Planning (UK) articles from November 2004

Planning (UK) archives from November 2004

Building trade aims to widen appeal.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Casting aside all stereotypes, Girl Guides from Leeds last month tackled the challenges that working in the construction industry poses, helped by two female role models from the building trade. A number of local building firms are keen to...

GVA Grimley secures football trophy.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The Ronaldos, Beckhams and Zidanes of the planning profession got the opportunity to demonstrate their football skills last month in the RTPI North West branch's annual five-a-side football tournament at the JJB Soccer Dome in Manchester's...

Group bids for recycled paper record.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... A Manchester volunteer group hopes that it has produced the world's largest sheet of hand-made recycled paper, although it faces a wait of four to six weeks before the achievement can be confirmed. Once completed, the sheet of paper was...

Appointment at London Planning Practice.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Angela Li has joined the London Planning Practice as a planning assistant. Ros Sonola has also joined as a planner. She was previously a planning officer at the London Borough of Wandsworth.

Appointment at Alder King.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... David Miller, Michael Lloyd, Andrew Smallman, James Chaffer, Tim Smart and Gareth Edwards have been promoted to associates by property consultancy Alder King.

Appointment at Raploch (Shadow).(Raploch (Shadow) Urban Regeneration Company)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Stephen Tucker has joined Raploch (Shadow) Urban Regeneration Company as urban design development manager. He was previously an urban designer at Stirling Council.

Appointment at London Development Agency.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Rodney Keg and Robin Buckle have joined the development policy team at the London Development Agency as urban renaissance managers. Keg was previously a principal urban designer and planner at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Buckle...

Appointment at FPD Savills.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Cliff Lane has joined the Wimborne office of the FPD Savills planning and urban design team as an associate director. He was previously head of development services at Salisbury City Council. Deborah Bryce has also joined the team as a planner....

Appointment at Ken Parke Planning Consultants.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Graham Salmon has joined Ken Parke Planning Consultants in Dorset as a senior planning consultant. He spent 12 years in local government before moving into consultancy in 2002.

Appointment at Hunter Page Planning.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Victoria Trotman has joined the Hunter Page Planning team as a planner. She moves from South Gloucestershire Council, where she worked in development control and the strategic policy team. Conor Flanagan has also joined after graduating from...

Appointment at West Waddy ADP.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Helen Bangs has been appointed as a planning assistant at West Waddy ADP. She graduated last year from Oxford Brookes University and has previously worked at Oxford City Council.

Appointment at Blandy & Blandy.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Karen Jones has joined solicitors Blandy & Blandy as an associate. She previously worked for Sharpe Pritchard, Winckworth Sherwood, North Warwickshire Borough Council and Lichfield District Council.

Appointment at White Young Green.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Ian Coleman has been made an associate at White Young Green in Leeds. He has been with the firm for eight years. Ian Drabble has also been appointed as associate. He was previously manager of Mouchel Parkman's Rotherham office.

Appointment at Groundwork UK.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Judith Grice has joined Groundwork UK as regional director for the East of England. She joins from British Waterways.

Appointment at Bovis Homes.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... David Miller has joined Bovis Homes as planning manager for northern England. He moves from developer HJ Banks & Co Ltd.

Agenda.(Calendar)
November 5, 2004... DIARY TO 19 NOVEMBER 9 November: Landfill to Liability. Organiser: CIRIA. Venue: Edinburgh. Fee: Free-pounds 70 + VAT. Details: (tel) 020 7549 3300. 9 November: Thomas Sharp Memorial Lecture Evening. Organisers: RTPI Northern Branch...

Spatiality, sustainability and a nice cup of tea.(spatial planning)
November 5, 2004... Planners under pressure to deliver development schemes can seek solace through a kettle, suggests Kelvin MacDonald. There was an interesting advertisement in Planning last week. One South East authority headed its search for a senior...

Planning policy support.
November 5, 2004... Geographic information systems can play a key role in helping to monitor sustainable development. Peter Bibby reports. As government ministers launched a consultation programme on UK sustainable development strategy, delegates to an RTPI...

RTPI Bulletin Board.
November 5, 2004... RTPI MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL Renewal notices for RTPI members' 2005 subscriptions were mailed out in the last week of October. UK members may now pay additionally by online banking or Visa debit card and Maestro (Switch) - please consult the...

Do countryside planning issues need a greater level of support?(rural planning)
November 5, 2004... Did you know that rural areas in England have recently been redefined for statistical purposes? asks Adrian Parker. There is much innovative rural policy and practice in the UK, but finding out about it and comparing ideas can be a...

Casebook: Development Control Casebook Forum.
November 5, 2004... 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...

Development Control Casebook - Airport parking case lost on original purpose of car park.
November 5, 2004... Gloucestershire Airport Ltd has had mixed success on two enforcement notices directed against a pair of car parks at its Staverton site in the Gloucestershire green belt. An inspector quashed one notice on the basis that it was invalid but...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Agricultural development - Farm bungalow occupancy condition dropped.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... A reporter has ruled that restricting the occupation of a bungalow at a dairy farm in southern Scotland to an agricultural worker is unnecessary and unreasonable in the light of current conditions in the industry. When planning permission...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Agricultural development - Agricultural need claim rejected on building.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Two enforcement notices directed against an agricultural holding in Cheshire have been upheld after an inspector concluded that one of the two buildings involved was not genuinely required for the purposes of agriculture. Before deciding...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Concrete factory expansion judged excessive.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... An inspector has ruled that the expansion of a concrete product manufacturing plant in Cornwall through the erection of additional buildings has harmed the character and appearance of the area. In reaching this view, the inspector rejected...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Chapel wins argument on green belt location.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... An inspector has accepted that a chapel at a proposed cemetery in south London is appropriate development in the green belt and consequently there was no need for the appellant to demonstrate very special circumstances to justify the scheme....

Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Church use sanctioned in primary frontage.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The change of use of a large shop unit in a primary shopping frontage in a Yorkshire town centre to a multi-purpose church building, coffee shop and counselling facility has won support from an inspector who decided that it would not undermine...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Library extension let down by lack of details.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... An extension to a grade II listed building used as an independent subscription library in a Cornish conservation area has been rejected after an inspector concluded that insufficient details had been provided and the proposal would result in an...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Reuse benefits override concern over location.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The renovation of barns to form offices and the refurbishment of an education centre in Suffolk have been approved despite concerns that the proposal did not represent a sustainable form of development because of the need to provide access by...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Energy development - Wind farm upgrade allowed in protected area.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... A proposal for eight 2MW wind turbines in the Forest of Bowland area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) has been permitted as an acceptable replacement of ten smaller turbines. The proposal involved dispersing the structures over a larger...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Gypsies and travellers - Gypsy site held unacceptable in green belt area.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The deputy prime minister has accepted an inspector's recommendation to uphold various enforcement notices directed against an unauthorised Gypsy encampment in the metropolitan green belt in Essex, concluding that the site caused substantial...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Scope for control justifies green belt home.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... An inspector has granted planning permission for a substantial dwelling in the metropolitan green belt in Hertfordshire on the basis that it would provide a greater level of control over possible future extensions. The original house on...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Incorrect siting leads to home demolition order.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... An enforcement notice requiring the demolition and removal of eight dwellings at a site in Devon has been upheld with amendments after an inspector decided that they undermined the amenity of adjoining residents. Outline planning...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Flooding concerns block apartment scheme.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... A proposal for four flats in a Herefordshire town has been blocked after the appellant failed to prove that adequate foul drainage was available and that the risk of flooding was acceptable. The appellant proposed to drain the flats to an...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Householder development - Family annexes rejected in conservation area.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... A proposal to alter and extend a bungalow in a south-east London conservation area to provide an 'extended family campus' has been rejected because of its adverse impact on the character of the locality. The development comprised a...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Garage volume excluded from permitted rights.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... An inspector has refused to issue a lawful development certificate for a loft conversion in north-west London on the basis that the volume of a former garage built within 5m of the house at the same time as the original house should not be...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and entertainment - Inspector refuses to relax farm odour standards.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... In rejecting plans for a touring caravan park close to a livestock unit in Yorkshire, an inspector has rejected the appellant's argument that odour from poultry units would fall within acceptable limits if an adjustment were made to normal...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Leisure and entertainment - Camping site approved despite character concerns.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The development of a touring caravan and camping site close to the Silverstone motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire has been approved after an inspector concluded that it would not adversely affect the character and appearance of the area...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed use development - Lack of family homes breaches planning policy.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The redevelopment of a filling station in an east London conservation area for business and residential purposes has been rejected by an inspector who decided that it failed to provide enough family homes. The proposal included 27 one and...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Mixed use development - Tall building ruled out of character with area.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... A six-storey building proposed on a site in north-west London to accommodate a health and snooker club, convenience store and housing has been rejected because it would appear dominant and unsympathetic in scale. The inspector accepted that the...

Casebook: Court cases - Ruling offers lead on use change enforcement.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The Court of Appeal has provided updated guidance to local authorities in a case relating to enforcement action directed against various business, industrial and storage uses at a farm in Surrey. The local planning authority issued an...

Casebook: Court cases - Injunction upheld despite lack of site options.(South Bucks District Council)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... A group of Gypsies has failed to overturn a High Court ruling requiring them to vacate their unlawful occupation of land in Buckinghamshire by the end of the year. The families argued that the High Court judge had given them insufficient...

Casebook: Court cases - Landscape designation survives court challenge.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Cavanna Homes Ltd has failed in a High Court bid to overturn Torbay Borough Council's decision to identify a site as a landscape protection area and thereby reducing its suitability to accommodate housing. The company owned part of a site on...

Casebook: Court cases - Injunction granted to evict travelling showmen.(Tewkesbury Borough Council)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The High Court has granted an injunction to Tewkesbury Borough Council to allow the eviction of a group of travelling showmen, concluding that the action was necessary to protect the character of the area. The site had first been occupied...

Casebook: Court cases - Order to remove displays upheld in court.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The High Court has upheld an inspector's decision to confirm a discontinuance notice issued against advertising displays in a conservation area in London, concluding that adequate reasons had been given. Clear Channel UK Ltd's permission...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Food and drink uses - Extension to listed town centre pub approved.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Planning permission and listed building consent have been granted for an extension to a grade II listed pub in the centre of a Lancashire town after an inspector decided that the rear of the premises contributed little to the historic interest...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Housing: new build - Homes supported next to listed manor house.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... An inspector has agreed to the demolition of farm buildings at a grade II* listed manor house and their replacement by two houses after deciding that the scheme would not harm the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB). The...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Householder development - Squash court held to fall within height limit.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... In quashing an enforcement notice requiring the demolition of a squash court in the curtilage of a house in north Kent, an inspector has decided that it did not breach the 3m height restriction in class E, part 1, schedule 2 of the General...

Casebook: Appeal Cases - Listed buildings - Alterations to listed building held too harmful.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... The partial demolition of a church in south-east London to enable the construction of a nursery with residential units above has been judged unacceptably harmful to the character of the grade II listed building and the surrounding conservation...

Casebook: Downloading decisions.
November 5, 2004... 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: Court cases - Retail precedent concern supported by court.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... A challenge by Next Group to the refusal of permission for a mezzanine at a store in Peterborough has been rejected by the High Court after a ruling that the inspector had properly assessed the policy implications and the risk of creating an...

Investigating smart growth.
November 5, 2004... The US state of Maryland has adopted a strategy to support so-called smart growth development. Cliff Hague sees what can be learned from the practice. The plane dipped out of the clouds. Harry looked down. The creeks of Chesapeake Bay...

Views split on Edinburgh toll.(public transportation)
November 5, 2004... Locals are being asked to take sides in the run-up to the vote on a congestion charge for Edinburgh, writes Susanna Gillman. In the same month that Edinburgh's proposed congestion charging scheme was backed by a public inquiry, latest...

Owning up to policy scrutiny.
November 5, 2004... Tory promises to extend the right to buy policy have failed to impress social housing experts, reports Huw Morris. Caroline Spelman has never forgotten the experience of contesting Bassetlaw in the 1992 general election. The Nottinghamshire...

Hip holistic urbanist.(Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment )(Biography)
November 5, 2004... Planners should engage with people who will live and work in schemes after they have been built, government design adviser Richard Simmons tells Chris Griffin. As chief executive of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment...

Westminster surprised by Cilla claim.(Cilla Black)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Media reports that entertainer Cilla Black's dream of opening a West End nightclub has fallen foul of licensing policy in central London are wide of the mark, it emerged last week. The Daily Mail reported that the nation's favourite...

Mice diverted by bridge to avoid road.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... A unique road crossing to protect rare mice from traffic accidents has been introduced in Kent. A rope bridge has been built 5.5m above the Bluewater Fastrack, the latest bus lane to be added to the Bluewater shopping complex, to allow dormice...

Film director wins extension dispute.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... A leading film director has won pounds 3,000 damages in the High Court after being subjected to a campaign of harassment by a neighbour on an exclusive Surrey estate. The feud began in 2001 when David Wynn-Jones, whose credits include The...

Appointment at Gillespies.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Sarah Gibson has been promoted from principal landscape architect to associate by Gillespies. She is currently managing projects such as the pounds 3 million redesign of Crewe's town squares and the development of renewable energy targets for...

Appointment at Preston City Centre Management Company.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Graham Penticost has been appointed as chief executive by Preston City Centre Management Company. He was previously a consultant for the Society for Local Authorities and Chief Executives. Penticost has also held local authority roles at...

Appointment at Bond Pearce.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Emrys Parry, a partner at commercial law firm Bond Pearce and specialist in compulsory purchase and planning law, has been appointed national chairman of the Compulsory Purchase Association (CPA). Parry, who heads Bond Pearce's planning and...

Appointment at New Swindon Company.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Richard Crutchley has been appointed planning manager at the New Swindon Company to support the regeneration of the town centre. He joins the urban regeneration company from Swindon Borough Council, where he was a senior planner.

Retirement at Mid Sussex District Council.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Richard Walker has retired from the post of director of environment after 22 years at Mid Sussex District Council. He previously worked for Nottinghamshire County Council, Norfolk County Council and South Norfolk Council.

Appointment at Owen Williams.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Andrew Taylor has been made contract manager at Owen Williams in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. He was previously a senior research programme manager at the British Nuclear Group.

Appointment at AERC.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Nick Priddle has been appointed as noise consultant by environmental consultancy AERC in Colchester to work in the risk assessment group. He joins the company from Parson Brinckerhoff in Bristol.

Appointment at Wedlake Bell.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Susan Hawker has joined the property team at commercial law firm Wedlake Bell as a planning law specialist. She joins from Lovells and has worked for both public and private sector clients.

Appointment at Anglia Polytechnic University.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Tony Hall has retired from his position as professor of town planning at Anglia Polytechnic University after nearly 28 years in Chelmsford and eight years as a local councillor. Hall is moving to Australia, where he will be based at the...

Retirement at Surrey Heath Borough Council.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... John Silvester has taken early retirement from Surrey Heath Borough Council, where he was director of planning and community services. He has set up his own business and will continue in his role as publicity officer and spokesman for the...

Appointment at White Young Green.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Jonathan Rogers has joined White Young Green as a director in the firm's Southampton office. He was previously an associate director at URS Corporations UK.

Agenda.(Calendar)
November 12, 2004... DIARY TO 26 NOVEMBER 15 November: Planning to Meet the Waste Challenge in London. Organisers: Association of London Government, London Remade, Environment Agency and Institution of Civil Engineers. Venue: London. Fee: Free. Details: (tel)...

Library takes action to boost accessibility level.(RTPI Library and Information Centre)
November 12, 2004... Members and planning students are welcome to visit the RTPI Library and Information Centre, maintains Meilssa Wyatt. The library is continuing to be being recatalogued and displayed to make it more accessible. Please ask if you would like...

Preparations for World Town Planning Day.
November 12, 2004... A global planning day may not feature on everyone's calendar, but a higher public profile is a priority, explains Judith Eversley. The Whitbread Group - yes, the pub, grub, club and hotel chain - runs a wonderful website called Count Me In...

RTPI Bulletin Board.
November 12, 2004... PLANNINGMATTERS.CO.UK: AUTHORS WANTED PlanningMatters.co.uk, the RTPI's online knowledge resource that launched recently, is one that will continue to grow. We are therefore looking for authors and reviewers to write numerous 'knowledge...

Sustainability and planning: RTPI debate seeks to clarify position.(Royal Town Planning Institute)
November 12, 2004... The general assembly held a debate on the twin topics of sustainability and planning last month. Jenny Crawford reports. The general assembly used a paper prepared by Richard Cowell of Cardiff University as the background for its debate on...

Casebook: Development Control Casebook Forum.
November 12, 2004... 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 2LW...

Casebook: Lap-dancing club in cinema denied lawful use certificate.(regulation for building conversion)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... A scheme to convert a cinema and snooker club in Surrey to a lap-dancing club has been denied a lawful development certificate after an inspector decided that it would involve a material change of use. The cinema, built in 1948, contained...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Agricultural development - Permitted development claim rejected at farm.
November 12, 2004... Two enforcement notices directed against uses of agricultural land in west Cumbria have been upheld after an inspector held that they were not permitted development and harmed the character of the area. The first notice alleged the...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Agricultural development - Livery supported despite highway concerns.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... The creation of a livery at a farm in Gloucestershire has been approved despite concerns that it would give rise to highway dangers and lead to unsustainable car use. The appellants proposed to provide approximately 14 livery spaces with...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Agricultural development - Fishing hut and sheds held to harm landscape.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Two enforcement appeals to retain a fishing hut and a group of timber buildings in a Wiltshire special landscape area have been dismissed after an inspector concluded that the landscape could not readily assimilate them. The appellant, who...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Commercial and industrial - Withdrawal of appeal grounds leads to costs.(Bristol International Airport Ltd)(North Somerset Council)(cases)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Bristol International Airport Ltd and North Somerset Council have been awarded some of their costs in an appeal involving three enforcement notices directed against the use of land for airport car parking. The site was intensively used for...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Hospital parking requirement trimmed down.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has secured variations of two conditions requiring it to provide additional car parking as part of a comprehensive expansion of medical facilities at a hospital in Surrey. The council had...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Community facilities - Artworks ruled compatible with road safety.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... The erection of sculptural steel artworks on a traffic island leading into a Lincolnshire town has been judged acceptable by an inspector who decided that the scheme would not undermine highway safety. The inspector noted that the highway...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Traffic generation ruled harmful to amenity.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Proposals for a development of 52 dwellings on a site in Southampton have been rejected on the grounds that the scheme would spoil the character of the area and the ambience of residents of a cul-de-sac. The scheme involved accessing part...

Casebook: Appeal cases - Housing: new build - Home park extension fails affordability test.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... A proposal to site a further 44 residential mobile homes at a site in Essex has been rejected after an inspector decided that the scheme conflicted with countryside policies and failed to make an adequate contribution towards affordable housing...