Planning (UK) articles from February 2003

Planning (UK) archives from February 2003

Registry office of the famous gets new role.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Caxton Hall, the former Westminster registry office famous for celebrity weddings, is set to be transformed into flats and offices. The grade II listed building in the Broadway and Christchurch Gardens conservation area has been empty for...

Plan aims to ease homes shortages.
February 7, 2003... Housing market collapse in the north of England and overheating in the South East are to be tackled by a pounds 22 billion regeneration plan announced by the government this week. The communities plan includes pounds 5 billion for more...

First finalists win through in students quiz.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Oxford Brookes University's First Time Lucky has qualified for the final of the Planning Student Quiz after winning the South East heat this week. Ben Cracknell, Michelle Kidd and Helen Locke, who are in their first year of an MSc in urban...

Liverpool bids for world heritage status.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Liverpool's waterfront has been selected as the UK's only 2003 nomination for the list of world heritage sites, the government announced last week. The decision by arts minister Baroness Blackstone paves the way for the waterfront to join...

ODPM announces cash boost for parks.(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment to receive UKPd17.75 mil)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Parks and open spaces will receive a multi-million pound regeneration boost, deputy prime minister John Prescott announced this week. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) will receive pounds 17.75 million over...

South East homes form key element of strategy.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Controversial plans to build 200,000 houses in the South East are a key plank of the government's strategy to create sustainable communities in the UK. Deputy prime minister John Prescott's communities plan, unveiled this week, details a...

Green charity set to enable local projects.(Groundwork)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Environmental charity Groundwork is to play a leading role in driving up skills to help deprived communities improve their quality of life. Groundwork will receive pounds 40 million in grants over the next three years - a 40 per cent...

How some of the planning profession's key players have reacted to the sustainable communities plan.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... 'There has been chronic under-investment in housing over the last 20 to 30 years and concerted action is long overdue. However, plans for new settlements will come to little unless funding can be found to support the massive new infrastructure...

Survey forecasts failure of reforms.
February 7, 2003... Key government planning reforms may fail due to the absence of a statutory role for country councils and the recruitment crisis beleaguering local authorities, a survey reveals this week. The Local Government Association (LGA) poll shows...

MPs rubbish big business on cost claim.(Commons select committee rules on costs of planning system damages)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Claims that the planning system damages the UK's productivity are without foundation, the Commons select committee on the ODPM said this week. In its latest report, the committee is scathing about businesses' claims that the costs and...

Plans for 16ha St Stephen's development unveiled.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Detailed plans for the 16ha St Stephen's development at Ferensway in Hull have been unveiled by developer ING Real Estate. The pounds 160 million project includes a public transport interchange, 30,000 sq m of shopping, a 10,000 sq m...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Speed and efficiency key focus.(Planning Inspectorate review)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Speed and efficiency in deciding appeals will be a key focus in stage two of the five-year review of the Planning Inspectorate, the ODPM announced this week. The review will also examine the inspectorate's role in meeting government goals for a...

NEWS IN BRIEF: West Berkshire Council survives challenge.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... West Berkshire Council has survived a legal challenge over its refusal to allocate a site at Thatcham for 550 homes in its local plan, adopted last June. Bellway Homes, which holds an option on Siege Cross Farm, claimed that the council acted...

NEWS IN BRIEF: MP granted second reading.(John Baron)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Billericay MP John Baron has been granted a second reading for a private members' bill giving local planning authorities additional powers to remove unauthorised development on greenfield sites. The bill aims to make it easier for councils to...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Housing Corporation and CABE join forces.(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The Housing Corporation and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) have joined forces to promote design excellence in affordable homes. The partnership will work alongside ten registered social landlords on housing...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Consultation on York boundary launched.(consultation on green belt boundary)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Consultation on York's first long-term green belt boundary was launched by the city council this week, as it published proposed revisions to its local plan. An inquiry on the plan was suspended three years ago for the council to carry out...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Hunts Cross plans approved.(industrial land development)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Plans to transform disused industrial land at Hunts Cross in Merseyside into a 16ha housing and office development were approved by Liverpool City Council this week. The scheme, by house builder Bellway, will include more than 500 homes and 930...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Environment document launched.(document from the Regional Environment Forum)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A document outlining the main areas of concern facing the environment in the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside was launched by the Regional Environment Forum this week. The forum, made up of non-governmental organisations in the two regions,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: CNP criticises government.(Council for National Parks protests military use of Fylingdales base)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The Council for National Parks (CNP) has strongly criticised the government for the lack of a transparent approach in its decision to allow the USA to use the Fylingdales base in North Yorkshire for its missile defence programme. The attack...

Delayed Dublin spire sees light of day.(Spire of Dublin unveiled)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Dublin's delayed and controversial spire, originally intended to mark the new millennium, was finally unveiled last week. At 120m high, the stainless steel Spire of Dublin is more than twice the size of the city's tallest building. The...

Planners attack lack of green policy in reforms.(Town and Country Planning Association)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The government's failure to address sustainable development in the planning bill has come under attack from the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA). In a statement released last week, the TCPA argues that the planning system is a...

Community battles for Sheffield venue.(National Centre for Popular Music)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Hopes that Sheffield's beleaguered National Centre for Popular Music can be brought back into use as a resource for the whole community were dealt a severe blow last week. A pounds 3 million plan by Pride in Sheffield, a body representing...

ODPM calls for strategies to boost homes.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Disastrous house building programmes and failed regional policies of past governments must not be repeated if the affordable housing problem is to be tackled, according to a committee of MPs. An ODPM select committee report published this...

REGENERATION NEWS: Poor regions face loss of EU funding.(United Kingdom regions)
February 7, 2003... Measures are urgently needed to stop the UK's poorest regions losing billions of pounds of funding when the EU expands, according to a report published last week. The European Commission's second progress report on social and economic...

REGENERATION NEWS: Crystal Palace scheme faces court hearing.(European Commission takes UK government to European Court of Justice)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The European Commission is taking the UK government to the European Court of Justice over a south London development. Campaigners claim that the London Borough of Bromley breached European law by failing to require an environmental impact...

REGENERATION NEWS: Backing for centre expansion.(expansion of Brent Cross Shopping Centre)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Plans to expand Brent Cross Shopping Centre received the backing of London mayor Ken Livingstone and the London Borough of Barnet last week. The pounds 42.5 million scheme is viewed as the first step in the regeneration of Cricklewood....

REGENERATION BRIEF: Quality of Life plan launched.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A plan outlining a series of actions to improve the quality of life in London was launched by the Central London Partnership last week. The public-private partnership, whose mission is to improve central London as a place in which to live,...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Developer to rethink scheme plans.(mixed-use scheme in Paddington questioned by Westminster City Council)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A developer proposing a mixed-use scheme in Paddington has been told by Westminster City Council to rethink its plans for a 28-storey tower. Squire and Partners has been asked by councillors to reduce the height of the towers in the development...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Terrace battle intensified.(lobby group opposes demolition plans of Victorian terraces)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The battle to halt the clearance of Victorian terraces in Nelson, Lancashire, has intensified. Lobby group Save Britain's Heritage has pledged its opposition to Pendle Borough Council's demolition plans. A public inquiry into the proposals is...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Jubilee Gardens to be transformed.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... London's Jubilee Gardens is to be transformed over the next three years after a deal was struck between a steering group and the South Bank Centre last week. The Jubilee Gardens Steering Group, which brings together the community and employers,...

REGENERATION BRIEF: United Nations grant special status.(special consultative status for RICS Foundation)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The United Nations has granted the RICS Foundation special consultative status. This allows non-governmental organisations to make a contribution to the work of the United Nations by serving as technical experts and advisers to governments. The...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Vacant site to be used.(Northwest Development Agency makes plans for Blackburn site)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A vacant site at Greenbank Business Park in Blackburn is to be brought back into use under an office scheme unveiled by the Northwest Development Agency. Capricorn Park, which will be delivered with the help of Blackburn with Darwen Borough...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Jobs created in city centre.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Around 6,000 jobs could be created in Birmingham city centre after councillors approved the transformation of land adjacent to Snow Hill Station into a pounds 200 million mixed-use development. Birmingham City Council's development control...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Panel appointed for development.(housing development in Sheffield's Southey Owlerton region)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A panel has been appointed to act as design champion for the development of housing in the Southey Owlerton area of Sheffield. It will work with local communities and Sheffield City Council's planning department to help ensure that development...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Railways abandon plans for basic improvements.(Strategic Rail Authority slashes funding for rail improvements)
February 7, 2003... Funding for much-needed rail improvements has been slashed by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). The SRA's second annual strategic plan, published last week, admits that around pounds 10 billion worth of schemes will have to axed or...

TRANSPORT NEWS: McConnell backs Aberdeen relief road.(first minister Jack McConnell commits Scottish Executive)
February 7, 2003... Aberdeen's long-awaited western relief road could be built by the end of the decade after first minister Jack McConnell pledged his support for the project last week. McConnell committed the Scottish Executive to meeting most of the cost,...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Campaigners warn of threat to rural buses.(from budget cuts)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Funding reforms could damage rural bus services, the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) warned last week. The warning came as the government announced a pounds 20 million package for rural bus services. The money will be...

TRANSPORT NEWS: ODPM tells rail firm to resolve link problems.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Railtrack has been ordered to iron out 'deficiencies' in its proposals for the delayed Thameslink 2000 project. Last week's move follows last summer's public inquiry reports expressing concern at the design of concourses at Blackfriars and...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Church Street Neighbourhood appoints team.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The Church Street Neighbourhood Forum, representing one of Westminster's most deprived communities, has appointed a team led by consultancy Urbancanda to carry out an environmental masterplan for the area. The team includes specialists from...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Priority Sites exchanges contracts.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Priority Sites, a joint venture development company owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland and English Partnerships, has exchanged contracts with the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to build Southmoor Business Park in Havant,...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Land Use Consultants to examine role.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Land Use Consultants have been commissioned to examine the role of the UK planning system in protecting and enhancing soils. The study recognises the growing interest in the issue of soils at European level and the first moves towards soil...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Owen Williams wins contracts.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Consultancy Owen Williams has won three major contracts for transport projects valued at around pounds 100 million. Two Network Rail contracts, each worth in excess of pounds 40 million, are for its Great Western Zone and its Eastern Region,...

BUSINESS BRIEF: One-stop housing shop launched.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A one-stop shop for sustainable housing has been launched on the internet at www.sustainablehomes.co.uk. The site provides good practice advice on new and refurbished housing as well as support for addressing energy, water, sustainable...

BUSINESS BRIEF: NWEC appoint HOK.(New West End Company hires HOK International Ltd. to help develop masterplan for London's West End)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The New West End Company (NWEC) has appointed architects HOK International Ltd to help develop a masterplan for revitalising London's West End, including Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street. The masterplan will play a critical part in...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Reform imminent with white paper.(reform of the planning system)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A white paper setting out the Scottish Executive's proposals for reforming the planning system will be published within weeks, according to ministers. The document follows a lengthy review of strategic planning arrangements and is likely...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Quality designs set for faster passage.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Development that exceeds design standards would be fast-tracked for planning approval under proposals due to be discussed by Edinburgh City Council this week. It is one of a raft of measures that could be introduced to improve...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Roads agency to publish its record online.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Scotland's trunk road authority is being pressed to speed up the time it takes to respond to planning consultations. A new planning advice note, PAN 66, published by the Scottish Executive last week, requires its road network management and...

ANALYSIS: A more inclusive profession.(recruiting ethnic minorities into planning profession)
February 7, 2003... Moves are under way to attract more people from ethnic minorities into a planning career, writes Chris Shepley In recent years, the Planning Inspectorate has made determined efforts to improve the very poor representation of women and black...

Why pictures are worth much more than words.(in the planning process)
February 7, 2003... A revealing picture is worth a thousand words to assessors of design proposals, says Peter Stewart I do not know what the definition of a 'visual impact assessment' (VIA) is - it sounds like a phrase invented by a lawyer. I see quite a lot...

TANNER ON... rising traffic, road building and the spatial plan.(Column)
February 7, 2003... To no-one's surprise, it appears that the Wales spatial plan (WSP) is unlikely to be published until after the Welsh Assembly Government elections in May. One incentive for this timetable is that the WSP will surely have to tackle the thorny...

OPINION: Fyson on... government targets and public desires.
February 7, 2003... The Commons committee on the ODPM has got its teeth into deputy prime minister John Prescott's remodelled department. Giving evidence last week on the office's annual report, Prescott sounded mildly aggrieved. His new fiefdom is, after...

EDITORIAL: Country must adopt radical green policy.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 7, 2003... For anybody new to the built environment, a cursory glance at the Town and Country Planning Association's latest policy statement on climate change would seem to be common sense rather than offering anything extraordinary. Yet the...

INTERVIEW: Naturally ambitious.(Young Planner of the Year Anne McCall interested in nature)
February 7, 2003... After a busy year as convener of the RTPI in Scotland, Young Planner of the Year and nature lover Anne McCall is not resting on her laurels, as Bryan Johnston discovers Not many planners can claim that observing the habits of the hen...

How to make yourself heard.(planners should use marketing consultants)
February 7, 2003... Marketing agencies can help planning consultants get their message across, writes Rob Winkley Marketing and public relations agencies are a bit like Premiership football referees. If they are doing a good job, you hardly notice them. ...

NOTEBOOK: What future for education?
February 7, 2003... The RTPI's education commission has carried out the first fundamental review of the institute's education policy for 20 years Cliff Hague explains what it entails Poor pay, low morale, stressed staff and a bean-counting culture. Local...

CASEBOOK: Operational needs justify green belt airport hangar.
February 7, 2003... A proposal for a new aircraft hangar at Biggin Hill Airport in south London has been approved after the deputy prime minister and the secretary of state for transport concluded that the need for the scheme outweighed any harm to the...

CASEBOOK: Greenfield housing plans pass sustainability tests.
February 7, 2003... Plans for residential development on 9.5ha of land in a Cambridgeshire village have been allowed following a call-in inquiry, with the secretary of state agreeing that both schemes proposed complied with the sequential approach to new housing...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Matalan consent fends off challenge from rival.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The High Court has rejected a judicial review sought by a rival developer of Carmarthenshire County Council's decision to resolve to grant permission for a Matalan store, after finding that it was reasonable and had been properly reached. ...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Bender development in national park supported.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The Dartmoor National Park Authority has failed in a bid to quash an inspector's decision to grant temporary planning permission for residential benders in woodland near Moretonhampstead, following the High Court's conclusion that there had...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Gypsies win support for traditional lifestyle.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The High Court has accepted that a gypsy family's aversion to living in a conventional dwellinghouse had not been properly taken into account by Carmarthenshire County Council when it decided to evict them from an unauthorised campsite. ...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Direction to remove hoardings faces review.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Maiden Outdoor Advertising Ltd has obtained permission from the High Court to challenge a decision by the London Borough of Lambeth requiring the removal of three advertisement posters and hoardings in Brixton. The council had issued...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Inspector backed in overturning restraint policy.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The High Court has rejected a judicial review application by Redditch Borough Council against an inspector's conclusion that a proposed residential site near the town no longer benefited from being within an area of development restraint. ...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - Owner given time to make farm business work.
February 7, 2003... Following a High Court judgement quashing of an inspector's decision to allow retention of an unauthorised dwelling in Hampshire, the secretary of state has concluded that a three-year temporary permission should be granted to give the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Internet shop ruled harmful to centre vitality.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... An enforcement notice alleging that a shop in a south-west London local centre had been converted to an internet cafe has been upheld because the change harmed the vitality and viability of the area. The inspector corrected the enforcement...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Community Facilities - Notice validated retrospectively by resolution.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... An enforcement notice directed against an extension to a synagogue in north London has been found to be valid even though it had initially been issued under delegated powers that were subsequently found not to exist. The unauthorised...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Community Facilities - Crime risk fails to block rehabilitation flats.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Proposals to redevelop an Essex bungalow to provide eight flats and a staff office for occupation by single people recovering from drug or alcohol misuse have been rejected on design grounds. The building was to be occupied by people aged...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Community Facilities - Noise concern overruled at day care centre.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A proposal for a day care centre for adults suffering from autism and associated residential accommodation with a total of 39 bedrooms has been allowed at a farm in Bedfordshire, despite objections that residents would be disturbed by noise...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Confusion over site straddling council boundary.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A planning permission for a house straddling the boundary between two local authorities in Kent has been held to have expired even though works had been undertaken to commence the development. Two identical planning applications had been...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Affordable homes condition deemed effective.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Two schemes proposing between 140 and 160 flats up to six storeys high at a former school in north London have been approved after an inspector concluded that a condition could be imposed to ensure that 25 per cent of the habitable rooms would...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Dwelling judged to assist river management.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The construction of a dwelling in a landscaped private garden on the banks of the River Test in Hampshire has been allowed on the basis that the private interests of the owners also coincided with the public interest. The local planning...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion - Flats judged to fail minimum space standards.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... The retention of two flats formed from a north London house has been rejected as unacceptable because of the amount of internal space, which fell well below standards set out in the local planning authority's supplementary planning guidance....

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Leisure and Entertainment - Visitor centre plan ruled out at listed reservoir.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A proposal to convert a listed underground reservoir to create a visitor centre serving Guildford town centre has been turned down on the grounds that it would be harmful to the building's character. The boat-shaped reservoir, built in...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Listed Buildings - Owner ordered to tone down burglar alarm.(repainting required)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... An appeal against a listed building enforcement notice requiring a burglar alarm bell box at a house in Cambridgeshire to be painted an appropriate colour has been rejected, despite claims by the appellants that it was necessary for it to be...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Mixed Use Development - Housing rejected at disused RAF hospital site.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A mixed-use scheme comprising 480 dwellings and a local convenience store has been judged acceptable in principle at the former Princess Mary Hospital site at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, although an appeal proposal has been judged...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Mixed Use Development - Employment use preferred for riverside site.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A residential and office redevelopment proposed by Michael Howard Homes at a boatyard on the banks of the River Deben in Suffolk has been rejected because the site represented a valuable riverside opportunity that could meet the needs of a wide...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Retail Development - Pergolas resisted at green belt garden centre.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... An enforcement notice directed against timber pergola structures at a garden centre and shop in the Surrey green belt has been upheld after the operator failed to establish a sufficiently strong case in favour of their retention. The...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Retail Development - Food store wins extension of delivery hours.(Tesco Stores Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Tesco Stores Ltd has secured a variation of a delivery hours condition imposed on one of its stores in south-east London, despite council arguments that the existing restrictions represented a reasonable balance between the needs of the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Waste Processing - Landfill proposal fails environmental tests.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... A proposal to restore a pit in Bedfordshire by landfilling with waste has been rejected on the grounds that it would cause landscape harm and because the applicant had not demonstrated that the scheme was the best practicable environmental...

CASEBOOK: Downloading decisions.
February 7, 2003... Decision letters for all cases with a DCS reference number can be immediately downloaded from the DCS website for pounds 10 + VAT per case. Readers without a free entry code can apply through the site. The site may also be used to browse...

CASEBOOK: Development Control Casebook Forum.
February 7, 2003... Send your queries or your replies to earlier queries to: Development Control Casebook Forum, Development Control Services, Suite 1, Fullers Court, Lower Quay Street, Gloucester GL1 2LW. Alternatively, fax them to 01452 830047 or e-mail them to...

CASEBOOK: New queries.(various cases of planning questions)(Column)
February 7, 2003... If a house in the green belt has a large curtilage containing a substantial outbuilding of no special design merit, should permission be granted for its replacement by a dwelling? Approaches to my council are met with a firm refusal, but I...

RTPI NEWS: Strategy for air transport's future is welcomed by the institute.
February 7, 2003... Despite welcome moves to improve air transport, there are limits to the government's ability to influence operations Planning policy co-ordinator David Barraclough says that the RTPI welcomes the government's revised series of consultation...

RTPI NEWS: How to get real about sustainable energy.
February 7, 2003... A surge of enthusiasm for all things sustainable is matched by a lack of delivery on the ground. Jonathon Porritt's David Fryer memorial lecture for 2002 was delivered after the government announced a rescue package for British Energy's...

RTPI BULLETIN BOARD.(various news items)
February 7, 2003... MEMBERSHIP ELECTIONS At the meeting of the membership panel on 17 January, 72 applicants were recommended to the council for election to corporate membership, together with applicants for other classes of membership. Forty-three per...