The letter from Croydon’s lawyers, sent to the DCMS on Wednesday, claimed the Stanhope proposals were in direct conflict with the local planning authority’s policies for a mixed-use scheme. It will also examine the commercial interests of Cabe’s commissioners, a number of whom have financial interests in Stanhope.Wragge & Co, solicitors representing the London Borough of Croydon, have written to Tessa Jowell at the DCMS asking to contribute evidence to the review in relation to a development of the Croydon Gateway site.Stanhope submitted proposals for the development of the Croydon site with a largely office-based scheme. Sir Stuart Lipton, the chairman of the Commission for Architecture in the Built Environment (Cabe), was under mounting pressure last night after it emerged that lawyers representing one of London’s biggest boroughs are to present evidence to a government review of the powerful property quango. Economists believe the Chancellor has a strong chance of hitting his forecast of £37.5bn for this financial year after repaying £1.1bn in February..

Although sales volumes remained at the same level in February, the 1.9 per cent growth for December to February was the largest in any equivalent quarter since modern records began in 1986, the ONS said.”The April monetary policy committee meeting is almost too close to call,” said Alan Castle, UK economist at Lehman Brothers. The Council of Mortgage Lenders said £20.1bn was advanced during the month, the lowest since April 2003.Gordon Brown received a post-Budget boost yesterday when public borrowing figures proved to be better than expected. Analysts had expected a fall in February even before yesterday’s upward revision to January.Interest rate futures and gilts quickly fell as dealers bet strong consumer spending will encourage the Bank of England to raise rates next month – although almost all analysts said May was more likely.Arguments for a further delay came from figures that showed growth in mortgage lending slowed in February, dropping to its lowest level for almost a year. But he is willing to pay no more than £250,000 a year, while most major chairmen and chief executives earn more than £1m.

Most suitable candidate therefore will be expected to take a pay cut.
The job advertisement, published yesterday on the Treasury website, says the head of the new department will be a full-time executive chairman ranking at the same level as a civil service permanent secretary. Consumers embarked on their largest Christmas and new year spending spree in recent history, according to official figures yesterday that immediately triggered speculation of a rise in interest rates next month.
The Office for National Statistics said retail sales surged by 1.2 per cent in January, twice the gain it had first estimated last month and the largest rise for almost two years. Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, said yesterday he was hoping to attract “a leading captain of industry” to run the new, integrated Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise. This will fine those who do not disclose their schemes £5,000, and continued failure to disclose will attract a further penalty of £600 a day.Many accountants, however, think the system will be extremely burdensome to both businesses and the Revenue “The Revenue will be flooded with thousands of disclosures.

The Treasury described the meeting as “constructive”.The Chancellor has also revealed he is going to throw more money at tax investigations, to bring in an extra £1.7bn over the next three years.. Finding one that is unacceptable will be like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Richard Collier Keywood, of PwC, said.Mike Warburton, of Grant Thornton, also believes the Revenue, which is set to lose thousands of jobs, will not be able to cope with a disclosure system. A group of top accountants, banks and lawyers met with the Treasury yesterday to broker a truce on how to tackle tax avoidance, but experts are still concerned the Government’s measures are too broad.
The Government is determined to crack down on avoidance, which it says loses it £10bn a year as accountants become cleverer at devising schemes. A general anti-avoidance rule had been mooted, but this was met with fierce opposition from accountants.The Chancellor this week opted for a disclosure system that will require the details of any scheme that avoids tax to be given in advance to the Inland Revenue.Tax experts, from firms such as BDO Stoy Hayward, Grant Thornton and PricewaterhouseCoopers, were invited to the Treasury yesterday to discuss the system. Windows dominates the desktop, with more than 90 per cent market share, and the EU believes it is using that effective monopoly to muscle its way into the server market..