Planning (UK) articles from April 2005

Planning (UK) archives from April 2005

Agenda - Diary to 15 April.(construction industry conferences)(Calendar)
April 1, 2005... 5 April: Building Bridges. Organiser: Royal Institute of British Architects. Venue: London. Fee: pounds 8. Details: (tel) 020 7580 5533. 6 April: The Natural Health Service. Organiser: Green Space. Venue: Sheffield. Fee: pounds 125-pounds...

Tories clarify aviation fuel tax policy.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... To tax or not to tax? Green groups reacted with surprise but pleasure to reports that shadow transport secretary Tim Yeo would enter promptly into discussions on how Europe could make progress towards an aviation fuel tax should the...

Airline boss secures government job.(Rod Eddington appointed as special adviser to the Labour government)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... One transport guru certainly knows which way the wind is blowing. Rod Eddington, who is due to step down from his post as British Airways chief executive later this year, has secured a role as a special adviser to the Labour government. ...

Believers set for a holy roller coaster.(Christian theme park)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Christian theme park developed by the pious Flanders family in The Simpsons, the nation's favourite cartoon satire, ultimately failed to demonstrate its commercial credentials. But that experience has not deterred a West Yorkshire-based...

Appointment at Lovells.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Debby Tomlinson has been appointed as a training co-ordinator by affordable housing provider Lovells. She joins from the London Borough of Barnet, where she was recruitment co-ordinator.

Appointment at ADAS.(Keith Rowe appointed at ADAS Consulting Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Keith Rowe has been appointed sector head for government and related markets at rural policy adviser ADAS. He will also act as project director for major projects including the Ormskirk bypass. Rowe was previously project director for the...

Handley leaves Cherwell District Council.(Grahame Handley)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Grahame Handley has announced his retirement from Cherwell District Council, where he has been chief executive for around 14 years. Handley will leave in six months' time. Before joining Cherwell, he was assistant chief executive at Berkshire...

Appointment at Urban Initiatives.(Jonathan Tricker appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Jonathan Tricker has been promoted to associate by Urban Initiatives. He has particular expertise in transport assessments and access design.

Appointment at CSJ Brooke Smith.(Tammy Stokes appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Tammy Stokes has been recruited by CSJ Brooke Smith as a senior planner. She joins from Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, where she was a senior development control officer. Stokes previously worked in the private sector.

Appointment at White Young Green.(Iain Macbeth appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Iain Macbeth has been appointed as an associate by White Young Green in Leicester to develop travel plans across the East Midlands. He joins from Faber Maunsell and has also developed travel plans for Boots. Macbeth is a director of the...

Appointment at Sheffield City Council.(Simon Ogden appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Simon Ogden has been made head of Sheffield City Council's city development division, where he was previously major projects manager. Ogden takes over from Ron Rees, who will manage the New Retail Quarter project.

Appointment at ECOTEC Research and Consulting.(John Bell appointed )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... John Bell has been appointed chairman by ECOTEC Research and Consulting. He was previously director of social policy.

Appointment at Baker Associates.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Sharon Jefferies has has been recruited by Baker Associates in Bristol as an assistant planning consultant. Jefferies moves from the national planning team at the Environment Agency.

Appointment at Redrow Homes.(David Morgan appointed)
April 1, 2005... David Morgan has joined Redrow Homes in Scotland as senior land manager. He moves from the Kilmartin Property Group. Claire Semple has joined Redrow as senior land negotiator.

Appointment at Eddisons.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Carl Copestake has been appointed as associate director of planning at commercial property agency Eddisons. He joins from John Rose Associates.

Appointment at Empty Homes Agency.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... David Ireland has been appointed local government adviser at the Empty Homes Agency. He was previously private sector housing services manager at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

Appointment at David Storrie Associates.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... David Storrie has returned to the UK from New Zealand to set up his practice, David Storrie Associates, in West Yorkshire.

International network.
April 1, 2005... The RTPI's international development network is now up and running, and is growing week by week, maintains Judith Eversley. The international development network (IDN) now has more than 90 members, has produced electronic bulletins and held...

RTPI Bulletin Board.(conference of Royal Town Planning Institute)
April 1, 2005... ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The institute's annual general meeting will take place in London on 13 July. Members wishing to give notice of a motion to be placed on the agenda should do so in writing not later than 29 April. Notices should be...

Young planners host successful careers talk.
April 1, 2005... Public sector work is an invaluable experience in the early stages of your career. Ashley Baldwin and Shereen Shafi report. The talk, given to the West Midlands young planners group at the University of Birmingham, was designed to give...

Bulletin Board.
April 1, 2005... NEW PANEL MEMBERS Thanks to those of you who applied to join the young planners panel. We are delighted to announce that a number of members have recently been appointed. Look out for details of the members and their interests in the...

Plans to modernise section 106 agreements: a partial solution.
April 1, 2005... We have to wait for the chancellor's planning gain supplement proposals before the full picture emerges, says the RTPI. The revised draft circular on planning obligations follows the deliberations of the advisory group, chaired by minister...

Casebook: Development Control Casebook Forum.
April 1, 2005... E-mail your queries, or your replies to earlier queries, to casebook@haynet.com. Alternatively, post them to Development Control Casebook Forum, Development Control Services Ltd, Suite 1, Fullers Court, 40 Lower Quay Street, Gloucester GL1...

Casebook: Development Control Casebook - Store allowed despite doubt over local retailing hierarchy.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The deputy prime minister has granted permission for a Tesco superstore as part of a mixed-use development on the edge of a West Yorkshire town centre after concluding that a quantitative and qualitative need had been proven. The scheme...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Access problem scuppers boat building at farm.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Proposals for a joiner's store and change of use of buildings at a farm in Cheshire to allow the construction of canal boats have been rejected after an inspector agreed that the access arrangements were unsatisfactory. The appellant...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Classic car store supported in furniture depot.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The change of use of a furniture removal depot to classic car storage at a site on Merseyside has been supported by an inspector who decided that it would not be incompatible with the residential character of the area. However, he refused to...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Community Facilities - Christian school accepted in converted house.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... An enforcement notice directed against the use of a house in Surrey as a school has been quashed after an inspector decided that it did not harm the character and appearance of the area or undermine highway safety. The appeal site was...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Energy Development - Wind turbines ruled out by impact on residents.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A reporter has rejected a wind farm proposed by CRE Energy near the Dounreay nuclear establishment on the north coast of Scotland, concluding that the turbines would unacceptably harm the outlook of local residents. The proposal was for...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Gypsies and Travellers - Gypsy need outweighs employment zoning.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Temporary planning permission has been secured to retain five residential chalets occupied by Gypsies on an employment site in the West Midlands after an inspector decided that the need for more sites outweighed conflict with development plan...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Major weapons site held suitable for housing.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The deputy prime minister is minded to approve plans for homes on a weapons research site operated by BAE Systems in the Middlesex green belt subject to further consultation on a proposed condition limiting the extent of the area that can be...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Green belt housing scheme fails policy tests.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The deputy prime minister has rejected an inspector's recommendation to grant planning approval for four houses at a scrapyard in the West Midlands green belt. The application proposed to demolish all the existing buildings and erect four...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Unsuitable location blocks club finance boost.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The deputy prime minister has accepted a call-in inquiry inspector's recommendation to refuse permission for three pairs of semi-detached houses on land adjoining a Derbyshire rugby football club's ground because it would involve development in...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Large plots blocked in protected woodland.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A clutch of 15 appeals involving proposals for homes on various woodland plots in the grounds of a 19th century mansion in northern Scotland has been rejected by a reporter who held that they would create a suburban scene that would harm the...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Homes allowed despite open space allocation.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... An inspector has supported residential development following infilling of a former chalk quarry in Kent in the face of an adopted local plan policy that proposed to use the land for public open space. The site, last worked in the 1920s, lay...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Householder Development - Substantial completion claim fails to convince.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... An inspector has upheld an enforcement notice requiring the demolition of a single-storey rear extension at a house in north London, complaining that the appellant's evidence appeared inconsistent and unsubstantiated. The appellant argued...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Householder Development - Pigeon loft held compatible with local amenity.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... An inspector has granted retrospective permission for the retention of a pigeon loft in West Yorkshire, concluding that the birds did not have a harmful impact on the living conditions of local residents. Neighbours expressed concern over...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and Entertainment - Games complex ruled out by character impact.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The deputy prime minister has decided that an extension to a fun farm and games complex in the Lincolnshire countryside was unacceptable because it involved an unsustainable form of development. Against the advice of its planning officers,...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and Entertainment - Casino in pub judged consistent with amenity.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The change of use of a building in a Merseyside shopping centre originally designed as a cinema, and last used as pub, to a casino has been authorised by an inspector who held that it would not adversely affect residents' amenity. The...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and Entertainment - Hostel sheeting fails national park design test.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A reporter has sided with two appellants and rejected a request by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority requiring that metal sheeting should be used to clad a 28-bedroom hostel at a camping and caravan site. In granting...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and Entertainment - Vitality objection overruled as venue allowed.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The change of use of a grade C listed building in the centre of Aberdeen to an entertainment venue with a capacity of almost 600 has been allowed after a reporter decided that council concerns were not well founded. The ground floor of the...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Listed Buildings - Retrospective consent refused for lodge works.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The deputy prime minister has refused retrospective listed building consent for works to a grade II* listed lodge associated with a castle in Kent, concluding that there was no historic justification for the painted finish. The property...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Minerals Development - Roadstone plant allowed despite traffic alarm.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Tarmac Central Ltd has secured permission to build a coated roadstone plant in Cheshire after an inspector held that it would not give rise to unacceptable traffic. The company claimed that it had a clear commercial need for a new plant....

Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed Use Development - Filling station deemed beneficial to street scene.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The redevelopment of a disused petrol filling station in Lancashire has been allowed after an inspector decided that it would enhance the character of the street scene. He also determined that it would not adversely affect the amenity of...

Casebook: Court cases - Council right of possession held overriding.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Court of Appeal has ruled that Leeds City Council's 'absolute right' to take possession of its own land overrides the human rights of a group of travellers that has illegally occupied playing fields in the city. The case centred on...

Casebook: Court cases - Nursery expansion judged harmful to amenity.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The High Court has rejected a claim by the owners of a children's day nursery in Leicestershire that an inspector failed to give adequate reasons for rejecting a proposal to expand the business. The scheme involved increasing the number of...

Casebook: Ombudsman cases - Remedy proposed by council found acceptable.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The local government ombudsman has criticised West Devon District Council over its handling of an application for a mixed retail and residential scheme, concluding that a committee report was deficient in its assessment of the potential impact...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Food and Drink Uses - Barge coffee shop refused in conservation area.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The mooring of a barge for use as a coffee shop and external seating area on the Thames riverside in central London has been refused after an inspector weighed its likely impact on the character of the conservation area in which it was...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - School scheme ruled harmful to public realm.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Bellway Homes has been refused permission to redevelop a former school in Buckinghamshire despite the local authority's agreement that residential use was acceptable in principle. The 47 flats were proposed in two blocks on a triangular...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed Use Development - Mixed use praised for high quality of design.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... An inspector has allowed two appeals for residential and commercial development in north-west London after concluding that the council's design criticisms were not well founded. The inspector found that existing buildings on the appeal site...

Casebook: Downloading decisions.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Decision letters for all cases with a DCS reference number can be immediately downloaded from the DCS website for pounds 12 + VAT per case. Readers without a free entry code can apply through the site. The site may also be used to browse for...

Casebook: Retail Development - Inspector overruled on store developments.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The deputy prime minister has set out his provisional conclusions on a called-in application and two appeals promoted by Chartwell Land Development Ltd and Norcros Estates Ltd for non-food retail developments in north Staffordshire. Three...

Planners key to restoration.(tsunami)
April 1, 2005... There is an urgent need for a strategic approach to reconstruction in the countries devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami, explains Cliff Hague. I stand by the ruins of a house on the road south from Colombo. Here, on 26 December last...

Waterway benefits realised.
April 1, 2005... Canal restoration seems to have proved its worth to planners but funding is still an uphill struggle, Bryan Johnston reports. Over the past ten years or so the UK has been in the grip of the biggest wave of waterway restoration and...

Renewal tool grows in worth.
April 1, 2005... Waterfront regeneration is soaring after the success of numerous projects that have secured key benefits, suggests Tom de Castella. From Edinburgh to London and Cardiff to Newcastle, waterfront developments are booming throughout the UK....

Local policy director.(Biography)
April 1, 2005... Despite his involvement in London-wide policy-making, Tony Arbour is most proud of his achievements on his own home patch of the capital, writes Susanna Gillman. Tony Arbour has lived in south-west London virtually all his life. So it...

Flood message fails to reach all corners.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... There is something slightly peculiar about the latest planning guidance on development in flood risk areas. Its headline requirement for major applications approved by local authorities to be referred to the secretary of state is a case in...

Fyson on... the government's latest guidelines for urban quality.
April 1, 2005... The government has moved to give expression to its 'cleaner, safer, greener' mantra by launching a pounds 5 million support programme to help improve the quality of town centres, neighbourhoods and parks. Introduced by the oddly-titled...

Legislation loses sight of crucial rural interest.
April 1, 2005... Legislative plans for the countryside fail to cater to the needs of communities, says James Derounian. The government has published its draft Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill. It brings in proposals to respond to and...

Bell on... how green space can boost quality of urban lifestyle.
April 1, 2005... To Truro, for a meeting of the Town and Country Planning Association's (TCPA) commission for England's future. Some commissions never venture outside the M25 but the TCPA practices what it preaches, going out to listen to people on their home...

Planners pivotal to strategy.
April 1, 2005... Revised government sustainability policy needs planners' help to make it a success, says Simon Marsh. Prime minister Tony Blair personally launched Securing the Future, the government's revised strategy for sustainable development, last...

Park searches for housing crisis fix.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Ministers may be asked to introduce regulations that would require planning permission to be obtained for second homes. It is one of many measures being considered by the Cairngorms National Park Authority in a bid to ease the area's...

Ministers strive to revitalise crofting.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Draft legislation has been published aimed at revitalising Scotland's crofting communities. Proposals include enabling tenants to waive their traditional right to buy at 15 times the annual rent in an attempt to persuade landowners to...

Land outlined for travellers' site in capital.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Scotland's first official short-stay site for travellers is set to be established on industrial land on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The city council is to seek outline approval for the development close to the M9 at Newbridge after being...

EDCO Design to provide services.(EDCO Design Ltd)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... EDCO Design Ltd is to provide site planning and detailed design services for a proposed residential development along the River Irwell on the Salford-Manchester boundary. The scheme would link Salford's Chapel Street and Manchester's prime...

PMP to examine feasibility.(Lewes District Council)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The feasibility of a potential extension of fitness facilities and other improvements at Lewes Leisure Centre will be examined by PMP for Lewes District Council. The firm will explore demand for the facilities, produce projections of likely...

pps TerraQuest to supply access.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Electronic access to the planning and building control archive at South Oxfordshire District Council is to be supplied by pps TerraQuest. The contract involves preparing archive case files and extracting key documents to be scanned and indexed....

Gleeds to advise.(redeveloping Nottingham railway station)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Cost and feasibility advice for redeveloping Nottingham railway station is to be carried out by Gleeds for Nottingham City Council. The project aims to create a transport hub to link up with the city's tram system and includes platform and...

JMP Consulting to assess.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Accessibility to jobs and key services across Flintshire is to be assessed by JMP Consulting for Flintshire County Council. The barriers facing people in the county will be identified to enable the firm to prepare a detailed strategy and action...

Temple Group wins Award.(Network Rail Environmental Award)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Environmental consultancy Temple Group has won the Network Rail Environmental Award for best strategic working practice. The accolade was received for the firm's sustainability appraisal for Thameslink 2000, which allowed the comparison of...

SRA to commission phase.(Strategic Rail Authority)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is to commission the first phase of a study into future uses for Waterloo International station and the Eurostar train servicing depot at North Pole, west London. The facilities will be released after...

RPS Transport to expand service.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... RPS Transport is to expand its service in the Midlands alongside its planning team and design division based in Birmingham. The expansion builds on services in Newbury, Manchester, London, Leeds, Cardiff and Bristol. Graeme Roberts will head up...

David Lock to investigate.(David Lock Associates)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... David Lock Associates is to investigate the contributions that masterplanning can make towards promoting all forms of sport. The first stage of the commission for Sport England involves reviewing current design guidance and practice to find...

Commission reviews council services.(Audit Commission)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Audit Commission has given a 'fair' verdict on planning services at Gedling Borough Council and Uttlesford District Council. A Best Value inspection team gave Gedling's service one star out of a possible three because it judged that it...

Flooding policy revision threatens local control.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Development proposals in flood risk areas could be decided by central government if local authorities approve schemes against Environment Agency advice, it emerged last week. Planning minister Keith Hill said that PPG25 on development and...

Watchdog demands Clapham Park vow.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Stakeholders must demonstrate a lasting commitment to a pounds 450 million south London regeneration scheme if they are to provide lasting neighbourhood infrastructure, the government's architecture watchdog warned this week. In a project...

ODPM extends funds to beat housing crisis.(Office of the Deputy Prime Minister )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A funding package for areas outside the nine pathfinders suffering from housing abandonment and low demand was unveiled by the government last week. The Tees Valley, west Cumbria and West Yorkshire will be the chief beneficiaries of pounds...

Councils earn recognition in beacon award.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Awards were given to 48 local authorities judged to have been delivering excellent public services in the latest round of beacon council determinations announced last week. The awards were made in ten themes including affordable housing,...

Report urges road pricing evaluation.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The government should urgently evaluate the costs of a national road charging system to spur its introduction within the next decade, MPs have urged. In a report published last week, the Commons transport select committee said the...

Motorway approval takes activists' rap.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Ministers have shown 'utter disregard' for planning procedures, according to green groups battling against the decision to press ahead with an extension of the M74 in Glasgow. Scottish transport minister Nicol Stephen announced the go-ahead...

Welsh funding aims to enrich local services.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Funds totalling pounds 2 million were pledged to improve planning services by the Welsh Assembly Government last week. Environment, planning and countryside minister Carwyn Jones announced that local authorities across the country will each...

Bristol Waterside Arena selected.(Bristol Waterside Arena Ltd )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Bristol Waterside Arena Ltd has been selected by the South West of England Regional Development Agency as its preferred partner to build and run the Bristol Arena venue. The firm is a consortium of four companies including Orion Land and...

Relaxed curfews could save.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Retailers could save around pounds 30 million a year if delivery curfews are relaxed, according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium. The study, published this week, found that 32 per cent of shopping outlets are affected by curfews,...

Hartlepool urges people to have say.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Hartlepool Borough Council is urging local people to have their say on latest proposals for dismantling former US naval ships at Graythorp Yard. The plans, submitted by boat recycling company Able UK, cover the use of the site for ship repair,...

Former refinery site application submitted.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... An outline application to develop a former oil refinery site at Llandarcy in south Wales into an urban village was submitted to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council last week. The application is to develop a mixed community at the 250ha...