Planning (UK) articles from March 2004

Planning (UK) archives from March 2004

Chief themes materialise in beacon round.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Delivering affordable housing and getting closer to communities are two of the themes for the latest rounds of the government's beacon council scheme. Last week the ODPM announced that round six of the scheme, which identifies excellence...

Concordat sets a positive agenda.
March 5, 2004... A coalition of heavyweight planning, professional and government organisations launched a concordat this week aimed at setting a positive agenda for planning while promoting cultural change. The move comes with investigations of key...

ODPM acts on policy-making assessments.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Proposals on how to assess the environmental impact of development to meet forthcoming European regulations have been put forward by the ODPM. A consultation document published this week outlines plans for implementing the strategic...

Planners and developers told to unite.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Developers and planners must set aside their prejudices about each other by supporting joint training schemes on commercial issues, according to the UK's leading property industry lobbyist. British Property Federation chief executive Liz...

Academic suggests job crisis solution.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Councils and planning schools need to work more closely together to tackle a worsening recruitment crisis in the profession, a leading academic warned this week. Authorities should adopt the practices of private sector consultants visiting...

Survey leads to demand for compulsory training.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... All councillors need compulsory training in planning, three leading organisations have demanded, after a survey revealed disturbingly low levels of expertise among members. The poll - by the Improvement and Development Agency, the Local...

Authorities issued planning challenge.(Local Government Association )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Local government's top officer and a leading ODPM civil servant threw down the gauntlet to councils this week and urged them to place planning centre stage in their key activities. Launching advice on planning for excellence, Sir Brian...

Report scorns Barker review over shortage.(Europe Economics)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Kate Barker's interim review of housing supply provides 'no solid evidence' of a shortage of new homes, according to a report commissioned by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). The report, by economic consultancy Europe...

Pamphlet sets out guidance on delegation.(Local Government Association )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The Local Government Association (LGA) and the ODPM have unveiled guidance on setting up delegation agreements. The LGA favours delegation 'by exception', in which all applications are handed over to officers except for specified categories...

Reforms face fresh setbacks.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Government planning reforms suffered further reverses in the House of Lords this week, including the rejection of its proposal to make local plan inspectors' reports binding on councils. Peers voted for a Conservative amendment deleting...

Inspectors direct Ashford proposal.(South East England Development Agency)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A panel of inspectors has ruled that growth at Ashford in Kent should be managed in tandem with neighbouring coastal areas in urgent need of regeneration. The panel report on the South East England Regional Assembly's (SEERA) proposed...

Cornwall plans hit by delays.(Carrick District Council)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Planning delays are hitting the regeneration of one of England's poorest counties, a specially convened development industry summit will hear next week. Developers, landowners, consultants and architects are due to gather in Truro next...

IN BRIEF: Better Public Buildings Award 2004.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Public toilets, schools and hospitals are all welcomed as entries for the prime minister's Better Public Buildings award 2004. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) is inviting nominations for any building paid for...

IN BRIEF: Plans for homes in eastern England approved.(East of England Regional Assembly )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Plans to build almost half a million homes in eastern England over the next 20 years were approved by the East of England Regional Assembly last week. The assembly's planning panel backed amendments to RPG14 setting out proposals for 478,000...

IN BRIEF: Birmingham ranked UK's most attractive city for shoppers.(British Council of Shopping Centres)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Birmingham has been ranked the UK's most attractive city for shoppers after London and Glasgow, according to a survey backed by the British Council of Shopping Centres. The research shows that England's second city has jumped ten places in the...

IN BRIEF: Height of proposed Crossharbour Tower reduced.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The height of the proposed Crossharbour Tower in east London has been reduced following consultation on redevelopment plans for the 2.7ha London Arena site. Ballymore Properties has revised its mixed-use proposals and cut the tower by nine...

IN BRIEF: Creation of independent agency.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The creation of an independent agency to deal with rural issues was confirmed by environment secretary Margaret Beckett this week. The agency, recommended by Lord Haskins in last November's rural delivery review, will combine work carried out...

IN BRIEF: Government-sponsored community planning initiative.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A government-sponsored community planning initiative is due to be launched by RTPI president Mike Hayes next week. The government is giving the RTPI pounds 4 million over three years to set up or improve a regionally-based, nationally...

IN BRIEF: The ODPM select committee to carry out inquiry.(Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The ODPM select committee will carry out an inquiry into local government revenue, it announced this week. The investigation will cover the role of government grants, the balance between locally and centrally raised revenue and council tax as a...

IN BRIEF: London planning chambers announces recruitment.(Richard Glover appointed)(2 Harcourt Buildings)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... London planning chambers 2 Harcourt Buildings this week announced the recruitment of four specialist planning barristers from 2 Mitre Court Buildings, including the latter's head of chambers and Planning and Environment Bar Association chairman...

Policy threat identified by lobby group.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... New planning policies encouraging diversification of enterprises in rural areas could 'seriously damage the quality of the countryside', according to campaigners. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said this week that government...

Royal Society lambasts wind farm obstructions.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The government's target of generating ten per cent of the UK's electricity from renewable sources by 2010 is under threat from Ministry of Defence (MoD) opposition to wind farms, the Royal Society complained this week. Society...

Housing design attacked by watchdog.(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Housing design quality is not keeping pace with improvements elsewhere in the built environment, the government's architecture watchdog has warned. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment's (CABE) five-year report on the...

Planning firm and property group merge.(Carpenter Planning Consultants)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Property consultancy Bidwells has merged with Carpenter Planning Consultants, one of the largest planning companies in the East of England. Carpenter, which has teams in Norwich, Chelmsford and Manchester, has worked in partnership with...

Asda wins test case for store floor increase.(Eastleigh Borough Council )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Asda has been granted planning permission to build a mezzanine floor at its Chandler's Ford store in Hampshire. In what was seen as a test case on whether mezzanine levels require permission (Planning, 16 January, p2), an inspector...

REGENERATION NEWS: Pathfinder seeks renewal in Stoke.(Renew North Staffordshire)
March 5, 2004... A pounds 2.3 billion plan to revitalise the housing market in Stoke-on-Trent will be submitted to the government next week. Renew North Staffordshire, the pathfinder scheme for the county, will set out proposals to build up to 12,000 homes...

REGENERATION NEWS: Town square in Barking set for major revamp.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... An application to refurbish a library and create a lifelong learning centre in Barking's Town Square has been submitted by consultancy Urban Catalyst and joint venture partner Wates. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham granted...

REGENERATION NEWS: Planning permission granted.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Planning permission has been granted for a Sure Start children and parents centre in the Chumleigh Depot area of Burgess Park in Southwark, south London. The pounds 2.2 million project will include an indoor garden, play spaces and an ecology...

REGENERATION NEWS: Disused distillery in Londonderry to be transformed.(Northern Ireland's Department for Social Development )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A disused distillery in Londonderry is to be transformed into a primary healthcare centre serving a population of more than 25,000 patients. Northern Ireland's Department for Social Development says that the 0.16ha Distillery Brae site can...

REGENERATION NEWS: Cumbria's failing economic performance.(North West Regional Assembly)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Cumbria's failing economic performance will be the focus of a summit next month organised by the North West Regional Assembly. Every MP, MEP and council leader in the county has been invited, as well as the Northwest Development Agency, the...

REGENERATION NEWS: Oxford Castle Heritage Project.(Osborne Group)(Oxfordshire County Council)(South East England Development Agency)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The pounds 35 million Oxford Castle Heritage Project entered the construction phase this week following agreements between the Osborne Group, Oxfordshire County Council and the South East England Development Agency. The mixed-use scheme will...

REGENERATION NEWS: Sheffield City Council gives green light.(Sheffield City Council )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Sheffield City Council has given the green light for eight office blocks to be built at Broadfield Park in Heeley. The second phase of development at the 9.2ha site, the offices will be two storeys high and will be landscaped around a new...

REGENERATION NEWS: Reid Architecture wins contract.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Reid Architecture has won the contract for the pounds 100 million redevelopment of Bolton town centre for Wilson Bowden Developments. The masterplan is based around a central square with 2,160 sq m of retail and leisure space as well as 150...

REGENERATION NEWS: Regional regeneration advice and training centre.(East of England Development Agency)(Cooper Simms )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Plans are afoot for a regional regeneration advice and training centre for eastern England. The East of England Development Agency has appointed consultancy Cooper Simms to develop a business plan for a regional centre of excellence. The...

REGENERATION NEWS: Public consultation on regeneration scheme.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Public consultation on a scheme to regenerate a 12.5ha vacant shipyard at Woolston in Southampton will begin next month. The redevelopment, which will allow residents access to the waterfront for the first time in 150 years, will include marine...

REGENERATION NEWS: Series of debates on masterplanning.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A series of debates on the nature and significance of masterplanning begins at Leeds University this week. The 4x4 Making Places 2004 event - so called because it features four different speakers every week for four weeks - will include...

REGENERATION NEWS: Correction - Tomorrow's Planners.(Correction Notice)
March 5, 2004... Correction: Tomorrow's Planners recruit Jo Gay (Planning, 20 February, p14) has a degree in environmental biochemistry and an MSc in environmental risk assessment.

TRANSPORT NEWS: Government backs light rail extension.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Plans for a pounds 145 million scheme to extend the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) under the River Thames to Woolwich Arsenal in south London have received government approval. The project will be a 2.5km continuation of the DLR extension to...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Rail authority consults over community routes.(Strategic Rail Authority )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... More than 2,000km of financially unviable, crumbling railway could be placed in the hands of local communities under plans being hatched by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). Consultation began this week on the idea of putting underused...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Aberdeen unveils pedestrian proposal.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Proposals to pedestrianise part of Aberdeen city centre have been set out in a pounds 21 million scheme for transport improvements earmarked for the city. A report published last week by city council officials argues that the economic...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Survey reveals varied opinion on tram links.(Sheffield Supertram )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Plans to extend the Sheffield Supertram to Rotherham have gained public support, although proposals to continue the line to Hellaby have proved to be less popular. Consultation on the proposals was carried out for the South Yorkshire...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Romford yard earns role for Crossrail use.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A railway goods yard and gasworks in Romford is to be used as a Crossrail depot, after Cross London Rail Links (CLRL) selected its preferred location last week. The decision means that controversial plans for a depot on greenfield land at...

BUSINESS BRIEF: PMP appointed to carry out feasibility study.(Canterbury City Council)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... PMP has been appointed to carry out a feasibility study into rebuilding Herne Bay Pier by Canterbury City Council. The study will examine opportunities for commercial uses on the pier including a casino, a hotel, bars and restaurants. It will...

BUSINESS BRIEF: JMP Consultating appointed.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... JMP Consulting has been appointed to design highway infrastructure for redeveloping a former cable manufacturing facility in Helsby, Cheshire. The site, owned by the Brookhouse Group, has been cleared to make way for a mixed-use development...

BUSINESS BRIEF: GL Hearn opens office in Manchester.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... GL Hearn has opened an office in Manchester as part of its expansion in the North West. It will house 20 existing staff members and will be headed by Grahame Stockley and Mike Baker. The firm hopes to add ten further staff to the team,...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Steer Davis Gleave apppointed.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Steer Davis Gleave has been appointed to develop transport plans to support London's 2012 Olympic bid. The eight-month study has been commissioned by the Olympic transport strategy team, led by Transport for London. The brief focuses on the...

BUSINESS BRIEF: The Halcrow Group appointed.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The Halcrow Group has been appointed to carry out a feasibility study on the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal near Falkirk by British Waterways (BWS) Scotland. Halcrow will examine options for sustainable regeneration of the...

BUSINESS BRIEF: TRL's centre launches information service website.(www.sea-info.net)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... TRL's centre for sustainability has launched an information service website for strategic environmental assessment (SEA) at www.sea-info.net. It contains information on legislation and guidance and details of ongoing initiatives and research....

BUSINESS BRIEF: Mott Macdonald made technical adviser.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Mott Macdonald has been made systems and rolling stock technical adviser for the Crossrail project. Cross London Rail Links has appointed the consultancy to advise on railway systems, rolling stock and mechanical and electrical design services...

BUSINESS BRIEF: JMP Consulting secures contract.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... JMP Consulting has secured a contract to research school travel plans for eight primary schools by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The schools, in the Spitalfields and Banglatown ward and the Weavers ward, are part of the school travel...

BUSINESS BRIEF: Faber Maunsell's development group commissioned.(Chelsfield Merry Hill Investments)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Faber Maunsell's sustainable development group has been commissioned to carry out a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method study for Chelsfield Merry Hill Investments. The consultancy will examine the operation of Merry...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Bill paves way for rail link to airport.(Scott Wilson and Halcrow )
March 5, 2004... A private bill paving the way for a direct rail link connecting Edinburgh Airport to main line services will be submitted to the Scottish parliament next year. Transport officials believe that work could begin in 2006, with the first...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Edinburgh strives to boost recycling.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... All housing developments in Edinburgh must include recycling facilities under a city council initiative, it emerged last week. Planning officers are preparing guidelines for developers as part of a scheme aimed at improving recycling rates....

SCOTTISH NEWS: Aberdeen pulls plug on waste burner in city.(Aberdeen City Council )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Proposals for Scotland's largest waste incinerator, which provoked a major opposition campaign, have been rejected. Aberdeen City Council turned down the pounds 40 million scheme after hearing that the size of the plant, to occupy a 4.5ha...

ANALYSIS: Policy faces scrutiny check.
March 5, 2004... The eagerly awaited PPS1 has arrived, but how effective will it be in practice? asks David Dewar. It has been one of the most long-awaited planning documents of recent years. The cornerstone planning policy statement, PPS1, has been on the...

ANALYSIS: Value of participation wins more recognition.
March 5, 2004... Ministers are keen for the community to be active in the planning process, says Marino Donati. It has been a long time in the making and there were fears that ministerial support was wavering in the light of the likely cost. But last week...

ANALYSIS: Gummer on ... why public input is crucial to the planning process.(Suffolk County Council)
March 5, 2004... Just as the planning bill gives new definition to public consultation, along comes a salutary tale from Suffolk. Giving a community a new primary school, when the old one was hopelessly overcrowded, has landed Suffolk County Council in a real...

OPINION: Fyson on ... why sustainable development must be defined.
March 5, 2004... Highlighting issues does not necessarily clarify them and reiterated aspirations do not inspire merely because they are familiar. Planners reading the government's planning policy statement Creating Sustainable Communities will have these...

EDITORIAL: Wind farm rejections foil pioneer ambition.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
March 5, 2004... It has been a mixed week for wind farms. First, Greenpeace suggested that almost a third of Europe's electricity could be generated by offshore wind farms, with the UK in the vanguard. It's great to see the UK leading the way. Then again, maybe...

INTERVIEW: Master regenerator - Jon Rouse.
March 5, 2004... As Jon Rouse prepares to leave one key regeneration organisation to lead another, he tells Chris Griffin about the opportunities presented by his challenging new role. Jon Rouse prefers the term 'regeneration' to 'renaissance', the word...

Stadium offers a fresh start.
March 5, 2004... Arsenal's new stadium is set to regenerate a part of north London and offers a model for regeneration, reports Josh Brooks. Arsenal Football Club has called Highbury Stadium home ever since it kicked off the 1913-14 season with a 2-1...

Renewal prospects boosted.(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment)
March 5, 2004... The momentum behind the Egan review of built environment skills must be carried forward fast, argues Stuart Lipton. Deputy prime minister John Prescott's vision for urban development, the sustainable communities plan, signals a fundamental...

NOTEBOOK: When did we stop planning?
March 5, 2004... The UK and Europe's economic well-being and changing global realities mean that the time is right for planners to put the plan back into planning, argues Cliff Hague. It has been a while since planners stopped learning how to plan. It...

CASEBOOK: Homes secure approval in Norwich conservation area.(McCarthy and Stone (Developments) Ltd )
March 5, 2004... McCarthy and Stone (Developments) Ltd has secured permission for 53 sheltered housing units on a site in a Norwich conservation area following an inspector's conclusion that the scheme represented a distinct improvement on the quality of the...

CASEBOOK: Pleas to restrict museum helicopter use overruled.
March 5, 2004... The owner of a business park in Weston-super-Mare has lost a High Court action to restrict the number of flights that can take place from an adjoining airfield operated by the International Helicopter Museum. I'm Your Man Ltd argued that...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Further hearing agreed on screening opinion.(Younger Homes (Northern) Ltd)
March 5, 2004... The Court of Appeal has granted permission for Younger Homes (Northern) Ltd to challenge the deputy prime minister's decision to grant planning permission for a mixed-use development in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, after concluding that the...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Medical condition fails to justify green belt home.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A Gypsy woman has failed to convince the Court of Appeal that an inspector's decision requiring the removal of caravans from a site in Essex should be set aside, following a High Court ruling that their presence could not be authorised in the...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Aircraft hangar ruled not incidental to house.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The Court of Appeal has ruled that a High Court judge was correct in backing an inspector's decision requiring the removal of an aircraft hangar at a dwelling in Essex, concluding that it was not incidental to the lawful residential use of the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Advertisements - Use of wall for advertisements held lawful.(J C Decaux UK Ltd )
March 5, 2004... J C Decaux UK Ltd has secured a lawful development certificate (LDC) confirming that a wall in south-west London has a lawful use for the display of advertisements, with an inspector accepting that it had been used continually for well over the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Advertisements - Removal of adverts ordered at authorised site.(J C Decaux UK Ltd )(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A discontinuance notice requiring J C Decaux UK Ltd to stop displaying two advertisements with deemed consent at a site in Greater Manchester has been upheld, with an inspector ruling that the council did not have to show a material change in...

CASEBOOK: COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL - Tattoo parlour change of use claim rejected.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... An enforcement notice alleging that a material change of use of premises in an Essex town centre from a ladies' hairdressers to a tattoo studio has been quashed after an inspector held that there was little difference between these two types of...

CASEBOOK: COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL - Hotel at service area held harmful to landscape.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A proposal for a 60-bedroom hotel at a motorway service area on the M4 in Berkshire has been rejected because of its impact on the North Wessex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB). A previous planning permission for development...

CASEBOOK: COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL - Store at sawmill held immune from enforcement.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... In quashing an enforcement notice directed against a country store that had been established at a sawmill in Wiltshire, an inspector has concluded that it had always formed part of a mixed use of the site that had been in existence for more...

CASEBOOK: COMMUNITY FACILITIES - Church granted temporary permission in garage.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The change of use of a garage associated with a house in east London to a church has been supported and an enforcement notice quashed after an inspector determined that a temporary permission until February 2005 was justified. The...

CASEBOOK: FOOD AND DRINK USES - Appellant awarded costs over restaurant refusal.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... KFC (GB) Ltd has secured permission for a 239 sq m drive-through restaurant on the site of a pub in the West Midlands, with an inspector finding no evidence that it would harm the convenience shopping role of a nearby centre. While...

CASEBOOK: HOUSING - NEW BUILD - Plans held to ignore setting of landmark bridges.
March 5, 2004... In rejecting a scheme by Miller Homes Ltd for 142 residential units at a site in Edinburgh, a reporter has concluded that there was no evidence that adequate consideration had been given to the impact of the development on the setting of the...

CASEBOOK: HOUSING - NEW BUILD - Replacement agreed for threatened cliff-top home.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... An inspector has concluded that a replacement house along the west Wales coast is justified provided the appellant enters into a section 106 obligation exonerating the council in the event that it falls victim to coastal erosion. The...

CASEBOOK: HOUSING - NEW BUILD - Open part of site categorised as brownfield.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... In allowing housing development on a site in Cheshire, an inspector has rejected arguments by the local planning authority that part of the land was not previously developed and therefore no housing should be permitted on it. The site had...

CASEBOOK: HOUSING - NEW BUILD - Homes allowed on land allocated for employment.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The development of housing on a 1.23ha site allocated for employment use in north Wales has been supported by an inspector who judged that a substantial shortfall in housing land weighed heavily in favour of the scheme. The inspector noted...

CASEBOOK: HOUSEHOLDER DEVELOPMENT - Garden extension on amenity land supported.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... A 58 sq m extension of a garden onto a plot of amenity land in Northumberland has won support from an inspector who determined that it did not seriously harm the provision of open space in the area. The rear gardens of a terrace of...

CASEBOOK: LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT - Shooting tower ruled no threat to character.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... An inspector has quashed an enforcement notice issued against an unauthorised clay pigeon shooting tower in Hampshire after agreeing that its impact on the character of the area was acceptable and that it did not affect local wildlife. The...

CASEBOOK: LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT - Nightclub capacity held acceptable in town centre.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Plans to convert a disused car showroom in a secondary shopping area of a Tyneside town centre to a nightclub have been supported by an inspector on the grounds that the scheme would not have an adverse impact on the vitality and viability of...

CASEBOOK: MIXED DEVELOPMENT - Design quality recognised in replacement scheme.
March 5, 2004... The demolition and redevelopment of two buildings in office and residential use in a London conservation area has been allowed following a finding that the scheme would not entail significant loss of residential floorspace or daylight to...

CASEBOOK: RETAIL DEVELOPMENT - Limited retail sales from warehouse blocked.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The use of a warehouse in Greater Manchester to allow the sale of clothing for five days a year at Christmas has been denied on the grounds that it would attract a large number of customers by car, thereby causing congestion and unacceptable...