CrazyBroadsword.
That was, indeed, the CAA's positions several months ago and they did stop issuing rule five permissions for congested area landings for a time after SERA was introduced which, as you say, did remove the requirement.
They have now back peddled on this and rule five permissions ARE REQUIRED for congested area landings. Rules of The Air 2015 (March 2015) Section 2 para5(1).
