News

The Government announced significant changes to the National Planning Practice Guidance in November 2014 with the aim of reducing "disproportionate burdens on developer contributions."

The Government announced significant changes to the National Planning Practice Guidance in November 2014 with the aim of reducing “disproportionate burdens on developer contributions.”

“Disposing of Land” is a guidance document issued by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to help Private Registered Provider’s understand the HCA’s approach to their decision making in respect of disposals of social housing dwellings and other land under the general consent or specific consent regimes.

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has now issued his opinion on the meaning of “establishment” for the purpose of determining when collective redundancy applies in the linked cases of Usdaw & Wilson v Woolworths and others, Lyttle v Bluebird and Cañas v Nexea. For previous blog entries in relation to

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held in Braithwaite and ors v HCL Insurance BPO Services Ltd and another case, that an employer’s decision to impose new terms and conditions was not unjustified indirect age discrimination. The claimants transferred to HIBS Ltd under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). As a

The Government has announced that the new Procurement Regulations will come into force in the UK on 26 February. The new Regulations will make some important to changes to public procurement in the UK. It will be important for all of our contracting authority clients (which include Registered Providers and Local Authorities) to understand how the current regime will change, and what these changes will mean for them in practice.

Devonshires are pleased to welcome Matthew Webb, Brian Hearne and Krissun Soodin to the Real Estate & Projects team.

The impending government reforms to judicial review (JR) are a timely reminder of the importance of the procedure to regulators. A Special Report, produced by Devonshires Solicitors demonstrates that JR is not always welcome, and for smaller regulators in particular, it can prove a costly exercise. But equally JR can confer real benefits in endorsing a regulatory approach and bringing certainty to the regulator and regulated alike.

Devonshires’ Banking Governance and Corporate Team have acted for Paragon Community Housing Group in the first RP bond deal to be completed in 2015.

Devonshires is acting for Dolphin Square Foundation on its registration of a new registered provider with the Homes and Communities Agency. Dolphin Square is itself a registered charity and has recently acquired the New Era estate.

As part of the trend of those operating within the housing sector looking to explore new exciting opportunities, Devonshires Solicitors has recently acted on behalf of Spectrum Housing Group in relation to a joint venture with Galliford Try in relation to a development of a 1,600 housing scheme with associated infrastructure worth a reported £400m over a period of 20 years.

The Devonshires Banking and Governance Team acted for Jephson in connection with its complex merger with Raglan Housing. The merger has resulted in the creation of the new Stonewater organisation, one of the largest social housing providers in England, with an estimated annual turnover of around £160m.