Planning (UK) articles from June 2004

Planning (UK) archives from June 2004

ODPM figures uncover rising home density.
June 4, 2004... The average density of new homes was 30 dwellings per hectare (dph) in 2003, up three dph on the previous year, according to latest research. ODPM statistics published last week reveal that the average density of new housing has jumped for...

Study details cost of house building.
June 4, 2004... The environmental cost of boosting housing supply in the UK will be severe and could total pounds 8.4 billion, a government-commissioned report has warned. The study, which has been made available without publicity on DEFRA's website,...

Legal row over Welsh holiday resort spirals.
June 4, 2004... Attempts to challenge the planning permission granted for a holiday village in west Wales have passed another legal hurdle. A judge this week granted the Council for National Parks (CNP) leave to challenge the consent granted by...

Baker Street scheme wins permission.
June 4, 2004... The redevelopment of Marks & Spencer's Baker Street headquarters has been approved by Westminster City Council. At 64,046 sq m, the KPF-designed scheme will be one of the largest development sites in London's West End. It includes seven...

Poll reveals key themes for London mayor ballot.
June 4, 2004... Dealing with affordable housing and transport should be the main priorities for the incoming mayor of London after next week's election, according to a survey conducted for Planning. The poll, by community consultation firm PPS Group,...

System blamed for green power delay.
June 4, 2004... Many proposed wind farms and green energy developments have hit planning delays, according to latest research. A study by energy consultancy Platts Power UK shows that the vast majority of green projects planned for the UK - more than 2.5GW...

RPS swoops to capture team from core rival.
June 4, 2004... Philip Neaves has joined the Edinburgh office of environmental consultancy RPS as director of planning. He joins from Chesterton, where he was director of planning for Scotland and north-east England. Neaves brings two Chesterton colleagues...

Title escapes axe in reform of legal status.
June 4, 2004... The title Queen's Counsel (QC) will be maintained for the time being under proposals announced by constitutional affairs secretary Lord Falconer last week. Under the plans, the QC selection system will be replaced by an accreditation...

Permission granted for restoration of building.
June 4, 2004... Permission has been granted for the restoration and extension of a grade II listed City of London building. The pounds 45 million project by architects Hurley, Robertson and Associates for Prudential Assurance will refurbish the Edwardian...

Show fans flames of heritage fears.
June 4, 2004... The heritage sector is held in low esteem by the government and a lack of funding has restricted its influence, according to a former head of land-use planning and regeneration at English Heritage. Writing in this week's Planning, Michael...

Lobby group seeks homes suspension.
June 4, 2004... The government should impose an immediate moratorium on greenfield development in the Thames Gateway, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has insisted. In a briefing on regeneration plans for the area, the CPRE also calls for an...

Waterloo plan under fire over design quality.
June 4, 2004... The design for the redevelopment of Elizabeth House next to London's Waterloo Station falls short of required standards, according to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). P&O Developments' plans include a...

In brief: London Borough of Southwark appoints John East.
June 4, 2004... The London Borough of Southwark has appointed John East as its head of planning and transport. He joins from the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, where he was head of planning, environment and transport. East takes charge of a growing...

In brief: Redevelopment of factory site supported by Welsh Assembly.
June 4, 2004... The redevelopment of a factory site in Llanidloes is being supported by the Welsh Assembly Government. The former car parts factory, which closed last year with the loss of 250 jobs, will make way for a hi-tech business park, part of the...

In brief: Guide produced for planners in Yorkshire.
June 4, 2004... A step-by-step guide to help local planning authorities assess flood risk has been produced for planners in Yorkshire. The guide was drawn up by the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly and the Environment Agency. It aims to provide practical guidance...

In brief: Bracknell Forest BC senior planner dies.
June 4, 2004... Bracknell Forest Borough Council senior planner Dave Bennett has died aged 60. Bennett, who had worked for the council since 1992, was described as 'popular, hard-working and witty'. He regularly attended Planning Summer School and staff social...

In brief: Vodafone application for phone mast refused.
June 4, 2004... Vodafone's application to place a mobile phone mast on the slopes of Win Hill, Derbyshire, has been refused by the Peak District National Park Authority's planning committee. The application was refused on the grounds that the mast would...

In brief: Burger King to open 25 restaurants.
June 4, 2004... Fast food chain Burger King will open around 25 restaurants over the next year in its most significant development programme for three years. It will target the UK's major cities as well as out-of-town developments, creating an estimated 800...

In brief: Bellway Homes announces redevelopment.
June 4, 2004... Bellway Homes has announced a pounds 25 million residential redevelopment as part of a revamp of Leyton Orient Football Club's Brisbane Road stadium in east London. Planning consent is now in place for the project, which will involve replacing...

In brief: Plans for Asda in Belmont will not be called in.
June 4, 2004... Plans for a pounds 55 million Asda superstore in Belmont, Hereford, will not be called in, deputy prime minister John Prescott has decided. Herefordshire Council claims that the scheme will deliver numerous benefits for the area, including...

In brief: UK construction industry in robust health say figures.
June 4, 2004... The UK construction industry is in robust health, with a rise in output of new construction of seven per cent in 2004, according to latest figures. Forecasts by Experian suggest that performance is likely to remain at this level for the next...

Action advised for Birmingham centres.
June 4, 2004... Birmingham's district shopping centres perform a vital role for the city's population but need action if they are to thrive, according to latest research. A study by consultancy CB Richard Ellis assessed areas of the city such as Sutton...

Tories sound alarm over threat to green belt land.
June 4, 2004... Labour Party policies threaten to concrete over tracts of English countryside, creating '26 towns the size of Slough', the Conservatives claimed last week. The Tories made the allegation after a survey of government plans to build homes on...

Marina scheme unveiled for Brighton.
June 4, 2004... A major regeneration scheme featuring a 37-storey tower is being proposed at Brighton Marina. Property firm Brunswick Developments has proposed the pounds 175 million scheme for the city's Outer Harbour, designed by architects Wilkinson...

Bristol in talks over guide on tall buildings.
June 4, 2004... Planners in Bristol are consulting over draft planning guidance for tall building schemes in the city. In response to the increasing number of applications being submitted for towers, the city council is drawing up draft assessment...

Homes design prize shortlist shows quality.
June 4, 2004... The shortlist for this year's Housing Design Awards has been unveiled, featuring 60 schemes that show house builders embracing the government's design and quality agenda. Featured in the completed scheme shortlist are the Abode scheme in...

Regeneration News: King's Cross plan goes to councils.
June 4, 2004... The regeneration of King's Cross in London moved a step closer this week after major plans for land straddling railway lines were submitted to local authorities. Developer Argent St George submitted proposals to the London Boroughs of...

Regeneration News brief: Marketing campaign to promote regeneration of former tannery site launched.
June 4, 2004... A commercial marketing campaign to promote the regeneration of a former tannery site in Glastonbury was launched by the South West of England Regional Development Agency this week. The 16ha Morlands site will now be known as Morlands Enterprise...

Regeneration News brief: Port of London contributions.
June 4, 2004... The Port of London contributes pounds 3.41 billion to the regional economy and provides more than 35,000 jobs, according to the port authority's annual review. It finds that total cargo handled at the port's terminals amounted to 51 million...

Regeneration News brief: Foster and Partners appointed to design academy in Corby.
June 4, 2004... Architects Foster and Partners have been appointed to design an academy in Corby, Northamptonshire. The facility, which will replace Corby Community College, will specialise in business and enterprise. The project is being supported by the...

Regeneration News brief: Preferred developer status awarded to HDD.
June 4, 2004... Preferred developer status for a pounds 20 million shopping and leisure scheme in St Albans city centre has been awarded to Henry Davidson Developments (HDD). The company is proposing a 25,358 sq m scheme comprising a cinema, shops, housing and...

Regeneration News brief: Foundations laid for business park in Darlington.
June 4, 2004... Foundations have been laid for a 35ha business park on the outskirts of Darlington. Faverdale East Business Park will accommodate industry and warehousing. Phase one of the scheme will open up a 10.8ha site for 31,500 sq m of industrial space...

Regeneration News brief: Plans revealed for redevelopment of Townside Fields.
June 4, 2004... Plans have been revealed for a pounds 58 million redevelopment of the Townside Fields site in Bury town centre. Ask Property Developments and Bury Metropolitan Borough Council have revealed artists' impressions of the scheme, which will form a...

Regeneration News brief: Polestar Group announces plans to relocate.
June 4, 2004... The Polestar Group has announced plans to relocate its hi-tech gravure printing facility to Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The independent printing company's development partner, Gazeley, had shortlisted two possible sites - one in Sheffield and...

Transport News: MPs report on transport accessibility.
June 4, 2004... The government should make all trains and buses accessible to disabled people by 2017, according to a parliamentary committee report issued last week. The joint committee report on the Draft Disability Discrimination Bill, published in...

Transport News: Car culture blamed for rising levels of obesity.
June 4, 2004... All major transport schemes should be subject to health impact assessments to help stem an epidemic of obesity in the UK, according to a report published last week. In a scathing study, the House of Commons health committee reported that...

Transport News: Railway bill aims to give Wales control.
June 4, 2004... A draft bill giving the Welsh Assembly Government a greater say over how the railways are run was published last week. The assembly is currently responsible for trunk roads and has limited powers on public transport. But it has no power to...

Transport News: Sheffield pedestrian bridge removed.
June 4, 2004... One of the last pedestrian bridges crossing a main route in Sheffield city centre was removed last week. The bridge, located at the junction of Eyre Street and Earl Street, was removed by crane to make way for an improved pedestrian and cycle...

Transport News: Network Rail's figures reveal service revival.
June 4, 2004... Train delays on the UK's rail network have fallen to the lowest level in four years, according to latest Network Rail figures. The publicly-owned company claimed that delays for which it is responsible fell from 14.7 million to 13.7 million...

Transport News: Lobby group supports fuel duty increase.
June 4, 2004... The fuel duty rise outlined in this year's budget is being backed by lobby group Transport 2000, which claims that it will encourage people to use alternative transport to cars. The increase on petrol and diesel prices, due in September, is...

Business brief: Improvement works at Stonebridge to be led by JMP Consulting.
June 4, 2004... Infrastructure and environmental improvement works at Stonebridge Business Park in Liverpool will be led by JMP Consulting. The development site will provide around 30,000 sq m of serviced plots and the project is expected to cost pounds 8...

Business brief: Feasibility study commissioned by Bradford Centre Regeneration.
June 4, 2004... A feasibility study into uses for a key site in Bradford city centre has been commissioned by Bradford Centre Regeneration. A team of consultants headed by Arup Engineering will conduct a study of the former Odeon cinema in Prince's Way by...

Business brief: Hyder Consulting completes study.
June 4, 2004... Hyder Consulting has completed a study of how to improve the delivery of Pembrokeshire County Council's planning service through the authority's customer contact centre. The research involved analysing public contact with the planning service,...

Business brief: GVA Grimley opens office in Belfast.
June 4, 2004... GVA Grimley has opened an office in Belfast to serve the needs of its Irish clients. The team will build on the firm's regeneration strategy work, including the Belfast city centre regeneration strategy prepared for the Department for Social...

Business brief: Planning permissions secured by PDC.
June 4, 2004... Planning permissions for out-of-centre retail warehouses in Bicester and Buxton have been secured by retail consultancy PDC, after the respective government offices decided not to call them in. Director Jonathan Smith believes that the...

Business brief: Aedas to design independent school in Hackney.
June 4, 2004... Aedas will design and implement a pounds 23 million independent school in Hackney, east London, for the government and youth charity the Jack Petchey Foundation. The project forms part of a government programme to provide high-quality education...

Business brief: BDP to design extension to Royal Festival Hall.
June 4, 2004... BDP is to design a pounds 10 million extension to the Royal Festival Hall in London. Plans have received permission from the London Borough of Lambeth. The building will provide offices for Royal Festival Hall staff, retail space, a new...

Business brief: Babtie Group to conduct appraisal.
June 4, 2004... Babtie Group will conduct an environmental, economic and social appraisal to find ways to restore a section of the Chesterfield Canal in North East Derbyshire to navigation. The waterway, which opened in 1776, originally ran from Chesterfield...

Business brief: Software used by PARSOL to be extended.
June 4, 2004... The software used by the Planning and Regulatory Services Online (PARSOL) project will be extended by specialist Swift LG to enable council departments and third party agents to exchange consultation requests. Online PARSOL consultations are...

Scottish News: Craighall campus secures approval.
June 4, 2004... Planners have approved outline proposals for a university campus in East Lothian, despite the project breaching the area's development plan. East Lothian Council's planning committee accepted the assessment from officials that the 14ha...

Scottish News: Councils to get cut of renewables fees.
June 4, 2004... Planning authorities would be able to keep a proportion of fees for renewable energy applications under proposals expected to be unveiled shortly by the Scottish Executive. Ministers acknowledge that councils take on much of the processing...

Scottish News: Councils fight to delay road toll in capital.
June 4, 2004... A planning official has called for congestion charging in Edinburgh to be delayed for up to three years while talks are held with neighbouring authorities. Midlothian Council planner Janice Long told the ongoing public inquiry into the...

Analysis: Battle to set the boundaries.
June 4, 2004... Conflicts arising over council boundaries may influence the regional assembly vote. Catherine Early investigates Whether or not the northern regions vote for regional assemblies this autumn, the Boundary Committee for England has opened a...

Analysis: Show just papers over cracks in our heritage.
June 4, 2004... Popular television is undermining the case for proper funding of historic environments, says Michael Coupe The news that Restoration is to return to our television screens is welcome. We can hope that the size of the viewing audience will...

Shepley on ... pleasure dome problems for Xanadu planners.
June 4, 2004... In the Xanadu planning department, Alf settled down to read draft PPS1. He had before him an application from Kubla Khan for a stately pleasure dome. Alf knew that this was a delicate issue because it was to be the subject of a poem by Samuel...

Opinion: Fyson on ... the urgent need to attract the next generation.
June 4, 2004... While planning's recruitment problems are large, they pale into numerical insignificance when compared with those of the construction industry, which admits to needing 83,000 recruits each year. Its response to this situation is worthy of note...

Editorial: Blood begins to boil in election preamble.
June 4, 2004... With less than a week to go before local and European elections, it is time for hysteria to reach fever pitch. Once again it is the old chestnut of house building that is raising the blood pressure of Daily Telegraph readers and Conservative...

Interview: Property resurrector.
June 4, 2004... The development industry is making its presence felt but still needs a helping hand from effective planning, British Property Federation boss Liz Peace tells Huw Morris Liz Peace is at the vanguard of a resurgent property industry. When...

Housing time bomb threatens rural life.
June 4, 2004... Affordable housing is a key issue on the Norfolk coastline but solutions seem as far away as ever, reports Mark Smulian Crunch. That is the sound of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. Planners in East Anglia face being...

Casebook: Retail warehouse park wins approval in Tunbridge Wells.
June 4, 2004... The deputy prime minister has granted planning permission following a call-in inquiry for a retail warehouse park to replace industrial buildings near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, concluding that it was appropriate to assess the overall capacity...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial. Small industrial units supported on greenfield site.
June 4, 2004... The deputy prime minister has granted planning permission for two schemes involving between ten and 12 industrial units in Somerset, agreeing with his inspector that there was a significant unmet demand for small units and that this justified...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities. Bolts preferred to mesh in cliff stabilisation work.
June 4, 2004... The deputy prime minister has granted planning permission after a call-in inquiry for cliff stabilisation work on the south coast near Brighton, ruling that the operation would not harm a site of special scientific interest or a regionally...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Energy development. Urgent need accepted for wind turbine scheme.
June 4, 2004... The development of three wind turbines in north Devon has won support from an inspector who concluded that there was a degree of urgency about the provision of renewable energy development in the county as a whole. The site lay within an...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Gypsies and travellers. Gypsies subject to costs in green belt enforcement.
June 4, 2004... An enforcement notice directed against the unauthorised use of land in the Essex green belt as a permanent base for Gypsies has been upheld, with the council being granted its costs in pursuing the action. The site had been sub-divided into...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build. Green belt homes found to lack justification.
June 4, 2004... The redevelopment of a waste transfer station in the Surrey green belt to provide 12 flats and 33 houses has been dismissed after no very special circumstances were proven to outweigh the inappropriateness of the scheme and the unsustainable...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build. Personal condition on houseboat held unnecessary.
June 4, 2004... A personal condition has been deleted from a planning permission for the mooring of a houseboat at a site in Cambridgeshire because it was neither reasonable nor necessary to protect the occupiers from the risk of flooding. The Environment...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build. Lack of evidence leads to costs against council.
June 4, 2004... Costs have been awarded against York City Council after a company successfully argued that it had been faced with no alternative but to pursue an appeal in respect of a planning application for ten dwellings. Although the council had...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build. Objection to demolition notification overruled.
June 4, 2004... In deciding an appeal involving prior notification of the means to be used to demolish two dwellings in Greater Manchester, an inspector has accepted that there was no need for planning permission to have first been granted for the...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build. Single dwelling approved despite moratorium.
June 4, 2004... An inspector has decided that a single dwelling should be approved at a site in Cheshire despite regional policy guidance and a local plan inspector's report supporting a moratorium on new planning permissions for housing. The appellant...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build. Green belt hospital redevelopment plan blocked.
June 4, 2004... The deputy prime minister has rejected a proposal for 34 dwellings at a former hospital in the North Yorkshire green belt despite agreeing that its designation as a major developed site supported its redevelopment in principle. The...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build. Graveyard bungalow ruled to harm church setting.
June 4, 2004... Planning permission and listed building consent have been refused for a bungalow on a redundant playground in a graveyard in the Bath world heritage site after the deputy prime minister agreed that it would undermine the tranquillity and...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build. Council fails to sustain beer garden objection.
June 4, 2004... A proposal for two dwellings on an area of land used as a beer garden at a public house in Northamptonshire has been approved, with an inspector accepting that it would not lead to the loss of an important community facility. The inspector...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New build. Adequate supply of land for housing identified.
June 4, 2004... An inspector has accepted that a scheme to build 34 houses and flats on a former manufacturing site in Dorset would not harm the supply of employment land in the area, but went on to reject the proposal on the grounds that it would undermine...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion. Flat conversion held appropriate use for shops.
June 4, 2004... The conversion of a pair of shops in Bristol to create two flats has been allowed following an inspector's conclusion that they would involve an appropriate use that would preserve the character and appearance of the conservation area in which...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Householder development. Extension to converted property ruled lawful.
June 4, 2004... In granting a lawful development certificate for a single-storey rear extension to a property in south-west London, an inspector has concluded that at the time it was substantially complete the premises were in lawful residential use and it was...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and entertainment. Permanent holiday cottages to replace campsite.
June 4, 2004... The erection of 36 holiday cottages to replace 60 tent and touring pitches at a Cornwall holiday park has been approved, with an inspector accepting that the proposal would have a negligible impact on the landscape and would not involve an...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and entertainment. Cinema replacement design held unsuitable.
June 4, 2004... The demolition of a derelict cinema in a north Wales coastal resort and its redevelopment with a leisure, cultural, community and training facility has been refused because the Welsh Assembly Government was not satisfied that the replacement...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed use development. Mixed scheme for factory ruled premature.
June 4, 2004... The redevelopment of a former rubber factory in Shropshire to enable the provision of business floorspace and live-work units has been rejected after an inspector determined that the proposal would prejudice the outcome of an emerging local...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed use development. Bingo hall relocation held to harm town centre.
June 4, 2004... A scheme involving the conversion of buildings on a Suffolk industrial estate to retail and leisure use has been rejected following a finding that a proposed bingo club failed to comply with the sequential approach to town centre uses. The...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Waste management. Storage of fridge units held not to be fire risk.
June 4, 2004... A plan to store degassed refrigeration units for a period of one year has been allowed at an industrial unit in Greater Manchester, with an inspector judging that the risk of fire associated with the use did not constitute a cogent planning...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Retail development. Council faulted in attempt to block mezzanine.
June 4, 2004... A lawful development certificate (LDC) has been issued for a mezzanine extension at a retail warehouse store in Hampshire after an inspector concluded that the council's entrenched position opposing the development was unreasonable and without...

Casebook: Court cases - Brothel purchase held to serve planning purpose.
June 4, 2004... The owners of a sex shop in Soho have lost a bid to quash an inspector's decision supporting compulsory acquisition of the premises, with the High Court ruling that Westminster City Council's procedures in seeking to acquire the site were...

Casebook: Court cases - Action upheld against unauthorised site access.
June 4, 2004... The House of Lords has rejected a challenge to Mid Sussex District Council's decision to issue an enforcement notice against an unauthorised access serving a caravan site in West Sussex. The council's decision had been upheld at appeal. Lord...

Casebook: Court cases - University hall proposal supported by law lords.
June 4, 2004... The House of Lords has backed judgements made by the High Court and Court of Appeal in respect of plans by London Metropolitan University to build a hall of residence in north London. A local resident claimed that an inspector had been wrong to...