Planning (UK) articles from June 2007

Planning (UK) archives from June 2007

Planning in the media.(Column)
June 1, 2007... One of the sure-fire bets in life is that people get very upset about planning. There are those who think that the planning system is responsible for many of the country's ills and those who think it is a national treasure. The planning white...

Diary.(city planners and their services)
June 1, 2007... Wonders never cease. Planners in some of the nation's most maligned cities won praise this week in a publication destined for worldwide circulation. The latest edition of the Lonely Planet guide to Britain gives a high-profile slap on the...

Appointment at Jones Lang LaSalle.
June 1, 2007... Mike Taylor has been appointed as an associate director in Jones Lang LaSalle's development and asset strategy team, based in Birmingham He was previously head of the city centre planning team at Birmingham City Council.

Appointment at ReBlackpool.
June 1, 2007... Dean Blackhurst has been recruited as regeneration manager to develop urban regeneration company ReBlackpool's strategic masterplan He previously worked for South Ribble Borough Council. Kevin Sturley has been appointed as a funding manager. He...

Appointment at GVA Grimley.
June 1, 2007... Jon Kirby has joined GVA Grimley as a partner in Birmingham. He previously worked for Turley Associates

Appointment at Knight Frank.
June 1, 2007... Richard Walters has been made a partner by Knight Frank to work in development and regeneration. He previously worked for GVA Grimley Rupert Fletcher has also joined as a partner to focus on government consultancy. He previously worked for the...

Appointment at Montagu Evans.
June 1, 2007... Dominic Lawson has been promoted to partner in planning at Montagu Evans in London. Peter Munnelly has become a planning associate

Appointment at West Coaast Energy.
June 1, 2007... Fraser Mackenzie has joined West Coast Energy to open and manage the company's office in Inverness

Appointment at White Young Green.
June 1, 2007... Peter Crosland has moved to head up White Young Green's Leeds office as regional director. He was previously director of the buildings and infrastructure division at Mott Macdonald in Leeds

Appointment at Emery Planning Partnership.
June 1, 2007... Caroline Taylor and Steve Harris have been promoted to principal consultants at Emery Planning Partnership. Paul Bottomley has become a senior consultant

Network to be launched to tackle pressing rural issues.(Royal Town Planning Institute will launch rural planning network)
June 1, 2007... A new network will draw on expertise from a range of professionals in rural affairs, explains Rhian Brimble. The RTPI will launch its rural planning network at the Planning Convention in June. It will bring together all professionals...

RTPI Bulletin Board.
June 1, 2007... Planning Aid Conference goes digital Delegates who attended the hugely successful National Planning Aid Conference held in Newcastle in April will have the opportunity to revisit the presentations and positive discussions. Planning Aid...

Media profile now better than ever.(for urban planning )
June 1, 2007... Where once it struggled to get space on the BBC Breakfast sofa the RTPI now has an authoritative presence in the media, writes Kelvin MacDonald. I am worried about Martin Arthur from Oldham. In a letter (see page 12), he complains that he...

Planning Aid Bulletin.(for improving career of city planners)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Planning Aid to participate in national Volunteers' Week An annual celebration of the work of the UK's 22 million volunteers will be taking place on 1-7 June. Throughout the week, events will be held across the country on the theme of...

Hong Kong plays host to talks about place of creative industries in cities.
June 1, 2007... A recent symposium engaged international expertise to look at the way in which planners can liaise with the creative sector to provide the infrastructure that can help support cultural industries, reports Kevin Murray. The RTPI was a...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Agricultural development - Home agreed essential for plant centre.
June 1, 2007... A dwelling has been allowed at a plant centre in open countryside in Yorkshire after an inspector accepted that there was a functional and financial need for a worker to live at the site. The inspector heard that five polytunnel covers had...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Commercial and industrial - Employment park allowed in green belt.
June 1, 2007... Permission has been granted for a business park in the Gloucestershire green belt after an inspector acknowledged a pressing need for additional employment sites in the area. The 6.4ha site on the edge of Cheltenham comprised four fields...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Food and drink uses - Pub secures extended opening times.
June 1, 2007... Extended opening hours have been agreed at a pub in Northamptonshire after the appellant persuaded an inspector that they would cause no harm to local amenity. A condition imposed on permission for the use limited opening hours to between...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Food and drink uses - Smoking shelter rejected as crime risk.
June 1, 2007... A covered smokers' shelter for customers at a pub in Greater Manchester has been denied planning permission because it would fail to reduce incidents of crime and antisocial behaviour. The appellants proposed to install tables and benches...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Gypsies and travellers - Families reprieved on green belt site.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A site occupied by Gypsies in the Surrey green belt has won a temporary permission after a ruling that the planning balance lay in the appellants' favour in the absence of suitable alternative sites. The inspector accepted that the scheme...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Housing, New build - Town growth held to match strategy.
June 1, 2007... The secretary of state has granted permission for two schemes to expand a Dorset market town after concluding they would be sustainable and comply with the emerging regional spatial strategy. The proposals would create 670 dwellings, of...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Housing, New build - Contemporary design deemed unsuitable.
June 1, 2007... A detached home proposed on land associated with a former hospital in a north London conservation area has been rejected on the grounds that it would fail to protect the area's character. The scheme was presented as the finishing touch to...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Housing, New build - Residents overruled on redevelopment.
June 1, 2007... The demolition of two houses in Surrey to make way for apartments and houses has been permitted after an inspector decided that the scheme would not undermine the area's character. The proposal comprised a block of ten flats, a detached...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Housing, Conversion - Change to flats thwarted by road noise.
June 1, 2007... The conversion of an industrial unit in Staffordshire to nine apartments has been refused on the grounds that future occupiers would experience unacceptable noise levels from a trunk road. The appeal site lay next to an elevated section of...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Housing, Conversion - Flats approved without amenity space.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The conversion of a vacant office in a Bedfordshire district shopping centre to eight flats has been allowed despite council concerns that residents would have no access to private amenity space. The premises had been vacant for some years...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Householder development - Timber cabin judged to be unauthorised.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... An enforcement notice directed against a building used as a dwelling in a south Wales paddock has been upheld after an inspector ruled that it required planning permission. The appellants argued that they had refurbished a timber cabin. But...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Householder development - Animal keeping fails incidental use test.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... An enforcement notice directed against the keeping of dogs and poultry at a former pub in south Wales has been upheld after an inspector found that a breach of control had occurred. Because of the slope of the land, the building's extensive...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Leisure and entertainment - Temporary track use rights ruled out.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... An inspector has upheld an enforcement notice directed against a motorcycle track in Hertfordshire after finding that it was a material change of use and was not permitted development. The inspector noted an increase from four or five...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Leisure and entertainment - Hotel extension passes sequential test.
June 1, 2007... A 20-bedroom extension to a hotel on the A43 in Northamptonshire has been approved after an inspector agreed that there was a proven need and no sequentially preferable sites were available. The site contained a Premier Travel Inn next to a...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Permission secured for non-food space.
June 1, 2007... Tesco Stores Ltd has gained permission to increase the amount of comparison goods floor space at a store in West Yorkshire after an inspector noted that the site fell within a town centre. The secretary of state had granted permission for...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Mezzanine floor blocked at food store.
June 1, 2007... Asda has failed in a bid to secure permission for a mezzanine floor in a store in Ayrshire after a reporter concluded that it failed the sequential approach to retail development. The council had granted planning permission for the store in...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Non-food store passes retail impact test.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A reporter has agreed that unrestricted retail use of premises in the Shetlands is acceptable given the strength of Lerwick town centre and the requirement to meet local shopping needs. The modern single-storey warehouse was partly used for...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Bulky goods store satisfies needs test.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The secretary of state has granted permission for a bulky goods retail warehouse in an East Midlands town after finding that the applicant's estimates of quantitative need were conservative. The scheme involved redeveloping former...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Car sales dismissed at garden centre site.
June 1, 2007... Enforcement action against the use of land at a garden centre on the Isle of Wight for motor vehicle sales has been upheld after an inspector decided that the operation had nothing in common with a rural area. The inspector endorsed...

DC Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Nursery retail sales judged unsustainable.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The sale of grocery and dairy products from a nursery in the Kent Downs area of outstanding natural beauty has been ruled unacceptable because no overriding need had been shown. The site lay 650m from the edge of a village. Given the lack...

DC Casebook: Court case - Shooters required to reduce noise levels.
June 1, 2007... Aylesbury Vale District Council has won an injunction requiring the operators of a clay pigeon shooting facility near Oxford to cut noise levels. The council had granted permission for the use in 2004 subject to various conditions...

DC Casebook: Court case - Judge backs floating restaurant refusal.
June 1, 2007... Oxford City Council has failed in a bid to overturn an inspector's decision to allow the use of a pontoon on the River Thames as a restaurant, with the High Court finding no error in law. Before the inspector's decision, the council had...

DC Casebook: Court cases - Injunction prevents illegal occupation.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Basildon District Council has obtained a permanent injunction preventing Gypsies from moving onto land near Wickford after a High Court judge accepted a significant likelihood that planning regulations would be breached. The council, which...

DC Casebook: Court cases - Criticism of green belt decision rejected.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Five travellers have failed to overturn an inspector's decision to refuse permission for them to remain on land in the Essex green belt after a High Court judge found their claim devoid of merit. The travellers argued that the inspector...

DC Casebook: In depth - Street mast rejected due to fear over disabled pedestrian safety.
June 1, 2007... An application seeking prior approval for a telecommunications mast at the junction of two streets in a Worcestershire town has been rejected following a ruling that it would be a hazard for visually impaired pedestrians. The proposal...

DC Casebook: Appeal Case - Community facilities - Church use foiled on employment land.
June 1, 2007... The continued use of a warehouse in east London as a place of worship has been rejected due to harm to employment land supply and neighbours' living conditions. The council explained that various accessibility improvements to the area had...

DC Casebook: Appeal Case - Community facilities - Care home judged no threat to vitality.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A proposal to substitute a care home for an approved hotel block on a former industrial site in Hampshire has been allowed on the grounds that it would be likely to employ significantly more people and would not harm the area's vitality and...

DC Casebook: Appeal Case - Retail development - Shopfront agreed despite policy flaw.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The retention of a shop front in a south-east London conservation area has been approved despite an inspector's view that the design did not comply fully with the council's policies. The shopfront was built in aluminium and fitted with a...

DC Casebook: Development Control Forum.
June 1, 2007... New queries When planning committee members express an interest in an application, it is normal practice for them to leave the room and take no part in its determination. At a recent meeting, three of the six councillors on the committee...

How we did it - Revival of London park driven by local people.
June 1, 2007... PROJECT: Potters Fields Park. BACKGROUND: This world-famous location next to Tower Bridge on the south side of the River Thames was in desperate need of a facelift. WHO IS BEHIND IT? The mayor's Design for London team, London Bridge...

The things I know - Leonora Rozee, Planning Inspectorate.(Interview)
June 1, 2007... Leonora Rozee, Deputy chief executive and director of policy, Planning Inspectorate. Where did you study planning? Newcastle University. What skills did you have when you graduated? Strategic planning skills, a passing...

Ministers aim for balance.
June 1, 2007... Logical flaws in the latest reform proposals are inevitable as Whitehall tries to speed up the application process for major projects without upsetting communities, argues Huw Morris. The planning system's failure to deliver major schemes...

Passionate place-maker.(Turley Associates's Stephen Tucker recognises that communities are essential for urban design)
June 1, 2007... Turley Associates director Stephen Tucker recognises that input from local communities and experts is essential for successful urban design and regeneration, Christina Papas reports. One of the main reasons why Stephen Tucker, Turley...

Flaws cast shadow over positive attributes of planning system.
June 1, 2007... It is often said that democracy is not perfect but it is the best system we have. For many communities, planning is the physical expression of how democracy works on the ground. Few people ever set eyes on their MP but many more will know their...

Fyson on ... the essential powers.(infrastructure planning commission )(Column)
June 1, 2007... Fyson on... the essential powers that will ensure the success of the infrastructure planning commission. The planning white paper's proposed infrastructure planning commission (IPC) has been much criticised as a potential threat to the...

Legal report - Independent body paves way for clearer system.
June 1, 2007... The brave new world proposed by Rod Eddington and Kate Barker will be in place from April 2009 if the government sees through its white paper proposals. But will the infrastructure planning commission (IPC) be a major planning reform that...

Richards on ... the benefits of training.(city planners)(Brief article)(Column)
June 1, 2007... Planning is constantly changing and it is essential for council officers and members to keep up with these changes to ensure that their decision-making is of the highest quality. Planning Advisory Service (PAS) research shows that having...

Spatial role determined.
June 1, 2007... Spatial planning has led to bemusement for some but an RTPI study shows that the concept is being turned into reality in shaping the development of real communities, reports Huw Morris. Within 25 years Ashford is set to double in size with...

Options lined up for Haymarket station.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Three options have been put forward to create a replacement transport interchange centred on Edinburgh's Haymarket station. They have been whittled down from an initial 12 schemes and will now face public consultation. However, Edinburgh...

Chief wages red tape war.
June 1, 2007... The incoming chairman of house building trade body Homes for Scotland has pledged to press for relaxed planning restraints. Ronnie Jacobs of Miller Homes used his inaugural speech at the organisation's annual meeting to attack red tape,...

Fochabers bypass clears legal barrier.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The much-delayed Fochabers bypass in Moray is set to go ahead after an appeal to the Court of Session was abandoned last week. Objectors led by the Gordon Lennox Estate Company challenged the findings of a 2003 public inquiry. But they have...

Planning stats.
June 1, 2007... pounds 3 billion - The amount of money the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities wants from the government to improve public transport and introduce road pricing. - 35 million - The total number of passengers BAA wants to be able...

Online now.
June 1, 2007... Visit PlanningResource.co.uk today for Review of the masterplan for Ouseburn in Newcastle. Analysis of the new landscape for planning and regeneration in Northern Ireland. Visit the online forums for How strictly applied is the four-year rule?

WSP expands energy team.(Simon Clouston appointed at WSP group PLC)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... WSP Group's energy arm has expanded to develop its expertise in sustainable building and masterplanning. Simon Clouston has been recruited to WSP Energy with responsibility for advising on sustainable building design, climate change and...

CgMs opens Midland base.
June 1, 2007... CgMs Ltd has opened a Birmingham office after seeing a growing need for specialist advice on planning, historic buildings and archaeology. The firm, which also has offices in London, Cheltenham and Newark, employs 41 professional planners,...

PMP to study football plan.(PMP Consultancy contracts with Canterbury City Council)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... PMP has been appointed by Canterbury City Council to look into building a football ground and community facility in the city. PMP will consult on the need for the community football hub that would provide a ground for Canterbury City...

Wisbech set for renewal.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A planning application has been lodged for a pounds 47 million redevelopment scheme in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, steered by Tibbalds Planning & Urban Design. The firm was commissioned by Fenland District Council to study the feasibility of...

Arup backs sector to lower emissions.
June 1, 2007... London mayor Ken Livingstone's push for a 20 per cent cut in carbon emissions from on-site renewables can be delivered by developers, according to Arup. With the examination in public on the policy set to begin later this month Eli...

Ballymore sees successful run of approvals for major projects.
June 1, 2007... Irish development firm Ballymore has won consent for a series of major projects in London and Birmingham. The company was advised by GVA Grimley on all four schemes, including two in the London Docklands and another nearby that were...

Gateway set for challenge.(Thames Gateway )(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Thames Gateway chief executive Judith Armitt has dismissed reports that the area faces major challenges to deliver key infrastructure. Armitt told Planning this week that 'important progress' has been made in transport infrastructure...

Staines aims for town centre rejuvenation.
June 1, 2007... A 35,000m2 mixed-use development to regenerate Staines town centre has been approved by Spelthorne Borough Council. The scheme, submitted by CB Richard Ellis, features shops, homes and a health club and will create up to 2,000 jobs. Around ten...

Cricklewood gets renewal.
June 1, 2007... The Cricklewood Gateway scheme has progressed after a planning application was submitted for the 1.4ha site. Plans to build 474 homes, of which half will be affordable, will be a catalyst for the London Borough of Barnet's regeneration...

Bolton picks site partners.(regeneration of Bolton's Church Wharf site took over by Ask Developments and Bluemantle developers)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A pounds 196 million plan to regenerate Bolton's Church Wharf site has moved closer after Ask Developments and Bluemantle were appointed preferred developers. The joint venture, known as Ask:Bluemantle, could see a mixed-use scheme built...

Research pinpoints failings of inclusion.(disabled people and their involvement in urban regeneration)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Disadvantaged people are seldom represented in the work and governance of regeneration across the UK, according to latest research. A RENEW Northwest investigation found that disadvantaged groups live disproportionately in areas with the...

Project sees cut in car use.(Department for Transport )(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Walking and cycling have seen a huge increase in three towns using targeted marketing of alternatives to cars, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. Darlington has seen a 29 per cent rise in walking and a 79 per cent increase...

Kiley quizzed on contract.(Transport for London reveals its contracts )(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The London Assembly is to force Transport for London (TfL) to reveal the exact nature of its contract with former transport commissioner Bob Kiley. Using its powers under the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the assembly will require the...

Manchester councils seek travel plans cash injection.
June 1, 2007... Greater Manchester council leaders are pinning their hopes on securing the entire pot of pounds 1.2 billion available from the transport innovation fund. The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) has agreed a package of...

Deal agreed to renew Stratford station for London's Olympics.
June 1, 2007... Transport plans for the 2012 Olympic Games progressed this week with the signing of a deal to upgrade Stratford regional station. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) signed an agreement with Network Rail for the pounds 104 million scheme....

Nuclear sites list drawn up.
June 1, 2007... Hinkley Point in Somerset has been deemed the most suitable site for a nuclear power station, according to a government report. The Jackson Consulting discussion paper, commissioned by the DTI, says the only barriers are planning consent...

Waste plan defends role of incinerators.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The government defended incinerators and advocated the use of anaerobic digestion in a national waste strategy issued last week. Ministers accepted thatthe development of energy from waste has been held back by public fears on health...

Assembly voices concern over impact of tree losses in London.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... London has lost around 40,000 trees in the past five years, according to a report published last week. The London Assembly environment committee said there has been a net gain in trees but this is not evenly reflected across the city. Many...

Bird numbers fall in heaths.
June 1, 2007... Dartford warbler numbers in the Thames Basin Heaths fell by 40 per cent between 2005 and 2006, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has claimed. A survey by the society found that the bird's territory is spreading to the...

Firm creates solar schools.
June 1, 2007... A project to help UK schools cut carbon emissions was launched by a solar energy firm last week. The Solar4Schools scheme will supply and install part-funded photovoltaic panels so schools pay only half of the pounds 20,000 cost for each....

King's Cross revival clears legal barrier.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The pounds 2 billion plan to redevelop London's King's Cross has moved forward after campaigners failed to quash outline planning consent for the scheme last week. A judicial review at the High Court rejected the King's Cross Railway Lands...

British Waterways generates fears over canal privatisation.
June 1, 2007... Privatising canals is among the options being considered after major cuts to British Waterways funding last year, the body revealed last week. The government-funded agency said it plans to look at its long-term financial structure over the...

Book shut on housing saga.
June 1, 2007... Developers have lost an appeal against the rejection of an application for 1,900 homes near Gatwick Airport eight years after initial refusal. Last year, George Wimpey and Beazer Homes challenged Crawley Borough Council's 1998 decision not...

Agenda.
June 1, 2007... 13-15 June: The Planning Convention 2007. Organiser: RTPI. Venue: London. Fee: pounds 70-pounds 275 + VAT. Details: (tel) 0845 082 1171 - 19 June: Parks for People. Organiser: GreenSpace Education. Venue: London. Fee: pounds 170-pounds 220...

North East housing targets increased.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Regional planners in the North East have accepted the government's latest homes target but warned that it may need to go even higher. Ministers' changes to the draft regional spatial strategy (RSS) announced this week raised the total...

A303 survey delays plans.(Stephen Ladyman's plans for traffic engineering)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The fate of the A303 road around Stonehenge will not be announced until later this year, the government admitted last week. Speaking in parliament, transport minister Stephen Ladyman told Salisbury MP Robert Key that more analysis is needed...