New Planning Rules

Government ministers are set to cut red tape for home improvements -- allowing homeowners to undertake small projects without planning permission, the Times reported on Saturday.
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly will unveil a planning policy paper on Monday, expected to herald the largest shake-up in planning rules for 20 years.
The Times said the paper will include plans to allow people to build kitchen extensions, loft conversions and conservatories, or fit wind turbines and solar panels, without seeking prior approval.
At present, homeowners must obtain planning permission for minor alterations to their properties, in a process that costs up to 1,000 pounds and takes months.
Brian Berry, of the Federation of Master Builders, said the proposed overhaul was a "very good idea" for homeowners.
"If you want to extend your kitchen or have a loft conversion, you (will) no longer need to have planning permission," he told BBC News 24 on Saturday.
"Homeowners, at the moment, have to wait between eight and 16 weeks to get permission, as well as paying up to 1,000 pounds: this means this will be taken away, cutting out the red tape if you want to renovate your home."
Berry allayed fears that people might find it more difficult to stop their neighbours undertaking building work that they object to. There would be limits to what homeowners could do without permission; homeowners must comply with height and depth restrictions and meet an "impact test".
The move is expected to free-up the planning process, allowing planning authorities to concentrate on larger, more complex projects.
Some 350,000 domestic planning applications are processed per year, of which more than 90 percent are granted immediately, because there is no damaging impact on neighbouring property.
As the cost of moving home soars, more and more homeowners are choosing instead to improve and extend existing properties.
The cost of moving home has more than tripled in the past decade, according to a recent survey by property Web site propertyfinder.com.
Buying and selling costs -- excluding the property price and mortgage fees -- now stand at 9,486 pounds, up from 2,925 pounds in 1996. Stamp duty has increased 823 percent in the past decade. These mounting costs have led to a supply shortage that has stoked house price growth.