Planning (UK) articles from January 2008

Planning (UK) archives from January 2008

Diary.
January 4, 2008... It would be an exaggeration to say he almost made it to Wembley, but a planner from RPS did play in the FA Cup in a match shown live on the BBC last month. A planning consultant for RPS in Leeds, David Conway, came on as a second-half...

Appointment at Bidwells.
January 4, 2008... The former head of planning and development at Ipswich Borough Council, Mike Smith, has joined Bidwells' planning team as a consultant

Appointment at Savills.
January 4, 2008... Helen Dias has become an associate director with the London planning team at Savills. She was previously an associate with Arup

Appointment at Aspect 360.
January 4, 2008... Colin Pemble has left Bristol City Council, where he was an urban design co-ordinator, to set up planning consultancy Aspect 360 Ltd in Bristol. He is joined by Kit Stokes, also from Bristol City Council

Appointment at The Empty Homes Agency.
January 4, 2008... The Empty Homes Agency has appointed Henry Oliver, formerly head of regeneration and localism at the New Economics Foundation, as a national policy adviser

Appointment at Planning Design Solutions.
January 4, 2008... Murray Graham has set up a consultancy, Planning Design Solutions, after leaving Cheshire County Council, where he was planning and regeneration manager. He will be joined by Alan Thornley, formerly county planning officer at Cheshire, and Mike...

Appointment at Tribal MJP.
January 4, 2008... Helen Chambers has been promoted from senior planner to associate at Tribal MJP in the Chislehurst office. Laura Marshall has been promoted to associate in the firm's London office

Appointment at Boyer Planning.
January 4, 2008... Boyer Planning has recruited two new senior planners. Helen Hodgson moves to the company's Cardiff office from Cardiff County Council and Vincint Verster joins the Windlesham office from the London Borough of Wandsworth

Retirement at Bedford Borough Council.
January 4, 2008... Richard Woodall has retired after 15 years as economic development and planning policy service manager at Bedford Borough Council

Planning in the media highlights of 2007.
January 4, 2008... Manchester's shock rise from last to first in the race to host the UK's first super casino attracted an Amazonian forest of press coverage in early 2007. The New Statesman lamented how gambling was a 'short-term cash cow' for the Treasury...

Northern Ireland promotes professional development.
January 4, 2008... The Planning Service's learning partner status shows its commitment to trainees, as Jacqui Ward reports. Building on its established record of support for training and professional development, the Northern Ireland Planning Service recently...

Planning Reform Bill debate airs RTPI policy statement concerns.
January 4, 2008... MPs raised many of the RTPI's issues in the second reading of the Planning Reform Bill shortly before Christmas. Communities secretary Hazel Blears promised that 'there will be more accountability and a better place for the public to have a...

Sunderland principal planner elected as North East chairman.
January 4, 2008... Steve France has been elected chair of the RTPI North East region for 2008. A principal planner with Sunderland City Council, he has been involved with the RTPI in the region since 1987, both as a committee member and as a Planning Aid...

Notice of members' deaths.
January 4, 2008... The RTPI regrets to announce that the following members have died: Stephen Crow (Wales), Edwin Jones (South West), Richard Robinson (West Midlands) and Peter Rosenfeld (South West). We offer our condolences to their families and friends

Events.
January 4, 2008... - Key Planning Issues for 2008 30 January. RTPI Conferences. London. Future changes to the planning system and their influence on the work of planners and lawyers will be explored, including household planning permissions,...

Local issues fuel southern events.(Conference news)
January 4, 2008... On its first birthday the South Coast young planners network looks at its successes and its aims for the future, notes Joanne Hooper. Who dares wins - and in the South Coast sub-region, incorporating Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex, a group of...

Calling all young planners in the North East.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... A number of young planners in Newcastle have formed a steering group to organise events in the North East region. Building on the success of previous study tours, they plan to organise a wide range of social and educational events including...

Events.(Calendar)
January 4, 2008... - Continuing Professional Development Evening 17 January. South West Young Planners. Racks Bar, Clifton, Bristol. Speakers from Bristol City Council, Rapleys and Savills will debate major developments and the planning protocol, followed...

Planners share lessons in the drive to create carbon-neutral housing.
January 4, 2008... With energy efficiency at the top of the UK's political agenda, planners are in a unique position to ensure that developments around the country are tailored to specific local needs, explain Jon Morris and Sarah Conlan. Housing contributes...

DC Casebook: In depth - Green belt development agreed to tackle homes supply shortage.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to grant outline permission for a mixed scheme in south-east London after finding very special circumstances sufficient to outweigh green belt harm. The scheme comprised a...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Global case for permaculture home lost.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... An inspector has been unable to find any special justification that would allow the siting of a mobile home at a permaculture project in the Dartmoor national park. The proposal stemmed from the appellants' conviction that permaculture is...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Observation wheel receives permission.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... The temporary erection of a 52m diameter observation wheel in the grounds of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich has been allowed after an inspector decided that its benefits were sufficient to outweigh limited damage to amenity. The...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Increase in race event flights endorsed.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... An inspector has allowed an appeal seeking approval to increase the number of flights from an airfield close to the Silverstone racing circuit in Northamptonshire despite local residents' concerns over noise. The council raised no...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Driving test centre held harmful to safety.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... The change of use of an office at Wrexham Rugby Club into a driving test centre has been rejected on the grounds that it would have an adverse impact on highway safety. The appellants estimated that the centre would cater for about 35 car...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Wind turbine allowed on fringes of park.
January 4, 2008... The installation of a 750kW wind turbine at a factory in a south Wales valley has been deemed to be acceptable by an inspector who decided that it would not adversely affect the setting of the Brecon Beacons national park. The turbine...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Council faulted for applying wrong policy.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... A condition granting temporary planning permission for a mobile home in Peterborough has been deleted after an inspector ruled that the council had assessed the scheme against the wrong planning policy. The council had granted a series of...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Driveway mobility objections overruled.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... A condition imposed on a planning permission for 19 homes in South Yorkshire requiring driveways to be constructed of concrete or asphalt has been deleted after an inspector decided that crushed aggregate would be an acceptable alternative. ...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Flats held to breach local homes ceiling.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... A proposal for 12 flats at a site in Cheshire has been deemed to be unacceptable on the grounds that it would lead to an over-provision of housing in the area. A local plan policy stated that windfall sites should only be permitted where...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Community life claim fails to justify home.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... A landowner has failed to secure permission for a dwelling in the north Wales countryside after an inspector gave little weight to his argument that it would meet his family needs and support local community life. The appellant explained...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Pub conversion held in keeping with area.
January 4, 2008... The partial conversion and extension of a vacant pub in a south London conservation area to create nine flats has been granted permission, with an inspector ruling that the contemporary design would not undermine the area's character. The...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Stock car storage controlled by condition.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... An enforcement notice directed against the storage of a coach and racing cars at a semi-detached house in Staffordshire has been quashed after an inspector ruled that the impact of the development could be controlled by condition. The site...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Garden extension held to affect character.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... The use of part of a field to the rear of a line of houses in Leicestershire as garden land has been refused permission after an inspector concluded that it gave the site a domesticated appearance. The appellants had planted trees and...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Street lanterns deemed too urban for lane.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... The provision of nine street lanterns at a small housing development in Warwickshire has been ruled unacceptable after an inspector concluded that they were unduly intrusive and had an urbanising effect. The homes lay on a rural lane with...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Airport operator fails to prove hotel need.
January 4, 2008... The operators of Biggin Hill Airport in south London have failed to persuade the secretary of state that there is a clear-cut need for a new hotel to serve customers. In support of their proposal for a 100-bedroom hotel, the operators...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Beach huts judged to disrupt coastline.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... A proposal for a terrace of 11 beach huts set back into a cliff face on the Dorset coast has been pronounced visually unacceptable and likely to undermine the character of the area. The huts were to be of reinforced concrete cellular box...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Density of development held excessive.
January 4, 2008... A mixed residential and commercial scheme proposed on a site in east London has been denied permission after the secretary of state agreed with an inspector that the design was inappropriate. The proposal comprised 530 homes and 1,415m2 of...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Jewellery uses deemed unsuited to centre.
January 4, 2008... An inspector has approved the continued use of premises in Staffordshire as a jewellery shop after ruling that the particular context meant that a town centre location would be inappropriate. The shop was located in the heart of an Asian...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Baby equipment sales allowed on estate.
January 4, 2008... The retention of a retail showroom associated with a light industrial unit on an Oxfordshire trading estate has been permitted, subject to a condition that only baby and nursery-related goods can be sold from the site. The appellants...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Side window panel display agreed at store.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Discount operator Lidl has won a variation in the terms of a condition on a permission for an extension and alterations to a food store in Surrey, with an inspector ruling that it was unnecessary for one elevation to have an active window...

DC Casebook: Next Week.(ALDI Foods to improve services)(solar water heaters installation in historic building)(Employment land supply allows residential development)(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... - Food store held to enhance district centre An Aldi discount food store has been allowed in Norwich after it was found that it would form a logical extension to a district centre and improve consumer choice. DCS Number 100-051-774 ...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Mobile home refused over visual harm.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... An inspector has refused to countenance the retention of a mobile home at a hotel in the Staffordshire countryside on the grounds that it was not essential for the efficient operation of the rural economy and detracted from the landscaped...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Render required to match cottage.
January 4, 2008... An inspector has quashed a listed building enforcement requiring reconstruction of a garage in Northamptonshire after finding that it lay outside the curtilage of a listed cottage. In allowing an appeal against the refusal of permission for...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Extraction held not to deter investors.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Mineral extraction from 340ha of farmland in Northumberland has been approved by the secretary of state despite concerns among local residents that it would have adverse environmental impacts on a nearby town. The scheme involved...

DC Casebook: Appeal cases - Canalside proposal judged too dense.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to refuse permission for a mixed scheme next to a basin on the Grand Union Canal in west London. The proposal comprised 992 homes, commercial, community and leisure uses,...

DC Casebook: DC Forum.
January 4, 2008... NEW QUERIES An outbuilding has recently been built 20m from a single family dwelling. The site is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty and as such is covered by article 1(5) of the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO)...

How we did it... Romford Revival turns round struggling town.(British Urban Regeneration Association )
January 4, 2008... Project: An initiative designed to rescue Romford's ageing town centre, which faced competition in the shape of two huge regional shopping centres on its doorstep. Background: Romford was a medieval town built on the strength of its market...

The Things I Know.(Interview)
January 4, 2008... Vincent Goodstadt, Independent adviser to governmental and private sectors. - What skills did you have when you graduated? I knew what spatial analysis meant, being taught by Hagget, Harvey et al and working with others in writing a...

Time out on masts.
January 4, 2008... The local government ombudsman is concerned that local authorities are still falling foul of prior approval procedures on mobile phone masts, reports Mark Smulian. Fifty-six is a perfectly ordinary number. It comes between 55 and 57. So...

Holding water.
January 4, 2008... Sustainable drainage schemes are attracting more and more attention as a tool for planners in combating the worst effects of global warming, says Phil Chatfield. Climate change is happening here and now. Though efforts to reduce emissions...

Sustainable pace setter.
January 4, 2008... Welsh planning minister Jane Davidson is determined to forge a distinctive approach in the principality's policy on climate change and provide decent homes for all, she tells Vicki Shiel. The Welsh Assembly was ahead of the game in making...

The late release of government reports calls for a positive spin.
January 4, 2008... 'Not another one,' groaned Dinah the duty press officer as 33 more pages of policy flopped onto her desk. She had spent a fraught morning reassuring a sceptical broadsheet hack that the Merton rule was alive and well. She just knew that his...

Fyson on... meeting housing requirements in the light of the proposed eco-town development programme.
January 4, 2008... The proposed programme of eco-town development may be a mere drop in the housing requirement ocean, but in planning and sustainable development terms it has acquired a significance far beyond the purely numerical. Of the three million...

Legal report.
January 4, 2008... Collective will needed to cut down paper overload. Planning is overwhelmed by unnecessary information. Decisions are often delayed by the need to plough through paper that will never, and should never, have any influence on the eventual...

Halman on... weighing risk against cost.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... The propensity for warning signs to state the startlingly obvious is, perhaps, a function of the health and safety-conscious society that we now live in. Classics such as 'Danger - this coffee cup contains a hot drink' compete with...

Golf moves goalposts.
January 4, 2008... The twists and turns behind the consideration of plans for a golf resort in north-east Scotland have flagged up concerns over how major applications are decided, as Paul Carnell discovers. The Scottish Government's decision to call in plans...

Irvine Bay plans go out to consultation.(Building Design Partnership Ltd.)(WSP Group PLC)(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Public consultation will be launched shortly into a ten-year project that will breathe new life into five Ayrshire town centres. The pounds 100 million initiative, led by the Irvine Bay Urban Regeneration Company, will see separate plans...

Eastern push for Inverness.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... A planning blueprint for the A96 corridor east of Inverness has been published by Highland Council. The area is identified as the preferred location for the city's expansion in the Highland structure plan and plans have already been...

Clyde Gateway fund boost for games site.
January 4, 2008... The regeneration of the River Clyde is being extended into Glasgow's East End with pounds 62 million of Scottish Government funding. The money, to be paid over four years, will help rejuvenate the Dalmarnock area of the city. The...

Online now..
January 4, 2008... Visit PlanningResource.co.uk today to talk about your hopes and fears for 2008 Also online this week Masterplan for Queensborough and Rushenden, Isle of Sheppey Interview with Sunand Prasad, president of the Royal Institute of British...

Planning stats.(Survey)(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... 20,000 The number of people expected to come to live in Glasgow's Clyde Gateway area under a renewal programme that will be led by a new urban regeneration company. 44% The proportion of UK adults who say they would use poor...

Agency to oversee coastal protection.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Controversial powers allowing the Environment Agency to deliver protection from coastal flooding and erosion were outlined by the government just before Christmas. From April, the agency will take on the role of overseeing the management...

Flood advice review urged.
January 4, 2008... Planners have called for more guidance on the types of surfaces used for building drives and patios, following an independent study of last summer's floods. Sir Michael Pitt's interim report on the floods, which was published just before...

London Victoria transport plan on hold after watchdog rebuke.(Land Securities Group PLC)(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Land Securities' plans for the London Victoria transport interchange are in limbo following a blow from the government's design watchdog. The developer is 'considering its options' after the Commission for Architecture and the Built...

Agenda.(Calendar)
January 4, 2008... 10 January: Local Development Framework Collaboration Project Organiser: Planning Advisory Service Venue: Hyatt Regency, Birmingham Fee: Free Details: www.pas.gov.uk 23 January: Delivering Local Development Frameworks Organiser:...

Northstowe to lead on renewables goal.
January 4, 2008... Developers behind Northstowe, a new town planned in Cambridgeshire, claim that it may achieve as much as 50 per cent renewable energy provision. An outline planning application was submitted to South Cambridgeshire District Council just...

Eco-towns offset public costs.(Town and Country Planning Association )(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Some eco-towns may be able to fund all of their on and off-site infrastructure, a leading government adviser has suggested. Consultant John Walker, who is advising the DCLG on eco-town delivery, explained that because the towns will be...

Transport planners professional qualification.
January 4, 2008... Transport planners will have their own professional qualification for the first time, the Institution of Highways and Transportation and the Transport Planning Society (TPS) have announced. The professional transport planner qualification...

Unitary councils proposals given go-ahead.
January 4, 2008... Proposals for unitary councils in the east and west of Cheshire have been given the go-ahead by the government. The two councils will replace six existing authorities. It is estimated that the restructuring, which is supported by Chester...

Dagenham gas power station extension.(Barking Power Ltd. )(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Consent has been granted to Barking Power Ltd for the extension of a gas power station in Dagenham. The expansion will provide a further 470MW to the existing 1,000MW capacity. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform...

Quadrant scheme approved.(Westminster City Council )(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Westminster City Council planners approved the pounds 500 million Quadrant scheme for the regeneration of a site at the junction of Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus just before Christmas. The Cafe Royal block will be restored and retail,...

Elephant and Castle regeneration.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... The regeneration of Elephant and Castle will not increase carbon emissions despite almost tripling the number of homes, the London Borough of Southwark has claimed. The council has received three bids for a utilities contract that will...

EDAW masterplanner for site.(London Thames Gateway Development Corporation)(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... EDAW is to be the masterplanner for a site adjacent to the 2012 Olympic Park in east London. The design firm was appointed by the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation to draw up a plan for the Hackney Wick and Fish Island area in...

Snow Hill Plaza office development.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... A planning application has been submitted for the pounds 230 million Snow Hill Plaza office development in Birmingham. The 29-storey building will replace the existing Kennedy Tower and accommodate up to 2,500 office staff. Hamiltons is the...

RTPI Young Planner of the Year Award.
January 4, 2008... The ballot for the RTPI Young Planner of the Year Award, sponsored by the Planning Advisory Service, remains open until 9am on Monday so there is still time to register your vote. For candidates' profile and voting instructions see...

Region hits dispute on protected sites.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Growth in the East of England will damage European protected sites, environmental campaigners have claimed. A study commissioned by Friends of the Earth said significant impact on key nature conservation sites is likely despite the...

Home agency head secured.
January 4, 2008... Bob Kerslake will be the first chief executive of the new Homes and Communities Agency, the government has revealed. He takes up the post in March. He will oversee the agency's development and implementation, taking full control when it...

Maps record airport noise.(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Noise maps issued by government show how communities living near airports are affected by planes. DEFRA's diagrams are required under the EU envir- onmental noise directive. Some 18 airports in England are covered recording noise levels...

Appeal court removes doubts on terminal approval process.
January 4, 2008... Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council said its planning process has been vindicated after the Court of Appeal backed its decision on a gas pipeline terminal. The judges reversed last year's High Court ruling in which Mr Justice Collins...

Golf parties questioned.
January 4, 2008... Scottish Government ministers and civil servants face questions from MSPs this month over their role in the Trump golf resort affair. Finance secretary John Swinney, who will decide the pounds 1 billion proposal for the Menie Estate north...

Body calls for energy push.(U.S. Green Building Council issues rules for environmental engineering)(Brief article)
January 4, 2008... Local authorities should plan to maximise the potential for renewables, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has urged in a government-commissioned study. The body says this would involve heat mapping and investigating the potential for...

Economic development climbs up agenda.
January 4, 2008... Economic development has moved back up the agenda following the release of long-awaited draft PPS4, according to leading consultants. The document says councils need to take a more flexible approach to land supply and avoid single-use...

Estuary wins cable bridge.
January 4, 2008... A new bridge is to be built over the Firth of Forth after Scottish finance minister John Swinney admitted that the move is necessary. A cable-stayed bridge, which will cost up to pounds 4.2 billion and take more than five years to build,...

Diary.
January 11, 2008... The trend for giving iconic buildings populist nicknames is known only too well to Sir Norman Foster, whose creations include London's Gherkin and Glass Testicle. The architectural guru's latest offering has been dubbed the 'dahlia stuck...

Planning in the media.
January 11, 2008... Nimbyism may be a derogatory term in some circles, but Terence Blacker argued in The Independent that it should be applauded for protecting 'the small against the big'. He accused 'big business and big politics' of trying to discredit...