Planning (UK) articles from August 2008

Planning (UK) archives from August 2008

Planning in the media.
August 1, 2008... The start of the holiday season saw Conservative leader David Cameron packing his bucket and spade to head to Cornwall. This prompted a visit from The Independent on Sunday, which dubbed the county 'England's most divided'. One of the...

Diary.(Diary entry)
August 1, 2008... Before Trafford Council tried to get down with the kids by posting its core strategy on networking site Facebook, it really should have done some vetting. The council sets out plans to consult young people on its core strategy via the...

Appointment at Colliers CRE.
August 1, 2008... Marcus Plaw has joined Colliers CRE's Bristol office as associate director. He was previously an associate in White Young Green Planning's Bristol team. He is accompanied by James Edwards as senior planner, who moves from Tetlow King Planning

Appointment at Jones Lang LaSalle.
August 1, 2008... Kathryn Thompson and Clare Malcomson have been promoted to director and associate director respectively in Jones Lang LaSalle's planning team. Ian Bailey has become a senior consultant

Appointment at Northgate Information Solutions.
August 1, 2008... Martin Howell has moved to Northgate Information Solutions as planning consultant from Wandsworth Borough Council, where he was planning group leader for policy and information

Appointment at ID Planning.
August 1, 2008... ID Planning has appointed Alistair Flatman an associate. He leaves Scott Wilson, where he was associate responsible for the Leeds planning team

Appointment at Capita Symonds.
August 1, 2008... Duncan Mackay and Jennifer Wynne have joined Capita Symonds' Carlisle team. Mackay previously worked for Cumbria County Council in its strategic planning team while Wynne will study for a postgraduate masters with the firm's support

Appointment at John Martin and Associates.
August 1, 2008... Emily Hale has been recruited by John Martin and Associates as a senior planner in Cambridgeshire. Prior to this, she was a strategic land planner at Persimmon Special Projects in Northampton

Appointment at States of Jersey.
August 1, 2008... Andrew Scate has been appointed chief officer for planning and environment for the States of Jersey. He was previously head of planning, sustainability and transport at Southampton City Council

Appointment at Robert Doughty Consultancy.
August 1, 2008... Paul Barton has joined Robert Doughty Consultancy as a planner. He previously managed Hutchison 3G's Midlands planning function

Surgeries and seminars bring a personal touch to planning.
August 1, 2008... Planning Aid volunteers have been working to help communities around the UK, reports Tino Hernandez. Planning Aid works with a range of communities to help them influence the planning system as it affects their local area. This has...

Calling all consultants for planning award consideration.
August 1, 2008... Entries are invited for the RTPI's Planning Consultancy Award 2008. All types of planning consultancy activity and businesses are eligible and the judges hope to include at least one small practice on the shortlist. Entrants must...

Events.
August 1, 2008... - Planning Summer School 29 August-10 September. University of St Andrews. Three schools will be held over the programme period. All will show the critical link between planning and practice, interaction between partners for a common...

Measuring spatial strategy success.(Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004)
August 1, 2008... A flexible framework of indicators sets out to link spatial planning policies with a formal evaluation of outcome evidence, explains Jenny Crawford. The 2006 local government white paper signalled a renewed focus on outcomes in...

Members urged to tap into research network opportunities.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... RTPI research and knowledge committee member Professor Katie Williams welcomed the formation of the planning education and research network, launched at the Planning Convention. Practitioners are short of time and cannot always locate or...

Winning bids announced for European spatial research programme.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Dumfries and Galloway Council, North Yorkshire County Council and the Welsh Assembly Government are among UK administrations to have research requests accepted by the European Spatial Planning Observation Network's applied research programme....

Event.
August 1, 2008... World Green Roof Congress 17-18 September. CIRIA. London. The potential for green roof technology to mitigate flooding, regulate heat fluctuations, support biodiversity objectives and simply be attractive will be explored. Presentation...

United campaign wins over ministers on Planning Bill amendment decision.
August 1, 2008... The institute's commitment to representing the profession and its members was amply demonstrated by its success in fighting for the retention of an independent appeal process in the Planning Bill, writes Rynd Smith. The RTPI's campaign to...

DC Casebook: Advertisements - Advert deemed no threat to public safety.
August 1, 2008... An inspector has allowed a shroud incorporating an externally illuminated open weave mesh advertisement display measuring 8m by 8m on a building in Brighton despite public safety concerns. Given possible high winds on the seafront, the...

DC Casebook: Advertisements - Hay rake sign judged unduly prominent.
August 1, 2008... The display of an unilluminated sign mounted on an old hay rake at a site in Somerset has been held unduly prominent and incongruous. In so ruling, the inspector decided that it would not undermine public safety because drivers would be...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Staff caravans allowed in tourist area.
August 1, 2008... The retention of two staff caravans at a hotel and pub in Somerset has been sanctioned after an inspector accepted that they were justified by the needs of the business. The caravans were sited beside the hotel car park on the edge of a...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Scrapyard wins further temporary term.
August 1, 2008... A three-year temporary planning permission has been granted for the use of an industrial unit in Greater Manchester as a facility for dismantling vehicles in order to allow the appellants time to find more suitable accommodation. The...

DC Casebook: Community Facilities - Social club rebuild hits amenity obstacle.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... An inspector has turned down plans to rebuild a fire-damaged social club used by a town band in Northamptonshire, finding the use incompatible with the amenity of nearby residents. The clubhouse and two adjacent houses had been severely...

DC Casebook: Food and Drink Uses - Pub security lights judged unneighbourly.
August 1, 2008... The retention of four security lights at a pub in South Yorkshire has been rejected on the grounds that they adversely affect the character of a conservation area and the amenity of local residents. The lights had been attached to the gable...

DC Casebook: Gypsies and Travellers - Gypsy need overrides green belt restraint.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The use of urban green space in the West Yorkshire green belt by a Gypsy family has been allowed by an inspector who held that the pressing need for pitches justified quashing an enforcement notice. The appeal site previously formed part of...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Roof terrace design held to add interest.
August 1, 2008... The provision of a roof terrace on one of four properties permitted on a site in west London has secured planning permission after a ruling that it would add interest to the overall design. The inspector noted that the designs of the four...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Site access approved despite noise fears.
August 1, 2008... The provision of an access road to a proposed housing scheme in Cornwall has won support from an inspector who ruled that it would not undermine the amenity of residents living alongside it. The scheme involved demolishing a dwelling and...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Replacement home design held confusing.
August 1, 2008... A proposed replacement dwelling in a Bedfordshire village has been refused permission after an inspector ruled that it would be out of character with the area. The inspector agreed that the scheme would meet standards set out in council...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Flood risk blocks ground-floor bedrooms.
August 1, 2008... An enforcement notice against the breach of a condition prohibiting use of the ground floors of two semi-detached houses in East Sussex as habitable accommodation has been quashed in the absence of Environment Agency evidence on flood risk. ...

DC Casebook: Housing: Conversion - Oast house deemed to lack visual quality.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Residential conversion of an oast house in Kent has been rejected on the grounds that the location is unsustainable and the project would harm the character and appearance of the countryside. The 1930s structure was built of mass-produced...

DC Casebook: Housing: Conversion - Dwelling division considered sustainable.
August 1, 2008... The subdivision of a cottage in the Kent countryside has been allowed on the basis that it would not harm the character of the countryside and represented a sustainable form of development. The property comprised two small cottages that had...

DC Casebook: Housing: Conversion - Basement flat fails natural light standard.
August 1, 2008... The change of use of a north London basement into a one-bedroom flat has been denied permission on the grounds that it would provide inadequate natural light for occupants. The proposal was to create a flat with 27m2 of floor space lit by a...

DC Casebook: Householder Development - Restriction on outbuildings wins support.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... An inspector has refused to vary the terms of a condition imposed on a planning permission for a replacement house in the Cheshire green belt after deciding that it is reasonable and necessary. The condition removed permitted development...

DC Casebook: Leisure and Entertainment - Model aircraft noise held objectionable.
August 1, 2008... The continued use of a farmer's field in Bedfordshire for flying model aircraft has been rejected after an inspector determined that it would lead to persistent disturbance for neighbours. Permission had been granted in 2004 for the use on...

DC Casebook: Leisure and Entertainment - General sales ruled out at holiday lodges.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... An appellant has failed to secure removal of a condition imposed on a development of fisherman's lodges in Lincolnshire after an inspector decided that its terms are reasonable and necessary. The condition stipulated that one of the cabins...

DC Casebook: Court Cases - Viability claim fails to stop wind farm.
August 1, 2008... A challenge to Milton Keynes Council's decision to grant permission for seven wind turbines has failed after the High Court held that the viability of the scheme was a matter for the developer. A neighbouring landowner argued that the...

DC Casebook: Court Cases - Replacement of plastic windows upheld.
August 1, 2008... The High Court has backed an inspector who upheld an enforcement notice requiring the owner of a property in a Tyneside conservation area to replace UPVC window frames with wooden ones. The inspector who considered an appeal against South...

DC Casebook: Court Cases - Rare bird risk thwarts apartment scheme.
August 1, 2008... The developer of 14 flats in Surrey has failed in a High Court bid to overturn an inspector's decision to refuse permission because of potential harm to the Thames Basin Heaths special protection area. The inspector ruled that residents...

DC Casebook: Next week.
August 1, 2008... - Clubhouse passes essential facility test The redevelopment of a sizeable cricket clubhouse in the Buckinghamshire green belt has been allowed after an inspector concluded that it comprised an essential facility. DCS Number...

DC Casebook: In depth - Green belt mixed use justified by housing needs despite flood fear.
August 1, 2008... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to grant outline permission for a mixed development partly in the green belt near Gloucester despite residents' concerns about possible flooding. The plan included...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Flat conversion agreed in green belt.
August 1, 2008... The conversion of a garage at a house in Essex into groom's accommodation has been allowed following a ruling that it would not be inappropriate development in the green belt. Horses were kept in relation to the appellant's daughter's...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Goat farm secures mobile home consent.
August 1, 2008... Temporary planning permission has been granted for a mobile home at a goat-breeding business in Gloucestershire following a favourable assessment of its prospects. The appellant owned some fields and a former glasshouse that had been...

DC Casebook: Commercial and industrial - Military site employment uses rejected.
August 1, 2008... The conversion of a former US Air Force hospital in Essex into offices and warehousing has been rejected on the basis that it would adversely affect the metropolitan green belt's openness. The buildings were locally listed but many appeared...

DC Casebook: Housing new build - Contamination risk stymies home plan.
August 1, 2008... A reporter has refused plans for a home on a former railway embankment in north-east Scotland after concluding that the full extent of ground contamination is unknown. The reporter noted the appellant's willingness to accept a condition...

DC Casebook: Leisure and entertainment - Smoking canopy judged to harm setting.
August 1, 2008... Retrospective planning permission and listed building consent have been denied for the retention of an external smoking canopy accommodating three amusement machines in Dundee because of the structure's adverse effect on adjacent listed...

DC Casebook: DC Forum.
August 1, 2008... NEW QUERIES Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992 confers powers on councils to determine planning applications for their own developments. Legal colleagues advise me that planning authorities cannot enter...

How we did it ... Harrogate aims to ease examination pressures.
August 1, 2008... Project: Preparing for public examination of Harrogate Borough Council's local development framework core strategy. Background: More than 2,000 objections were received in response to the submission draft. Who is behind it? Harrogate...

The things I know.(Interview)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Patrick Allcorn - Steer Davies Gleave Smarter Choices team member - Where did you study planning? I graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in history in 1993. - What attracted you to planning? Travel planning seemed...

Country left in the cold.
August 1, 2008... The Taylor review of rural areas in England concludes that planning procedures and policies are a hindrance rather than a help and calls for a major overhaul, reports Huw Morris. Matthew Taylor could not describe the future of rural...

Standing by principles.
August 1, 2008... Bringing large-scale commercial schemes to fruition and battling planning injustices are twin challenges that motivate SJ Berwin planning team head Simon Ricketts, Bryan Johnston finds. This autumn, Simon Ricketts will appear in court for...

Manchester road toll vote could lead to explosive repercussions.
August 1, 2008... For any politician advocating proposals for road charging, the experience is rather like handling TNT. Edinburgh City Council's referendum on the issue in 2005 was defeated by almost three to one. London's defenestration of mayor and...

Fyson on ... report that offers a long-overdue revision.(Viewpoint essay)
August 1, 2008... Report that offers a long-overdue revision of development priorities for our rural communities. Nothing is as effective as a simple diagram to clarify a planning proposal. So busy readers of the 206-page Taylor review should turn to page...

Legal report.
August 1, 2008... Uncertainty extended by competition conundrum. Proposed changes to PPS6 were finally published last month, a year behind schedule (Planning, 11 July, p1). Instead of a need test, applicants will be required to satisfy a more wide-ranging...

Halman on ... cost incentive to cut appeals.(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Recent weeks have seen much comment on the need for councillors to receive a good level of training to ensure that committee decisions are based on sound planning considerations and not the extraneous factors that can sometimes affect members'...

Bar raised for eco-towns.
August 1, 2008... More stringent sustainability standards are adding to the pressure on eco-town proposals that are already hampered by public opposition and policy delays, Katie Daubney discovers. The government's eco-town programme has been beset by...

Downturn prompts delay to homes fair.(Highland Housing Fair board)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The UK's first sustainable housing fair, which was to have been staged near Inverness next year, has been postponed for 12 months because of the economic downturn. Architects who designed the fair's 53 homes are understood to have...

Isle receives wind options.
August 1, 2008... Communities on Lewis will be offered two sites for their own turbines in a 13-turbine wind farm under an agreement struck by Western Isles Council. The 39MW scheme at Eishken received planning consent in February, subject to a section 75...

Trust faults plans to protect battlefields.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Proposals intended to safeguard Scotland's battlefields do not go far enough, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) argued last week. Historic Scotland is consulting on plans to create a non-statutory inventory of battlefields, inclusion on...

Online now ..
August 1, 2008... Visit PlanningResource.co.uk today for a special regional focus on how the coast is faring in the South East. Also online - Interview with Glasgow Housing Association executive director of regeneration Jim Sneddon Second opinion on...

Planning stats.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... 6.4 million - The number of people who live in the UK countryside, according to Lib Dem MP Matthew Taylor. His report on rural areas shows a rise of 800,000 in the past decade. 600,000 - Total native trees to be planted to create England's...

Capita notes turnover rise.(Capita Symonds acquisition of Lovejoy leads to its boosts in revenue)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Capita Symonds' acquisition of Lovejoy has played a key role in boosting its turnover for the first six months of this year. Capita bought the landscape planning consultancy in the spring (Planning, 21 March, p8). The acquisition...

Consultancies win M40 Gateway work.
August 1, 2008... Colin Buchanan and Drivers Jonas have been commissioned to produce a study of the M40 Gateway area in High Wycombe to identify options for future development. The consultancies will look at options for the former Daws Hill RAF base and...

Market cited for job losses.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Two planners are being made redundant at planning consultancy White Young Green (WYG), with the firm blaming the downturn in the housing market. The cuts are being made at WYG's Cardiff office. One member of its residential design division...

Mott MacDonald appointed for Louth flood management plan.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Mott MacDonald has been selected to help the Environment Agency research and develop a catchment flood management plan for a tract of east Lincolnshire. The 1,050km2 catchment area includes the towns of Louth and Skegness and was hit by...

Savills seeks river access.
August 1, 2008... Savills hopes that its application for a mixed-use project in Lancaster will provide easier access to the city's river and green areas. The proposals, part of the Lancashire city's Lawson's Quay scheme, include a hotel, offices and a...

Leisure plan sought for Manchester site.(Manchester City Council )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... East Manchester could benefit from a pounds 300 million tourist attraction on the site originally earmarked for the axed super casino. Manchester City Council has worked with partners including regeneration body New East Manchester to...

Mayor raises tower doubt.
August 1, 2008... Plans for the pounds 1 billion development of three tower blocks next to Waterloo Station look set to be blocked by London mayor Boris Johnson. The Allies & Morrison-designed Three Sisters scheme for the redevelopment of Elizabeth House...

Shoreditch scheme awaits study outcome.
August 1, 2008... Consent for Hammerson's Bishop's Place scheme in Shoreditch has been deferred by the London Borough of Hackney's planning committee. It voted to postpone its decision on the 371,612m2 Foster & Partners-designed project by five votes to two...

Brownfield fund backed.(Academy for Sustainable Communities)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Plans to tackle a lack of brownfield skills have been widely endorsed by regeneration professionals in a public consultation. A central government fund to kick-start skills training is fundamental to the draft brownfield skills strategy...

Barnet takes estates lead.(Barratt Development )(London Borough of Barnet)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... London Borough of Barnet has set up a cabinet committee to drive regeneration following concerns over two development projects. As well as overseeing the capital's biggest regeneration project - the pounds 4.5 billion 7,500-home renewal of...

Trunk road upgrade demanded in Essex.
August 1, 2008... The DfT should reconsider the classification of the A12 as a trunk road of only regional significance to enable vital improvements, a commission has argued. The first local authority-sponsored inquiry into a major trunk road was launched...

Tube revamp plan on show.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Redevelopment plans for Tottenham Court Road tube station are being showcased at a public exhibition by Transport for London. The Crossrail Bill, which won Royal Assent last week (Planning, 25 July, p1), grants powers to expand and...

County looks for bus boost.(Cornwall County Council)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... A campaign to encourage more people to use buses in Cornwall has been launched by transport planners JMP. Cornwall County Council has appointed the firm to assess why the 16 to 59 age group has a negative view of public transport. JMP aims...

Storm brews over Manchester congestion charge referendum.
August 1, 2008... The decision to hold a public vote on whether to introduce a Greater Manchester road toll looks set to spark further debate over how the poll will be conducted. The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) last week announced a...

Business air case pressed.
August 1, 2008... A third runway at Heathrow is the 'preferred candidate' for airport expansion despite its environmental impact, a report has concluded. The York Aviation report for the City of London Corporation maintains that aviation must meet the needs...

Airport faces legal bid wait.
August 1, 2008... Coventry Airport may have to wait until October for a decision on its legal challenge to the government's refusal of permission for its expansion, it has emerged. West Midlands International Airport Ltd took its challenge to the High Court...

Policy clash cited in climate plan report.
August 1, 2008... MPs have concluded that contradictions in cross-governmental planning policy are hampering efforts to tackle climate change. The Commons environmental audit committee acknowledges that the government has made encouraging efforts to raise...

Quarry faces fresh appeal.(Peak District National Park Authority)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Peak District National Park Authority has been granted permission to appeal over alleged harmful quarrying on Longstone Edge near Bakewell in Derbyshire. Judges in London have decided that both the park authority and the DCLG have a...

Court stops hill housing.
August 1, 2008... An environmental campaign group has won its High Court bid to block a 300-home development at the foot of Dinedor Hill near Hereford. Mr Justice Collins quashed Herefordshire County Council's decision to allocate land at Bullinghope for...

Quay set for green homes.
August 1, 2008... Sustainable developer Zero C has been appointed by the South West of England Regional Development Agency to build an eco-community in Dorset. The plan is to create 70 eco-homes on 2ha of land at Osprey Quay in Portland. These will be...

RSPB seeks lagoon prohibition for Severn barrage proposals.
August 1, 2008... The most environmentally damaging tidal schemes should be ruled out of options for harnessing power from the Severn Estuary, the RSPB has insisted. The government last week published a list of ten potential projects to be examined as part...

Waste plant wins funding.(Staffordshire County Council)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Staffordshire County Council has been awarded pounds 122.4 million for a project that could eliminate 300,000 tonnes of municipal waste from landfill each year. The cash is earmarked to build an energy from waste plant at Four Ashes...

Reforms entangled in rural housing row.
August 1, 2008... The main parties in Northern Ireland have hit stalemate over proposals to relax rural planning laws amid growing fears that the province's system is grinding to a halt. The wrangling surrounds PPS14, which restricts the development of...

Urban design bodies voice fear on Olympic broadcast proposal.
August 1, 2008... Giant screens planned to show the 2012 Olympics in town and city centres will have a serious impact on public spaces, design and heritage bodies have warned. Urban design bodies fear that up to 60 screens intended to show the games will...