country Planning
The latest edition of our Town and Country Planning Summer Newsletter has been released today. Please click on the link to view. https://attwatersjamesonhill.co.uk/eshot/attwaters-summer-newsletter.pdf ....
How shared ownership can be the staircase to owning a home
Shared ownership is now an established part of the UK’s housing landscape and accounts for an increasing proportion of new-build affordable housing. These schemes are basically a cross between buying and renting, and are mainly aimed at first-time buyers. They can offer a win-win situation for ....
Government consultation unveiled into banning use of combustible cladding materials
In recent days, an important consultation has been opened by the UK Housing Secretary which will look into banning the use of ‘combustible’ cladding materials on high-rise residential buildings. The consultation, which comes little over a year on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, sets out to e....
Learning from others to help prevent mistakes in wills
Most solicitors have seen a thing or two that’s gone wrong in a Will, and may also have heard horror stories from colleagues about the mistakes they’ve encountered too. Some of these errors arise from the continuing popular belief that simply filling out a Will form from the stationers will do t....
New powers for councils could deliver “tens of thousands of new homes”
Important new powers granted to local authorities could enable them to deliver “tens of thousands of new homes” in the near future, the Government has said. The comments come after Housing Minister Dominic Raab unveiled a series of new powers for councils, which will enable them to apply to s....
Mediation – what it can achieve, and how to approach it
If you’re separating, going through a divorce or dissolving a civil partnership or even you’ve been separated for a while, you may need help in sorting out arrangements with your partner. It’s at this point that working with a neutral third party, an independent professionally-qualified mediat....
NPPF should not impose ‘undeliverable’ housing targets on councils
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) must not impose ‘undeliverable’ housing targets on local councils, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. In a letter in response to the Government’s NPPF consultation penned in recent days, the LGA has voiced concerns over the NPPF....
Calls for new authority to oversee fire safety risk of HRRBs
A new joint competent authority (JCA) should be set up to oversee the fire safety and other risks associated with buildings more than 10 storeys in height, it has been said. The comments feature in Dame Judith Hackitt’s final report into fire safety for high-risk residential buildings (HRRBs), ....
“Vital” changes needed to NPPF, groups claim
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires a number of “vital” improvements in order to be to truly fit for purpose, a number of organisations have said. In a joint letter penned to the Government, planning professionals, transport authorities, charities and various other groups h....
Access to transport suffers as only half of new homes are built near to a train station
Only half of the new homes being built in England’s fastest growing cities are sited within 2km of a train station. That is according to a recently published report. The Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) study looks at the locations for new homes in cities such as Leeds, Newcastle and Br....
Equal Pay – what SME employers need to know
Nearly five decades after the debate on equal pay began in the UK, the discussion continues. The Equal Pay Act 1970 was a landmark piece of legislation. It stated that equal pay was due where work was broadly the same and equal in value in terms of effort and skill. Fast-forwarding to 2018 shows ....
