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A new development corporation established by the Mayor of London to support the transformation and pedestrianisation of Oxford Street took affect from 1 January 2026.  With the MDC expected to be given planning powers, in this Insight we discuss the likely practical and technical planning and highways impacts of this change.

As the Courts re-open, practitioners and clients alike need to consider the impact of new Practice Direction 51ZH which came into effect in the Commercial Court and Financial List of the Business & Property Courts on 1 January 2026. Known as the “Access to Public Documents Pilot”, the new rules aim to build on the principle of open justice to give easier access to Court documents that enter the public domain as a result of the pre-existing principles of open justice applicable to documents relied on at open hearings. It will sit on top of existing Court filing procedures to bolster the public facing Court files, changing the default position from one where, currently, non-parties must apply for public documents, to one where such documents are openly provided to the public through the public Court file.We consider here the new rules which the Pilot introduces and its likely impact.