Planning (UK) articles from March 2009

Planning (UK) archives from March 2009

Planning in the media.
March 6, 2009... While most developed nations are pumping billions into the green economy, the situation in the UK looks parlous. The Independent on Sunday said the country is falling far behind other major economies in launching a green new deal, despite...

Diary.(Diary entry)
March 6, 2009... A team from University College London claimed top spot in last week's round of Planning's annual student quiz, sponsored by RPS. Ebenezer Howard's Illegitimate Children held on to a wafer-thin half-time lead to secure victory in the London...

Promotion at Halcrow.(Fiona Brown has been promoted to director )(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Fiona Brown has been promoted to director of environment at Halcrow, specialising in transport projects. Rhian Thomas rises to associate at the Manchester office and Dan Bradley has joined the Peterborough office from Savills in Cambridge. ...

Appointment at DPP.(Loraine Kelly joins as senior planner )(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Loraine Kelly returns from travelling to rejoin DPP as senior planner in London. Alex Munro has also returned to the firm's London office in the same role following a brief spell at Drivers Jonas in Manchester. -------------------- ...

Promotion at RPS London.(Carly Vince and Sue Marsalek promoted to associates)(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... RPS London has promoted Carly Vince and Sue Marsalek to associates, Andrew Price and Henry Wood to senior planners and Matthew Small, Jessica Mehigan and Faye Wilders to planners. -------------------- Did you find this article useful?...

Promotion at SSR Planning.(Liberty Stones promoted to senior planner)(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... SSR Planning has promoted Liberty Stones to senior planner. She joined the firm in 2006 after graduating from the University of Sheffield with a degree in urban studies and planning and a diploma in town and regional planning. ...

Appointment at VertaseFLI.
March 6, 2009... Remediation company VertaseFLI has appointed Adam Czarnecki as regional director of its Manchester office. He will manage a team specialising in soil and groundwater treatment as part of the rehabilitation of derelict and brownfield sites. ...

Appointment at White Young Green.(Ruth Hillary joins as technical director )(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Ruth Hillary has taken the role of technical director of sustainability at White Young Green. She has 20 years' experience working with public and private sector organisations in sustainable and social fields. -------------------- Did...

Promotion at Boyer Planning.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... At Boyer Planning, Matthew Clarke has been promoted to associate and Catherine Pollard to senior planner in Colchester. Neil Mantell and Simon Barry become senior planners in Cardiff and Donna Palmer an assistant planner in Windlesham. ...

Enforcement debate aims to build greater role integration.(Royal Town Planning Institute)
March 6, 2009... Action on resourcing, support and training of teams must be a priority for councils, insists Michael Napier. The standing of enforcement should be improved at every level, speakers at January's RTPI general assembly meeting on the topic...

Northern Ireland celebrates sustainability with project awards.(Awards list)
March 6, 2009... Three highly sustainable projects were the winners of the RTPI-RSPB Northern Ireland annual awards presented at Stormont last month. The Orchard Acre Barn scheme saw dilapidated outhouses on a small farm near Irvinestown in Fermanagh...

Events.(Calendar)
March 6, 2009... - Delivering Growth in Difficult Times 19 March. RTPI East of England. Downing College, Regent Street, Cambridge. This one-day conference organised with Barton Willmore will consider the current challenges facing planners and...

Planning Convention set to engage.(Royal Town Planning Institute)
March 6, 2009... Plenary and break-out sessions, briefings and social networking all add up to an unmissable mix for the profession, Linda Durtnal anticipates. Where will you find the top UN-Habitat policy analyst, the Local Government Association...

Mediating pathways out of planning conflict.
March 6, 2009... Findings of a review into an alternative approach to dispute resolution will be discussed at the Planning Aid conference, writes Charlie Woods. Mediation has evolved worldwide in recent years as a creative way of managing conflict. It has...

Braintree pioneers single strategy in pursuit of local community clarity.
March 6, 2009... Combining sustainable strategy and local development framework consultations builds on a district's established approach of involving communities in decision-making on development, explains Peter Crofts. Uncertainty over the relationship...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Egg unit rejected due to prominent siting.
March 6, 2009... A free-range egg unit has been turned down at a site in mid Wales after an inspector determined that its benefits were outweighed by visual harm to the countryside. The unit would be 140m long and 18m wide with a ridge height of 5.3m and...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Equine business establishes housing need.
March 6, 2009... The owner of an equine convalescent livery and holiday care centre in Hampshire has won temporary approval for a building to be occupied by a groom after showing a functional need for somebody to live close to the facility. The business...

DC Casebook: Community Facilities - Nursery classes approved in school lodge.
March 6, 2009... The conversion and restoration of an outbuilding at a Greater Manchester school has been approved, after an inspector concluded that the scheme would not lead to an unacceptable impact on local residents' amenity. The site contained a...

DC Casebook: Community Facilities - Green belt floodlighting case endorsed.
March 6, 2009... A school in the Buckinghamshire green belt has secured permission for four floodlight arrays serving a synthetic playing field after demonstrating very special circumstances. The 15m-high floodlights would mainly be used in connection with...

DC Casebook: Energy Development - Turbine deemed to compromise air safety.
March 6, 2009... A single wind turbine has been denied permission on land in Berkshire on the grounds that the movement of the blades would compromise the safety of aircraft using a nearby airfield. The proposed turbine would have a hub height of 50m with...

DC Casebook: Energy Development - Wind farm radar impact fears overruled.
March 6, 2009... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's advice to grant permission for ten wind turbines in Northumberland after concluding that they would not adversely affect the UK's air defences. The Ministry of Defence asserted that...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Resiting of replacement dwelling agreed.
March 6, 2009... A replacement dwelling in Lincolnshire has been judged permissible after an inspector ruled that there is merit in locating it beyond the footprint of the existing property. The proposed home would be sited a short distance from an 18th...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Speed restriction condition wins backing.
March 6, 2009... An inspector has backed construction of two houses in West Sussex subject to retention of a condition requiring a reduction in the speed limit on an adjoining highway. The condition stipulated that the development should not begin until...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Benefits justify home close to monument.
March 6, 2009... A large dwelling has been approved at an intensive poultry unit on Merseyside on the basis that it would improve green belt openness and allow public access to a scheduled ancient monument. The monument comprised a Second World War...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Backland homes deemed out of character.
March 6, 2009... A backland development of four homes has been rejected on a former council housing estate in Surrey because it would harm the established character and appearance of the area. The inspector considered that the original character of the...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Conditions seeking cash payment deleted.
March 6, 2009... Various conditions imposed on a planning permission authorising the construction of ten flats in Essex have been deleted on the grounds that they are imprecise and unreasonable. The conditions stipulated that before development commenced,...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Access to two dwellings ruled acceptable.
March 6, 2009... Two homes have been approved on a site in South Yorkshire despite council claims that the proposed access arrangements would reduce the availability of on-street car parking. The site lay at the end of a cul-de-sac and access to the two...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Homes blocked by remediation concern.
March 6, 2009... A proposal for two dwellings at a site in Lancashire that originally contained a gasometer has been ruled out until further testing for landfill gas has been carried out. The appellant's assessment confirmed that the ground might be...

DC Casebook: Housing: Conversion - Flats agreed despite loss of family home.
March 6, 2009... The retention of two self-contained flats formed from a single dwelling in east London has been backed despite council claims that it would undermine the need to retain properties for families. A council strategy adopted last year...

DC Casebook: Householder Development - Balustrade permitted rights established.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... An enforcement notice requiring the removal of a glass balustrade from a house in central London has been quashed after an inspector decided that it is permitted development. The appellant had put up a frameless clear glass balustrade...

DC Casebook: Householder Development - Garden building rights restriction lifted.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... An inspector has overturned a condition preventing construction of outbuildings in the garden of a house in Hertfordshire, holding it unnecessary and unreasonable. The council had granted planning permission for the replacement and...

DC Casebook: Leisure and Entertainment - Greater flexibility allowed on holiday let.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... A condition limiting occupation of a holiday let in Sussex has been lifted after an inspector decided that government advice on controlling such uses should be applied. The condition stated that the accommodation should not be occupied for...

DC Casebook: Retail Development - Farm butcher's shop held unsustainable.
March 6, 2009... The owners of an Oxfordshire farm have been ordered to cease operating a butcher's shop after an inspector ruled that it might adversely affect the vitality and viability of a nearby village. The council had granted planning permission in...

DC Casebook: Retail Development - Discount store judged no threat to centre.
March 6, 2009... An inspector has approved an Aldi supermarket at a site in Cornwall despite expressing disappointment that an out-of-centre location had been selected for the scheme. The council did not oppose the grant of permission despite a...

DC Casebook: Court Cases - Inspector backed on barn rebuild verdict.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... The owners of a barn near Matlock have won the right to continue its conversion after the High Court upheld an inspector's decision quashing an enforcement notice. Amber Valley Borough Council initially granted permission for the barn's...

DC Casebook: Court Cases - Council wins support on extension policy.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Dacorum Borough Council has persuaded the High Court to quash an inspector's decision granting planning permission for the retention of a conservatory at a replacement home. The council argued that the inspector had failed to deal properly...

DC Casebook: Next Week.
March 6, 2009... - Homes secure backing in boundary row Three homes have been allowed outside a Lincolnshire settlement boundary after an inspector found that the site would be in the village following completion of a housing estate. DCS Number...

DC Casebook: In Depth - Caravan classification prompts quashing of enforcement notice.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... An enforcement notice directed against a timber dwelling at a site in Leicestershire has been quashed after an inspector decided that the structure constitutes a caravan. The local planning authority had issued a lawful development...

DC Casebook: Community facilities - Church refused on employment land.
March 6, 2009... An inspector has upheld an enforcement notice directed against the change of use of an Essex warehouse into a church, rejecting arguments that it would also be used for storage and distribution of church furniture. The appellants envisaged...

DC Casebook: Housing conversion - Shed amenities fail residential test.
March 6, 2009... The continued residential use of a wooden shed in Kent has been ruled out after an inspector concluded that it is not immune from enforcement action. On the balance of probability, the inspector decided that internally available cold...

DC Casebook: Leisure and Entertainment - Stable conversion found to be harmful.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Conversion of a modern Cornish stable building into a holiday let has been rejected on the basis that it would harm the character and appearance of an area of outstanding natural beauty. The building had been granted planning permission in...

DC Casebook: Retail Development - Store mezzanine retention accepted.
March 6, 2009... An inspector has decided that the retention of a mezzanine floor at a retail warehouse in Worcestershire would not adversely affect the vitality of a nearby town centre. The 750m2 mezzanine had been inserted into a 930m2 modern shop unit....

DC Casebook: DC Forum.
March 6, 2009... NEW QUERIES Does development adjacent to a conservation area boundary always require a site notice? Other publicity for an application in which I am involved covered every neighbour and some who are now unhappy at the development have...

How we did it ... Reclaimed square kicks off Oxford homes push.
March 6, 2009... Project: Redesign and regeneration of Bonn Square in the centre of Oxford, which had become neglected. Background: Bonn Square was slightly elevated above street level and although a long-established open space it was isolated and little...

The Things I Know.(David Adams)(Interview)(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... David Adams, Ian Mactaggart professor of property and urban studies, University of Glasgow - Where did you study planning? At the University of Liverpool department of civic design. - What skills did you have when you graduated?...

Creative Potential.
March 6, 2009... Scarborough is reaping the rewards of developing its cultural community as a key element in its programme to create a year-round economy for the resort, reports Mark Smulian. Planners are always urged to involve the public in shaping...

America's smart mover.
March 6, 2009... Smart growth exponent Gerrit Knaap is optimistic that the Obama administration will usher in more sustainable land-use and transport policy at national and local level, he tells Cliff Hague. Now that Barack Obama is president, can we expect...

Economic woe must not deflect developers from quality resolve.
March 6, 2009... It is a dire state of affairs when nearly half of the nation's leading property and construction firms find that banks have removed crucial overdraft facilities. The speed and extent of the economy's collapse have left planning and...

Fyson on ... Restoring faith.(sustainable urban development)(Viewpoint essay)
March 6, 2009... Restoring faith in planning's capacity to place heritage at heart of regeneration strategies. Our concept of sustainability is too circumscribed by a materialistic, measurable agenda, an impoverished notion of community and place and a...

Bell on ... Greening skill of a toxic past.
March 6, 2009... My dad died of asbestosis. As a naval architect he surveyed ships during their construction. He used to tell me that men leaving Doxford shipyard would brush the fibres off their boiler suits as if they were snowflakes. Would he be...

Legal Report.
March 6, 2009... - Getting down to business on legislative route map The government has published an ambitious route map for implementation of the infrastructure planning commission (IPC). The target is to have a legal entity functioning by the autumn and...

Communication at issue.
March 6, 2009... An investigation into planning decisions at a south coast authority highlights the common tensions in balancing local feelings with external pressures, Domenic Donatantonio explains. If it achieves nothing else, Sir Michael Pitt's...

Funding push urged on priority projects.(national planning framework)(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Publicly funded projects in the Scottish Government's second national planning framework (NPF) should be brought forward to boost the economy, MSPs have urged. Ministers could also engage with developers in an attempt to speed up privately...

Utility seeks line consent.
March 6, 2009... Ministers are being urged to approve the Beauly to Denny power line upgrade within weeks to avoid a further year's delay to the scheme. Scottish and Southern Energy claimed that if consent is not granted in March the summer construction...

Edinburgh approves St James proposals.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Outline plans for Edinburgh's St James Quarter have been approved by council members as constituting a conservation gain for the world heritage site. The pounds 850 million project will involve the demolition of the St James Shopping...

Online now ..
March 6, 2009... Visit PlanningResource.co.uk today for an interview with Heritage Lottery Fund chairwoman Dame Jenny Abramsky Also online In-depth feature on the North East Project review of the Idea Stores in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ...

Planning Stats.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... pounds 1.2 billion - Annual economic benefit of Crossrail across all London boroughs, claims a study by Colin Buchanan. 9,000 - The number of Have Your Say leaflets given out at eco-town roadshows over the 15 days that the events ran,...

Surrey study role awarded.(Colin Buchanan )(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Local authorities in Surrey have chosen Colin Buchanan for the first phase of a three-year assessment of the area's infrastructure capacity. The results will be used to set future development tariff levels. The firm is working with...

Welsh valley tender given.(Powell Dobson Urbanists)(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Cardiff-based Powell Dobson Urbanists (PDU) has won a tender for seven contracts at five south Wales councils. The authorities chose the firm to create action plans to take advantage of the latest round of European convergence funding and...

Firm submits college plans.
March 6, 2009... Atisreal has lodged a planning application with the London Borough of Hounslow for a new skills centre for a west London college. West Thames College wants to move from its current building in Feltham to premises on the edge of the town...

White Young Green planners dodge axe.
March 6, 2009... Planners have escaped largely unscathed from job cuts at consultancy White Young Green (WYG), which has plunged into the red. The company's six-month results to December showed a loss before tax of pounds 2.1 million, against a profit of...

Cushman & Wakefield garners shopping survey for Sheffield.
March 6, 2009... Cushman & Wakefield has won a tender to study retail in Sheffield, beating off bids from Colliers CRE, DTZ and White Young Green. The firm has been chosen to help Sheffield City Council develop its retail policy up to 2026. The aim is to...

Club displays stadium plan.
March 6, 2009... Plans for a 30,000-seat stadium in south Bristol have been unveiled by Bristol City Football Club. The pounds 50 million project is described as a potential hub for regeneration of the area by club chairman Steve Lansdown. It includes two...

Authority approves Olympic Park proposal.(London 2012 Olympic Park)(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Plans for the London 2012 Olympic Park approved by the Olympic Delivery Authority planning committee last week are set to create the largest UK urban park for 150 years. London Development Agency group director for Olympic legacy Tom...

Group picked for Bromley.(London Borough of Bromley contract with Cathedral Group )(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... A south London redevelopment will add pounds 30 million a year to the local economy, developer Cathedral Group has said. It has been chosen by the London Borough of Bromley to develop a 1ha town centre site now used as a car park next to...

Doubts cast on eco-tower.(Battersea Power Station)(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Uncertainty surrounds plans for a glass eco-tower as the centrepiece of the pounds 4 billion redevelopment of Battersea Power Station. The Rafael Vinoly-designed chimney was conceived as an ambitious method of ventilating the office scheme...

City panel to guide centre masterplan.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... A panel of residents and experts is being formed in Coventry to provide feedback on developments that make up the final masterplan unveiled last week. The masterplan by architects Jerde Partnership first went on show last September and has...

Councils call for air rights.
March 6, 2009... Consultations on the air space needed for airport expansion should be part of the planning process so it can be challenged at public inquiry, a lobby group has urged. The 2M Group, which represents 23 councils opposed to Heathrow Airport...

Gains set out for Crossrail.(Colin Buchanan )(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Crossrail will deliver benefits worth pounds 1.2 billion a year across London, a study from Colin Buchanan has said. The consultancy found that after the line opens in 2017 it will offer gains from faster journey times and reduced...

Inquiry urged over runway.
March 6, 2009... Northern Ireland first minister Peter Robinson has intervened in a motion proposing a longer runway at George Best Belfast City Airport. The motion, by Alliance MLA Stephen Farry and the Green Party, urges environment minister Sammy Wilson...

Cross-Pennine road faces delayed start.
March 6, 2009... The Cross-Pennine Mottram-Tintwistle bypass has been delayed until at least 2016 because the region's transport investment programme is too expensive. North West regional leaders forum 4NW was 'forced' to defer the planned start date of...

Dumfries and Galloway advised to support ferry terminal move.
March 6, 2009... A pounds 70 million plan for a new port linking Scotland and Northern Ireland has been recommended for approval. Dumfries and Galloway Council planning officers advised the authority to back Stena Line's application to move its Irish Sea...

Flood project funds pulled.(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... A flood alleviation scheme in Buckingham has been scrapped despite the town being severely affected by the floods of July 2007. The Anglian (Central) Regional Flood Defence Committee and the Environment Agency announced the decision this...

Miliband lays energy aims.
March 6, 2009... Gas storage and nuclear power will play a key part in meeting UK energy requirements, climate change secretary Ed Miliband has told a select committee. The minister appeared before the Commons energy and climate change committee last week...

Games camp move fought.(opposition to a camp for travelling showpeople)(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... An MSP is supporting local residents in their opposition to a camp for travelling showpeople, which is proposed on green-belt land in south-east Glasgow. Residents are angry that they were not consulted over the move to the Dalton school...

Turbine plan veto upheld.
March 6, 2009... A planning inspector has rejected an appeal for a wind energy project to power the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn. Chris Frost dismissed Ecotricity's appeal against a refusal from King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council...

Tower impact fears spark resort review.
March 6, 2009... English Heritage is to review a regeneration scheme for Felixstowe that local campaigners fear will harm the setting of a nearby tower. Bloor Homes' proposal for a leisure maritime park and 158 homes on a 17.5ha disused seafront site was...

Bristol council's cash rebellion puts waste incinerator at risk.
March 6, 2009... Waste disposal planning around Bristol has been thrown into confusion after a rebellion by city councillors saw the option of an incinerator blocked. Bristol City Council's Labour administration quit after the Liberal Democrats and...

Bicester land eyed as eco-town option.(Cherwell District Council )(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... North-west Bicester is a logical site for a development that would be an alternative to a proposed eco-town, a consultancy has concluded. Cherwell District Council appointed Halcrow to investigate the potential location because, along with...

Volunteers engage community on Meadows area consultation.(Nottingham City Council regeneration )(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Residents in Nottingham have been recruited to help the local authority consult on a major redevelopment of the Meadows area. The scheme was launched at a public event last week when the 20 volunteers who joined the community transformation...

Regions list scheme bids.(South East England Regional Assembly )(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... Regional assemblies have put forward a final round of bids seeking investment in infrastructure for the upturn. After their abolition next year, future advice on funding priorities will be agreed between regional development agencies and...

Agenda.(Brief article)(Calendar)
March 6, 2009... 18 March: Employment Planning Policy for the 21st Century Organiser: RTPI North West Venue: Manchester Fee: pounds 99.87; concessions available for block booking Details: northwest@rtpi.org.uk 25 March: Community Infrastructure Levy...

Gas plan submitted before regime shift.
March 6, 2009... Consultancy RPS believes that planners will press ahead with gas storage developments before a new regime for deciding major infrastructure takes hold. The firm has submitted an application for a pounds 300 million expansion of its...

Council nets sound rating.(London Borough of Richmond)(Brief article)
March 6, 2009... The London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames has become the third of the capital's authorities to gain approval for its core strategy. The inspector noted the limited development opportunities in the area, which has the lowest housing target...