Planning (UK) articles from May 2006

Planning (UK) archives from May 2006

Agenda.
May 5, 2006... DIARY TO 19 MAY 9-11 May: An Introduction to the Management of Wastes. Organiser: Chartered Institution of Wastes Management. Venue: Northampton. Fee: pounds 310-pounds 385. Details: (tel) 01604 620426. 11 May: Railways in London and...

Admiral joins climate change debate.
May 5, 2006... The full body makeover planned for Nelson's Column has presented an opportunity to make a statement about London's vulnerability to climatic catastrophe. Financial firm Zurich, which is sponsoring the restoration project along with London...

Lap dancing club gets stiff defiance.(protests against lap dancing)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... London mayor Ken Livingstone, protector of newts and public morals, has joined the fight against plans for a lap dancing club in the London Bridge area. Livingstone is supporting the dean of Southwark Cathedral's campaign against the...

Workers encouraged to stay at home.
May 5, 2006... Apologies if you are reading this item sat at your office desk this Friday morning, but today is National Work from Home Day. The event is not just an excuse to skive off. Organisations and employees across the UK are being encouraged to...

Appointment at Tribal HCH.(appointments)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Rob Weaver has joined the Tribal HCH regeneration consultancy team in Birmingham as managing director. He was previously head of business services at West Midlands Enterprise. Peter Grant also joins the firm's regeneration team, in addition to...

Appointment at Passenger Transport Executive Group.
May 5, 2006... Roy Wicks has become chairman of the Passenger Transport Executive Group following Rob Donald's retirement. Wicks was previously director-general at South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority.

Appointment at JMP Consulting.
May 5, 2006... Malcolm Jones has joined JMP Consulting in Bristol as an associate. He was previously an associate director at WSP, covering transportation activities. Esther Bridie-Van Kesteren has been recruited as a senior transport planner in JMP's central...

Appointment at Development Planning Partnership.
May 5, 2006... Gemma Hotchkiss has been appointed senior planner at the Development Planning Partnership (DPP) in London. She previously worked at the London Borough of Barnet. Darren Brown has joined DPP in Cardiff as a senior planner and Weseley Keogh is...

Appointment at Countryside Properties.
May 5, 2006... Barry Holmes has joined Countryside Properties as regional regeneration director and Les Brown has been appointed as regional project director. Holmes, who has more than 20 years' experience in the public and private sectors, will develop the...

Appointment at London Planning Practice.
May 5, 2006... David Whittington has been promoted to associate partner by the London Planning Practice. He will be involved in a number of major regeneration and mixed-use schemes across London and the South East, including an application for an art and...

Appointment at Atkins.
May 5, 2006... Andrew Hugill has become director of central and local government services at Atkins in the highways and transportation division's business development unit. He is also chairman of the Institution of Highways and Transportation's procurement...

Appointment at Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council.
May 5, 2006... Martin Kimber has been appointed director of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council's environmental services department. Kimber was previously director of planning and regeneration at the local authority and assistant director of planning and...

Open season for taking potshots at planning.(the current system should be scrapped and replaced with an increased reliance on restrictive covenant and nuisance law)
May 5, 2006... It is important to ensure that the planning sector is promoted successfully in the face of press criticism, says Kelvin MacDonald. I do wish that the critics of planning would get their act together. How can the RTPI go on the attack...

Securing the expansion of Stansted Airport.
May 5, 2006... The process of gaining planning permission for the expansion of Stansted Airport is explained here by Roger Harborough. The BAA approved its interim masterplan for Stansted Airport and submitted a planning application to Uttlesford District...

RTPI Bulletin Board.
May 5, 2006... Planners to help Knowledge Development Planners across the UK are urged to take part in a study on professional practice. The Oxford Brookes University research team is looking for 15 volunteers to keep a four-week diary from May to June and...

RTPI News - Appraising the appraisers: making sure job evaluation works for you.
May 5, 2006... As part of the planners in the workplace series, Chris Sheridan explores the far-reaching effects of the job evaluation process. The Work Foundation describes job evaluation as a 'systematic, rational and consistent approach to defining the...

Casebook: Development Control Casebook Forum.(Prior approval was granted on appeal for a telecommunications )
May 5, 2006... E-mail your queries, or your replies to earlier queries, to casebook@haynet.com. Alternatively, post them to Development Control Casebook Forum, Development Control Services Ltd, Suite 1, Fullers Court, 40 Lower Quay Street, Gloucester GL1...

Casebook: Development Control Casebook - Landmark apartment tower refused in Jewellery Quarter.
May 5, 2006... An eight-storey development in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter comprising ground-floor commercial space and 24 flats above has been rejected following a ruling that it would discourage non-residential uses and would not conserve or enhance the...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - Egg production plant denied due to landscape harm.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... An inspector has rejected a proposal for three free-range egg production units on a farm in the Buckinghamshire green belt after concluding that it would harm the landscape's character and appearance. The units were to be sited in a...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - Pig farm odour nuisance considered unacceptable.
May 5, 2006... Planning permission has been refused for a large building in the Tyne and Wear green belt to house pigs because of potential odours that would undermine the amenity of neighbouring residents. The building was intended to house up to 100...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Airport parking facility enforcement action fails.
May 5, 2006... Scottish ministers have accepted a reporter's recommendation to quash an enforcement notice directed against a secure parking facility for users of Edinburgh Airport after agreeing that it did not breach planning control. The reporter...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Dog welfare group secures personal permission.(to exercise abandoned dogs as long as it is restricted to an animal welfare society)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... An inspector has allowed an appeal to continue using a paddock in south Wales to exercise abandoned dogs as long as it is restricted to an animal welfare society. The appellant was a charity involved in rehousing abandoned dogs. The...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Telling machine held to undermine listed facade.
May 5, 2006... The installation of an automatic telling machine (ATM) at a grade A listed building in a Glasgow conservation area has been refused consent on the grounds that it would undermine its architectural and historic character. The ATM was 2m...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Plant hire depot ruled out in countryside location.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The change of use of an agricultural building in North Yorkshire to a plant hire depot has been rejected because it did not constitute a farm diversification project. The inspector agreed that the holding, which was less than 2ha, was too...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Affordable housing need fails to outweigh policy.
May 5, 2006... The amount of affordable housing proposed on the site of two agricultural buildings at a farm in a North Yorkshire village has been ruled insufficient to justify a scheme that contravened the provisions of the development plan. Permission...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Homes ruled out by threat to community use.
May 5, 2006... A proposal for four homes at a site in Somerset has been denied planning permission after an inspector decided that it would jeopardise plans for a community facility. Permission had been granted in 1997 for a new settlement subject to...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Fallback argument fails on apartments scheme.
May 5, 2006... An extant planning permission for a large hotel on land in Bedfordshire has been declared insufficient justification for building 64 apartments at the site. The rural site lay adjacent to a grade II* listed building. Permission had been...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Attempt to set aside noise guidance turned away.
May 5, 2006... In dismissing an appeal for housing on a site in Northamptonshire, an inspector has rejected the appellants' arguments that PPG24 on noise is out of date and should be ignored. The site lay adjacent to a busy dual carriageway and was...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Flats allowed after existing home ruled mediocre.
May 5, 2006... An inspector has allowed an appeal for the replacement of a house in a West Midlands conservation area with eight apartments after deciding that the structure made little contribution to the area's character. The inspector found that the...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Homes allowed at conservation area depot site.
May 5, 2006... A proposal for 23 town houses on a vacant depot site in a Kent conservation area has been permitted after an inspector agreed that its retention for employment use was not justified. The site lay in a predominantly residential area. Council...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and Entertainment - Golf hotel held to conflict with sustainability aims.
May 5, 2006... A 60-bedroom golf hotel, a clubhouse and a floodlit golf driving range have been rejected on land in Oxfordshire on the grounds that they would harm the area's character and appearance and would conflict with sustainable development objectives....

Casebook: Appeal cases - Listed Buildings - Replica panels ordered to replace stolen originals.
May 5, 2006... A reporter has upheld an amended enforcement notice requiring the reinstatement of stained glass panels at a category B listed building in a Glasgow conservation area, concluding that it was important to maintain the property's architectural...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Listed Buildings - Shopfront let down by temporary appearance.
May 5, 2006... An inspector has refused to grant retrospective permission for the retention of a shopfront on premises in an Essex town centre after concluding that it gave the impression of being temporary in nature. Instead of retaining glazed panels at...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Waste Management - Landscape and odour impact block compost plant.
May 5, 2006... A compost facility for treating biodegradable wastes has been rejected at a Shropshire farm following a ruling that it would have a harmful effect on the area's character and appearance and damage neighbours' living conditions. The...

Casebook: Court cases - Judge rejects masonic influence bias claim.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The High Court has rejected a claim by a private school that North Dorset District Council had acted improperly in granting planning permission for a showground. The council had granted permission for the change of use of agricultural land...

Casebook: Court cases - Rival's challenge to station redevelopment falters.
May 5, 2006... A challenge to Liverpool City Council's decision to approve a mixed-use scheme at Lime Street railway station incorporating a 27-storey skyscraper has been dismissed after the High Court found no reasonable basis for allowing a substantive...

Casebook: Court cases - Greenfield housing decision set to be reviewed.
May 5, 2006... A decision by Torridge District Council to grant planning permission for a housing development on a greenfield site in Devon has been quashed by the High Court following a challenge by a neighbouring landowner. The landowner stated that...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Advertisements - Retail park gantry signs held out of character.
May 5, 2006... Two appeals involving a pair of externally illuminated free-standing gantry signs at a retail park in Somerset have been dismissed after an advertisement appeals inspector decided that they were out of character with the surrounding area. ...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Gypsies and Travellers - Personal circumstances secure green belt site.
May 5, 2006... The deputy prime minister has accepted an inspector's advice to grant a personal planning permission allowing three Gypsy families to continue to occupy a site in the Cheshire green belt. The deputy prime minister agreed that the Gypsy...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Homes ruled out in riverside conservation area.
May 5, 2006... Plans for six townhouses and boathouses on a vacant plot on the banks of the Dee in Cheshire have been rejected because of their visual impact on a conservation area. The appellants explained that the four-storey terrace was intended to...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Flat block fails to protect conservation area.
May 5, 2006... A development comprising two blocks of flats within the grounds of a hotel in a Herefordshire town has been rejected following a ruling that it would not respect the character of a conservation area. The site comprised a neo-classical style...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Downloading decisions.
May 5, 2006... Decision letters for all cases with a DCS reference number can be immediately downloaded from the DCS website for pounds 12 + VAT per case. Readers without a free entry code can apply through the site. The site may also be used to browse...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed Use Development - Office use judged contrary to objectives.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... A proposal advanced by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust to renovate barns to form offices and an education centre has been rejected on the grounds that it undermined sustainable development objectives. The main barn was a traditional...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Transport Development - Airport terminal secured by mitigation package.
May 5, 2006... The deputy prime minister and the secretary of state for transport have quashed two enforcement notices directed against a passenger terminal at Coventry Airport after concluding that the scheme complied with the development plan and noise...

A spine-chilling spring carol.(future of planning education)
May 5, 2006... A familiar story featuring a triumvirate of spooky apparitions illustrates the past, present and future of planning education, as chronicled by Cliff Hague. Ray was dead. There could be no doubt about it. Lung cancer, years ago. Colin had...

Politics hinder good design.(hurdles in urban planning)
May 5, 2006... The latest review of the planning system needs to secure the highest quality in all our neighbourhoods, insists Richard Simmons. A planning committee meets to decide a plan to build flats. The homes are well designed and will make a...

Tailored help offered to hit decision goal.(annual fund to help councils achieve their targets)
May 5, 2006... More help is on the way for departments struggling to keep pace with government targets, says John Hayes. Like most parts of local government, planning departments are having their performance judged very publicly. Luckily, they are...

Heritage refurbisher.(Regeneration Through Heritage )
May 5, 2006... Ordinary people need more help if the most is to be made of their enthusiasm for restoring old buildings, heritage regeneration expert Fred Taggart tells David Dewar. Fred Taggart was on the point of moving back to his native Ireland in...

Nuclear waste issue refuses to disappear.
May 5, 2006... An uncomfortable habit of the human psyche is to ignore intractable problems in the hope that a solution will appear or they will miraculously sort themselves out. Very often the future is betrayed by the past. The 20th anniversary of the...

Fyson on... the value of high standards for new-build homes.
May 5, 2006... New build at present adds only around 0.8 per cent to the national housing stock annually, but it is vitally important that it is constructed to the highest environmental standards, especially in energy use. The aim is to ensure that the...

Lichfield sets the pace with first examination.(public examination highlights technical difficulties)
May 5, 2006... The first new-style public examination highlights technical difficulties, reports Bryan Johnston. If the Lichfield public were aware that last Tuesday was a historic day in the annals of planning, they managed to contain their excitement....

Bell on... housing's failure to live up to the brochure ideal.
May 5, 2006... Terry gave the cold chisel a wallop. Unfortunately, he overcooked it and the chisel shot through two sheets of plasterboard, embedding itself in the wardrobe in the next room. Chopping out a power socket seemed so simple on the project leaflet,...

Rural housing crisis spirals.
May 5, 2006... Radical steps are needed to resolve housing shortages in rural England, says Chris Baker. It is approaching crunch time for the countryside. With the Affordable Rural Housing Commission due to report this month, worrying figures about the...

Turbines approval hailed by minister.
May 5, 2006... Europe's largest wind farm was given the go-ahead south of Glasgow last week, while an even larger development is set to be scaled back. Deputy enterprise minister Allan Wilson described Scottish Power's Whitelee scheme on 5,498ha of moor...

Policy seeks green belt strategies link.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Stronger links between green belts and development plans are demanded in the latest planning policy published last week. The revised SPP21 recognises that green belts play an important role in preventing smaller settlements from being...

Quality award taken by town hall overhaul.
May 5, 2006... The restoration of Rutherglen Town Hall by South Lanarkshire Council is the overall winner in this year's Scottish Quality in Planning awards. The A-listed building, which had been empty for seven years, has been revamped with a cafe, bar,...

LDA Design appraisals.(urban planning)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... LDA Design is carrying out landscape appraisals for 90 minerals and waste sites in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The work has been jointly commissioned by Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council to help identify preferred...

Atkins to help council.
May 5, 2006... Atkins transport planners will help Scottish Borders Council prepare its local transport strategy. The firm will help the local authority with policy development, stakeholder consultation and compliance with Scottish transport appraisal...

White Young Green scheme.(White Young Green contracts with Anglo European Chiropractic College )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... White Young Green is to project manage a pounds 2.5 million scheme at the grade II listed Anglo European Chiropractic College in Bournemouth. The company will also oversee planning services and advise on costs for the scheme, which involves...

TEP assessments.(TEP selected by Countryside Properties PLC)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Eco-homes assessments are to be carried out on a wide range of developments in Manchester by TEP. The company, appointed by developer Countryside Properties, will assess schemes including the SportCity Living site, which will provide a number...

Urban Practitioners framework.(practice will lead a team comprising Allies and Morrison Architects, CB Richard Ellis, Alan Baxter and Associates and Whitelaw Turkington)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... An urban design framework for Stratford-upon-Avon is to be developed by Urban Practitioners. The practice will lead a team comprising Allies and Morrison Architects, CB Richard Ellis, Alan Baxter and Associates and Whitelaw Turkington. The...

Cairngorms audit.(park authority undergoes audit)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... A transport audit for the Cairngorms National Park Authority is to be carried out by Colin Buchanan with support from Accent. The project involves interviewing residents and visitors to examine their travel patterns and establish what scope...

Poolman Harlow acquired.(by Lambert Smith Hampton)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has acquired Swansea-based agency Poolman Harlow as part of its expansion in Wales. The move sees the consultancy increase its office network to 28 UK and Ireland offices. LSH now has offices in Swansea and Cardiff,...

Tyler-Parkes anniversary.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Planning consultancy Tyler-Parkes celebrated its tenth anniversary at Birmingham Botanical Gardens with an event in support of Marie Curie Cancer Care. Directors Alan Tyler and Glenda Parkes founded the consultancy in 1996 in premises above a...

Tories start reappraisal of urban travel projects.
May 5, 2006... Conservative Party leader David Cameron has announced that his cities task force will carry out a review of light rail and urban transit schemes. The task force, headed by Lord Heseltine, will advise the party on how urban transport...

Stansted aims to raise flight capacity.
May 5, 2006... BAA's plans to increase the number of flights from Stansted Airport will more than double the level of people using the airport, according to a local campaign group. Last week the airport operator submitted an application to exceed limits...

Later running trains set for Underground.
May 5, 2006... London Underground services will run half an hour later on Friday and Saturday nights and start one hour later on Saturday mornings, mayor Ken Livingstone revealed this week. The last trains will leave central London stations at around 1am...

Lobby berates car industry's target failure.
May 5, 2006... The lack of progress made in adopting greener cars in the UK has been attacked by pressure group Transport 2000. Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders last week show that average emissions from new cars only...

Developers given Olympic deadline.
May 5, 2006... Developers locked in dispute over a key Olympic site are confident of reaching an agreement within a six-week deadline set last week. London and Continental Railways (LCR), landowner of the Stratford City development, has served a legal...

Facilities approved for Don Valley plan.(road bridge and a pedestrian bridge)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The long-awaited infrastructure needed to bring forward plans to regenerate Sheffield's Upper Don Valley has been granted planning consent. City councillors have given permission for a road bridge from Middlewood Road across the River Don...

Prince goes to Lincoln to see regeneration.(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The Prince of Wales visited Lincoln this week to view plans for the city's regeneration. The prince saw the official unveiling of designs for the city's development that will be put forward for public consultation by Lincoln City Council....

Lambson chemical scheme.(facilities of homes, a convenience store, restaurants and almost 4ha of open space)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... A pounds 120 million scheme to regenerate the former Lambson's chemical works in Castleford, West Yorkshire, has received a resolution to grant planning consent. The 15ha Navigation Point development features around 1,400 homes, a convenience...

Olympic Delivery Authority.(meeting)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The 12 members of the Olympic Delivery Authority board met for the first time last week after taking up their places more than a week ago. The meeting follows Royal Assent for the London Olympic Games and Paralympics Games Act. Board members,...

Wicker development.(Priority Sites working with Sheffield One and Sheffield City Council )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Construction on a pounds 13 million office development in one of Sheffield's most underused and derelict areas began this week. Urban regeneration specialist Priority Sites has chosen a site on Wicker to develop the 6,503m2 scheme. It is...

Gateshead shortlist.(The Sage Gateshead. St James Capital Group, St Mowden Properties, Kier Property and Land Regeneration UK)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Four companies have been shortlisted to develop the 2.2ha Gateshead Quays Phase 2 site next to The Sage Gateshead. St James Capital Group, St Mowden Properties, Kier Property and Land Regeneration UK will work with officers from Gateshead...

Temple Way development.
May 5, 2006... An office-led development on Temple Way in Bristol has received planning permission. The Glassfields scheme, put forward by Royal London Asset Management, features more than 36,000m2 of office space with parking in two separate buildings around...

MCD to develop.
May 5, 2006... Bedford Borough Council has chosen urban regeneration firm MCD to develop the pounds 25 million mixed-use Riverside Square scheme in Bedford town centre. The scheme will transform an underused car park with 151 flats, 2,211m2 of leisure space,...

Machinery works redevelopment.(by Persimmon PLC got approval)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The redevelopment of a former agricultural machinery works on the western fringe of Coventry by Persimmon Homes has been granted planning permission. The 40ha site will be developed with a mix of 55 per cent employment and 45 per cent housing....

Berry Hill transformation.(Berry Hill Hall restored by Blackthorn Homes)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... One of Mansfield's oldest building has been transformed into luxury flats after a pounds 30 million restoration. The grade II listed Berry Hill Hall had been placed on the buildings at risk register after falling into disrepair and becoming a...

Post Office redevelopment.
May 5, 2006... The redevelopment of the old post office in Sunniside, Sunderland, has been named best renovation or conversion in the region's 21st Century Living Awards. The flagship development, created following a pounds 7 million restoration and...

Design adviser backs Glamorgan plan.(Design Commission for Wales)(Glamorgan County Cricket Club)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The Design Commission for Wales (DCfW) has given its overall blessing to proposals out forward by Glamorgan County Cricket Club to revamp its Sophia Gardens venue. A panel report issued by the commission last week says that improvements...

Ministers urge planning to help deliver biomass.(planning system should be used to stimulate the development of biomass )(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... The planning system should be used to stimulate the development of biomass as part of an effort to boost renewables, the government has insisted. Ministers advocate biomass technology in their response to the Biomass Task Force report,...

Drive seeks better quality for London.(workshop for planners and design professionals)(Brief article)
May 5, 2006... Quality design should be at the heart of London's local authority planning process and the capital investment planned for the next 20 years, according to a joint Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and RTPI initiative last week. ...

Careful with Bats.
May 5, 2006... Local authority planners must consider bats when dealing with applications, according to a guide issued by English Nature Kent. It maintains that bat numbers in the county have fallen over the past 40 years due to a loss of feeding habitats and...