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22 October 2021 / Andrew Francis
Issue: 7953 / Categories: Features , Property
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What is it worth?

61710
Andrew Francis looks at trips, traps & compensation disputes in restrictive covenant matters
  • How to assess value of property, taking restrictive covenants into account, with relevant case law.

The increase in demand for housing of all types and at all levels of price and how that can be satisfied has been the subject of much recent debate. This demand has led either to development plans being dusted off, or new ones being created. Such plans require an examination of feasibility, not just as a matter of economics and planning, but also to avoid risks under enforceable property law obligations. As to the latter, the question is—are there risks which might prevent development, even with planning and public authority consents? The most common risk is the potential enforceability of restrictive covenants affecting the development site, if they will be breached. That risk can be encountered on sites which are both large and small and for any types and scales of development. It may be on a site designated for 450 new homes,

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NEWS
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Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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