Inspector approves 115-home green belt development after highlighting ‘substantial’ housing land supply shortfall
A planning inspector has granted outline permission for a residential development of up to 115 homes on green belt land in Rushall, Walsall, concluding that the council’s significant shortage of deliverable housing sites outweighed concerns about environmental impact. The decision followed an appeal by housebuilder William Davis Homes after Walsall Council refused planning permission for […]
CFIT unveils Open Property Roadmap to ‘modernise UK home buying’
The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology has published a roadmap for open property which it says sets out “a clear and credible pathway to transform the UK’s home buying process”. The Open Property Roadmap was commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to enable the digitalisation of the home buying and selling […]
Completions static but pipeline of new homes likely to contract as a result of falling planning permissions
“Fragile consumer confidence, affordability challenges and global economic uncertainty” are impacting on builders’ decisions to invest in new housing, according to the latest figures on new builds from the National House Building Council (NHBC). Despite government targets to build 1.5 million new homes in this parliament, the NHBC says the figures in its Q1 new […]
Private client work the most profitable for SME law firms
Private client law, including wills, probate, tax, trust and estate-related advice is the most profitable area of law for small law firms, alongside litigation and dispute resolution, according to the latest Bellwether Report from LexisNexis. These types of work were cited as the most profitable by 42% of respondents in the Bellwether Report 2026: Lean, […]
Survey reveals widespread use of unauthorised and open source AI, breaching client confidentiality
A survey has revealed nearly two thirds of fee earners admit to using open source artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, potentially compromising client data and confidentiality. The research by legal software company Access Legal revealed 59% of the 200 UK legal professionals surveyed by Censuswide said they had used unapproved AI applications, like the […]
Failure to redeem charges on probate property sale cost solicitor £47,000 at tribunal
A solicitor has been given a 12-month suspension from practice, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £47,000 after failing to redeem nearly £200,000 of charges on a probate property sale. The Solicitor’s Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) said the case was a warning that “even experienced professionals could make serious errors in judgment under extreme […]
GOV.UK launches tax adviser registration tool for firms to check obligations
HMRC has released a new service for organisations to check whether they must register as tax advisers under the new rules effective from Monday 18th May 2026. The tool asks users a series of questions to determine whether or not a firm will need to register. When the tool was used to answer questions purporting […]
Telling your compliance story; PII renewals and risk
Professional indemnity insurance is a fickle market. Conveyancing firms are once again navigating a market that remains challenging, nuanced, and increasingly shaped by risk culture rather than raw numbers. Renewal season is the backdrop to this latest Today’s Conveyancer Podcast discussion with Miller Insurance account managers Marianne McWilliams and Phil Limb who lift the lid […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – Chickens and eggs
This week I had a one of the matters; it wasn’t tricky, rather I was hampered by a chicken and egg situation and whichever way I turned, I could not get the buyer’s conveyancer to understand what they needed to do. I was acting for a long standing client in the sale of a leasehold […]
Why excitement around new towns will only go so far when helping deliver government’s housing target
March 2026 saw the government announce the proposed construction of seven new towns which could help deliver a quarter of a million homes. It’s hoped the fresh settlements will secure a large portion of the 1.5 million homes target promised before the conclusion of the current parliament. Knights planning lawyer Hannah Smith shares her thoughts […]