Planning (UK) articles from May 2003

Planning (UK) archives from May 2003

RTPI members vote in favour of big reforms.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... RTPI members have overwhelmingly voted in favour of fundamental reforms to the organisation's charter and byelaws. A total of 82 per cent of members backed the proposals, with just 18 per cent voting against. The reforms will create an...

MPs turn against South East homes.
May 2, 2003... Flagship government plans to build 200,000 homes in the South East were denounced by an influential group of MPs this week as unsustainable and fundamentally flawed. In a blow to deputy prime minister John Prescott, the Labour-dominated...

Fears voiced over future of Crossrail link.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Crossrail supporters have called on ministers to reaffirm their support for the proposed rail link last week after speculation that the government might not back it. In a letter to transport secretary Alistair Darling from Royal...

Prescott passes Croydon retail project.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Deputy prime minister John Prescott has decided not to call in an application for a major shopping development in south London this week. Minerva's Park Place proposal in Croydon was cleared despite a study for a rival retailer last year,...

Government reacts to damning report.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... There are major opportunities to improve how the planning system tackles legitimate business concerns, the government has insisted in its response to a select committee report. The response to the ODPM committee's report on planning,...

Reforms force counties to place reviews on hold.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The uncertainty over government proposals to reform strategic planning at county level is prompting councils to consider shelving their structure plan reviews, it emerged this week. The worst affected region is the West Midlands, where four...

Guinness brewery set for demolition.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The demolition of the Guinness brewery in west London can now go ahead, after the government imposed a five-year immunity from listing on the building. The certificate of immunity means that developer London and Regional can begin clearing...

Planning consent granted for Brighton Marina building.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Planning consent has been granted for a control building at Brighton Marina. Developer Premier Marinas was granted permission by Brighton and Hove City Council for the scheme just seven weeks after its submission. The buildings, designed by...

MPs advised on approach to prosperity.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A 'blanket north-south divide approach' to increasing prosperity in England's regions will not work, an influential Commons committee heard this week. Christopher Leslie, under-secretary at the ODPM, reminded the housing, planning, local...

Misc 22 due to issue Gateway results in June.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Misc 22, the cabinet committee chaired by the prime minister and formed to speed up housing delivery in the Thames Gateway, will meet again next month before publishing its conclusions in June, an ODPM civil servant revealed this week. ...

RTPI seeks robust policy on equality.(Royal Town Planning Institute)
May 2, 2003... Local authorities must devote time and resources to making planning policies and decisions sensitive to the needs and priorities of women, according to RTPI research. A toolkit offering a range of techniques on tackling discrimination...

Business chiefs hit out at Oxford plan.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Business leaders in Oxford have claimed that a policy in the city's draft local plan could damage its economic prospects. The Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce objects to a policy in the second deposit draft of Oxford City Council's local...

Guidelines for dealing with laws launched.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... An updated guide to negotiating planning and conservation regulations was launched by Planning Aid for London (PAL) this week. The guide details the difficulties people face in understanding conservation legislation and unravelling legal...

NEWS IN BRIEF: FoE set to lobby Competition Commission.(Friends of the Earth )(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Environmental group Friends of the Earth (FoE) is set to lobby the Competition Commission to try and block the takeover of Safeway by one of the other major supermarket groups this week. FoE said that it would use an open session at the...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Obituary - Aedas Architects director dies.(Andy Robson)(Obituary)
May 2, 2003... Andy Robson, a director of Aedas Architects, has died aged 44. Robson was best known for his work in Manchester, including the Bank of England and 201 Deansgate. He was also involved in masterplanning several major outer Manchester schemes. He...

NEWS IN BRIEF: National Park rejects application.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The Peak District National Park Authority has rejected an application by Glebe Mines to set up an opencast mineral mine at Watersaw Rake Quarry in the Longstone Edge area of the park. The application to extract fluorspar was deemed to have too...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Disparities strategy announced.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A strategy to tackle regional disparities has been announced by developer Taylor Woodrow and the Town and Country Planning Association. The strategy aims to focus on the development of the country by treating problems in each region with...

NEWS IN BRIEF: High-quality design adds value.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... High-quality housing design can add value to developers' profits, according to research from property firm FPD Savills. The study finds that developers are underestimating the savings available from investing in enhancing the design of...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Stadium campaigners send complaint.(Arsenal Football Club)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Campaigners against Arsenal Football Club's proposed stadium in north London have sent an official complaint to the European Commission over the way that the club has asked the London Borough of Islington to serve compulsory purchase orders on...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Computer programme produced.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A computer programme to help boroughs deliver more affordable housing has been produced by the London mayor's housing team. The programme helps boroughs assess maximum reasonable levels of affordable housing that can be sustained in private...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Higgins wins teaching prize.(Marilyn Higgins)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Marilyn Higgins, postgraduate planning course leader at Heriot-Watt University, has won this year's excellence in teaching prize for the whole of the university. Higgins, who specialises in urban design, received the award for innovation and...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Halo of light could be Christmas.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The halo of light that architect Will Alsop is proposing to create over Barnsley could be in place as early as Christmas, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council revealed this week. A 30-year strategy for the development of the town has just...

Developer dismisses Thames Gateway.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The government's key growth area for building sustainable communities has been roundly dismissed by a leading developer for its lack of infrastructure. The Thames Gateway is the jewel in the crown of the government's regeneration drive,...

Agencies braced for job cuts at five steel plants.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Regional development agencies (RDAs) and local authorities are gearing up to address the loss of 1,150 jobs as struggling steelmaker Corus announced further cutbacks this week. Corus revealed that 822 job cuts would be spread across its...

RTPI supports UK's pitch for Olympics.(Royal Town Planning Institute)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The RTPI has joined other professional bodies in lending its support to the UK's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. In a letter sent last week to Craig Reddie, chairman of the British Olympic Association, the institute outlines ways in...

Permission granted for landmark office.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Detailed planning permission has been granted for a landmark office building as part of the regeneration of the Anderston Centre in central Glasgow. Taylor Woodrow Developments was granted permission by Glasgow City Council for The Cuprum,...

More planning barristers are appointed QC.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Six planning barristers, twice as many as last year, are among the 121 QC appointments announced by the Lord Chancellor's Department last month. Leading planning juniors at the London bar taking silk include Russell Harris, who becomes the...

Huge housing plan launched in Sunderland.(Sunderland Housing Group)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A pounds 300 million housing scheme for Sunderland that would be one of the largest in the city for decades has been launched by a housing association. The Sunderland Housing Group has submitted plans for 4,000 homes at five different...

REGENERATION NEWS: Study finds key to raise sink estates.(Joseph Rowntree Foundation)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Schemes that encourage housing estates to include a mix of tenures can be used as a tool to regenerate deprived communities, research published this week argues. The study, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, says that...

REGENERATION NEWS: Value of waterways identified by guide.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Planning authorities should identify waterways and major waterside sites as priorities for detailed action plans, according to guidance published last week. A British Waterways document on rivers, canals and the planning system argues that...

REGENERATION NEWS: London set to fight poverty in Asian areas.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... An investigation of housing types and conditions for London's Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities will form part of a strategy to combat poverty. The proposals appear in a consultation paper launched by London mayor Ken Livingstone this...

REGENERATION BRIEF: West Lindsey Council gives green light.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... West Lindsey District Council has given the green light to an 11,148 sq m retail development in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Prospect Estates' Britannia Park will offer a mixture of shopping, office, leisure and civic space at a grade II listed...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Funding announced for dock study.(Neath Port Talbot Council)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A funding package has been announced for a feasibility study into the regeneration of a historic dock built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in south Wales. Neath Port Talbot Council, the Welsh Development Agency, BP and Neath Port Talbot Environ Aid...

REGENERATION BRIEF: CLES issues jargon guide.( Centre for Local Economic Strategies)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) has issued an updated guide to urban renewal jargon in a bid to promote better understanding of what it calls the 'language of regeneration and economic development'. The glossary builds on...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Doncaster deprived to receive funding.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Deprived communities in Doncaster are to receive around pounds 9 million from the government's neighbourhood renewal fund. The cash, which will go to the Doncaster Strategic Partnership, will be allocated to projects in 13 wards in the town....

REGENERATION BRIEF: Charity receives Queen's Award.(Greenham Common Trust)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The charity that transformed the former Greenham Common airbase into a sustainable business park has received a Queen's Award for Enterprise for its regeneration work. New Greenham Park is the first commercial property development ever to have...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Development referred to Prescott.(deputy prime minister John Prescott)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Plans to complete a half-finished housing development in Hull that fell victim to changes in planning laws will be referred to deputy prime minister John Prescott. The second phase of the Kingswood project, which will contain almost 3,000 homes...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Increased productivity aim of programme.(South East England Development Agency)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Increased productivity for manufacturing companies is the aim of a three-year programme launched by the South East England Development Agency last week. Accounting firm KPMG has been asked by the agency to promote a programme of 'lean...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Commission challenged Bristol.(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment )(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment has challenged Bristol to spread the success of its new buildings and public spaces beyond the confines of the city centre to benefit all parts of the city, particularly its poorest...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Greens on top in analysis of manifestos.
May 2, 2003... Just two of the six main political parties competing in this week's Scottish parliamentary elections pass muster on transport policy, according to a report this week. Lobby group Transform Scotland's analysis of the manifestos shows only...

TRANSPORT NEWS: UK's road tunnels rated among worst in Europe.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Four of the UK's busiest road tunnels are among the worst in Europe when it comes to driver safety, according to a report published this week. London's Blackwall and Rotherhithe Tunnels and the Tyne Tunnel in Newcastle all fare poorly in...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Midland Metro set for extended links.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Development partners Chelsfield and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council have signed heads of terms for the extension of the Midland Metro light railway to Dudley and Brierley Hill. The 12km extension will run from Wednesbury Great Western...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Metrolink stop opened.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Manchester's newest Metrolink stop was formally opened this week. The pounds 1.5 million Shudehill stop will eventually link with the new Shudehill Interchange, which is awaiting approval to begin construction. As well as a tram hub, the...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Defects index reveals better road situation.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The condition of roads in England and Wales has improved in the last two years, according to the government's annual defects index. The statistical analysis published by the Department for Transport last week shows that an improvement in...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Crawley leads opposition to Gatwick plans.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Councillors at Crawley Borough Council have set up a pressure group to fight the proposed expansion of Gatwick Airport. One's Enough, a cross-party group of councillors opposed to the expansion, claims that Crawley residents have been...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Urban Initiatives appointed by Council.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Urban Initiatives has been appointed by Ipswich Borough Council to prepare an area action plan for the town centre. The plan will focus on the waterfront, Ipswich Village and links to the town centre as well as addressing transport issues,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: East Dunbartonshire Council selects Atkins.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... East Dunbartonshire Council has selected Atkins to carry out a pounds 70,000 transport survey of the district. The survey, largely funded by the Scottish Executive, will assess residents' preference for a new suburban railway, an alternative...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Colin Buchanan and Entente appointed.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Consultancies Colin Buchanan and Partners and Entente have been appointed by the London Borough of Barnet and the London Development Agency to develop a toolkit aimed at securing greater community benefits from new developments and investors....

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Middlesbrough Borough Council appoints WSP.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Middlesbrough Borough Council has appointed consultancy WSP to carry out a series of road safety investigations throughout the borough, including a detailed investigation of the prevailing conditions and historic accident records at each...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Taylor Young, GVA Grimley appointed.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Taylor Young's urban design team, supported by GVA Grimley, has been appointed by East Staffordshire Borough Council to prepare a masterplan and delivery strategy for Uttoxeter town centre. The study is being carried out for Uttoxeter Plus and...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Greenwoods launches e-mail service.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Peterborough-based Greenwoods Solicitors has launched a free e-mail update service called planninglaw@work. Specifically designed for professionals working in property, development and construction, the service delivers information on the...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Waverley Council appoints WSP.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... PMP has been appointed by Waverley Borough Council to develop a borough-wide playing pitch strategy. The study will be one of the first in England to apply Sport England's revised playing pitch methodology, Towards a Level Playing Field. The...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Dransfield to open office.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Dransfield Properties Ltd has announced plans to open a North West office to ease pressure on its South Yorkshire branch. The firm's Southport office will be headed by retail property director Andrew Malley, former head of retail agency at...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Certa launches service.(Certa (UK) Ltd)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Certa (UK) Ltd has launched a brownfield environmental risk and liability management service. It combines Certa's strategic consulting, financial, insurance and land investments services. Chief executive Norman Ellis said: 'Broadening our...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Falkirk seeks bid to revive harbour.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Developers are being sought to join Falkirk Council and Scottish Enterprise in the regeneration of the once busy port of Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth. Companies have been asked to register their interest and submit outline proposals by 29...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Engineers criticise Edinburgh road toll.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Proposals for congestion charging in Edinburgh, which could be introduced in 2006, have been questioned by the Institute of Civil Engineers. In a report last week, the institute casts doubt on whether there are sufficient benefits to...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Greens call for home energy conservation.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Stronger legislation is needed to encourage better domestic energy efficiency, according to a report published last week. Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) and the Association for the Conservation of Energy claim that Scottish councils...

ANALYSIS: Gaps in plan need answers.
May 2, 2003... The government's ambitious plan for large sustainable communities lacks key details, argues Andrew Bennett There are three views of deputy prime minister John Prescott's sustainable communities plan. The first holds that Prescott is poised...

Mending corporations' tarnished reputations.(London Docklands Development Corporation)
May 2, 2003... Urban development corporations are to make a comeback in managing growth, says Marino Donati Bad reputations can be hard to shake off, and that applies as much to urban development corporations (UDCs) as anything else. Introduced in the...

HALMAN ON... the importance of stability in forward planning.
May 2, 2003... Forward planning is having a hard time at the moment. The uncertainty that results from change has muddied the water. Evidence suggests that local authority resources have focused on development control as increased funding is awarded for...

OPINION: Fyson on... the welcome crackdown on retail loopholes.(Friends of the Earth )
May 2, 2003... News that the environmental group Friends of the Earth (FoE) is launching a campaign to stop developers increasing the size of superstores without first getting planning permission illustrates the pitfalls of using parliamentary answers to...

EDITORIAL: Government's vision is too short-sighted.(Editorial)
May 2, 2003... There was huge excitement when it was launched in February. Just about everybody associated with bricks, mortar, concrete and communities had an opinion on it. Just about everybody also had reservations about aspects of it. But most people...

INTERVIEW: People's benefactor.(Clive Harridge)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Helping local communities get the most out of the planning system is the spur for Clive Harridge's long-running involvement in planning aid, he tells Rob Winkley Doing something for nothing is an unfashionable concept these days. But...

CASEBOOK: Economic benefit secures go-ahead for airport plan.
May 2, 2003... The deputy prime minister has granted planning permission for an airport at Finningley, near Doncaster, concluding that although it would impact on other airports, the scheme was justified by the need to support economic regeneration and create...

CASEBOOK: Housing scheme refused on employment land site.
May 2, 2003... George Wimpey UK Ltd has failed to win permission to redevelop redundant employment land on Tyneside for homes, with an inspector refusing to accept that a quantitative oversupply of industrial land justified the site's release for housing. ...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Greenfield objection to mixed scheme supported.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The High Court has upheld the deputy prime minister's decision to refuse planning permission for Arrowcroft's Waterside Park mixed-use development in east Manchester, concluding that he was not obliged to accept his inspector's recommendation....

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Failure to consider reuse potential held unfair.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The Court of Appeal has overruled a previous High Court judgement and quashed an inspector's decision to refuse permission for the redevelopment of a former industrial site and mushroom farm in the Bristol green belt. Edward Ware New Homes...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Reasoning held sound despite typographical error.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... An inspector's decision to refuse planning permission for an extension to a new house in North Yorkshire has been upheld by the High Court despite a typographical error in respect of the proposed increase in size. The house replaced a...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Councillor fails in challenge over meeting bar.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The High Court has rejected a claim from a councillor that he had been unfairly excluded from a meeting at which North Yorkshire County Council decided to approve an extension to a sand and gravel quarry. The councillor asserted that the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Advertisements - Sign judged acceptable at electrical superstore.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A sign on a Curry's superstore in Christchurch, Dorset, has been supported by an advertisement appeal inspector who agreed with the appellant that it would not clutter the building nor appear excessively large. He held that the sign, covering...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - Building held reasonably necessary for agriculture.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A council order to demolish a building on agricultural land in the West Wiltshire Downs area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) has been overturned by an inspector who concluded that it was reasonably necessary to meet the needs of the farm...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - Larger dwelling ruled still within reach of farmers.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... An extension to an agricultural worker's dwelling in Somerset has been approved even though the building already exceeded the maximum size set out in a local plan policy. The council had granted permission in 1990 for a two-storey property...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - Shed allowed subject to approved colour scheme.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... An enforcement notice requiring an unauthorised steel building in north Wales to be painted dark green has been upheld by an inspector who agreed with the council that its construction was not permitted development. The appellant...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Community Facilities - Day nursery expansion judged inappropriate.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The proposed use of a bungalow in the Nottinghamshire green belt as a day nursery has been held to represent an inappropriate form of development because of the likely increase in activity associated with the scheme. The proposal would...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Service use judged to harm town centre vitality.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The conversion of a vacant shop in a core shopping area in a Kent town to class A2 financial and professional services use has been rejected because it would reduce the level of customers and hence harm the centre's vitality and viability. ...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Storage use held lawful but builder's yard blocked.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A lawful development certificate (LDC) has been issued for the use of a site in Essex to store building materials but not for its use as a building contractor's yard and premises. The inspector noted that the judgement in R v Thanet...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Food and Drink Uses - Fallback position justifies longer opening hours.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Planning permission has been granted to extend opening times at a take-away in a west Wales resort, partly on the basis that the appellant had the option of implementing another permission for a mixed retail and cafe use without restrictions on...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Food and Drink Uses - Unrestricted use amenity concerns overruled.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A condition imposed on a planning permission restricting the use of premises in a town centre near Bristol to a restaurant has been varied to allow any A3 food and drink use other than a pub or wine bar. The council argued that the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Food and Drink Uses - Costs awarded over error in grounds for refusal.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A proposal to convert an ironmonger's shop in a Greater Manchester town centre to a hot food take-away has been allowed after an inspector concluded that it would not harm vitality and viability. The council argued that an additional class...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - New homes rejected despite extant permission.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A proposal to build 199 houses on an allocated site in Lincolnshire has failed to win the support of an inspector despite an extant permission on the site for 83 homes. The scheme involved a mix of two, three and four-bedroomed houses using 11...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Council criticised on failure to take holistic view.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... A proposal for ten houses in north-west London at a density of 326 habitable rooms per hectare has been allowed after an inspector accepted that it did not represent an overdevelopment of the site. The council asserted that the scheme...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Further homes held to exceed supply target.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... The deputy prime minister has rejected a proposal for four dwellings in Northumberland on the basis that it involved the use of a greenfield site and would add to a significant oversupply within the settlement. A local plan required 75 new...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Window design crucial in warehouse consent.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Persimmon Homes (Yorks) Ltd has received planning approval for one of two alternative schemes to redevelop a former warehouse in York. Both proposals involved 16 apartments and five dwellings, but differed in respect of design and layout. The...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion - Smaller room sizes supported by national policy.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2003... Planning permission has been granted to retain eight bedsits and three flats in retail and office premises in south-east London even though the room sizes fell below the minimum standard set by the local authority. The inspector concluded...