Planning (UK) articles from November 2003

Planning (UK) archives from November 2003

Campaign set to encourage regional votes.
November 7, 2003... A campaign aimed at stimulating debate on plans for regional assemblies in the north of England was launched this week. The 'Your Say' campaign explains what regional government would mean for the North West, North East and Yorkshire and...

Haskins review prompts greens' alarm.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Environment secretary Margaret Beckett moved this week to head off fears that the government's review of rural service delivery will water down wildlife protection. Lord Haskins has now submitted his report on the way that services are...

Planners urged to boost renewables.
November 7, 2003... Planners must give 'significant weight' to the wider environmental benefits of green energy projects, according to draft guidance on renewable energy published this week. The draft planning policy statement (PPS22), which calls for local...

Dewar offered 'duty' defence over Holyrood.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Former Scottish first minister Donald Dewar, who died in 2000, felt that it was his duty to push ahead with plans to build the Scottish parliament at Holyrood, an inquiry heard last week. Giving evidence during the first week of the...

Sheffield launches plan for Upper Don.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Proposals aimed at triggering investment and regeneration in Sheffield's Upper Don Valley were unveiled this week. A masterplan for the valley's development over the next ten to 15 years drawn up by consultants Civic Regeneration is due to...

ODPM proposes optional land levy for developers.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Developers will be given the option of paying a set tariff in the government's latest attempt to reform planning gain. Under ODPM proposals, set out in a consultation paper published as Planning went to press this week, applicants will be...

Quango halts bid to scrap toxic vessels.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Plans to dismantle a fleet of contaminated former US naval ships on Teesside have been temporarily halted by the Environment Agency. The agency said last week that authorisations issued to allow dismantling and recovery of the ships at Able...

East Midlands partnership unveils plans.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... An East Midlands partnership has unveiled plans to restructure the housing markets of villages that have never recovered from the coal industry's collapse. Meden Valley Making Places will oversee a pounds 28 million project to renovate or...

Consultancy hires chief for new position.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Robert Ringrose has been appointed as chief executive of RPS Group's planning, transport and environment division. The division has created the post after a number of years of growth during which it has acquired leading planning firms...

Next door row affects one in three in the UK.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Noisy neighbours disturb almost one third of UK residents, according to a survey published by DEFRA last week. The poll carried out by MORI, says that the problem is biggest in areas of high-density housing and in social rented...

Action demanded on regional gaps.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The government needs to redouble its efforts to redress the north-south divide, a leading think-tank said last week. An Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report argues that government targets to bring regional growth rates more...

Watchdog blasts listing idea.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... English Heritage has attacked moves to delegate the protection of large swathes of the historic environment to local authorities. The conservation watchdog, in its response to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS)...

NEWS IN BRIEF: The Planning Consultancy of the Year Award 2003 entry deadline.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The Planning Consultancy of the Year Award 2003 entry deadline has been put back to Friday 14 November to allow for late deliveries caused by the postal strike. Consultants who have posted entry material in the past three weeks and have not...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Campaigners for the creation of a South Downs national park ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Campaigners for the creation of a South Downs national park have expressed concerns over the sums that local authorities will be spending opposing the plan. Six councils opposed to the designation in the area will be appearing at the inquiry,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: The Aerial Glide, which is set into the hillside above the Saltaire ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The Aerial Glide, which is set into the hillside above the Saltaire world heritage site in West Yorkshire was built in 1900 at the Shipley Glen Pleasure Grounds, a Victorian amusement park that was developed for mill workers from nearby...

NEWS IN BRIEF: The future of plans for an offshore wind farm in south Wales ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The future of plans for an offshore wind farm in south Wales is being debated at a public inquiry which started this week. United Utilities has submitted an application to build 30 turbines at Scarweather Sands off the coast at Porthcawl. The...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Proposals to make police forces more accountable and responsive ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Proposals to make police forces more accountable and responsive were put forward by the government this week. A Home Office consultation paper launched by home secretary David Blunkett outlines a vision for a modernised police service that...

NEWS IN BRIEF: The levels of contributions expected of developers in East Sussex ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The levels of contributions expected of developers in East Sussex are outlined in guidance published by the county council last week. The document forms supplementary planning guidance to the East Sussex and Brighton and Hove structure plan.

NEWS IN BRIEF: Almost 200 green spaces across England and Wales ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Almost 200 green spaces across England and Wales have received the Civic Trust's Green Flag Award 2003, an increase of 45 per cent on last year. Town centre parks, recreation grounds, formal gardens and nature reserves have all been recognised...

NEWS IN BRIEF: The National Botanic Garden of Wales has been saved from closure ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The National Botanic Garden of Wales has been saved from closure after its trustees decided to accept the conditions of a pounds 150,000 Carmarthenshire County Council grant to keep it open. The decision tides over the pounds 43 million...

Rural lobby blasts Peak District quarry.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Countryside campaigners have accused owners and operators of a Peak District quarry of flouting its planning permission terms. Bleaklow Industries and its contractor Merrimans have permission to remove fluorspar from Backdale Quarry near...

Farmers turn away from buying agricultural land.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Rural authorities could face mounting pressure to allow ancillary development in the countryside following a report showing that the proportion of farmers buying agricultural land is continuing to drop. The latest Royal Institution of...

Cardiff relies on brownfield expansion.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A total of 16,800 new homes are required in Cardiff over the next 13 years, according to the city's draft unitary development plan, which states that most should be on brownfield sites. Cardiff County Council's draft plan, placed on deposit...

College block proposed for Craighall site.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Plans for a new campus for the relocation of Queen Margaret University College in Scotland were unveiled this week. The masterplan, submitted to East Lothian Council, proposes the new campus on a 14ha site at Craighall. More than 4,000...

Birds' charity launches fens haven project.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Bird conservationists have unveiled plans to recreate 5,000ha of traditional East Anglian fenland. Launching the charity's strategy for the fens last week, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) chief executive Graham Wynn said...

REGENERATION NEWS: Agency set to end stadium deadlock.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The London Development Agency (LDA) is poised to use its compulsory purchase powers in a bid to forge a link between the pounds 1 billion regeneration of Wembley Stadium and the area's struggling high street. Quintain Estates, which is...

REGENERATION NEWS: Olympic team sets out valley's vision.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A consultation exercise involving more than 400,000 Londoners was launched last week by the team behind the capital's bid for the 2012 Olympics. The consultation, one of the largest carried out in the capital, is aimed at gathering the...

REGENERATION NEWS: Backbenchers probe heritage renewal links.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The contribution of historic buildings to urban regeneration will be the subject of a Commons select committee probe, it was announced last week. The House of Commons ODPM committee is investigating the link between heritage and...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: Peel Holdings has submitted plans to turn the site ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Peel Holdings has submitted plans to turn the site of a Manchester Ship Canal workshop in Runcorn into a mixed-use waterfront development. The Manchester-based developer, which owns the canal, has submitted an outline application for a 500m...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: Funding approval has been granted for a pounds 5.5 million ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Funding approval has been granted for a pounds 5.5 million business innovation centre in Bedford. The East of England Development Agency announced last week that it has approved 80 per cent of the funding for a 3,210 sq m building at Priory...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: A site opposite Manchester Town Hall that has been derelict for a decade ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A site opposite Manchester Town Hall that has been derelict for a decade looks set to redeveloped. Developers CTP have submitted an application for a six-storey 5,574 sq m office development on a block facing onto Princess and Kennedy Streets....

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: Welsh economic development minister Andrew Davies has given the green light ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Welsh economic development minister Andrew Davies has given the green light for work to start on cleaning up 200,000 tonnes of waste tar on a former phurnacite plant in the Cynon Valley. Davies has authorised the Welsh Development Agency to...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: The winners of BURA Charitable Trust's innovation awards ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The winners of BURA Charitable Trust's innovation awards include a city farm in Sheffield, a garden co-operative in the West Midlands and a welfare society for Indian Muslims. The five winners, announced last week, also include regeneration...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: Plans for a 1,800 sq m restaurant and apartment scheme in the Calls ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Plans for a 1,800 sq m restaurant and apartment scheme in the Calls conservation area of Leeds have been approved by Leeds City Council. The High Court development by Carey Jones Architects will see the refurbishment of a Grade II listed...

REGENERATION NEWS IN BRIEF: One of the biggest housing schemes for Bath in recent years ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... One of the biggest housing schemes for Bath in recent years was given the go-ahead by Bath and North East Somerset Council last week. Inventures and Bath and North East Somerset Primary Care Trust, advised by consultants GL Hearn, plan to...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Mersey crossing campaign intensifies.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Supporters of plans for a crossing over the River Mersey have launched an intensive lobbying and advertising campaign ahead of a forthcoming government decision on the scheme. The pounds 335 million crossing involves building a dual-level...

TRANSPORT NEWS: MPs raise fears of surge in demand for rail travel.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Measures to cope with a surge in rail travel if national road user charging is introduced must be part of the government's revised transport strategy, according to a report published this week. The study, commissioned by the all-party...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Greens slam Lake District road scheme.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Environmentalists have condemned the government's decision last week to approve a pounds 22 million road scheme in the Lake District national park. The Council for National Parks (CNP) and Friends of the Lake District warned that transport...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Agency seeks speed limit to reduce deaths.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Speed limits on residential roads should be cut to 20mph to reduce accidents involving children, the Health Development Agency argued last week. The agency claimed that if reduced speed limits were put into practice, around 13,000 children...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: A 'consultation toolkit' for Transport for London ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A 'consultation toolkit' for Transport for London (TfL) has been produced by Steer Davies Gleave and Communique. The document is intended to help TfL make better-informed decisions about introducing new schemes and initiatives in the capital....

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Development Planning Partnership has moved to new offices.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Development Planning Partnership has moved to new offices in Cardiff. The firm, previously at serviced offices in Dumfries Place has moved to 14 Windsor Place. The five-strong team at the office will serve clients in Wales and the South West of...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: TPS Town Planning Services has been commissioned by the New South Wales ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... TPS Town Planning Services has been commissioned by the New South Wales state government in Australia to devise and test a methodology for a social and community infrastructure audit of western Sydney. The metropolitan region's population of...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Turley Associates has secured planning permission for a distribution centre ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Turley Associates has secured planning permission for a distribution centre for Debenhams in Peterborough. The scheme, by ProLogis Developments, will provide a 67,000 sq m centre on a 13ha former brickwork site in Hampton. Completion is due for...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Corporation of London appoints Avanti Architects.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The Corporation of London has appointed Avanti Architects to work up listed building management guidelines for housing on the Barbican Estate. The guidelines are intended to provide greater clarity and certainty in determining applications....

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Taylor Young Ltd appoints Liverpool Vision.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Taylor Young Ltd has been appointed by Liverpool Vision to co-ordinate the preparation of a planning application for Kings Waterfront next to Albert Dock. The proposed scheme will include a multi-use indoor arena, exhibition space, conference...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Drivers Jonas has released its latest central London crane survey ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Drivers Jonas has released its latest central London crane survey detailing major developments under construction in the capital. The survey reveals that around 998,000 sq m of space is being built in central London, while 46 per cent of all...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has set up a 'planning surgery' ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has set up a 'planning surgery' to help residents of the Isle of Dogs keep up to date with development in the area. The surgery is staffed by a member of the council's planning team twice a week to answer...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Anglesey Council to appoint two planning service customer care assistants.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Isle of Anglesey Council has given the go-ahead for the appointment of two planning service customer care assistants. The council's executive last week approved the staffing changes after a successful funding bid to the Welsh Assembly...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Research from FPD Savills has revealed that many owners of mixed-use sites ..(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Research from FPD Savills has revealed that many owners of mixed-use sites in the UK are not involved in property, which it says results in a major brake on regeneration. The latest issue of its land and mixed-use development research bulletin...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Edinburgh to fight out-of-town plans.
November 7, 2003... Edinburgh City Council is threatening to lodge a formal objection to plans for an out-of-town shopping development it fears could undermine businesses in the capital. The proposal to add more than 7,000 sq m to the Pentland Retail Park at...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Leisure revamp for loch area unveiled.
November 7, 2003... A masterplan has been unveiled for a 7ha site between Balloch and the Loch Lomond Shores visitor and retail development. Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire is proposing a 100- bedroom hotel, holiday apartments, restaurants and shops. The...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Brooks quits as capital's project chief.
November 7, 2003... One of the key figures behind the redevelopment of Edinburgh's old Royal Infirmary has left the project team. Andrew Brooks has resigned as development director of Southside Capital, the consortium behind the so-called Quartermile scheme...

ANALYSIS: Will an umbrella hold water?
November 7, 2003... There are concerns that the upcoming Egan review is not up to scratch, says Huw Morris. It is the fastest of consultation exercises. As the Egan review of skills across the built environment enters the final furlong, with less than six...

GUMMER ON: The necessity for greater planning enthusiasm.
November 7, 2003... A curiously complacent attitude is apparent on the planning front. It seems that most have allowed themselves to be lulled into a belief that because we have a new planning bill before parliament, it must mean that the planning situation...

OPINION: Fyson on ... the doubts about one size fits all house building.
November 7, 2003... The latest contribution to the housing debate comes from the East of England Business Group, whose press release last week highlighted a speech by consultant Roger Humber. Humber's thesis is likely to enrage further those whose minds are closed...

EDITORIAL: Devolution set to fail if it lacks cash clout.(Editorial)
November 7, 2003... The latest conventional wisdom suggests that deputy prime minister John Prescott is the last person that you would want campaigning for a radical policy. With his various homes and cars, his credibility as a man of the people has taken...

INTERVIEW: Man with a mission.(Interview)
November 7, 2003... Too many planners are not achieving their potential and should be given a chance to prove they are people who make things happen, Sean Egan tells Rosie Niven. Think of Teesside and images of sprawling chemical works, power stations and...

A potential wave of recovery.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Seaside towns appear to have adapted well to economic changes and with care and attention they can thrive, reports Mark Smulian. Some 40 or 50 years ago, the summer break at a guesthouse at one of the UK's seaside resorts was still a...

CASEBOOK: Store considered to harm employment land supply.
November 7, 2003... A DIY store proposal in East Sussex has been rejected on the grounds that it would reduce the supply of allocated high-quality employment land in the area in a case recovered for determination by the deputy prime minister. The scheme,...

CASEBOOK: College block criticised for incongruous design.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A proposed education block within the campus of a sixth form college in a north-west London conservation area has been rejected as a discordant and incongruous feature that harmed an area of special character adjoining metropolitan open land....

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Mast challenge upheld over alternative location.
November 7, 2003... In allowing a challenge to an inspector's decision to allow Hutchison 3G to site a telecommunications mast in Hampshire, the High Court has held that concerns over health effects were a material consideration and as a consequence a site should...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Alternative site rejected as plan allocation upheld.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Huntingdonshire District Council's decision to follow an inspector's recommendation and allocate a site in Huntingdon for 675 homes has been supported in a High Court ruling which rejected an alternative site promoted by a rival developer. ...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Gypsies ordered to comply with injunction.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... St Albans City and District Council has secured a High Court injunction requiring the removal of Gypsy caravans from a site in the metropolitan green belt, rejecting arguments that the health and educational needs of the families were...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Gypsy approval upheld due to family circumstances.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The High Court has upheld an inspector's decision to grant permission for a Gypsy family to remain on a site in Essex after rejecting a challenge by Basildon District Council, which claimed that the appeal ruling was perverse. The...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - University extension permission judged sound.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The Court of Appeal has upheld an inspector's decision to grant permission for London Metropolitan University to build additional student accommodation in north London, rejecting a challenge from a local resident that an environmental impact...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural development - Dwelling judged beyond means of enterprise.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A proposed dwelling at a mixed agricultural and equine business in Hampshire has been rejected on the grounds that the profits from the enterprise were unlikely to sustain the construction of the property. The appellants, who reared beef...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Betting shop judged harmful to viability of centre.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A proposal to convert a listed shop in a south Gloucestershire town into a betting office has been rejected as harmful to a shopping area, detrimental to the living conditions of adjacent occupiers and damaging to the building itself. The...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Causeway found harmful to nature conservation.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Enforcement action against a causeway on the Kent coast has been upheld after an inspector ruled that it caused harm to a site of special scientific interest and an area of local landscape importance. The structure had been authorised for a...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Care home extension supported in green belt.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... An extension to a nursing home in the West Midlands green belt has been allowed as necessary to enable the business to continue trading in the light of new standards set out in the national care standards regulations. The appellant...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Escape staircases judged to harm listed synagogue.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... External spiral staircases and two new doorways proposed at a listed synagogue in a London conservation area have been rejected on the grounds that they would be harmful to the special interest of the building. The synagogue was an...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Food and drink uses - Summer snack bar accepted at coastal car park.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... An enforcement notice directed against a mobile catering business at a car park on the north Cornwall coast has been quashed and planning permission granted, although a claim that the use had achieved immunity was rejected. The car park...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Gypsies and travellers - Green belt site rejected pending local plan review.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The retention of a Gypsy site in the Essex green belt has been rejected on the grounds that the personal circumstances of the family and lack of authorised sites did not outweigh the harm to the openness of the area. The site was mostly...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Gypsies and travellers - Gypsy site day room deemed to harm green belt.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A proposal to retain a building at a Gypsy site in the Essex green belt has been rejected after an inspector ruled that the size and scale of the structure were not justified by the needs of its users. The building had been erected to a...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New build - Rebuilding of tram carriage in flood plain agreed.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... The rebuilding and partial repositioning of a converted tram carriage in the flood plain of the River Soar in Nottinghamshire has been allowed despite objections from the Environment Agency. The agency claimed that the dwelling was...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New build - Higher density judged to meet local plan policy.
November 7, 2003... A proposal to build 55 dwellings following the demolition of two existing houses in Berkshire has been allowed after an inspector accepted that a density of 50 dwellings per hectare was appropriate and would not harm the character of the area....

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New build - Removal of play area ruled out despite nuisance.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A proposal aimed at securing the removal of a children's play area on a housing estate in Ayrshire has been rejected on the grounds that it would lead to the loss of an important recreational resource. An application to delete a condition...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion - Certificate rejected for use of pavilion as dwelling.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A request for a lawful development certificate for the use of a garden pavilion on Cornwall as a dwellinghouse has been rejected because parts of the appellant's evidence were imprecise and lacking in detail. The appeal building comprised...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Householder development - Loft conversion held to be permitted development.
November 7, 2003... Enforcement action against a rear dormer and gable end at a house in Surrey has been quashed after an inspector found that the commencement of works on a rear ground-floor extension had been disregarded in assessing the need for planning...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Householder development - Staff accommodation at country retreat justified.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A proposal to build staff accommodation at a country house in Hampshire has been approved after an inspector held that it was fully justified in order to meet the needs of the occupants. The property was located in an isolated position,...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Householder development - Satellite dish judged to preserve conservation area.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Enforcement action against a satellite dish at a house in Southampton has been quashed following a finding that the character and appearance of a conservation area had been preserved. The appellant argued that an article 4 direction issued...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Telecommunications - Fake tree mast judged harmful to national park.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... A proposal to locate a fake cypress tree mast and three directional antennas on Dartmoor has been rejected on the grounds that they would be harmful to the character and appearance of the national park. The proposed setting for the...

CASEBOOK: Downloading decisions.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2003... Decision letters for all cases with a DCS reference number can be immediately downloaded from the DCS website for pounds 10 + VAT per case. Readers without a free entry code can apply through the site. The site may also be used to browse for...

CASEBOOK: Development Control Casebook Forum.
November 7, 2003... Send your queries or your replies to earlier queries to: Development Control Casebook Forum, Development Control Services, Suite 1, Fullers Court, Lower Quay Street, Gloucester GL1 2LW. Alternatively, fax them to 01978 869355 or e-mail them to...

RTPI NEWS: Implementing spatial planning: focus of final council meeting.(Royal Town Planning Institute)
November 7, 2003... Meeting for the last time, the council looked forward to the implementation of spatial planning, reports Paul Harris. The council was fortunate to have two thoroughly absorbing presentations covering two different approaches to strategic...