Planning (UK) articles from August 2003

Planning (UK) archives from August 2003

MPs plead for tighter public space powers.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Local authorities should be given a statutory duty of care for public spaces, a Commons select committee report said this week. The ODPM committee report on the government's Living Places programme, published this week, says the quality of...

Growth areas see cash share detail.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Growth in the Thames Gateway is to focus initially on five key areas at a cost of more than pounds 1 billion to the public purse, the government revealed this week. More than 120,000 homes will be built in east London, the...

Engineers set to build tilting London bridge.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A six-month search for a firm to design a bridge for the Leamouth Peninsula in east London ended this week with the appointment of engineers Whitbybird. The judging panel, including architects Piers Gough and Lord Rogers, chose...

Council backs seafront vision for Hove.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Canadian architect Frank Gehry, the man behind the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, has been chosen as part of a preferred development consortium for the redevelopment of an ageing sports centre on Hove seafront. Councillors at Brighton and...

Tourism sector shows signs of recovery.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... UK tourism is enjoying a renaissance, with rural destinations and museums the greatest beneficiaries, according to figures published this week. The recovery from the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis is continuing, with farm visits up 50 per cent...

Housing gap scheme in pipeline for end of year.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A viable replacement for gap funding, axed by the European Commission more than three years ago for breaching EU state aid rules, should be up and running by the end of the year. English Partnerships last week unveiled the final stage of...

Cash boost aims to improve bad parks.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Radical projects to transform parks and public spaces will get millions of pounds of funding from a scheme announced by regeneration minister Yvette Cooper this week. Under the initiative, pounds 89 million will be split between 27...

Londonderry unveils urban renewal drive.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Plans to revitalise the city of Londonderry were boosted this week with the launch of Northern Ireland's first urban regeneration company. The Ilex Urban Regeneration Company has been set up to deliver the social and economic improvements...

Hill earmarks money to help spatial plans.(Planning minister Keith Hill )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Fourteen projects tackling a range of spatial problems are to get a pounds 1.7 million boost, the ODPM announced this week. The money has been awarded to help INTERREG IIIB projects, in which UK authorities work with other European...

Grimsby Docks subject of exercise.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The future of Grimsby Docks was the subject of a consultation exercise with local residents held last week. The event, led by consultants Urban Initiatives and Kevin Murray Associates, aimed to allow local people to voice their opinions....

MPs blast 'wrong' air traffic figures.
August 1, 2003... The Department for Transport (DfT) has got its assumptions and objectives for the airports growth consultation completely wrong, according to a report by a group of MPs. The venomous Commons environmental audit committee report, published...

Research points to link in appeal rates.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The proportion of successful planning appeals on food store proposals has increased as the total number of appeals and call-ins has fallen, according to research published by consultancy Drivers Jonas this week. The research examines...

Sheffield says no to store on club's ground.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... An application to build a supermarket on Sheffield Wednesday Football Club's training ground was rejected by city councillors this week. Sheffield City Council's north and west planning and highways board decided that the scheme is...

NEWS BRIEF: Decision due on Olympics masterplan.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A decision was due to be made on which practice would win the commission to draw up a masterplan for London's Olympics bid as Planning went to press. Six bidders were being interviewed this week by the London Development Agency on the plan,...

NEWS BRIEF: Obituary - Tony Fitzpatrick.(Obituary)
August 1, 2003... Tony Fitzpatrick, group board director at Arup and chairman of the company's Americas division, died in a road accident last week. A fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institution of Civil Engineers, he was awarded an honorary...

NEWS BRIEF: Insignia Financial and CBRE complete merger.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Insignia Financial Group and CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) have completed their merger after a vote by Insignia shareholders in New York. CBRE senior planning director Stuart Robinson said: 'Our planning and development team has been strengthened by...

NEWS BRIEF: Bracknell Forest Council review starts.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A review of Bracknell Forest Borough Council's local plan started this week with the launch of consultation on an issues paper and spatial strategy. The review, which will extend the plan to 2016, will focus on developing sustainable...

NEWS BRIEF: Fines fail to stop business crime.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Higher fines and more prosecutions are failing to stop multi-million-pound businesses from committing environmental crimes, according to the Environment Agency. In its annual spotlight on business environmental performance, published this week,...

NEWS BRIEF: Funding package for advice demand announced.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A pounds 50,000 funding package to help meet increased demand for independent advice about the planning process was announced this week by the Scottish Executive. The money will help Planning Aid for Scotland extend its services to communities...

NEWS BRIEF: Surrey Council leader re-elected.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Surrey County Council leader Nick Skellett was re-elected chairman of the South East England Regional Assembly at its annual general meeting held last week in Reading. In a two-way contest with Milton Keynes Council member Cec Tallack, Skellett...

NEWS BRIEF: Restricting growth misguided says TCPA.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Restricting economic and physical growth in the South East in order to help less prosperous regions is misguided, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) said this week. Responding to the ODPM's robust dismissal of a select committee...

Code suggests best way to site masts.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Greater community involvement in decisions on siting masts for mobile phones is recommended as part of new guidelines for telecommunications development in Wales, published last week. The Welsh Assembly Government, together with the Mobile...

Hambleton council wins high praise for services.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Best Value inspectors have heaped praise on the planning services department at Hambleton District Council in North Yorkshire. In a report published last week, the team of inspectors awarded the council two out of three stars for keeping...

Experts to examine Dublin tunnel fiasco.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Irish government is appointing transport experts to look at what to do about the 52,000 trucks a year that will be too big to use the Dublin Port Tunnel that is being built at a cost of EUR625 million. The tunnel, which is due to open...

MPs condemn energy paper as 'vacuous'.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The energy white paper is a 'vacuous' document, a committee of backbench MPs complained last week. The Commons environmental audit committee criticises the white paper, published earlier this year, (Planning, 28 February, p1) for being...

Rural agency aims to renew market towns.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Nine towns have been chosen to become examples of market town regeneration as part of the Countryside Agency's Beacon Towns Initiative. The initiative includes projects to help each town tackle specific challenges, such as providing access...

REGENERATION NEWS: Yorkshire to tackle housing.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A strategy to meet housing needs and tackle abandonment in the Yorkshire and Humber region was published last week. The strategy, drawn up by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Housing Board, provides direction for regional partners on...

REGENERATION NEWS: Liverpool reveals safer city design.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Pedestrian-friendly streets, safe housing developments and easy access to public transport are being promoted in a design guide for Liverpool published by the city council last week. The 60-page guide is intended to support the council's...

REGENERATION NEWS: South West backs skills plan.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A draft plan for improving the training resources available to people involved in regenerating the South West of England was launched last week. The plan has been developed by the UK's first regional centre of excellence for regeneration,...

REGENERATION BRIEF: One North East searches for partnership.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Regional development agency One North East's search for a private sector firm with which to form a property partnership has been narrowed down to four organisations. Ashtenne Industrial Fund, Easter Group with Babcock and Brown, Legal and...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Waterfront scheme moves forward.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A scheme to regenerate Wakefield's waterfront with an art gallery and exhibition centre moved forward last week with the agreement of a major funding package. Wakefield City Council gave its full backing to the scheme and approved funding of...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Sheffield One executive to stand down.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Sheffield One chief executive Alison Nimmo is to stand down next month, having led the urban regeneration company since it was established in 1999. Bill Kirk will take over as acting chief executive at the end of this month. Peter Connolly will...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Housing performance must improve.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Housing associations must improve performance or they will fail communities, according to the National Housing Federation (NHF). At a conference in London for housing association bosses last week, NHF chief executive Jim Coulter warned of the...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Aston programme makes good progress.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A revamped regeneration programme for Aston in Birmingham is making good progress, according to a report due to be presented to the city council this week. The report follows a decision earlier this year to relaunch the pounds 54 million Aston...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Homes in first phase for sale.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Homes in the first phases of a housing scheme at Glasgow Harbour were released for sale this week. The 651 homes are part of a pounds 500 million regeneration scheme that will create shopping, leisure and commercial districts along the Clyde...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Vaux brewery site plans supported.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Plans to redevelop the Vaux brewery site in Sunderland have received overwhelming support from the community. A month-long consultation exercise on proposals for the pounds 280 million scheme by Sunderland Arc found that almost 90 per cent of...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Poll shows support for London road toll.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The majority of residents in areas of west London where congestion charging could be introduced are in favour of the scheme, according to a Greater London Assembly poll this week. Around 53 per cent of people questioned in the boroughs of...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Budget cuts raise fears for West Coast upgrade.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Fears have arisen that the long-delayed upgrade to the West Cost Main Line (WCML) is in jeopardy after the Office for the Rail Regulator ordered swingeing cuts to Network Rail's budget. Rail regulator Tom Winsor said last week that...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Uniform traffic fee for Europe sought.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Road tolls for freight vehicles should be harmonised across the EU, according to the European Commission. Aligning national systems of tolls and road use could give economic incentives to transport with pricing that better reflects the...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Steer Davies Gleave to analyse.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Humber Forum has appointed transport consultancy Steer Davies Gleave to analyse the economic impact of tolls on the Humber Bridge and consider reducing or scrapping them. The study is funded by the regional development agency Yorkshire...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Tories attack government's 'delay tactics'.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Multi-modal studies (MMSs) are just a stalling tactic for a government unwilling to make major transport decisions, the Conservative party claimed last week. Launching the opposition party's latest transport policy document, shadow...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Llewelyn Davies commissioned.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Llewelyn Davies has been commissioned by the East Lancashire Partnership to carry out a socio-economic study of the potential impact of the proposed East Lancashire Rapid Transit (ELRT) scheme. The study will consider the regeneration benefits...

BUSINESS BRIEF: DfT initiative.(Department for Transport)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... WSP's integrated transport group and Social Research Associates have been appointed to help ten local authorities in the North West under the Department for Transport's (DfT) pilot Dealing with Disadvantage initiative. The DfT wants a 50 per...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Carter Jonas appointed.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Consultancy Carter Jonas has been appointed by Buckinghamshire County Council to prepare a sustainability appraisal of the deposit draft structure plan. The appraisal will use assessment criteria developed at the structure plan options stage,...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Mono appointed by MOA.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Mono Consultants, formerly James Barr Consultants, has been appointed by the Mobile Operators Association (MOA) to track the progress of development plans across the UK. New planning applications will also be tracked to ensure that they comply...

BUSINESS BRIEF: John Lewis appoints Drivers Jonas.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The John Lewis Partnership has appointed the London-based planning team at Drivers Jonas to provide planning advice on part of its department store property portfolio. Drivers Jonas will carry out a planning audit, incorporating due diligence,...

BUSINESS BRIEF: RPS to develop O2 plan.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... RPS Group has been appointed to develop a company-wide travel plan for mobile phone operator O2. The plan will encourage staff, contractors and visitors to use alternative modes to single occupancy travel for journeys to and from work and...

BUSINESS BRIEF: MVA to carry out assessment.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... MVA has been appointed by architects Fielden Clegg Bradley to carry out a transport impact assessment for the planned Northampton Academy. The proposed development will accommodate 1,400 pupils on the site of a secondary and middle school. The...

BUSINESS BRIEF: King Sturge to lead review.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Property consultancy King Sturge has been appointed to lead an independent review on public sector relocation, led by Sir Michael Lyons, director of the Institute of Local Government Studies at the University of Birmingham. King Sturge will...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Leicester Regeneration Company moves.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Leicester Regeneration Company has moved offices in the city. The urban regeneration company is now based at Charles Street in Leicester city centre. It was previously in offices supplied by auditors KPMG.

SCOTTISH NEWS: Infirmary project provokes dissent.
August 1, 2003... Planning permission has been granted for a pounds 400 million housing and retail scheme at the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. The city centre Quartermile project attracted opposition from residents and conservationists, but planning...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Edinburgh's skating rink row steps up.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Scottish Executive may be asked to help remove legal barriers blocking the creation of a 'world-class' skate park in the Meadows area of Edinburgh. Opponents of the scheme claim a byelaw bans all building on the Meadows. But...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Park access leads to calls for caution.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Scotland's first national park is being urged to apply the precautionary principle to all controversial developments until its strategic plan is completed. The call comes after the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority...

ANALYSIS: Thumbs up for capital ideas.
August 1, 2003... The inquiry on the draft London Plan has left the strategy intact, writes Marino Donati It has been a good couple of weeks for London mayor Ken Livingstone. The government's announcement that it will take forward plans for Crossrail -...

Modern values versus tradition and prestige.
August 1, 2003... The silk kitemark for the top ten per cent of barristers could soon be abolished, writes Rosie Niven For most people who reach the top of a profession, being recognised by both colleagues and clients as the best in the field is sufficient...

TANNER ON... Delivering development plans.(Editorial)
August 1, 2003... There is a children's fantasy film entitled Never Ending Story and, as if to prove the point, a sequel called Never Ending Story II. I mention this as, copyright permitting, it would seem to be a more appropriate title for the Welsh Assembly...

OPINION: Fyson on... Thinking ahead on reforms to housing policy.
August 1, 2003... It is a measure of the significance attached by the government to the new consultations on planning for housing that, for once, a July announcement is to be followed by an extended response period to take account of the holiday break. It is...

EDITORIAL: European solutions do not always travel.(Editorial)
August 1, 2003... It was like another April Fool's Day last week: transport secretary Alastair Darling found himself being pilloried for not building enough roads, and the Conservatives said they wanted to copy Germany and France. If environmental groups...

INTERVIEW: Faculty for inclusion.
August 1, 2003... Chartered surveyors are maintaining communication with government officials in shaping improvements to national planning policy, John Cornish tells David Dewar John Cornish, new planning and development faculty chairman at the Royal...

Divisions that hinder waste management.
August 1, 2003... A lack of joined-up working is thwarting regional waste planning, report Simin Davoudi and Neil Evans A recent report from the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee points to a key obstacle in achieving sustainable waste...

Car checks fall by roadside.
August 1, 2003... With both main parties now espousing further road building, prospects for sustainable transport policy are looking bleak, writes Huw Morris Remember that great idea of integrating transport with land-use planning? Sadly its time has passed...

NOTEBOOK: Scotland's brave exchange.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A season of conferences around Europe, the USA and Canada highlights the contribution that Scotland has made to the international planning scene, writes Cliff Hague Monday Halifax, Nova Scotia, is part of the Scottish diaspora....

CASEBOOK: Edge-of-centre food store denied by sequential test.
August 1, 2003... A Co-op food store on the edge of Ilfracombe town centre has been refused planning permission because a full assessment of alternative sites within the centre had not been undertaken. Fairacre Developments Ltd proposed to demolish a four-storey...

CASEBOOK: Case officer's evidence judged to be unreliable.
August 1, 2003... The local government ombudsman has criticised Warrington Borough Council's handling of a planning application for a children's day nursery, concluding that the evidence of an unnamed case officer was unreliable. The town council and local...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Demolition of hotel rejected due to visual impact.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Dismissal of an appeal over a proposal to demolish a country hotel in Surrey to enable the construction of 24 flats has been upheld by the High Court, following a ruling that adequate reasons had been given by the inspector. Although the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - Need for dwelling outweighed by landscape impact.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A permanent dwelling to house a Hampshire fishery worker has been rejected on the grounds that its visual impact would be unacceptable in an area of special landscape quality, despite an agricultural justification having been proven. The...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - Wildlife pond held to pose risk of bird strikes.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A proposed wildlife conservation pond in Buckinghamshire has been rejected, with weight being given to Ministry of Defence objections based on concerns about the potential risk of bird strikes associated with aircraft using nearby RAF Halton....

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Commuter car parking held to encourage car use.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... An enforcement notice directed against a 100-space long-stay car park in east London has been upheld because it contravened unitary development plan policies seeking to restrict non-essential private journeys by car. The owners charged a...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Food and Drink Uses - Plastic windows felt to be glaringly out of place.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Enforcement action taken against replacement UPVC windows at a pub in a west Gloucestershire conservation area has been upheld on grounds of incongruity and devaluation of surrounding enhancement works. The inspector noted that the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Permanent residential use not proven on plot.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... An enforcement notice directed against the stationing of residential caravans on land in Kent has been upheld despite arguments that the land was part of a wider area of leisure plots dating back to the 1930s. The appellant claimed that...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - House allowed in green gap to replace bungalow.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A two-storey dwelling to replace a bungalow in a Berkshire green wedge has been accepted despite a 4m increase in height, with an inspector ruling that other factors supported a grant of permission. The existing bungalow had a floor area of...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Development cordon accepted at industrial site.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A condition imposed on a housing development in Leicestershire that sought to prevent houses being built within 30m of a general industrial mill building has been supported as being reasonable and fairly imposed. In granting outline...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Permanent dwelling for caravan site rejected.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A permanent dwelling to replace a site manager's mobile home in Cheshire has been refused planning permission on the grounds that it would be out of keeping with the surroundings and no special justification had been put forward for its...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion - Conversion of farm buildings rejected in green belt.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A proposal by Seddon Homes Ltd to convert farm buildings in Cheshire to residential use has been rejected as an inappropriate form of development in a green belt area. The proposed conversion included the rebuilding of a timber lean-to as well...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion - Failure to provide highway evidence criticised.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A proposal to convert barns near Preston into two residential units has been allowed, with costs being awarded against the local planning authority for failing to substantiate its highway objections. The inspector concluded that the local...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion - Barn access held to damage rural character.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A proposed residential conversion of a barn in the Cheshire green belt has been rejected even though it was acknowledged to be an appropriate form of development. The inspector felt that a long access track rendered the entire scheme...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Householder Development - Boundary wall condition judged unreasonable.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... An inspector has lifted a requirement for a front boundary wall and archway to be erected within one month at a house being built in Merseyside after judging that the condition was contrary to advice in Circular 11/95. The council had...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Householder Development - Side extension approved beyond building line.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... An extension to a property extending beyond the main building line of a Manchester street has been approved on the grounds that the general pattern of development in the area was discontinuous and the structure would therefore not be an...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Householder Development - Loss of employment site considered acceptable.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A proposal for 11 houses on an industrial site in a Gloucestershire town has been allowed on the basis that the state of the existing buildings made their reuse or redevelopment for employment purposes unlikely. The council claimed that as...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Householder Development - Dormers ruled to be harsh and out of keeping.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Front and rear dormers proposed at a semi-detached house in West Yorkshire have been rejected on the grounds that they would have a harsh and box-like appearance which would be out of keeping with the property due to their form, size and...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Leisure and Entertainment - Paintball games judged to have acquired immunity.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... An enforcement notice directed against the use of woodland (see page 19) in Surrey for paintball games has been quashed following a finding that immunity had been established by virtue of the ten-year rule. In 1991 a team of local boys...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Listed Buildings - Removal of bells from listed church blocked.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The removal of eight bells from a grade I listed church in south Wales used as a private residence has been denied listed building consent because they were considered to contribute to the history and importance of the building. The owners...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Listed Buildings - Intrinsic architectural value blocks barn demolition.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The demolition of two brick-built Nottinghamshire barns has been rejected even though they were only protected by reason of forming part of the setting of a grade II listed farmhouse. Both buildings were separated from the main farmhouse by...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Mixed Use Development - Minicab office considered to provide safe haven.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A proposal to use premises in south London as a booking office for minicabs and a shop has been allowed retrospectively in view of the security benefits it provided to the wider community. The inspector noted that the scheme was widely...