Planning (UK) articles from February 2008

Planning (UK) archives from February 2008

Diary.
February 1, 2008... Newcastle City Council's Richard Charge took time out from regenerating the football hotbed's East Pilgrim Street area to claim a double on the pitch. Charge finished as top goalscorer and netted the fastest goal, timed at three seconds,...

Appointment at Lambert Smith Hampton.
February 1, 2008... Jinny Mitten has joined Lambert Smith Hampton's Cardiff office as a planning consultant. She was previously senior planning officer at Swansea City Council

Appointment at i-Transport.
February 1, 2008... Emily Coombes has been promoted to principal consultant at i-Transport. Elsewhere in the company, James Tate has joined as a graduate transport planner in the Manchester office and Geoff Pluck as a graduate transport planner in the Basingstoke...

Appointment at Congleton Borough Council.
February 1, 2008... Joanne Dutton and Antony Wallace have joined Congleton Borough Council as principal planning officer and senior planning officer respectively

Appointment at King Sturge.
February 1, 2008... Naomi Kellett has taken up the post of planner at King Sturge in Manchester, having previously worked for Atkins. Glenn Roberts has joined as an assistant planner

Appointment at Turley Associates.
February 1, 2008... Alex Blake has been appointed a senior planner at Turley Associates' Bristol office, having previously worked for LPC (Trull) Helen Heggs has joined as a planner from Bristol City Council.

Appointment at Barton Willmore.
February 1, 2008... James De Havilland has joined Barton Willmore in Bristol as urban design director. He was previously masterplanning and urban design director at Turley Associates and brings with him Kevin Parks as masterplanning associate and Georgia Deschamps...

Appointment at London Planning Practice.
February 1, 2008... Promotions at the London Planning Practice have seen Mike Hughes become senior planner and Simon Wallis associate partner

Appointment at Bidwells.
February 1, 2008... Former head of planning and development at Ipswich Borough Council Mike Smith has been selected to advise Bidwells' planning team in Ipswich as a consultant

Planning in the media.
February 1, 2008... After five years as director of Friends of the Earth, Tony Juniper wrote an article in The Mail on Sunday to announce his resignation and berate 'hypocritical celebrities who pick up on fashionable green causes to win PR points'. Model...

Workshop puts three-stage education into the spotlight.
February 1, 2008... Universities and employers continue to explore their differing roles in graduate training, says Jacqui Ward. Planning academics and practitioners from the public and private sectors met this month to widen the debate on some of the key...

Planners called to email MPs as time runs out on bill appeal objections.
February 1, 2008... The RTPI is urging planners to send letters to their MPs objecting to proposals in the Planning Bill to remove the right to an independent appeal where an application has been turned down by council officers. Speed is important, according...

Government criticised over nuclear power station announcement.
February 1, 2008... RTPI secretary-general Robert Upton has criticised business secretary John Hutton's introduction of the nuclear power station programme as an example of how not to approach national policy-making. 'Government has failed in its duty to...

Events.(Royal Town Planning Institute)(Conference news)
February 1, 2008... Annual North West Transportation Lecture - 12 February. RTPI and partner organisations. Manchester Conference Centre. Faber Maunsell's Kevin Riley will talk about the interaction between transport and the urban environment, while the...

Network plays to local strengths.(young planners' network )
February 1, 2008... Regional representation introduced to the young planners' network steering group will allow members to share information, reports Catherine Middleton. The young planners' network (YPN) has grown to become the largest of the RTPI's...

Bradford uses Facebook to consult young people on city centre plan.
February 1, 2008... Public consultation in the plan-making process can be one of the toughest tasks that planners face when trying to establish local opinions and issues. Getting young people to come along to traditional events and voice their opinions can be...

Young planners' network revamped steering group takes shape.
February 1, 2008... The new members of the young planners' network steering group are: - Scotland - Fiona Clandillon, senior planning consultant, Ryden - Wales - Lucie Taylor, liaison officer, planning policy, Newport City Council. - Northern Ireland - Diana...

Climate change challenge calls for joined-up development plan policies.
February 1, 2008... Adapting strategies to cover the future implications of changing climate must take an integrated approach to planning policies at local, regional and national level, write John Baker, Sharon Jefferies and Cicely Postan. Today's development...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Mobile home wins enforcement immunity.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... An enforcement notice has been quashed after an inspector decided that a former mobile home at a farm in Surrey is a dwellinghouse and immune from enforcement action. Temporary planning permission was granted in 1972 for a residential...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Storage tank held excessive at farm unit.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... An enforcement notice seeking the removal of a liquid storage tank at a farm in East Yorkshire has been upheld following an inspector's ruling that it was not necessary for the holding's operation. The tank could store 770m3 of liquid...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Crime fears rule out store cash machine.
February 1, 2008... The installation of an automated cash dispenser at a supermarket in Surrey has been rejected after an inspector concluded that it failed to provide adequate access for people with disabilities and would increase the risk of crime. The...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Music studio allowed in domestic garage.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... The conversion of a garage at a house in Devon into a recording studio has been authorised despite local authority concerns about access to the site via a steeply sloping and roughly surfaced track. The appellant contended that there would...

DC Casebook: Energy Development - Visual impact outweighs renewable case.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Following a High Court ruling quashing a previous appeal decision, a wind farm proposal in rural Norfolk has been refused permission on the basis that the landscape could not absorb the development. Enertrag UK Ltd proposed six turbines up...

DC Casebook: Energy Development - Substation wins approval in national park.
February 1, 2008... An electricity substation has been allowed in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park following a ruling that the need to improve national grid connections was of overriding importance. The reporter accepted that the scheme was at...

DC Casebook: Energy Development - Green belt harm justified by mast benefits.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... An inspector has granted temporary planning permission for a 60m wind monitoring mast in the West Yorkshire green belt after concluding that the benefits of assessing the site for a wind farm outweighed the loss of openness. The scheme was...

DC Casebook: Housing, New build - Flats judged to spoil conservation area.
February 1, 2008... Conservation area consent and planning permission have been denied for 14 apartments in Middlesex after an inspector ruled that they would have an adverse effect on the character of the locality. The appellants pointed out that there was a...

DC Casebook: Housing, New build - Historic plot importance prevents infill.
February 1, 2008... A proposal for a detached dwelling in a Bedfordshire conservation area has been refused permission on the grounds that it would adversely affect the historic pattern of the settlement. The appellant proposed to site the dwelling and...

DC Casebook: Housing, Conversion - Garage home treated as independent use.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... An inspector has upheld an enforcement notice on use of a domestic garage in Hertfordshire as a dwelling and agreed that children's play equipment and a summerhouse require planning permission. The garage had been built under permitted...

DC Casebook: Householder Development - Mixed results for garden access appeals.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... In amending an enforcement notice requiring the removal of a hardstanding at a house in Essex to permit its retention, an inspector has confirmed that the council is not prevented from taking action against other works at the site. The...

DC Casebook: Householder Development - Chimney loss deemed harmful to integrity.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... An inspector has refused to sanction the removal of two chimneys from a semi-detached Tudorbethan house in south Wales after finding that it would harm a conservation area. Householder permitted development rights in the conservation area...

DC Casebook: Leisure and entertainment - Paintball games allowed in woodland area.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... An inspector has quashed an enforcement notice and granted planning permission for the use of a wood in Cheshire for paintball games after finding that its visual impact was acceptable and management measures could mitigate the impact. The...

DC Casebook: Leisure and entertainment - Motorbike course held to harm green belt.
February 1, 2008... The change of use of a site in the Cheshire green belt into a motorcycle course has been ruled out by an inspector who determined that it would amount to inappropriate development and would be harmful to the character of the area. The...

DC Casebook: Telecommunications - Flagpole antennae let down on details.
February 1, 2008... The replacement of a flagpole on the top of a grade II* listed church in Sunderland with a pole that would incorporate telecommunications antennae has been turned down after an inspector decided that information on its likely visual impact was...

DC Casebook: Transport development - Coach business need claim turned down.
February 1, 2008... An enforcement notice against the use of Essex green belt land for parking coaches and minibuses has been upheld, despite an appellant's claim that he was meeting a need for cheap local travel. The appellant contended that there was a...

DC Casebook: Next week.
February 1, 2008... Council overruled on hotel loss objection - The conversion of a former hotel in Plymouth into 26 apartments and a restaurant has been allowed following a ruling that it would not harm the city's tourism offer. DCS Number 100-052-391 -...

DC Casebook: In depth - Renewable energy benefits held uncertain in greenfield proposals.
February 1, 2008... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to refuse planning permission for 40 cottages, 20 flats and 20 work units on a greenfield site in Suffolk despite recognising that renewable energy features would have some...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Cottages ruled out in marina package.
February 1, 2008... An outline proposal to regenerate a Sussex marina has been rejected after a ruling that four cottages included as part of the package were not needed to support the rest of the scheme. The inspector identified the principal thrust of a...

DC Casebook: Housing new build - Community contribution questioned.
February 1, 2008... An outline proposal for 18 homes in the Dartmoor national park has been rejected, primarily on the grounds that it would be unlikely to meet identified housing needs. The council's affordable housing champion had calculated a need for at...

DC Casebook: Housing conversion - Demolition agreed to preserve setting.
February 1, 2008... An inspector has granted conservation area consent for the demolition of a station house at a heritage railway in Yorkshire after finding that its renovation for domestic occupation would harm the setting. The house appeared to have been...

DC Casebook: Leisure and Entertainment - Play use held harmful to employment.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... The change of use of a warehouse on a south Wales industrial estate to an indoor soft play area has been rejected amid fears that it would lead to unacceptable loss of employment land. The appellant claimed that there was no interest in the...

DC Casebook: Retail development - Arcade extension deemed positive.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... The extension of a Victorian shopping arcade in Cardiff has been allowed after an inspector determined that it would not harm the character or appearance of a conservation area or a range of listed buildings. The local authority considered...

DC Casebook: DC Forum.(General Permitted Development Order )
February 1, 2008... New Queries My authority has identified a number of previously developed sites that meet the criteria in annex C of PPG2 in its unitary development plan (UDP), approved in June 2006. The council now wishes to dispose of a school in the...

How we did it ... Minimal impact ensured for wastewater facility.
February 1, 2008... Project: North Coast wastewater treatment scheme, Northern Ireland. Background: The north coast area of outstanding natural beauty contains some of Northern Ireland's premier bathing beaches. New infrastructure was required to improve the...

The things I know.(Trevor Roberts)(Interview)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Trevor Roberts, Consultant director, Trevor Roberts Associates (TRA). Where did you study planning? Geography at the University of Cambridge taught me how to analyse. I then studied planning at the University of Manchester, where I...

Year of the flood.
February 1, 2008... Much progress has been made on flood prevention since revised guidance emerged a year ago but a number of issues need further consideration, Andrew Coleman concludes. Flooding made its presence felt as a planning issue last year. The...

Environmental trustee.(National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty)(Occupation overview)
February 1, 2008... The National Trust's conservation ideals strike a chord with public concerns about climate change and uncontrolled development, director-general Fiona Reynolds tells Catherine Early. Despite being made a dame in the new year honours list,...

From system reforms to homes targets, Flint is in the hot seat.
February 1, 2008... Welcome, Caroline Flint. The new planning and housing minister might not have gathered it yet but she has an enormous task on her hands. It is impossible to shoehorn all of the challenges that she will face into the space of an editorial,...

Fyson on ... London's growing hub role.
February 1, 2008... London's growing hub role that seals the case for relocating Heathrow in the Thames Estuary. In 1999, the inspector presiding over the inquiry into the proposed Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport observed that the environmental costs of a...

Legal report.
February 1, 2008... System faces confidence crisis on housing targets The sheer volume of paper being produced by the Scottish Government's planning division should reassure even the most ardent cynic that the long anticipated shake-up of the planning system...

Shepley on ... the chance for planning glory.(RTPI Planning Awards 2008 )(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... I am chairman of the judges for the RTPI Planning Awards 2008 and I intend to plug them shamelessly here. There are good reasons for taking part. Not least, winners tell us how good it is for the firm or the authority. Parading a...

Green skills in demand.
February 1, 2008... Planners will need to develop their technical and commercial expertise now that zero carbon construction and infrastructure provision are key priorities, reports Domenic Donatantonio. It is February 2010 at a local authority planning...

Edinburgh arcade consultation opens.(St James shopping centre )(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... An eight-week public consultation exercise was launched last week into what would be one of Edinburgh city centre's largest developments for decades. Outline plans to be lodged with Edinburgh City Council in April will propose demolishing...

Landfill cuts put forward.
February 1, 2008... The amount of municipal waste sent to landfill in Scotland would be cut to five per cent by 2025 under targets that have been unveiled by the Scottish Government. Recycling and composting rates, which stand at 29.8 per cent, would rise to...

Officials defended on Trump proposals.(Donald Trump golf resort )(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... First minister Alex Salmond has repeated his insistence that the Scottish Government acted properly in the Donald Trump golf resort affair. Appearing before Holyrood's local government committee for the second time last week, he also...

Online now.
February 1, 2008... Visit PlanningResource.co.uk today to get the lowdown on heritage's vital role in boosting regeneration initiatives. Also online this week Interview with controversial modernist architect Will Alsop - Second Opinion on renewal of Portobello in...

Planning stats.(Brief article)(Statistical data)
February 1, 2008... 2 million - The number of people in the UK who now own a second home, according to the latest survey of wealth and assets by the Office of National Statistics. 71,000 - The proposed capacity for Liverpool Football Club's Stanley Park...

GVA helps on station work.(GVA Grimley)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... GVA Grimley is advising English Partnerships on the Lime Street Gateway project in Liverpool. Fresh plans were submitted in December after a reappraisal of the scheme by the partners. The decision followed a lengthy challenge to the...

MVA studies design effect.
February 1, 2008... MVA Consultancy is seeking developers and property advisers to contribute to research into how urban realm improvements can add value to property. The work has been commissioned by the London mayor's architecture and urban design agency...

Entec lodges Revive plans.(environmental and engineering consultancy )(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Entec has submitted a masterplan for the regeneration of former mining town Lochgelly in Fife up to 2026. The consultancy is working for Revive, a consortium of landowners and developers led by Lomond Homes and Strawsons Property. The...

Forth legal team picked.(Dundas and Wilson contracts with Jacobs and Arup)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Law firm Dundas and Wilson is to act as a legal adviser to the consortium planning the pounds 4.2 billion second Forth road bridge. The practice will advise consultancies Jacobs and Arup, which are leading the project. The pounds 100...

RPS hopeful of golf resort bid approval.
February 1, 2008... RPS is confident that plans for a major golf resort in south Wales will go ahead after Swansea City Council backed the project in its development plan. RPS's Cardiff office is managing the pounds 26.5 million Royal Fern Park project for...

Research to assess community rail line benefits commissioned.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... The government is to help fund the biggest study into the value of community rail lines since many were closed by state decree in the 1960s. The research will be carried out by Suffolk-based firm Transport Regeneration and will examine the...

Judge backs school order.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Building work on a new academy school in Darwen can begin after the High Court lifted an injunction preventing demolition work. Bulldozers were held back by two homeowners who launched an appeal on a compulsory purchase order (CPO) from...

Bank secures fresh offices.
February 1, 2008... An office project in Poole that will provide a new South West base for Barclays PLC won backing last week. The scheme on West Quay Road will include 9,300m2 of office space and act as a gateway from the waterside to the heart of the town....

Links set out in Gloucester.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Four pedestrian routes to link Gloucester city centre with the pounds 250 million Gloucester Quays scheme have been proposed by the city's regeneration company. Gloucester Heritage said the routes will make it easier for visitors to reach...

Agency pledges cash for Salford scheme.(English Partnerships )(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... English Partnerships is to invest pounds 8.5 million to kick-start an urban quarter linking Salford and Manchester. Exchange Greengate will include public spaces, a new River Irwell crossing, 2,500 homes and more than 85,000m2 of office space....

Recruitment drive planned in Newham.
February 1, 2008... The London Borough of Newham is gearing up for the 2012 Olympics by hiring 20 staff for its planning team. Almost pounds 850,000 worth of new permanent posts are being created to help boost capacity as the borough prepares for major...

Toll zone line review urged.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... London's congestion charge boundary should be redrawn so Petticoat Lane Market is not included, the London Assembly has urged. An economic development, culture, sport and tourism committee report calls for Transport for London to make the...

Firms pushed for car pools.
February 1, 2008... The government is urging employers to run car-pooling schemes after it emerged that most shared journeys are arranged informally. The DfT's first study on car-sharing shows that just one per cent of respondents use schemes run by employers...

Council backs sale of Southend Airport to reinvigorate locality.
February 1, 2008... Southend-on-Sea Borough Council is backing the sale of the town's airport, arguing that it will help return the area to its heyday. Regional Airports is looking to sell Southend Airport, which already has planning permission for a new...

Chelsea wins on rail U-turn.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... The government has bowed to local authority pressure and put a Sloane Square station back on the Crossrail 2 line planned in London. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said the government removed the west London stop without...

Olympics travel strategy blasted by regional board.
February 1, 2008... The body representing local authorities from across the South East has described the transport plans for the 2012 London Olympic Games as 'deeply disappointing'. The South East England Regional Transport Board said the Olympic Transport...

Lewis faces turbine fight.
February 1, 2008... Western Isles Council is to meet Scottish Government ministers in an effort to win permission for one of Europe's biggest wind farms. The 181-turbine scheme proposed for the Isle of Lewis has encountered strong opposition from local...

Turner chairs climate team.(Adair Turner )(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Business leader Adair Turner has been appointed chairman of the committee on climate change, the government announced this week. The former CBI director- general and Standard Chartered Bank director will lead the committee in its task to...

Planning Bill raises fears over habitats.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... National policy statements could override the protection given to internationally important wildlife sites, campaigners have claimed. The Wildlife Trust wants the Planning Bill to be clarified to spell out the exact status of the...

Heritage bodies dispute global warming adaptation guidance.
February 1, 2008... The National Trust and English Heritage are in dispute over planning guidance on adapting listed buildings to cope with climate change. The trust has called for a review of the 14-year-old PPG15 on the historic environment to cover...

Firms set for water charge.
February 1, 2008... Cambridge Water has decided that developers must shoulder the cost of mains water pipes required to service thousands of planned houses in its area. The company's 25-year plan estimates that the government's proposed housing boom will mean...

Renewables quota closer.
February 1, 2008... A private member's bill to give councils the right to set quotas for renewable energy provision in new developments has passed through its second parliamentary stage. Conservative MP Michael Fallon's Planning and Energy Bill was voted...

Studdert calls for eco-town bid delay.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... The planner overseeing growth around Cambridge wants a 10,000-home eco-town located close to prototype project Northstowe put on the back burner. Joint planning director Peter Studdert claimed that the region's authorities would find it...

Market plans under attack.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Plans to redevelop London's Smithfield Market are an attempt to drive a bulldozer through national and local heritage policies, an inquiry heard last week. Appearing for English Heritage, Robert McCracken QC said: 'There is a great...

Environmental concerns block Giant's Causeway centre deal.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Controversial plans to build a visitor centre near the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland have been shelved, it emerged this week. Northern Ireland environment minister Arlene Foster refused planning permission for developer Seymour...

Agenda.
February 1, 2008... 6 FEBRUARY: Investing in Infrastructure - The Impact of the Community Infrastructure Levy Organiser: Waterfront Venue: London Fee: pounds 349 + VAT Details: 020 7787 1211 12 FEBRUARY: Effective Report Writing Organiser: RTPI...

Levy debate pushes framework link-up.(community infrastructure levy )(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Planning experts have called on the government to force authorities to take up the community infrastructure levy (CIL) in their local development plans. The DCLG published a consultation document last week detailing how the levy might...

World carbon cuts sought.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Leaders representing half a million built environment professionals have petitioned prime minister Gordon Brown for a global agreement on cutting carbon emissions. In all, 27 bodies including the RTPI, the Construction Industry Council,...