Planning (UK) articles from August 2007

Planning (UK) archives from August 2007

Planning in the media.
August 3, 2007... Channel 4's Dispatches looked at the UK's private house builders this week and concluded that, far from being the solution to the housing crisis, they are part of the problem. Presenter Andrew Gilligan interviewed residents of the Greenwich...

Appointment at the RBC Capital Markets.
August 3, 2007... Baroness Margaret Ford has been appointed managing director of the Global Infrastructure Group at RBC Capital Markets. She will take up the post in November on completion of her six-year term as chairwoman of English Partnerships

Appointment at Nabarro.
August 3, 2007... Wesley Fongenie has joined Nabarro as a planning partner. He was previously co-head of the planning practice at Osborne Clarke in London Joshua Risso-Gill has been promoted to a planning partner. He was previously a planning associate.

Appointment at Gleeson.
August 3, 2007... Mark Denyer, Stephen Sadler and Simon Bridgen have joined Gleeson as development directors. Denyer was previously assistant development director at Network Housing Group, Sadler growth areas project director at the South East England...

Appointment at the Basildon town centre regeneration project.
August 3, 2007... Ian Butt has been appointed as development project director for the Basildon town centre regeneration project. He was previously strategic development co-ordination manager at Basildon Renaissance

Appointment at BBLB Architects.
August 3, 2007... Mike Turner has been made a director at BBLB Architects in Redditch. He was previously an architectural technologist

Appointment at Lewis and Hickey Architects.
August 3, 2007... Iain Cameron has been made a senior associate and Laura Dickson and Maureen Loebel have moved up to associate level at Lewis and Hickey Architects in Edinburgh. Paulo DeOliveira has been promoted to senior associate at the Guildford office...

Diary.
August 3, 2007... It is not often you arrive at work to hear that your business could be about to benefit from millions of pounds of government funding out of the blue. But that is what happened to Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway director Barry Cogar...

Handbook helps make issue of acoustics more accessible.
August 3, 2007... A recently published guide on acoustics should prove useful to everyone in the field, writes Richard Watson. A book recently released by Hepworth Acoustics aims to make the planners' lives much easier. Acoustics and noise represent an area...

RTPI Bulletin Board.
August 3, 2007... PRESIDENT IMPRESSED BY RTPI REGIONS AND NATIONS In the last month, RTPI president Jim Claydon has been visiting the regions and nations. 'I continue to be impressed by the energy, enthusiasm and imagination of all I meet. The young planners...

Young planners shape RTPI future.(Royal Town Planning Institute)(Personal account)
August 3, 2007... The position of young planners' representative allows you to help steer RTPI policy and develop professional experience, explains Joanne Dutton. Since January last year, I have been fortunate enough to sit on both the RTPI executive board...

Bulletin Board.(Royal Town Planning Institute)
August 3, 2007... YOUNG PLANNERS ENCOURAGED TO ENTER FOR AWARD It is that time of the year when we request your entries for the RTPI Young Planner of the Year Award. Last year's winner, RPS Group director Ben Ford, reflects on what inspired him to enter:...

Blame poured on profession as UK attempts to recover from flooding.
August 3, 2007... The recent bad press over the planning system's role in the housing crisis in fact emphasises the profession's importance in tackling the pressing issues of the day be they affordability or flooding, argues Jim Claydon. When a housing...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Agricultural development - Farm use claim rejected for caravans.
August 3, 2007... An inspector has upheld an enforcement notice requiring the removal of caravans and a polytunnel from land in north Wales after ruling that they involved development requiring permission. The appellant claimed that the caravans had been...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Disturbance rules out massage parlour.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... An inspector has upheld an enforcement notice requiring the use of a dog grooming salon as a massage parlour to cease after ruling that late-night activity was harmful to local residents. The inspector accepted residents' evidence that...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Gypsies and travellers - Green belt site justified by family need.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Temporary permission has been granted for a Gypsy family to continue living on a site in the Essex green belt following a ruling that a general need for additional sites has not been met. The inspector found very special circumstances to...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build - Small gardens agreed to optimise use.
August 3, 2007... Detailed approval has been granted for a housing estate on Merseyside despite local authority concerns over the proposed garden sizes. The council had granted outline permission for a scheme at an overall density of 41 dwellings per...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build - Regional strategy overrides plan zoning.
August 3, 2007... An inspector has dismissed an appeal for housing on an allocated site in north Staffordshire after deciding that greater weight should be placed on regional guidance in determining the proposal. The inspector noted that regional planning...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build - Pioneer school saved from demolition.
August 3, 2007... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to refuse permission for the demolition of listed former school buildings at a pit village in County Durham because the benefits of reusing the site for 39 houses did not...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build - Sheltered flats design ruled acceptable.
August 3, 2007... A proposal for 49 sheltered apartments in the West Midlands has been allowed after an inspector accepted that the scheme's mass and design would be acceptable. The appeal site comprised part of the wooded grounds of a former vicarage that...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion - House subdivision deemed enforceable.
August 3, 2007... An enforcement notice requiring a property in Worcestershire to be returned to a single family home has been upheld after an inspector rejected the appellant's claim that its use as two dwellings was lawful. The council had granted...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion - Enlargement held to breach condition.
August 3, 2007... A listed building enforcement notice directed against a barn conversion in Derbyshire has been upheld on the grounds that the works materially affected the building's historic importance. The council had granted listed building consent and...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Householder development - Pool replacement claim turned down.
August 3, 2007... A swimming pool at a farmhouse in the Nottinghamshire green belt has been judged to involve inappropriate development despite the appellant's claim that it would replace former outbuildings. The swimming pool, taken in conjunction with a...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and entertainment - Motel rebuild blocked by green belt.
August 3, 2007... The redevelopment of a petrol filling station in the Chilterns area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) as a 28-bedroom motel has been rejected after an inspector found that any visual improvement to the site would be outweighed by objections...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and entertainment - Touring definition thwarts static units.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... A lawful development certificate has been refused for the replacement of touring caravans on a site in Kent after an inspector held that twin-unit caravans would breach a planning condition. Permission had been granted in 1999 subject to a...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed use development - Biodiversity threat treated as marginal.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Alternative proposals for commercial floor space and between 146 and 165 flats in north London have been allowed after the larger scheme's impact on a conservation area was ruled acceptable. The council accepted that the affected area did...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Retail development - Forecourt sales range deemed acceptable.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... The redevelopment of a petrol filling station in Sussex for retail purposes has won approval after an inspector held that the replacement shop would remain ancillary to petrol sales. The scheme involved reducing the number of pump islands...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Next week.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... - Artwork judged to enhance entrance A decorative screen at the entrance to a gallery in West Sussex has been allowed despite concerns that it would harm a listed building's setting. DCS Number 100-049-470 - Design fails to...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - In depth.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Loss of dome held insufficient to justify extension at listed hotel. The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to refuse permission for an extension to a hotel at a golf and country club in Hertfordshire on the...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Farm machinery workshop held lawful.
August 3, 2007... An inspector has endorsed a lawful development certificate for a workshop associated with a farm machinery business in the New Forest after concluding that it broadly complied with a planning permission. The council had granted permission...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Builders' merchants fails design review.
August 3, 2007... Plans for a builder's merchants next to the River Usk in south Wales have been dismissed after an inspector ruled that the design failed to reflect the prominent waterside setting. The site contained a steel-framed commercial building on...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Hospital judged compliant with policy.
August 3, 2007... A 54-bedroom medium-secure hospital at a former military camp in Northamptonshire has been approved despite an inspector's ruling that the site was not in a sustainable location. The camp had been established in the 1920s and some of the...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Climbing frame passes amenity tests.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... An inspector has quashed an enforcement notice directed against a children's climbing frame at a school in north London after finding that it did not harm the area's character and appearance or neighbours' living conditions. The inspector...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed use development - High building gets round design flaws.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's advice to allow a mixed-use project in Warrington but turned down his recommendation to approve an alternative scheme. The first scheme was for 613 residential units and commercial and...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed use development - Skyscraper survives heritage scrutiny.
August 3, 2007... Following a call-in inquiry, the secretary of state has agreed that a 39-storey building can be built in central London after concluding that it would not adversely affect the setting of St Paul's Cathedral or the Tower of London. The...

DC Casebook: DC Forum.
August 3, 2007... Email your queries or your replies to earlier queries to casebook@haymarket.com or post them to Development Control Casebook Forum, DCS Ltd, Casebook Suite 1, Fullers Court, 40 Lower Quay Street, Gloucester GL1 2LW. Comment and post at...

How we did it - Agency speeds exodus from Olympic Park site.(London Development Agency)
August 3, 2007... Project: Land assembly for the London Olympic site. Background: Following London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, the capital was under severe pressure to deliver enough land in time for one of the world's largest construction...

The things I know - Alan Presslee, Partner and Norwich planning team leader, Bidwells.
August 3, 2007... Where did you study planning? Birmingham Polytechnic. - What skills did you have when you graduated? Academic and theoretical knowledge and a willingness to learn were enough to secure employment. Then it was a steep learning curve...

Called to account.
August 3, 2007... Plans to hive off decisions on major infrastructure schemes to an independent commission raise serious question marks over accountability, says former ministerial adviser Mike Ash. A core principle set out in the planning white paper is...

Targets spark fear.
August 3, 2007... The government has set ambitious goals for increasing the rate of house building but the targets will impose some heavy burdens on planning professionals and providers, Huw Morris predicts. In the wake of flooding of almost biblical...

Accessibility architect.
August 3, 2007... Although the issues around accessibility are gaining more attention there is still a need to be clear about its aims and improve understanding of disability, Peter Connell tells Huw Morris. There is a scene from the BBC sitcom The Office in...

Sidelining of public opinion has created crisis of accountability.
August 3, 2007... There are some stories that come across an editor's desk that are so ridiculous one can only conclude that either the originators live in a parallel universe or the world has gone mad. BAA's ham-fisted attempt to stifle criticism of...

Fyson on ... why the government still needs to clarify bold proposals to achieve housing delivery targets.
August 3, 2007... There was a slightly surreal atmosphere at the government's growth summit in Reading last week. Reassurances that the flood surge working its way down the Thames would not reach the town until after the delegates had dispersed were undermined...

Legal report - Conduct codes pave way to fair decision-making.
August 3, 2007... The UK scores highly in international rankings for freedom from corruption. Yet our courts regularly examine decisions in relation to bias and predetermination. Impropriety is thankfully very rare, particularly in planning matters. It is...

Halman on ... grappling with council reform.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... While most people head off on summer breaks, government announcements are often rushed out before MPs take theirs. Last week, revised arrangements were set out for local government, with backing given to the plan for two unitary authorities in...

Giving the past a future.
August 3, 2007... Planners are helping to find alternative uses for historic buildings at risk of dereliction despite the daunting scale of repairs needed to preserve the country's heritage, reports Paul Carnell. The continuing threat to historic sites and...

Heritage body aims to improve process.( Scottish Natural Heritage)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Local authorities and developers are among the groups to be consulted as part of a major review of Scottish Natural Heritage's (SNH) role in the planning process. Heriot-Watt University researchers have been commissioned to carry out the...

Forres flood plans backed.
August 3, 2007... Flood defences to protect homes and businesses in Forres were confirmed by environment minister Michael Russell this week. The go-ahead for Moray Council's plan takes into account modifications recommended by a local inquiry. Russell...

Ministers coy about housing targets rise.
August 3, 2007... Ministers have declined to reveal their targets for house building despite acknowledging that the current figure of 26,000 homes a year must be increased. But public health minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has responsibility for housing,...

Planning stats.(Public expenditures)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
August 3, 2007... Pounds 6.1bn - The estimated costs of this year's flooding so far, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research. 16.4m - Tonnes of carbon dioxide saved last year as a result of climate change agreements, DEFRA revealed this...

Online now.
August 3, 2007... Visit PlanningResource.co.uk today for Can a green travel plan get legal status? Can I claim compensation for a withdrawn enforcement notice? Also online Review of masterplan for Dudnance in Cornwall Sub-national review of regeneration analysed...

Kent narrows partners list.(real estate industry)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Six developers have been shortlisted to help regenerate town centres in the Tunbridge Wells area in Kent. Grainger, ING Estates, John Laing, Quintain, St Modwen and Thornfield have been chosen from 21 firms competing to be Tunbridge Wells...

Firm creates county team.(Knight Frank)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Knight Frank has created a regeneration consultancy team based in Leeds to cover the Yorkshire region. The team of partners and associates from the region aims to provide a more integrated service for clients. Partner Jaysheree Patel...

Savills takes to Glasgow.(Savills PLC)(Drivers Jonas)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Savills has created its first planning team in Scotland, having recruited three staff from Drivers Jonas. The team, to be based in Glasgow, will be headed by Alastair Wood. He will be joined by Iain Pattenden as associate director and...

Group gets sign-off for ironworks plans.
August 3, 2007... Developer Commercial Estates Group (CEG) has been granted outline planning permission for a mixed-use scheme to regenerate Kirkstall Forge in Leeds. A section 106 agreement for the 22ha former ironworks site, which was bought by CEG in...

Jones Lang LaSalle to advise on Blackburn centre's renovation.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Jones Lang LaSalle has been appointed to advise on the redevelopment of Blackburn's town centre and marketplace, which is set for a pounds 10 million facelift. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council selected the consultancy to work on the...

Bristol fixes renewal cash.
August 3, 2007... Almost pounds 2 million will be ploughed into the Hengrove Park regeneration scheme after a Bristol City Council cabinet meeting agreed to invest the money last week. The funding will help move the scheme forward over the next four years...

Whitehall endorses scheme in St Helens.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... The government has backed a pounds 140 million project to transform a 50ha brownfield site in Sutton, St Helens. The secretary of state approved Banks Developments' Moss Nock scheme after a public inquiry in November into the site's...

Sheffield job plan outlined.(Commercial construction)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Plans to create hundreds of jobs at Stocksbridge in Sheffield have been unveiled for public consultation. The outline proposals by developers Dransfield Properties and Gallaghers focus on delivering an extension to the town centre including...

Homes in line for Edge Lane.(Urban Splash)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... More than 200 homes are set to come forward at Edge Lane in Liverpool under plans submitted last week. Proposals from Urban Splash, which was appointed by the Liverpool Land Development Company in 2005, could see the old JCM-Littlewoods...

Liverpool set for region's tallest building.
August 3, 2007... Plans to build the North West's tallest building were unveiled last week. Peel, the firm behind the pounds 10 billion Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters regeneration schemes, will choose one of four architects to bring the project forward. The...

Airport firm backs bridge.
August 3, 2007... Plans for a major bridge across the River Mersey have won support from airport owners in Liverpool. John Lennon Airport (JLA) said the pounds 390 million Mersey Gateway would improve access to the facility and ease traffic on Silver...

Road delayed by discovery.(Herefordshire Council stops relief road work)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Herefordshire Council has confirmed a decision to stop work on a relief road after an ancient path was uncovered. It also voted for extra safeguards to ensure that the future of the Rotherwas Ribbon is fully considered. The path was...

New Street's cost queried.(The Department for Transport )(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... The Department for Transport (DfT) has denied that it is reluctant to release all the money that is needed to redevelop Birmingham New Street station. The department wrote to Birmingham City Council last week asking it to look at a...

Manchester authorities set out congestion charging in fund bid.
August 3, 2007... Local authorities in Manchester submitted road-charging plans under a bid for pounds 3 billion of transport innovation funding (TIF) this week. Eight out of ten council chiefs voted for the charge. The Association of Greater Manchester...

Gateway crossing inquiry reopened by government.(Thames Gateway Bridge construction)
August 3, 2007... The public inquiry into the planned Thames Gateway Bridge will be reopened despite a recommendation that the link be refused, the government said last week. After an inquiry lasting nearly a year, inspector Michael Ellison concluded that...

Stricter code talks opened.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... The government is seeking to make the code for sustainable homes mandatory from April next year. It launched a consultation last week asking people for views on making it compulsory for house builders to rate new homes against...

Wicks slams energy links.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Delays in linking wind farms and other clean electricity to the national grid are holding back the UK from achieving its renewable energy aims, energy minister Malcolm Wicks has claimed. Wicks was speaking at the launch of the transmission...

MPs demand bigger effort on emissions.
August 3, 2007... Whitehall must up its target for cutting carbon emissions from 60 to 90 per cent by 2050, MPs urged this week. The Commons environmental audit committee (EAC) urged the government to set carbon reduction targets at 70 per cent by 2030 and...

Young directs utilities firms to flood-proof key infrastructure.
August 3, 2007... Utility firms should flood-proof key infrastructure in light of last month's floods, Environment Agency chief executive Baroness Young advised this week. 'We need to look at flood-proofing critical infrastructure to prepare for severe...

Westminster studies risks.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Strengthening riverside walls and building sewerage diversion tunnels could protect London landmarks from flooding, according to Westminster planners. This week, the city council announced that it is looking into flood defence plans that...

Homes face carbon probe.(Department of communities and local government)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... An investigation into carbon emissions from existing housing is set to be conducted by the Commons DCLG select committee. The committee said efforts to reduce emissions from housing have focused on new-build but existing stock accounts for...

Agenda.(Calendar)
August 3, 2007... 12 SEPTEMBER: Mixed Communities. Organiser: Regeneration and Renewal. Venue: Manchester. Fee: pounds 269-pounds 549 + VAT. Details: (website) www.mixedcommunities.com 12-13 SEPTEMBER: Urban Regeneration - Delivering Growth. Organiser: SMi...

Scotland advances city-region growth.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Four strategic development planning authorities (SDPAs) are to be established to oversee the growth of Scotland's largest city-regions. Last week, the Scottish Executive set out proposals to cover Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen...

Developers withdraw plans to expand mall in Northern Ireland.
August 3, 2007... Controversial proposals to expand Sprucefield shopping centre near Lisburn in Northern Ireland have been withdrawn in the run-up to a judicial review. The scheme would have seen the out-of-town shopping centre add 50,000m2 of retail space,...

Tall buildings set high aims.
August 3, 2007... Tall buildings should exceed latest regulations to minimise energy and reduce carbon emissions, a guide by the government's design and heritage bodies has said. The final guidance from the Commission for Architecture and the Built...

Special bodies set to drive eco-towns.(Town and Country Planning Association)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Local authorities could set up special planning committees to help deliver eco-towns on time and budget, latest proposals suggest. Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) chairman David Lock told Planning that committees could be...

Roundhouse bid rejected.(Sustainable urban development)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... A retrospective planning application for an eco-home in Pembrokeshire Coast national park has been refused. The turf-roofed roundhouse at Brithdir Mawr, the subject of a long-running planning battle, failed to satisfy low-impact policy...

Transport package unlocks Kent homes.(Thames Gateway )(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... Major development in the Thames Gateway that has been held up for two years by Highways Agency objections has finally been approved. Dartford and Gravesham Borough Councils approved transport improvements for the Kent Thameside area this...

PPS Group instructs Carter-Ruck.
August 3, 2007... PPS Group has instructed libel law firm Carter-Ruck after claims that false accusations were published about its practices in a newspaper. The lobby group for the property and development industry has issued a formal complaint to the Evening...

University of Hull offers degree.
August 3, 2007... The UK's first planning and development services foundation degree will be offered by the University of Hull in partnership with Bishop Burton College and East Riding of Yorkshire Council from next January The three-year part-time course will...

Billions needed to deliver infrastructure in South East.(regional assembly planning committee)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... At least pounds 89 billion is needed to deliver infrastructure in the South East, the regional assembly's planning committee heard this week. Chairwoman Moira Gibson said the assembly and the Environment Agency estimate that at least pounds 42...

No challenge to Brighton and Hove Albion FC.(Football Club )(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... The decision to grant Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club permission for a stadium at Falmer in East Sussex (Planning, 27 July, p3) will not be challenged by Lewes District Council. The local authority, which has opposed the scheme from the...

Devon County Councils to submit bid.
August 3, 2007... Devon County Council is preparing to submit a bid for a pounds 130 million link road in the south of the county. The council says it will reduce congestion, improve safety and stimulate economic regeneration But local campaign group the...