Town and Country Planning articles from July 2002

Town and Country Planning archives from July 2002

Sustainable food and farming. (Inside Stories).
July 1, 2002... The TCPA recently responded to the DEFRA consultation paper Sustainable Food and Farming: Working Together. The Association's response focused on questions posed by the paper which had implications for land use planning--but as a general point...

A magical solution? `A taxing question'. TCPA conference, London, 11 July 2002. (Inside Stories).
July 1, 2002... It's where the inner circle meet, secrets are shared, and only a select few are admitted. As a venue for the TCPA conference debating planning obligations and development taxation, the Magic Circle provided an air of mystery and mystique. ...

Director's diary.
July 1, 2002... With newly elected councillors taking their seats and finding their feet in many parts of the UK, staff at the TCPA office have been following up May's `Structure Plans: Dead or Alive' conference in London by devoting extra efforts to...

Sustainable housing--finance and European best practice. (Inside Stories).
July 1, 2002... `Financing Sustainable Design and Construction'. TCPA Sustainable Housing Forum Expert Seminar Three, London, 15 May 2002 `Sustainable Housing and Sustainable Construction: Lessons from Examples of Current Best Practice'. TCPA Sustainable...

Affordable housing: in April the Urban Affairs Sub-committee of the Transport, Local Government and the Regions Select Committee undertook an inquiry into affordable housing. Extracts from the memorandum to the minutes of evidence submitted by the TCPA are given below. (Inside Stories).
July 1, 2002... It is estimated that approximately 227,000 new homes per year will be needed over the next two decades. With the current figures languishing at around 140,000 it is unsurprising that house prices are rocketing along with the need for affordable...

Doing it quietly. (People & Ideas).
July 1, 2002... Britain has a handful of architects who, through the cult of personality, are globally known and globally employed. It isn't important that their works are successes or failures, because their insurance policies for risky jobs simply push up...

Winning people back. (Planning World).
July 1, 2002... As people came by the trainload into Manchester's Piccadilly station for the Commonwealth Games, inevitably their eyes would have gyrated to the right-hand side of the train, where the skyline is dominated by the city's new stadium. But they...

Development corporations on the horizon. (Off the Fence).
July 1, 2002... Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott made a lengthy statement to Parliament on 18 July. The majority of the text outlined his Department's response to the consultation on the Planning Green Paper. Contrary to rumour, the Government has listened...

Trolley rage. (Trading Places).
July 1, 2002... It might be useful, for a change, to look at shopping from the shopper's point of view--something that planners, civil servants, and politicians do not always seem to find necessary. The official expectation is still that food shopping can be...

Congestion charging needs time. (Getting Somewhere).
July 1, 2002... Road-pricing is currently gaining favour. A recent RAC report (1) has expressed support, and it is receiving renewed consideration in a number of the multi-modal studies. The first big test will be the introduction of congestion charging in...

New towns--just history, or an idea for today? (Consider this ...: the T&CP debate).
July 1, 2002... How do we best cope with urban growth? Do further new towns have a role to play in accommodating homes that cannot be absorbed within the current envelope, or should the new town idea be abandoned, leaving us to concentrate on masterplanned...

To Johannesburg with hope: ten years on from the Rio Earth Summit, the international community comes together at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September. Louise Ellman MP, and Environment Agency Chief Executive Baroness Young, look at the issues on which the Summit must focus if it is produce meaningful outcomes. (feature).
July 1, 2002... As we approach the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, it is time to reflect on what has been achieved since UNCED (the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) met at Rio 10 years ago. In a world now familiar with both positive...

No `plan B' for Ken: the draft `London Plan' lacks a sense of what kind of place London is, how its has developed, and what kind of problems this has produced. (feature).
July 1, 2002... The Mayor of London has published his draft `London Plan', which is now on public consultation until the end of October. Although London has had comprehensive strategic guidance in the past, this is the first democratically accountable plan...

A democratic future for the English regions: following the publication of the White Paper Your Region, Your Choice, Peter Roberts looks forward to a tier of governance able to join up and deliver policy relevant to regional needs. (feature).
July 1, 2002... Some 20 years after the publication of the landmark report which defined the Labour Party's approach to the devolution of central government powers and functions, (1) the White Paper Your Region, Your Choice, (1) published in May, has outlined...

The cost of going first: Coventry notched up a number of planning `firsts' in reconstructing itself after the Second World War. Fifty years on, Dennis Hardy visits the `classic Phoenix city' as it embarks on a new phase of development. (Hardy Country).
July 1, 2002... Coventry, the centre of England, on St George's Day; and a remarkably hot and sunny day at that. The city was at its best; but how good is that? The truth, as for any city, is that there are no simple answers; Coventry is not alone in offering...

Environmental planning--the need for fundamental change: the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's Environmental Planning report makes the case for a coherent environmental planning system to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
July 1, 2002... something that goes well beyond the present town and country planning system. Commission member Susan Owens outlines six key areas in which the Commission believes that urgent reform action should be taken. (feature) The Royal Commission...

Reading an LTP--as easy as ABC? Karl Hallam recently waded through all the local transport plans published to date--and found too many wanting. (Research Focus).
July 1, 2002... Some local transport plans (LTPs) and their annual progress reports make fascinating reading. Some are well written and tastefully designed. Some even make a sustainable integrated transport system seem just around a beautifully engineered...

Alternative crops--the future for agriculture? With British agriculture facing a crisis, and diversification high on the agenda, Lucy Nichol and Paul Burall look at the vast potential uses and markets for `alternative', non-food crops. (feature).
July 1, 2002... The crisis facing British agriculture is stark. Last year, net farm incomes fell to less than a third of the average five years ago; of agriculture's gross 6.4 billion [pounds sterling] added value, 2.5 billion [pounds sterling] was accounted...

Regeneration--a personal perspective. (Future Work).
July 1, 2002... Planning and regeneration professionals work hard at submitting bids, creating masterplans, and establishing organisations to deliver visions. Many are very successful, and the people in the areas concerned can see massive changes in their...

Scotland: fit for purpose? (North--& West--of Watford).
July 1, 2002... Mirroring other developments elsewhere in the UK, attention in Scotland has turned to the form of its future land use planning system. To this end, the Scottish Executive has embarked on a modernising agenda that is entirely consistent with the...

High speed rail for California? (Inside America).
July 1, 2002... With the state of California in the midst of a huge budget crisis, facing a deficit estimated at $22 billion, I recently noticed that the state budget includes an item of $7 million for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. It seems...

Eric Reade--an appreciation.
July 1, 2002... Eric Reade, who died in April on the Isle of Mull aged 70, made an inspiring and original contribution to the sociology of town planning. Although he was deeply pessimistic about the decline in public services and accompanying environmental...

Afghanistan, environmental pioneer?
July 1, 2002... Could Afghanistan be the pioneer of the localised utilities that many environmentalists see as a key to a sustainable future? The possibility has become real with news that the $15 billion World Bank/UN Development Programme plan to reconstruct...

Decision time for food. (Connections).
July 1, 2002... Going organic is seen by many as the future for food production. At the moment, only about 3 per cent of agricultural land is organic, but this is growing rapidly. But others see GM crops as the way forward, reducing the need for chemicals and...

Obstacle course for wind. (Connections).
July 1, 2002... The wind energy industry is calling for the lessons on renewable energy from the Scottish planning system to be applied in England and Wales. In capacity terms, less than 5 per cent of applications for wind turbines in Wales in the last...