Planning (UK) articles from December 2008

Planning (UK) archives from December 2008

Planning in the media.
December 5, 2008... Planning issues were never going to feature heavily in a media dominated by events in Mumbai. Nevertheless, Janice Turner in The Times noticed how quickly the environment is being sacrificed on the altar of consumer spending in a faltering...

Diary.(Diary entry)
December 5, 2008... London mayor Boris Johnson kept his audience entertained both before and during his speech at last week's Environment Agency annual conference. Conference chairwoman Elinor Goodman previewed the mayor's presentation urging Londoners to...

Appointment at Roger Tym & Partners.
December 5, 2008... Ruth Child has joined Roger Tym & Partners in Manchester as an associate. She was previously east area development control manager for Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why...

Appointment at Turley Associates.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Turley Associates has recruited planner Rebecca Porter and assistant planners Greg Dickinson and Elizabeth Spencer to its Leeds office. Other assistant planner appointments include Rachel Hanbury in Birmingham, Kathryn Moore in London and...

Appointment at Rapleys.
December 5, 2008... Rapleys in Bristol has appointed Francesca Stokes a senior planner She joins from Turley Associates. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine? Please call 08451 55 73 55 for more...

Strategic Perspectives LLP set up.
December 5, 2008... Dr Steve Norris has set up Strategic Perspectives LLP as part of the consultancy group comprising Environmental Perspectives and Planning Perspectives based in London. He previously served as a director at GVA Grimley. He is joined by...

Appointment at Enplan.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Allison Keech has joined consultancy Enplan's planning team in Tunbridge Wells as a senior consultant. Emma Strong joins as environmental and sustainability specialist and David Maher as planning consultant. -------------------- Did...

Appointment at Sara Bagshaw.(Cheltenham consultancy Evans Jones LLP has hired Sara Bagshaw )(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Cheltenham consultancy Evans Jones LLP has hired Sara Bagshaw as a planner. She joins from the London Borough of Hillingdon, where she was a senior appeals manager. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not...

Appointment at Colin Buchanan.(appointed Shanaaz Carroll an associate )(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Colin Buchanan has appointed Shanaaz Carroll an associate in its economic development and regeneration department. She was previously head of business and enterprise at the Government Office for London. -------------------- Did you...

Workshop puts design score proposal through its paces.
December 5, 2008... Quality assessments have the potential to improve community engagement, discovers Sandra Newton. Planners are sometimes accused of coming from other planets while design terminology has been described as a language with no earthly...

Planning enforcement conference stresses case for specialists.(National Association for Planning Enforcement conference)(Conference news)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Delegates at the annual National Association for Planning Enforcement conference have criticised the role of generic enforcement teams in local authorities. Chairman Leslie Smith said officers are often located in the regulatory services...

Events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 5, 2008... Irish Branch (Northern Section) AGM 11 December. RTPI Irish Branch (Northern Section). Belfast Harlequins Rugby Club. University of Ulster built environment head Professor Greg Lloyd will give a short presentation on his work followed by...

Projects extend spatial ambition.
December 5, 2008... Graduate planner Sam Rosillo talks to Louise Bolton about his work experiences in his first few months as a part of the planning profession. - What qualifications do you have? I graduated in July after studying urban studies and...

Nominations complete for Young Planner of the Year 2008.
December 5, 2008... Entries have now closed for nominations for Young Planner of the Year 2008. See page 19 for the shortlist of candidates, their profiles and details of how to vote. The winner will be announced at the RTPI Planning Awards presentation, to...

Cymru Young Planners seeks members for first steering group.
December 5, 2008... If you want to make an impact as a young planner and further your professional development why not join Cymru Young Planners? There is also the opportunity to influence the network by becoming a member of the steering group. The first...

New representative takes up South East responsibilities.(South East young planners network)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Edward Gerry is to take over from Charlie Collins as the representative for the South East young planners' network. Thanks are due to Collins for all his hard work this year, particularly for bringing the national young planners conference...

Changes at the top in Scottish group elections.
December 5, 2008... The Scottish young planners' group has undergone a change at the top with the election of Halliday Fraser Munro associate Jill Paterson and Edinburgh City Council planning officer Andrew Trigger to the posts of chairwoman and vice-chairman...

Events.
December 5, 2008... Environmental Impact Assessment 14 January 2009. East Midlands Young Planners. Rushcliffe Borough Council Civic Centre, West Bridgford, Nottingham. Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment senior environmental adviser Josh...

Renewed housing network aims to pursue investment in communities.
December 5, 2008... With the joint energies of the RTPI and the Chartered Institute of Housing, the relaunched planning for housing network is set to become a central forum for industry change, explain Abigail Davies and Andrew Matheson. Estate agents...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Equine business earns support dwelling.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... A proposed bungalow for an equine worker in the Surrey green belt has been supported by an inspector who decided that the needs of the holding justify allowing the appeal. The appellants ran an equine enterprise that involved breeding,...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Business park need case found wanting.
December 5, 2008... The secretary of state has rejected a proposal for the extension of a business park in the West Midlands green belt after finding that the need for the scheme has not yet been established. Apart from the site's location in the green belt,...

DC Casebook: Community Facilities - Highway concerns thwart children's home.
December 5, 2008... The change of use of a house in Essex into a home for children with learning disabilities has been rejected because of concerns about the site's unsatisfactory access onto a highway. The appellant explained that the home would provide care...

DC Casebook: Food and drink uses - Cafe blocked by loss of housing stock.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... An enforcement notice directed against the change of use of a flat in north-west London into a cafe has been upheld because of concern about the resultant reduction in the borough's housing stock. The property comprised a purpose-built...

DC Casebook: Gypsies and travellers - Demonstrable need justifies site approval.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... A site in Cheshire containing nine caravans for occupation by Gypsies has been granted permission after an inspector struck down an enforcement notice requiring their removal. The council's review of Gypsy and traveller site needs...

DC Casebook: Housing: new build - Personal hardship justifies caravan bid.
December 5, 2008... An inspector has concluded that the occupants of a caravan in the back garden of a house in Yorkshire should be granted 12 months to find alternative accommodation. The appellant had placed a large static caravan in the rear garden of her...

DC Casebook: Housing: new build - Natural slates required in scenic village.
December 5, 2008... An appeal against a requirement to use natural stone slates on a new house in a Cotswolds village conservation area has been rejected after an inspector opined that it is important to preserve distinctive roof materials. The village was...

DC Casebook: Housing: new build - Demolition justified by regeneration aim.
December 5, 2008... The demolition of two houses in a conservation area in Northumberland has been approved after an inspector ruled that they do not make a valuable contribution to the area. The houses formed part of a larger area where permission had been...

DC Casebook: Housing: Conversion - Flats scheme stymied by renewal priority.
December 5, 2008... The conversion of a former children's day nursery on Merseyside into eight flats has been rejected on the grounds that it would undermine the aims of a housing market renewal pathfinder. The appellants and the council disputed whether a...

DC Casebook: Housing: Conversion - Inspector backs play facilities payment.
December 5, 2008... In dismissing proposals to convert a hotel in Lancashire into 20 flats, an inspector has concluded that a financial contribution towards provision of an off-site play area would be justified. The appellants, who also proposed a new...

DC Casebook: Housing: Conversion - Conversion occupancy restriction lifted.
December 5, 2008... In allowing an appeal to convert a 19th century chapel in Cumbria into nine homes, an inspector has found no justification for restricting their occupation to people with a local connection. A disputed condition stipulated that the...

DC Casebook: Householder development - Private tennis court allowed in green belt.
December 5, 2008... A synthetic tennis court for use by the occupants of an adjacent dwelling in the Surrey green belt has been approved by an inspector who held that it was not an inappropriate form of development. The council had refused permission on the...

DC Casebook: Leisure and entertainment - Play space evades town centre guidance.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... An inspector has endorsed use of two industrial units on an employment area in Greater Manchester as a children's play centre after finding no realistic prospect of attracting an alternative use. The appellant submitted evidence showing...

DC Casebook: Leisure and entertainment - New squash court agreed in green belt.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Replacement squash courts have been approved in the metropolitan green belt and the Surrey Hills area of outstanding natural beauty despite council objections that the scheme would perpetuate a harmful impact on the area's openness. The...

DC Casebook: Listed buildings - Sun pipes rejected despite green benefits.
December 5, 2008... The installation of two sun pipes in a grade II listed thatched and timber-framed 17th century cottage in Buckinghamshire has been rejected because it would fail to preserve the property's special architectural and historic character. The...

DC Casebook: Retail development - Shopfront agreed with precedent warning.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... In giving permission to retain a shopfront in a central London conservation area, an inspector has stated that his decision should not be taken as setting a precedent for other changes in the street. The appeal premises comprised one of...

DC Casebook: Next week.(Advertising screen agreed in city centre)(crematorium has been allowed in the south Hampshire)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... - Occupation obligation found unnecessary A planning obligation restricting the occupation of a bungalow in north Wales to a local person has been discharged because it made no reference to housing need. DCS Number 100-058-761 -...

DC Casebook: In depth - Multiple occupation rejected as overdevelopment of urban site.
December 5, 2008... A proposal to change the use of a former residential home for the elderly in Hereford into a house in multiple occupation (HMO) has been rejected on the grounds of overdevelopment. There were two four-storey semi-detached houses on the site...

DC Casebook: Energy development - Turbines judged harmful to historic site.
December 5, 2008... Following a call-in the Scottish Government has refused planning permission for three wind turbines on Orkney because of the harm they would cause an historic site of world importance. The 900kW turbines would have a hub height of 45m and a...

DC Casebook: Energy development - Wind scheme benefits fail to tilt balance.
December 5, 2008... A proposal for four wind turbines in the Cheshire green belt has been deemed an inappropriate development that would undermine the area's openness and visual amenity. The appellants, relying on a previous appeal decision, argued that wind...

DC Casebook: Housing new build - Flats refused in listed building setting.
December 5, 2008... A proposal for 39 flats in Greater Manchester has been rejected after an inspector concluded that it would harm the character of the area and a listed former tollhouse. As the vacant appeal site lay in an urban area, the inspector agreed...

DC Casebook: Leisure and entertainment - Bund removal condition endorsed.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... An inspector has refused to delete a condition requiring removal of a bund and acoustic fencing at a shooting club in Gloucestershire if and when the use ceases, finding that it is necessary to conserve and enhance the landscape. The...

DC Casebook: Retail development - Costs granted on withdrawn objection.(DIY store )(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... A proposal for a DIY store on land in Lancashire has been permitted with the developers also being awarded some of their costs in pursuing the appeal. The council claimed that it had withdrawn its objections to the scheme and informed the...

DC Casebook: DC Forum.
December 5, 2008... NEW QUERIES Should differences be inferred from the use of the words 'a' and 'the' in the amended class A, part 1, schedule 2 of the General Permitted Development Order 1995? For example, would it be appropriate to interpret references to...

How we did it ... Georgian home passes top sustainability test.
December 5, 2008... Project: A pounds 16 million luxury Georgian-style mansion on the site of Grafton Hall that aims to meets the highest standards of sustainability. Background: The original hall was built in 1613 and restored and extended in 1883, before...

The things I know - Stephen Ssejjemba, Senior planning officer, Birmingham City Council.
December 5, 2008... - Where did you study planning? I gained a masters in planning policy and practice at London South Bank University. - What skills did you have when you graduated? Skills such as sustainability and project management complemented...

Youthful agendas.(RTPI Young Planner of Year 2008)(Royal Town Planning Institute)
December 5, 2008... Your votes are needed to decide which of these five candidates emerges as RTPI Young Planner of the Year, Bryan Johnston explains. Voting opens today to select the RTPI Young Planner of Year 2008, an award sponsored by the Planning Advisory...

Projects eye the prizes.
December 5, 2008... In the first of two articles, Anthony Fyson summarises some of the finalists in the RTPI's annual national awards scheme and the breadth of achievement represented by the shortlist. This year, the RTPI Planning Awards judging panel has...

Serial team regenerator.
December 5, 2008... EDAW director Keith Thomas is undeterred by the prospect of a recession as he embarks once again on building up a consultancy practice in the Welsh capital, Susanna Gillman discovers. Keith Thomas could have ended up working on oil rigs...

Homes delivery collapse leaves agency facing public sector role.
December 5, 2008... Staff at the Homes and Communities Agency, which launched this week, could be forgiven for feeling that they are on the receiving end of a hospital pass. In an era of moribund developers, bankrupt banks and housing associations on the...

Fyson on ... Building for Life.(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment)(Viewpoint essay)
December 5, 2008... Building for Life criteria that ask the right questions for assessing high-quality developments. If a new orthodoxy is to emerge in the design of homes and neighbourhoods, it would do well to absorb the wisdom of the Building for Life...

Legal Report - Developers face dilemma in keeping consents alive.
December 5, 2008... In 2005, the government changed the law to cut the standard life of planning permissions to three years and stop developers applying to extend them through the variation of conditions in a bid to speed delivery. Three years on, landowners...

Bell on ... aiming high on airport policy.
December 5, 2008... Sammy the seagull was feeling peckish. But as a frequent flyer from Blackpool he had enough air miles to take a trip to London. His bird's-eye view showed him a huge greenfield site to the west of the city. Ringed by an assortment of ugly...

The more things change.(Killian-Pretty review)
December 5, 2008... Latest proposals to speed the handling of planning applications offer some useful solutions but once again some procedures face a spell of consultation and scrutiny, Janet Askew finds. The Killian-Pretty review of development control, the...

Planning stats.(Brief article)(Statistical data)
December 5, 2008... 5 million - The number of people who will be waiting for a council house by 2010, according to figures from the Local Government Association. 1.5 million - Estimated homes that renewable energy projects 'caught up' in the planning system...

Deal raises hope of marine generation.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Scottish ministers are to take control of planning issues affecting the country's coastal waters in a move set to boost its growing offshore power industry. The Holyrood and Westminster administrations have agreed that the Scottish...

Groups slam Old Town bid.
December 5, 2008... Edinburgh's heritage groups have joined forces to oppose plans for a 200-bedroom hotel, arts venues, restaurants and a new courtyard in the city's Old Town. Developer Whiteburn's SoCo scheme would replace buildings destroyed by a fire in...

Councils seek share of housing finance.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... A pounds 25 million fund has been established to help restart council house building as part of the Scottish Government's proposals for economic recovery. Local authorities are being invited to apply for a share of the cash Those with a...

Online now ..
December 5, 2008... Visit PlanningResource.co.uk today for an interview with Homes and Communities Agency chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake in our first Planning Podcast Also online Take part in our user survey to help us provide the news you want and you could win...

Retail review team chosen.
December 5, 2008... Town planning consultancy Steven Abbott Associates is to examine retail provision as part of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council's local development framework. The practice will carry out analysis including health checks in Blackburn and...

Firm to study Bury housing.
December 5, 2008... Bury Metropolitan Borough Council has appointed Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) to carry out an affordable housing study. The firm's Manchester office will examine the economic viability of different development and tenure mixes across a range...

Arup reports fee increase.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Arup has improved turnover for the first six months of 2008-09 compared with the same period last year, despite the economic downturn. However, Arup director of planning and transport Elliot Wishlade said he expects growth to level off for...

Area frames green needs.(Chris Blandford Associates)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Chris Blandford Associates has been commissioned to develop a green infrastructure strategy for an East Midlands sub-region. The 6Cs growth point strategy aims to protect and enhance green spaces around Derby, Leicester and Nottingham as...

City consent clears police station start.(Hampshire Constabulary )(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Broadway Malyan has secured detailed planning approval for a police station for Hampshire Constabulary in Southampton. The eight-storey building on the corner of Mountbatten Way and Southern Road to the west of the city centre will have a...

Savills secures campus growth for Birmingham City University.
December 5, 2008... Birmingham City University has secured outline planning permission for its pounds 150 million city centre campus after taking advice from Savills. The firm oversaw pre-application talks and consultation for the 55,000m2 scheme, which...

Areas review homes tariff.
December 5, 2008... Tariffs levied on developers in two Thames Gateway areas could be lowered to encourage regeneration, Planning has learnt. London Thames Gateway Development Corporation head of planning John Allen said charges are being reviewed in the Lower...

Gateway set for targets.
December 5, 2008... The planning system is not holding up development in the Thames Gateway, the director leading delivery for the DCLG insisted last week. Paul Hudson told Planning that following a review he could categorically say there is enough designated...

Town ties up centre deal.(urban regeneration company has signed a pounds 350 million deal with Muse Developments )(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Swindon's urban regeneration company has signed a pounds 350 million deal with Muse Developments to regenerate its town centre. Under the New Swindon Company proposal, Muse will revamp the central Union Square connecting the railway station...

Developer reveals New Brighton designs.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Neptune Developments has revealed plans for phase two of its pounds 45 million New Brighton scheme in Wirral. Outline planning approval was received earlier this year but Neptune has put in the second of two detailed applications, one of...

Agency looking at house building role.
December 5, 2008... The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is considering building houses itself if the market deteriorates further next year. The agency's London regional director David Lunts told delegates at the Thames Gateway Forum last week: 'I suspect...

Turner blasts runway claim.
December 5, 2008... The government's leading climate change adviser has rejected suggestions that he endorses the expansion of Heathrow Airport. Climate change committee chairman Lord Adair Turner was last week reported as saying the UK could meet its target...

Group slates system cost.
December 5, 2008... The UK's inadequate transport system has cost the economy pounds 23.2 billion in the past year, according to a survey of businesses. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found that costs had risen pounds 5.7 billion since its study of...

City extends map scheme.(Legible London)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Legible London, the trial system of on-street signs and maps designed to help pedestrians navigate the city, will be piloted in other parts of the capital next year. The scheme already guides people in the Bond Street area. The new pilots...

Congestion zone removal threatens revenue stream.
December 5, 2008... Transport for London (TfL) will lose pounds 70 million in revenue each year if the western extension to London's congestion charge is scrapped. London mayor Boris Johnson confirmed last week that he intends to remove the zone, following...

Local Transport Act opens way for city-region network power.(Department for Transport)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The Local Transport Act was described as a historic opportunity for transport in the city-regions after it gained Royal Assent last week. The act reforms the arrangements for local transport governance in the major conurbations. It aims to...

Local impact fears voiced.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Environmental Protection UK has voiced fears that the Planning Act will leave communities unprotected from the adverse effects of major infrastructure projects. The group said the act bars a common law challenge against noise, light, dust...

Darling faces energy flak.
December 5, 2008... A government advisory body has slammed chancellor Alistair Darling's pre-budget report for missing an opportunity to invest towards a more sustainable economy. The Sustainable Development Commission said pounds 535 million to encourage...

NHS reviews green record.(National Health Service)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The NHS is to map its sustainability activity in the South East in a bid to share good practice. The move is prompted by concern over its impact on the environment and a bid to improve public health. It will examine energy and water use in...

Assessment guide shaped.(strategic environmental assessment)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The Scottish Government has appointed two consultancies to shape guidance on strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for the planning system. WSP Environment and Energy and Natural Capital will review SEA practice, following this up with...

Campaigners back carbon capture call.(Campaign to Protect Rural England )(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... Green campaigners have called on the government to halt construction of new coal-fired power stations without carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The RSPB urged ministers to follow advice from its own climate change committee this...

Trusts encourage more natural flood management approaches.(Wildlife Trusts have proposed natural flood prevention program)(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The Wildlife Trusts have proposed natural flood prevention including catchment-wide storage to help save pounds 30 billion by 2080. The suggestion comes in a report on how the trusts are working on sustainable solutions to flood management,...

Wiltshire unitary to split planning remit.
December 5, 2008... A planning shake-up at Wiltshire County Council will see four area committees set up on similar boundaries to the axed district councils. The committees for the unitary authority will be based on Chippenham, Devizes, Salisbury and...

Tourist attractions to benefit from Belfast funding injection.(major regeneration in Belafst for economic renaissance )(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... A string of projects designed to boost Belfast's economic renaissance received significant funding this week. The Northern Ireland Executive is to provide pounds 43 million for the Titanic Signature project, to be sited on the east Belfast...

Consent bias case backed.(Council leader Mike Gardner case against Margaret Atkinson )(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... A council leader has persuaded the High Court to overturn a grant of planning permission following accusations of bias among local Conservative members. Harrogate Borough Council leader Mike Gardner took his council to court to reverse a...

City settles tower detail.
December 5, 2008... Sheffield City Council has reached an agreement with developers over design changes to their proposed St Paul's Tower. City Lofts and partner CTP St James last month publicly clashed with the council over the external cladding on the...