Planning (UK) articles from March 2007

Planning (UK) archives from March 2007

Planning in the media.
March 2, 2007... Wave and tidal power could be as important to Scotland as North Sea oil, deputy first minister Nicol Stephen told The Scotsman. Scotland has already hit its 2010 target to provide 18 per cent of energy renewably and ministers will consult on...

Diary.(city planners)
March 2, 2007... Any remaining doubts about the survival of planning studies at the University of Dundee should have been laid to rest by last week's Planning Student Quiz, because its school of town and regional planning is clearly producing outstanding...

Appointment at Raploch Urban Regeneration Company.
March 2, 2007... Bob Laverty has been promoted to chief executive of the Raploch Urban Regeneration Company

Appointment at LDA Design.
March 2, 2007... Sophie Lloyd has moved to LDA Design's Exeter office as an associate. Simon Railton and Elke Kruse have joined the firm's Oxford office as a senior landscape architect and chartered landscape architect respectively

Appointment at HKR Architects.
March 2, 2007... Roy Adams has joined HKR Architects' London office as a director from Laing O'Rourke

Appointment at Turley Associates.
March 2, 2007... Matt Quayle has been appointed as a director by Turley Associates in Leeds

Appointment at Savills.
March 2, 2007... Andrew Mann has joined the Wimborne office of Savills as a planner

Appointment at Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
March 2, 2007... David Prout has joined the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea as executive director of planning and borough development

Appointment at RPS.
March 2, 2007... Wendy Tipper has been appointed as an associate and project manager by RPS in Bristol. Colin Bloch has been made a director

Appointment at Architecture Foundation.
March 2, 2007... Brian Clarke has been appointed chairman of the Architecture Foundation, having been a trustee of the body since 2003. He replaces Will Alsop, who has been chairman since 2001

Appointment at SLR Consulting.
March 2, 2007... George Nash has joined SLR Consulting's Shrewsbury office as an associate archaeologist. He has 18 years' experience in the heritage sector

Appointment at RD Planning.
March 2, 2007... Ciaran Quigley has moved to RD Planning as a planning and communications manager

Appointment at Stride Treglown.
March 2, 2007... Graham Stevens has been promoted to board director at Stride Treglown in Bristol. He joined the firm in 2001

Appointment at Mid Bedfordshire District Council.
March 2, 2007... Simon Andrews has joined Mid Bedfordshire District Council as local development framework team leader

Budapest sets out its stall for seventh planning biennial.
March 2, 2007... This conference offers a chance to view best practice and to peek into an urban future, says Debbie Sorkin. The Seventh European Biennial of Towns and Town Planners will take place this year from 21 to 23 June at the Europa Conference...

RTPI Bulletin Board.
March 2, 2007... Seminars and meetings Climate Change: How Can Planning Meet the Challenge? 16 March. RTPI and the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA). London Voluntary Sector Resource Centre, Holloway Road. Climate change is now...

Planning requires clarity of guidance.(Column)
March 2, 2007... If regulation means that essential infrastructure cannot be supplied it is time to acknowledge that there is a serious problem, insists Martin Hendry. There are few weightier planning matters than the emerging difficulties of providing...

Strategic objective statements will help in the delivery of major infrastructure projects.
March 2, 2007... A national framework will assist development of infrastructure but must take local responsibilities and rights into account, argues Andrew Price. Government frustration with the planning system's ability to deliver major projects seen to...

RTPI NEWS: New president sees encouraging signs after diving in at the deep end.(Royal Town Planning Institute)
March 2, 2007... Now that the Barker review has renewed governmental activity on planning, the RTPI is in a perfect position to push forward with constructive engagement and direct future changes of the system, writes Jim Claydon. Five days after receiving...

Casebook: DC Forum.
March 2, 2007... Email your queries or your replies to earlier queries to casebook@haymarket.com or post them to Development Control Casebook Forum, DCS Ltd, Casebook Suite 1, Fullers Court, 40 Lower Quay Street, Gloucester GL1 2LW. Comment and post at...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Commercial and Industrial - Travel plan alleviates parking concerns.
March 2, 2007... A proposal to add 54 spaces to a car park at a sorting office near Bristol has been allowed after it was ruled acceptable in terms of planning policy aiming to promote more sustainable travel choices. A survey showed that despite a choice...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Commercial and Industrial - Coach parking approved at industrial unit.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The use of hardstanding areas for coach parking at an industrial unit in West Sussex has been allowed after an inspector decided that although the use was not lawful it could operate without harm to the amenity of local residents. The...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Commercial and Industrial - Dog training held appropriate in rural area.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The retention of a dog training facility in Bedfordshire has been allowed following an inspector's ruling that it did not harm the road's character and appearance or neighbours' living conditions. Several fields along the road were already...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Housing: New Build - Flats ruled compatible with character.
March 2, 2007... A proposal to develop 108 flats at a former factory building in a central Bristol conservation area has been approved despite concerns that it would undermine the area's character and urban grain. Bristol City Council took the view that the...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Housing: New Build - Homes scheme overcomes impact fears.
March 2, 2007... Listed building consent and planning permission have been granted for the partial demolition of a grade II listed building and construction of new houses within its grounds in Monmouthshire, with an inspector finding that the scheme would...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Housing: New Build - Revised siting held to improve setting.
March 2, 2007... An enforcement notice requiring the demolition of a house and garage in an Essex conservation area has been quashed after an inspector decided that a revised design created a more spacious setting. The appellant had obtained planning...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Housing: New Build - Executive homes fail community test.
March 2, 2007... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to refuse planning permission for 36 houses at a site in Staffordshire after ruling that it was inappropriate and harmed the openness of the green belt. She agreed with the...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Housing: New Build - Underground home rejected in green belt.
March 2, 2007... A proposed replacement house in Cheshire has been rejected on the grounds that it would be inappropriate in the green belt, although an inspector found that it would not harm the area's character or appearance. The proposal entailed the...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Housing: New Build - Scheme backed at former defence site.
March 2, 2007... A proposal to build 176 apartments at a former Ministry of Defence site in Hampshire has been judged to offer an acceptable design that would enhance the street scene. The 1.5ha site featured eight three-storey flat blocks containing 48...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Housing: New Build - Lower homes density judged acceptable.
March 2, 2007... Two housing developments adjacent to a conservation area near Milton Keynes have been approved despite the fact that the density of one was below the government's recommended minimum. The larger development, comprising 62 homes, achieved a...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Householder Development - Garden permitted rights claim rejected.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... A range of appeals involving the lawfulness of a house extension and various other structures on land in the East Hampshire area of outstanding natural beauty have been dismissed after an inspector determined that they were inappropriate and...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Leisure and Entertainment - Canal basin rejected on visual grounds.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... A 70-berth extension to a mooring basin on the Trent and Mersey Canal in a Staffordshire conservation area has been rejected on the grounds of noise, disturbance and harm to the character and appearance of the area. The inspector accepted...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Mixed Use DevelopmentUrban extension judged unsustainable.
March 2, 2007... Outline plans for 115 homes, a pottery and tea room on land in Devon have been rejected despite an inspector recognising that the scheme would meet a need for open market and affordable housing. The site lay on the edge of a town adjacent...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Retail Development - Loss of launderette deemed acceptable.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The change of use of a vacant launderette on the edge of a west London shopping centre to retail use has been approved after an inspector decided that it would not materially detract from the services available to local residents. A...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Telecommunications - Tree mast rejected in revised position.(O2 UK Ltd.)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... O2 (UK) Ltd has had mixed success in appeals involving land in Oxfordshire after an inspector upheld an enforcement notice directed against an 18m mast disguised as a cypress tree but confirmed that a similar mast just a few metres away from it...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Transport Development - Services ruled out by green belt policy.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The secretary of state has dismissed a proposal for a roadside services area in the Staffordshire green belt, concluding that insufficient evidence had been provided on the need for the development. The appeal site comprised two large...

Casebook: Court Cases - Cottage extension decision found flawed.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The secretary of state has accepted that an inspector erred in granting planning permission for a conservatory and lobby at a house in the Chilterns area of outstanding natural beauty and green belt. The owner had undertaken the development...

Casebook: Court Cases - Challenge to Gypsy decision turned down.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The High Court has rejected a challenge by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council against an inspector's decision to grant planning permission for a Gypsy site in the green belt. The council claimed that the inspector had erred in her...

Casebook: Court Cases - Compulsory purchase challenge rejected.
March 2, 2007... The High Court has refused a challenge by landowners opposing a compulsory purchase order (CPO) promoted by Portsmouth City Council to push forward plans to redevelop part of the city. The landowners sought to have the proceedings quashed,...

Casebook: Court Cases - Wind turbine decision quashed by farmers.
March 2, 2007... The owners of a Norfolk farm have succeeded in quashing an appeal allowing the erection of a wind turbine after the secretary of state agreed that a condition imposed on the permission was inadequate. She accepted that the condition was...

Casebook: Next Week.
March 2, 2007... - Garden animals trigger breach of control Enforcement action against keeping dangerous wild animals in a domestic garden in London has been supported following a finding that the use is not incidental and requires permission. DCS...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - In Depth - Scheme to enable church repairs foiled by lack of legal agreement.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... A development of 21 flats in Surrey has been refused planning permission even though the appellants proposed to use a significant proportion of the profits to refurbish and restore a nearby church. The appellants owned two of the three...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Housing Conversion - Pub owner fails to show viability lack.
March 2, 2007... The conversion of a vacant public house in a Buckinghamshire village to residential use has been rejected following a ruling that it would entail the unacceptable loss of a rural facility. After examining figures submitted by the council...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Listed Buildings - Water reed thatch allowed due to pitch.
March 2, 2007... The reroofing of a listed building in a Dorset conservation area with water reed has been allowed on the grounds that the harm to the building and setting was outweighed by the effect of a recent reduction in the roof pitch on the durability of...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Mixed Use Development - Wharf plans held to harm townscape.
March 2, 2007... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to dismiss plans for homes and a cafe-bar and restaurant at a Thameside wharf in Kent after concluding that the scheme would undermine the supply of employment land and the local...

How we did it ... Mendip housing estate given seal of approval.
March 2, 2007... PROJECT Dukes Rise, Tadley Acres Estate, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. BACKGROUND The scheme forms an extension to a larger development known as Field Farm. It combines 109 affordable and open market houses and flats with employment uses,...

The things I know.(Royal Society for the Protection of Birds's Simon Marsh interviewed)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Simon Marsh Head of planning and regional policy at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). - Where did you study planning? On a postgraduate planning degree at the University of Sheffield. - What attracted you to a...

Suburbs move on.
March 2, 2007... Suburban town centres are tackling the problem of increasing levels of car use by seeking sustainable transport solutions for low-density areas with dispersed services, says Ben Kochan. Suburban living is practically synonymous with car...

Buses take fast track.
March 2, 2007... As the government ponders an increase of local control over bus services, the future of sustainable transport suddenly appears a whole lot brighter, argues Mark Smulian. A new power that could help planners to make sustainable communities...

Urban revolutionary.(Academy of Urbanism)
March 2, 2007... As chairman of the recently established Academy of Urbanism John Thompson seeks to bring together an elite group to disseminate experience of how cities work, he tells Huw Morris. John Thompson remembers the cold war as the spectre that...

Treasury's idealistic logic fails to measure up in the real world.
March 2, 2007... Kate Barker's argument that shifting politicians' decision-making powers to an independent planning commission is just like giving the Bank of England the authority to set interest rates speaks volumes. This is life through an economist's...

Fyson on ... a welcome reminder that our system has a democratic basis that can be enforced through law.(Conference news)
March 2, 2007... There was relief among planners in the audience as Malcolm Grant concluded his RTPI Annual Lecture last week. The non-lawyers present had not found their way easily through his compressed history of covenants and landownership, but his...

Legal Report: How councils should use conditions to full effect.
March 2, 2007... Planners have begun to use Grampian conditions requiring applicants to sign planning obligations as an alternative to protracted section 106 negotiations and adverse effects on targets for determining applications. Such conditions fly in...

Bell on ... setting up a forestry grid.
March 2, 2007... Google 'carbon offsetting' and up come 890,000 sites. As everyone carries on flying, which site will get our conscience money? Do you support solar cookers for the Sahara or water wheels for the Windward Islands? If DEFRA has its way the...

Nuclear gambit faulted.
March 2, 2007... A major court case has blown open the government's consultation pretensions and presents a stumbling block for further deliberations on the merits of nuclear power, says Catherine Early. The government has been rapped over the knuckles for...

Coastal park plans stalled by protests.
March 2, 2007... Plans for a marine national park off the west coast of Scotland could be abandoned in the wake of widespread opposition, the Scottish Executive has revealed. Rural affairs minister Ross Finnie admitted last week that he is staggered and...

Don set to see green village.
March 2, 2007... A sustainable urban village could be built in Aberdeen, harnessing the power of the River Don to supply part of its energy. Aberdeen City Council has approved a planning brief for the 28ha former Davidson's Mill in Bucksburn, which will now...

Renewable standard passed for buildings.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... All new developments comprising more than ten homes or more than 1,000m2 in Edinburgh will soon have to generate ten per cent of their energy needs from on-site renewable sources. A code adopted by Edinburgh City Council that comes into...

Planning Stats.(government spending on urban planning)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... pounds 1.8 billion - The regeneration costs of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The total estimated bill is reported to be pounds 9 billion. 670,000 - The tonnes of household waste that will be burnt annually to produce energy at an...

Online now ..
March 2, 2007... Join the debates at PlanningResource.co.uk for Do more pizza shops help reduce global warming? How can solar collector designs please planners? Also visit online to find Archway masterplan review Regeneration targets lead to degradation

Huddersfield vision picked.(Whitelaw Turkington to develop Huddersfield's town square)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... A public vote has seen a design by architects Whitelaw Turkington selected for the redevelopment of Huddersfield's town square. The company's vision was chosen above two other options by 67 per cent of the people who voted in the poll....

Docks set for regeneration.
March 2, 2007... Law firm Addleshaw Goddard has been appointed to advise joint venture partners Peel Holdings and British Waterways on regeneration at Gloucester Quays. The pounds 200 million scheme will create 150,000m2 of offices, homes and leisure...

Granite Wharf plan secures go-ahead.(Denton Wilde Sapte advised London and Regional Properties Ltd.)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Plans for major regeneration in Greenwich in south-east London can proceed after the section 106 agreement was signed off last week. Law firm Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) advised developer London & Regional on the planning consent for its...

Egniol Cyf to transform school building into base of operations.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... An empty school building in Wales is to be turned into a headquarters for environmental consultancy firm Egniol Cyf, creating 24 jobs. Currently based in Bangor, Cheshire and Derbyshire, the company will be relocating staff to Penmaenmawr,...

Poll endorses home quality.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Residents of high-density developments in Reading are happy with their homes, according to a survey carried out by Roger Evans Associates and the Survey Shop. In the study for Reading Borough Council, 69 per cent of people said their...

Merger gives travel boost.(Colin Buchanan and Partners, Vincent Knight )(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Colin Buchanan has bought transport research specialists Vincent Knight in a move to create stronger transport consultancy services. The merger will allow Colin Buchanan to bring together Vincent Knight's expertise in traditional methods of...

Birmingham backs vision.
March 2, 2007... The Birmingham Prospectus, a paper setting out the city's vision for the next 20 years, has been approved by the city council's cabinet. Priorities include increasing the city's population by ten per cent, creating a science city to help...

Ebbw Vale outlines major regeneration.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Plans for major regeneration of Ebbw Vale's industrial area were submitted to Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council this week. The pounds 300 million relcamation and redevelopment of the 75ha steelworks site would be one of the largest and...

Developer sets out sustainable housing aim for Pembroke Dock.
March 2, 2007... Proposals for a pounds 100 million waterfront redevelopment at Pembroke Dock have been submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council. The scheme, based around a public promenade and new harbour, features a marina, homes, shops, a cinema and...

Whitley Bay plans revamp.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Whitley Bay in North Tyneside is set to be regenerated under a pounds 60 million plan that was approved by the local authority last week. North Tyneside Council backed the proposals for an arts and cultural centre and the restoration of...

Views voiced in Belfast bid.
March 2, 2007... A bid to raise pounds 25 million in Big Lottery funding to transform 81ha of wasteland began in Belfast last week. The city council launched a public consultation to gauge feedback on how the site at North Foreshore could be developed to...

Group slates aviation bias.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The economic benefits highlighted in the government's progress report on the future of air transport are based on biased information, according to research this week. Campaign group Airport Watch maintained that the report, published last...

James Street plans backed.(upgrading of railwaystations by Liverpool City Council, Merseyrail and Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd.)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Plans for pounds 2 million of improvement at James Street station in Liverpool have been given the go-ahead. The works, part of a pounds 73 million city centre strategy, focus on improvements for rail and bus passengers in partnership with...

MPs plead for schemes to be set free from shackles.
March 2, 2007... MPs have told the government to cut the bureaucracy 'stifling' transport schemes and allow councils to raise funding for projects locally. The all-party urban development group said the control that Whitehall exerts over transport...

Revised estimate of Lancashire link road jobs provokes outrage.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The number of jobs created by the Heysham M6 link road will be lower than originally estimated, it has emerged. The pounds 137 million bypass to link the M6 and the Morecambe-Heysham peninsula is only likely to create 1,822 jobs, according...

Funds agreed for rail works.(government funding)(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... More than pounds 6 million has been allocated to improve accessibility at rail stations across England. The Department for Transport announced the third round of its Access for All funding for small schemes this week. Projects covered...

Climate draft fears blasted.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... The government has rubbished claims by the Liberal Democrats that the climate change bill will be delayed. A draft bill is set to be published for consultation and parliamentary scrutiny in March, a DEFRA spokesman maintained. 'It...

Green target set for shops.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Stores in London's West End have been urged to do more to help tackle climate change and encourage shoppers to 'go green'. Westminster City Council leader Sir Simon Milton told the retail industry that it could fly the environmental flag,...

Hearing throws out incinerator review.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Opponents of plans for the UK's largest incinerator failed to win a judicial review of the development at a hearing last week. The London Borough of Bexley and mayor Ken Livingstone fear that the plant will result in waste flooding into the...

Lobby group calls for increased brownfield site house building.
March 2, 2007... The government should increase its target for homes on brownfield land from 60 per cent to 85 per cent, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has urged. According to research published this week, many local authorities fail to...

Mayor casts doubt on aim.
March 2, 2007... The Olympic Delivery Authority's (ODA) aim of securing the greenest games ever 'falls short', London mayor Ken Livingstone has claimed. Responding to London Assembly Green Party member Jenny Jones, Livingstone said: 'You will not get a...

Firms join up to cut carbon.(Brief article)
March 2, 2007... Two coalitions to improve the sustainability of homes were launched this week. The Good Homes Alliance was set up by the Sustainable Development Foundation and firms such as Bioregional Quintain, Cornhill Estates and Swan Country Homes....

Agenda.
March 2, 2007... 6-7 March: New Challenges, Fresh Opportunities Organiser: National Housing Federation Venue: Birmingham Fee: pounds 550 Details: (tel) 020 7067 1054 13-16 March: MIPIM 2007 Organiser Reed Midem Venue: Cannes, France Fee:...

Developers sound Olympics bill alarm.
March 2, 2007... The proposed planning gain supplement (PGS) could push the Olympics bill higher by tens of millions, developers warned this week. The British Property Federation (BPF) said approved plans for the Olympic stadium will not be affected but...