Planning (UK) articles from July 2003

Planning (UK) archives from July 2003

Stalled Welsh chamber gets final approval.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Plans for the Welsh Assembly Government's debating chamber have been given the go-ahead after a deal with developers was approved this week. Assembly members voted in favour of a lump sum contract with Taylor Woodrow Construction to build...

Crisis forecast for UK energy supply.
July 4, 2003... The UK could soon be reliant on politically unstable countries for its energy supplies, a report has warned. An Institution of Civil Engineers' (ICE) report published this week warns that there could be an 80 per cent shortfall in meeting...

Report reveals economic risk of disparities.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Disparities between the growth rates of English regions are damaging the UK economy as a whole, according to a Commons ODPM select committee report published this week. The report welcomes the government's commitment to creating a public...

Strategy unveiled to bridge skills gap.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A national training academy and a campaign to rebrand built environment professions are among measures needed to prevent skills shortages derailing regeneration plans, according to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment...

Prince supports rural housing initiative.(Prince of Wales)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Prince of Wales has lent his support to an initiative encouraging landowners and businesses to help relieve the shortage of affordable homes in rural areas. The initiative, launched last week by the Housing Corporation, the Countryside...

Consultation closes on future aviation policies.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The government's controversial consultation on the future of UK aviation policy concluded this week with a flurry of last-minute submissions. The Department for Transport (DfT) will now wade through more than 140,000 responses ahead of its...

Figures reveal leap in planning gripes.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Planning complaints to the local government ombudsman rose by 6.4 per cent last year, according to a report published this week. Figures in the ombudman's annual report for 2002-03 reveal 3,493 complaints, compared with 3,283 for the...

A shopping scheme on Bournemouth's former bus depot has been approved.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A shopping scheme on Bournemouth's former bus depot has been approved. Bournemouth Borough Council has resolved to grant permission for 11,100 sq m of shopping on the 4.7ha site on Mallard Road. The application, submitted by the Mallard Road...

Services earn good ranking at Wycombe.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Planning services at Wycombe District Council are good with promising prospects for improvement, the Audit Commission has concluded. A Best Value inspection report published last week says that the service is highly valued by customers, has...

Society votes for Gowing as new president.(Planning Officers Society)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Gill Gowing, director of planning at Chiltern District Council, has been elected president of the Planning Officers Society. In her inaugural comments last week, Gowing said that she will act as an advocate for 'all that is best in local...

Application rates point to progress.
July 4, 2003... Latest planning application data show a slight improvement on the previous quarter's figures despite an increasing workload. ODPM figures published last week show that district planning authorities in England processed 67 per cent of...

London life details revealed by survey.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Londoners spend more on public transport, are more likely to be self-employed and have more disposable income than the rest of the nation, according to a survey published last week. The study was produced by the Office for National...

Welsh system reforms set to be scrutinised.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Welsh environment, planning and countryside minister Carwyn Jones revealed that he will explore ways in which the planning system can be made more proactive last week. Further scrutiny of the planning system will form part of the Welsh...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Former RTPI president Geoffrey Booth died last weekend.(Obituary)
July 4, 2003... Former RTPI president Geoffrey Booth died last weekend. Booth was president of the institute in 1979-80 and also had a spell as president of the County Planning Officers Society. His jobs included county planning officer at Essex County...

NEWS IN BRIEF: The 18-month remodelling of Trafalgar Square ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The 18-month remodelling of Trafalgar Square was completed and formally unveiled by mayor of London Ken Livingstone this week. Part of the World Squares for All scheme masterminded by Sir Norman Foster, the project includes the...

NEWS IN BRIEF: UK business are becoming increasingly frustrated with government transport policy, ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... UK business are becoming increasingly frustrated with government transport policy, according to the Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) annual report on the ten-year transport plan. The CBI claims that progress on local transport plans is...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Investment in jobs, transport and infrastructure must be stepped up ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Investment in jobs, transport and infrastructure must be stepped up if growth plans for Ashford are to succeed, the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) has warned. SEERA's executive committee has approved growth proposals for the town...

NEWS IN BRIEF: A pounds 7.5 million government scheme to establish sustainable travel towns ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A pounds 7.5 million government scheme to establish sustainable travel towns was launched this week. The Department for Transport (DfT) is seeking local authority partners to propose and implement a package of measures to promote walking,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: New president for the Royal Institute of British Architects.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... George Ferguson, chairman of Acanthus Ferguson Mann, succeeded Paul Hyett as president of the Royal Institute of British Architects this week. Ferguson owns and created the Tobacco Factory in Bristol. He has written widely on architecture and...

NEWS IN BRIEF: A call to 'fight for local government' ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A call to 'fight for local government' was issued to delegates at the Local Government Association's (LGA) annual conference in Harrogate last week. The call came from LGA chairman Sir Jeremy Beecham, who said delegates need to ensure that the...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Correction.(Correction Notice)
July 4, 2003... We reported (Planning, 27 June, p3) that the South East England Regional Assembly had responded to the Milton Keynes and South Midlands multi-modal study. It had in fact responded to the London to South Midlands multi-modal study.

NEWS IN BRIEF: Heritage experts from across the UK ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Heritage experts from across the UK are visiting Liverpool this week to view the city's nominated World Heritage Site. The Local Authority World Heritage Forum is a special interest group with representatives from almost every council in the UK...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) will remain protected under the government's planning reforms, nature conservation minister Ben Bradshaw insisted this week. He told delegates at a conference on AONBs that the planning bill will...

Findings released on Safeway buyout.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The acquisition of supermarket chain Safeway by rival Morrisons could lead to increased competition in the grocery sector, the Competition Commission has suggested. In its preliminary findings into the proposed acquisition of Safeway,...

Camden house building level falls short of need.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Levels of house building in Camden are likely to be almost 20 per cent lower than targets recommended in mayor Ken Livingstone's London Plan. The London Borough of Camden last week launched consultation on a draft revision of its unitary...

Irish consultants reap backlog rewards.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... An Bord Pleanala paid EUR4 million to outside consultants in the past two years to clear a backlog of planning appeals, an Irish parliamentary committee has been told. Chairman John O'Connor, appearing before an all-party public accounts...

Strategy aims to win benefits for Sunderland.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A pounds 267 million strategy to make Sunderland more vibrant, economically sound and socially inclusive was launched this week by the city's urban regeneration company (URC). Sunderland Arc's business plan sets out a 15-year strategy for...

Sustainability pledge issued by corporation.(Housing Corporation )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Housing Corporation has pledged to put sustainable development at the heart of its corporate strategy and policies. The corporation launched two strategies this week - a pledge on sustainable development and a sustainability checklist....

REGENERATION NEWS: Brownfield health perils highlighted.
July 4, 2003... Local authorities need to be wary of the health dangers of brownfield development, a public health expert warned this week. Brian Staples, co-author of a study examining the link between contaminated land and kidney abnormalities, insists...

REGENERATION NEWS: Cash injection aims to revive house market.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A pounds 28 million funding package was allocated by the government to allow seven areas in the north and the Midlands to tackle housing market renewal last week. The money has been allocated as part of the pounds 500 million government...

REGENERATION NEWS: The redevelopment of Didcot town centre is set to go ahead ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The redevelopment of Didcot town centre is set to go ahead after a development agreement between Taylor Woodrow and South Oxfordshire District Council was finalised. The project comprises shops, offices, homes and a bus station on a site...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: A major assessment of employment sites is to be carried out in the North East, ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A major assessment of employment sites is to be carried out in the North East, it was announced last week. Regional development agency One North East, together with four sub-regional partnerships and the North East Assembly, have commissioned...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: Appointment at Tees Valley's housing stock.(Jim Johnsone )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Jim Johnsone, regional planner for the north of England at the House Builders Federation, has been appointed to lead the transformation of the Tees Valley's housing stock. Johnsone will take up the post of director at the Tees Valley housing...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: London mayor Ken Livingstone has asked London Underground Ltd ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... London mayor Ken Livingstone has asked London Underground Ltd to include a new home for a demolition-threatened nightclub in its plans for the redevelopment of Camden Town tube station. In response to the London Borough of Camden's consultation...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: A body formed to champion good design in the South East was launched ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A body formed to champion good design in the South East was launched in Reading this week. The South East Design Champions Club was formed in response to a call by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment to appoint design...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: More than 600 homes are set to be demolished ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... More than 600 homes are set to be demolished as part of a short-term plan for neighbourhood renewal agreed by Hull City Council last week. The strategy includes plans for pounds 1.9 million worth of improvements to communal space in the Orchard...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: The main obstacle facing the conversion of a former boys' school ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The main obstacle facing the conversion of a former boys' school in Sheffield city centre into a bar and club complex was overcome last week. Sheffield City Council agreed to relax opening hours restrictions after developer Ask and Gleeson...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: Urban regeneration company New East Manchester ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Urban regeneration company New East Manchester has appointed affordable housing provider Lovell as its development partner for the Toxteth Street area of Higher Openshaw. Lovell will carry out a major consultation exercise to draw up a detailed...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: Bracknell Forest Borough Council's pounds 500 million development ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Bracknell Forest Borough Council's pounds 500 million development of Bracknell town centre has been heralded as an example of good practice by the South East England Regional Assembly. The council's masterplan was praised by the assembly for...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Cash sought to ease Midlands gridlock.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... West Midlands transport planners are set to petition the government for an extra pounds 2.2 billion to help solve the region's congestion crisis. The West Midlands local transport plan is being submitted two years early because planners...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Network Rail reveals full cost of system upgrade.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The UK's railways need pounds 54 billion over the next decade to bring the ailing infrastructure up to scratch, Network Rail revealed this week. Announcing the submission of its revised ten-year plan to the Office of the Rail Regulator,...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Pedestrian lobby blasts weak strategy.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Pedestrian groups have attacked the government's 'half-hearted' attempt to produce a national strategy for walking. A discussion paper published by the Department for Transport (DfT) this week follows the conclusions of the former Commons...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Hazel elected as president of institution.(George Hazel has been elected president of the Institution of Highways and Transportation)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Professor George Hazel has been elected president of the Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT), succeeding Ronnie Porter. Hazel is managing director of transport consultancy McLean Hazel and a visiting professor at the Robert...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Maintenance target praised in road report.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Some of the UK's roads are made up more of patches than original road surface, according to a critical Commons transport committee report published last week. Despite praising the government's target to eliminate the backlog of road...

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEF: Environmental consultancy The Environment Partnership (TEP) ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Environmental consultancy The Environment Partnership (TEP) has been appointed by English Partnerships to prepare a management plan for the 60ha Lightmoor wildlife site in Telford. The site is expected to face pressure in the next ten years...

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEF: Entec has been commissioned by East Northamptonshire District Council ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Entec has been commissioned by East Northamptonshire District Council to produce a regeneration masterplan for the market town of Thrapston. The aim is to improve the appearance of the town centre, encourage economic growth, improve the...

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEF: Hyder Consulting has been appointed by the Welsh Development Agency ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Hyder Consulting has been appointed by the Welsh Development Agency and the local community in the Fforesthall area of Swansea to carry out a community consultation identifying the needs of the area. The information will lead to the creation of...

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEF: The Durham office of environmental consultancy RPS ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Durham office of environmental consultancy RPS has won a research and development contract with Premier Waste Management (PWM). RPS is assessing a new product made from household waste that could be used as a soil conditioner to improve the...

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEF: The Halcrow Group has been appointed by the East of England Development Agency ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Halcrow Group has been appointed by the East of England Development Agency to carry out research on the agency's role as a statutory consultee in the development control process, in the light of changes proposed by the Planning and...

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEF: The Liverpool Land Development Company, ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Liverpool Land Development Company, the organisation responsible for delivering major physical and economic regeneration in four of Liverpool's strategic investment areas (SIAs), has announced the shortlist of developers invited to bid to...

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEF: Sainsburys has invited Lovejoy, ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Sainsburys has invited Lovejoy, in collaboration with Lifschutz Davidson, RPS and Mayer Brown, to examine a range of public realm improvements and alterations to the external appearance of its superstores. The commission will initially focus on...

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEF: English Heritage has commissioned The Conservation Studio ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... English Heritage has commissioned The Conservation Studio to develop a methodology for measuring change in conservation areas. The research will include detailed surveys of four conservation areas in London and the north of England, noting the...

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEF: Humberts Leisure Consulting, in conjunction with business tourism ..(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Humberts Leisure Consulting, in conjunction with business tourism consultancy Strategy and Action, has been appointed by the East of England Development Agency to examine the potential for attracting international conference hotels to the south...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Council abandons Clyde consortium.
July 4, 2003... The organisation set up to co-ordinate the redevelopment of the Clyde riverside is in disarray following Glasgow City Council's withdrawal last week. The Clyde Waterfront Working Group, established in 2001 by the then enterprise minister...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Edinburgh scheme beset by cost hike.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Plans to redevelop Edinburgh's Waverley Station to increase capacity and create a shopping centre may be scaled back after costs doubled. A consultant's report has priced the project at pounds 800 million, compared with Railtrack's pounds...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Hydro station for Highlands wins approval.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Ministers have approved plans for a hydroelectric scheme at Garrogie on the River Fechlin in the Highlands. The 2MW scheme, 20km north of Fort Augustus, will be operated by Innogy and generate sufficient electricity to power 2,000 homes....

ANALYSIS: Growth plans yet to take off.
July 4, 2003... Agreement over the case for expansion of the UK's airport capacity is still a long way off, finds Marino Donati. Transport secretary Alistair Darling's consultation exercise on government plans for airport expansion in the UK has sparked a...

Wasted opportunity to improve performance.
July 4, 2003... Local authorities' use of the planning delivery grant for other purposes is a cause for concern, reports David Dewar. It was hailed as the great bonanza, the saviour of the planning system, akin to winning the lottery. The pounds 350...

BELL ON: Mixed blessings of flood-risk greenfield sites.
July 4, 2003... Squelching over the field, the chairman's shoes started to take in water. If shoes could talk they would be calling for the lifeboat. I pondered the challenge for the house builder's copywriter: 'An elegant waterside development. Glimpse...

OPINION: Fyson on - Consultation on rule revisions for satellite dishes.
July 4, 2003... Consultation on proposed changes to the rules and regulations governing the siting of satellite dishes and antennas in England ends this week. Readers not involved in development control might be forgiven for having failed to notice this,...

EDITORIAL: Better performance clouds target failure.(Editorial)
July 4, 2003... There must be something very wrong when councils continually miss a target by more than 20 per cent. The latest quarterly planning application statistics reveal that while local planning authority performance in dealing with major schemes has...

INTERVIEW: Right road to the top.(Glenn Lyons )(Interview)
July 4, 2003... Researcher and government adviser Glenn Lyons favours a holistic approach to transport and wants to change the way society thinks about it, writes Rob Winkley. There is an old joke that if you want to find a civil engineer in the Yellow...

Broadband to the rescue of regeneration.
July 4, 2003... Planners can foster regeneration and development through high-speed internet links, argues Lean Doody. Visit Barking Reach today and you will find a wildlife oasis in the Thames Gateway: birds, wild flowers, grasses and marshland. The main...

Two sides to unified control.
July 4, 2003... A unified procedure for planning and related consents raises several key points of principle, says Reuben Bellamy. No-one would disagree with the view that the planning system should be transparent and deliver the right decisions quickly....

NOTEBOOK: Talking the same language.
July 4, 2003... How does community participation in planning vary around the world? Cliff Hague summarises the results of some research into the USA, Holland and South Africa. 'We come from different communities that have been divided, yet we could come...

CASEBOOK: Arts centre plan agreed in old Swansea police station.
July 4, 2003... A proposal to remodel a listed former police station in Swansea to create an 'arts quarter' and student accommodation has been allowed despite objections to a restaurant element. An alternative scheme involving offices instead of arts...

CASEBOOK: Lawful storage use fails to make immunity case.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Enforcement action taken against the siting of a portable building and the storage of builders' materials on green belt land on the edge of Gloucester has been upheld, despite the appellant's claim that a lawful development certificate (LDC)...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Gypsy definition considered by appeal court.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court judgement backing an inspector's decision to allow two caravans to remain on a private Gypsy site in Wrexham. The appeal judges ruled that it was necessary to assess whether the owners retained...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Inspector's decision struck down without contest.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The High Court has overturned an inspector's decision to refuse planning permission for a bungalow on land next to an existing house in a West Sussex village, following the deputy prime minister's agreement that it should be quashed. The...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Partial breach held not to grant total immunity.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A condition that required car parking spaces at a residential and office complex in Westminster to be used only by occupants of the property has been held capable of being enforced despite a long-standing breach of its terms in respect of some...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Gypsy conviction upheld against human rights claim.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The Court of Appeal has upheld two convictions against a Gypsy living near Basildon, ruling that fines had been correctly imposed due to his failure to remove caravans from an unauthorised site in the countryside. The local planning...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Animal incinerator consent faces judicial review.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... The High Court has granted leave for the chairman of a parish council in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park to challenge the national park authority's decision to grant planning permission for a waste incinerator for burning animal...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Inspector backed in considering previous intention.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... An inspector's decision to refuse permission for low-density housing on a greenfield site in Hove has been supported by the High Court, which held that adequate weight had been given to a previous developer's intention to retain the land for...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural development - Caravan at fish farm fails functional need test.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... An enforcement notice seeking the removal of a caravan at a Surrey fish farm breeding carp for human consumption has been upheld because of reservations about the functional need for it to remain. The local authority had granted permission...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Sale of goods at house deemed no change of use.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... An enforcement notice directed against the sale of baby goods at a house in the West Midlands has been quashed following a finding that no material change of use had occurred. But a parallel appeal seeking consent for a mixed use as a dwelling...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Enforcement against home business upheld.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... An enforcement notice claiming that a carpentry, plumbing and heating, painting and decorating, business was being run from a house in Surrey has been upheld on the grounds that a material change of use had occurred. The commercial use was...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Betting office found not to harm retail prospects.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A proposal to convert an empty shop unit in a primary shopping area in north Kent into a betting office has been allowed on the grounds that it would not adversely affect the centre's vitality and viability. The inspector noted that the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Telling machine pod considered of poor design.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A proposal for an automated telling machine pod adjacent to a post office and shop at a popular beach in Cornwall has been rejected on the grounds that its utilitarian brick-built design would be unsympathetic to the natural beauty of the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Roof design changes held to require permission.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... An inspector dealing with an enforcement appeal involving the construction of a curved roof on a gymnasium building at Wimbledon College has rejected claims that the development had been approved by council officers, although he quashed the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Country house held not to be of exceptional merit.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... Proposals for a country house near Kimbolton Castle in Cambridgeshire have been refused planning permission after an inspector judged that they were not of sufficiently outstanding design to qualify as an exception to the PPG7 presumption...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Open space condition considered unreasonable.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A developer's challenge to a condition requiring the provision of urban greenspace and play space as part of a Hull housing development has succeeded on the grounds that the requirement was neither reasonable nor enforceable. The...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Opposition to new estate access held unjustified.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A reserved matters application by Hargreaves Homes Ltd for a new estate road to serve 28 homes in West Sussex has been supported despite claims from local residents that it would reduce their amenity due to increased traffic flows. The...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Abandonment ruled to prevent refurbishment.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... An application to retain a dwelling in the south Norfolk countryside has been rejected on the grounds that there was no subsisting residential use of the land because the existing farmhouse had been abandoned. The appellant argued that...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Mobile home caught out by immunity rules.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2003... A series of enforcement notices directed against a timber-clad mobile home and a hardstanding on land in the Essex green belt have been upheld on the basis that the developments had not acquired immunity and there were no very special...