UK Civil Service’s Post

Preparation is the key to a smooth sales process. A new guide launched today will remind vendors of the key items to prepare before the ‘for sale’ sign goes up. #conveyancing #property

"With more complex cases, as people are shopping around for rates, the time it takes for [valuers] to get instructions from the quotation state has probably drifted on a little bit longer," says Jamie Chamberlain from Anderson Wilde & Harris. Are valuation firms truly at fault for the increase in average completion times for specialist finance deals, as many experts in the industry are claiming? Are there any specific factors causing delays in providing valuation reports? How is professional indemnity insurance affecting valuers, and does this contribute to any potential delays? We answer these burning questions and more in the latest issue of the B&C Magazine, with the help of James Perris BSc MRICS from De Villiers Surveyors, James Gillam from Pure Panel Management, Tony Bunting from London's Surveyors and Valuers Ltd, Colin Horton from Hortons Group, Jamie Chamberlain from Anderson Wilde & Harris, and Sean Mansfield FRICS from Capital Value Surveyors Limited. Read the full feature in The Commercial Horizons Issue: https://lnkd.in/ejiBgMWM

Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, CA – The Changing Horizon of CA Impact Fees? Unlike many other states in which we provide impact fee consulting services for the private sector and local building industry associations, the CA impact fee enabling legislation (AB 1600) has, in my opinion, led to the constant overcharging of new growth with excessive costs that are not adequately supported by typical industry standards and case law related to such matters. This all may be changing as of January 2024, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Sheetz v. County of El Dorado California case; in which a landowner filed suit against El Dorado County after paying a $23,420 Traffic Impact Fee (“TIF”) stating that the TIF violates the US Supreme Court’s holdings in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission, Dolan v. City of Tigard, and Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Mgmt. District. These cases required an “essential nexus” existing between the condition and the “legitimate public purpose” and that a monetary exaction must satisfy the “essential nexus” and “rough proportionality” tests. A decision is expected in June and its outcome could dramatically influence the impact fees California jurisdictions charge. Carter Froelich, CPA is the Managing Principal of Launch Development Finance Advisors and is the author of the National Association of Home Builder’s Impact Fee Handbook. For more information contact, reach out at [email protected]. #californialaw #californiarealestate #finance

Justice will be swift: Alberta’s new streamlined trial process As of January 1, 2024, a new streamlined trial procedure for civil and family matters will come into effect. This new “streamlined trial” format has the potential to resolve actions more quickly than the existing, seldom-used summary trial procedure. In order to qualify for a streamlined trial, the Court must be satisfied that the following criteria are met: -the streamlined trial is necessary for the purpose of fairly and justly resolving the action; and, -the streamlined trial is proportionate to the importance and complexity of the issues, the amounts involved, and the resources that can reasonably be allocated to resolving the dispute. https://ow.ly/ezEA50QhVQE #groupbenefits #employeebenefits #consulting #leadership #communication #culture #compensation #wellness #employeeengagement #cgib #productivity #roi

Last week, we announced the latest round of awards from the Affordable Housing Leverage Fund (AHLF). $11.2MM to 12 projects delivering 357 units of affordable housing to Cincinnati residents. We’re proud of the results and – because it matters to those results – the process we used to get there. A little on both, then. This is all possible because the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, in their genuine wisdom, committed to investing in CDF together. This allowed us to consider a much larger pool of projects and advance multiple strategic priorities at once: -           Leveraging state funding: aligning our timing with multiple state funding cycles allowed CDF to boost the chances of Cincinnati-area projects for highly competitive state funds; -           Targeting affordability in “hot” neighborhoods: specifically encouraging affordability in areas seeing lots of investment delivered projects in OTR, Walnut Hills, Northside, and Evanston; -           Building developer capacity: continuing to support the growth of smaller developers to expand the region’s capacity to build, and affordably. This round of awards brings the total AHLF investment since late 2022 to $51 million in grants and loans to 44 projects delivering 1448 units (1357 income-restricted, 85% at 60% AMI or less). Work that responded to a loud community demand for affordability. And with an active pipeline of 19 projects (1055 units) seeking AHLF funding, that work continues.

In Spring 2023, the RMA contracted Brownlee LLP to develop a technical report on select quasi-judicial agencies in Alberta, with a focus on how and to what extent municipalities are involved in their processes. The Brownlee report is intended to accompany the findings of the RMA Member Committee on Quasi-judicial Agencies (QJAC). The reports were completed separately and provide different perspectives on the same issue. https://vist.ly/k4zz

Matthew Barclay, Partner in the Agricultural and Rural team, features in today's The Press and Journal, with a reminder to act before the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land comes into effect on April 1. If the RCI affects you or your business, or you believe yourself to be a Recorded Person or Associate, speak to us for advice on whether an RCI disclosure requires to be made. #RCI #RuralBusiness #LandLaw #LandManagement

Opposite ends of England, but some striking similarities. What can we learn from the recent, damning experiences of Croydon and the Tees Valley when it comes to public institutions entering into partnerships with the private sector?   In both cases there were understandable reasons for the partnership: to redevelop a former steelworks and to accelerate much-needed housebuilding. Yet in both cases local communities ended up being exposed to risk and harm thanks to weaknesses in governance and commercial practice.   So what lessons can we learn? Writing for The Future Governance Forum (FGF) blog, my colleagues Hamida Ali and Claire Spencer set out the importance of letting the sunlight in, of getting the basics right, of making sure everyone genuinely understands the arrangement they’re entering into, and of ensuring that we don’t end up socialising all the risk and privatising all the reward. Read more, including where we go next with what we’ve learned, here: https://lnkd.in/g8PP7bSi

Looking at our half year performance our Chief Executive, Giles Thorley, explains how we’re here to make a difference for Welsh businesses. In a year of continued uncertainty, increased costs, delays and competition for skills, we've already helped over 200 businesses, big and small. Read the full story, and see what Giles has to say, here: https://ow.ly/VEng50QifYW #DevBankHelped Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government . Busnes Cymru / Business Wales . Business News Wales

Napier Port has delivered a strong half-year earning result. Napier Port CEO Todd Dawson says a strong port is important to the region’s economic prosperity. “When the region does well, Napier Port does well and vice versa. That’s why it’s pleasing to deliver strong earnings recovery in the first half of our financial year.” Read the full article https://bit.ly/46h1tJ7 #GreatThingsGrowHere