Planning (UK) articles from November 2006

Planning (UK) archives from November 2006

Agenda.
November 10, 2006... DIARY TO 24 NOVEMBER 15 November: Local Development Frameworks. Organiser: RTPI. Venue: London. Fee: pounds 399-pounds 499 + VAT. Details: (tel) 0845 120 9602. 16 November: Making it Work for Community Rail. Organiser: Association of...

Fulfilment promised by fast erection.
November 10, 2006... Government ambitions to increase the pace of house building in the UK could start to be fulfilled with the launch of a house that can be put up in just five hours. Builders at a Housing Corporation conference at the National Railway Museum...

Square's opening strikes a high note.
November 10, 2006... It is good to blow your own trumpet if you have done something worth making a song and dance about. This week in Dalston locals went further when they opened a town square with 200 saxophones. Gillett Square is the first of the London...

London spa refurbishment complete.(Porchester Spa)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Reporting on breaking developments in the planning world can make for a stressful life, so when Diary was invited to rest and relax in a revamped west London spa last week it made a welcome change. The grade II listed Porchester Spa in...

Appointment at Montagu Evans.
November 10, 2006... Chris Miele has joined Montagu Evans as a partner in the firm's planning department. He is a member of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment's national design review panel and an adviser to the Commons urban affairs select...

Appointment at Lathams.
November 10, 2006... Gary Thorogood-Page has been appointed as a senior landscape architect in the urban design division at Lathams. Sarah Jenkins has joined as a graduate.

Appointment at Sintons.
November 10, 2006... Graham Snowdon has joined Sintons solicitors as a planning consultant. He previously worked for Glen Kemp Ltd and is a former head of the planning section at the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation.

Appointment at Atkins.
November 10, 2006... Graeme Noble has been made head of the design solutions team at the Atkins office in Oxford.

Appointment at Burnett Planning and Development Ltd.
November 10, 2006... Paul Keywood has been appointed as an associate director by Burnett Planning and Development Ltd.

Appointment at Terrence O'Rourke.
November 10, 2006... Angela Cameron and Adrian Barker have both become associate directors in the town planning team at consultancy Terrence O'Rourke. Sophie Leon has joined as a senior urban designer.

Appointment at Pro Vision Planning and Design.
November 10, 2006... Stephen Young has joined Pro Vision Planning and Design as a consultant planner. He previously worked for the Environment Agency.

Appointment at Regeneris Consulting.
November 10, 2006... Chris Paddock has been recruited by Regeneris Consulting as a senior consultant in the firm's London office. He is a specialist in skills development and community-led regeneration.

Appointment at Rapleys.
November 10, 2006... Edward Tildesley has been appointed as a senior planner by commercial property and planning consultancy Rapleys in Manchester. He previously worked for Congleton Borough Council.

Appointment at White Young Green.
November 10, 2006... Mark Thomas has been recruited as regional director and head of sport by consultancy White Young Green in London. He was previously an associate director at S&P Architects.

Appointments at Bidwells.
November 10, 2006... Laura Bell and Anoushka Knight have joined Bidwells in Northampton as a graduate residential development surveyor and planning technician respectively. Sam Metson has joined the Chelmsford office as a planning assistant. Graduate Norma Barry...

Appointment at North West Regional Assembly.
November 10, 2006... Duncan McCorquodale has been promoted to regional spatial strategy manager at the North West Regional Assembly. Dave Whyte has been promoted to principal transport officer. Sam Turner and Rebecca Rutter have both become principal planning...

Appointment at London Planning Practice.
November 10, 2006... Tom Edmunds has been recruited as a graduate planner by the London Planning Practice from the University of Liverpool.

RTPI membership panel seeks eager volunteers.(royal town planning institute)
November 10, 2006... Through service on the membership panel you can contribute to the future of the institute, insists Peter Geraghty. Are you committed to upholding high standards of membership for the institute? Do you have wide enough professional...

RTPI Bulletin Board.(royal town planning institute)
November 10, 2006... APPEAL HEARINGS DECIDED Appeal hearings held over the summer have resulted in three more members being disciplined for breaching the code of professional conduct. Ian Ellis, previously head of planning at East Hampshire District...

Young planners get to network in Manchester.(Young Planners' Conference)
November 10, 2006... The 2006 Young Planners' Conference in Manchester last week was an inspiring way to share ideas, writes Victoria Bankes Price. Working at a multidisciplinary consultancy, I believe that taking the time to meet other planners plays a very...

Bulletin board.
November 10, 2006... WELSH REGIONAL STUDY TRIP On the evening of 17 October, young planners and their interested colleagues took a tour of sites to be developed in Newport city centre. Newport Unlimited director of planning and strategy David Ward and Newport...

RTPI NEWS - Pioneering research asks whether planning can realise sustainability.
November 10, 2006... Planning's ability to create sustainable behaviour needs to be examined as it is often taken as read, explains Katie Williams. There is a huge amount of pressure on planners and other built environment professionals to engender sustainable...

Casebook: Development Control Casebook Forum.
November 10, 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 2LW...

Casebook: Appeal case - Benefits support mixed use on inner city university site.
November 10, 2006... The secretary of state has granted planning permission for partial demolition, alteration and extension of the former London South Bank University site in Lambeth for a major mixed-use scheme after concluding that it accorded with planning...

Casebook: Appeal case - Agricultural development - Young stock justifies caravan for nursery worker.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... An inspector has granted temporary permission for a caravan to be sited at a small nursery on Tyneside after concluding that there was a need for somebody to be readily available to take care of young plants. The appellants were growing a...

Casebook: Appeal case - Agricultural development - More isolated farm building preferred to grouping.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... In allowing one appeal and dismissing another for the construction of a barn on a farm in the Hertfordshire green belt, an inspector has indicated a preference for it to be sited some distance from an existing group of buildings. In the...

Casebook: Appeal case - Commercial and industrial - Betting office judged harmful to retail character.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The change of use of a car parts shop in a Berkshire town to a betting office has been rejected after a ruling that it would erode the shopping centre's vitality and viability. The inspector found that materially less than half of the...

Casebook: Appeal case - Commercial and industrial - Building approved but hardstanding turned down.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The retention of a building for light industrial and storage use at a kennels in Berkshire has been allowed following a ruling that it did not harm the countryside's character. The inspector noted that the replacement building was larger in...

Casebook: Appeal case - Commercial and industrial - Dockside scheme held lawful after three decades.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... An inspector has issued a lawful development certificate for building work on dockside land in Cornwall after concluding that a 1971 permission remained extant. The permission authorised boat repair and storage buildings and a slipway. ...

Casebook: Appeal case - Community facilities - Children's nursery secured with minimal parking.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The change of use of a bungalow in Staffordshire to a children's day nursery has been allowed despite local authority concerns that it would cause unacceptable levels of on-street car parking and jeopardise highway safety. The scheme...

Casebook: Appeal case - Food and drink uses - Condition seeking gain package held unreasonable.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... A condition imposed on a permission allowing a cafe to operate from premises in Warrington requiring the submission of a planning obligation has fallen foul of national principles. The condition stated that the cafe should not be brought...

Casebook: Appeal case - Food and drink uses - Enclosure of pub balcony judged to harm amenity.
November 10, 2006... The enclosure of a balcony on the first floor of a north London pub with removable glass screens has been rejected due to harm to a conservation area and amenity. The inspector considered that the proposal, which was intended to provide a...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - Case for rural affordable homes found inadequate.
November 10, 2006... An affordable housing development in West Sussex has been ruled out by an inspector who concluded that the appellants had put forward limited evidence. The site contained a house, glasshouses and grassland. The appellants claimed that the...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - Quarry restoration and housing scheme allowed.
November 10, 2006... The Welsh Assembly Government has allowed Redrow Homes (North West) Ltd to develop 300 houses at a derelict brickworks and quarry in north Wales even though part of the 20ha site fell within a site of special scientific interest and a special...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - Greenfield homes supported despite policy conflict.
November 10, 2006... Scottish ministers have accepted a reporter's advice to grant permission for 39 up-market homes on a greenfield site near Dundee despite a conflict with development plan policies. The proposed houses would be set around a village green. All...

Casebook: Appeal case - Leisure and entertainment - Fishing lakes accepted as suitable diversification.
November 10, 2006... The construction of fishing lakes at a pig farm in Norfolk has been approved after an inspector accepted that they would be an acceptable form of farm diversification. The 4.5ha site comprised a meadow with a stream running through it. The...

Casebook: Appeal case - Leisure and entertainment - Imaginative design judged harmful to coastal area.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... An appeal against refusal of a reserved matters application for a water sports centre in Northumberland has been dismissed following findings that it would harm the area's character and living conditions at a neighbouring home. The site...

Casebook: Appeal case - Leisure and entertainment - Model plane aerodrome overcomes impact fears.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to grant permission for the change of use of farmland in Kent to a facility for flying model aeroplanes. The secretary of state agreed that the proposal would not have an...

Casebook: Appeal case - Leisure and entertainment - Lodges held to have less impact than existing use.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Eight holiday lodges have been allowed at a caravan site in the North York Moors national park following a ruling that they would not have a detrimental effect on the landscape's character or appearance. The inspector inferred that the...

Casebook: Appeal case - Listed buildings - Footpath rejected due to impact on listed town wall.
November 10, 2006... The Welsh Assembly Government has refused to grant listed building consent for a public footpath running along the top of listed walls at a quayside in west Wales due to the scheme's substantial impact on the structures. The proposal...

Casebook: Appeal case - Mixed use development - Building design let down by defensive rail barrier.
November 10, 2006... A development comprising 76 residential units and retail or employment floor space at ground-floor level at a disused employment site in south London has been rejected on design grounds. The inspector noted that the scheme involved building...

Casebook: Appeal case - Mixed use development - Colliery regeneration turned down in green belt.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The redevelopment of a former colliery in the South Yorkshire green belt has been blocked after the appellants failed to demonstrate very special circumstances to justify the scheme. The majority of the 4.6ha site was open, having been last...

Casebook: Court case - Sequential test ruled out on steelworks proposals.
November 10, 2006... The House of Lords has upheld the Scottish Court of Appeal's decision to reject a challenge by Land Securities to a decision to approve a structure plan alteration identifying the former Ravenscraig steelworks as a town centre. Scottish...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - Burial ground homes plan fends off local fears.
November 10, 2006... Plans to convert a former chapel in an Essex village into six apartments and erect a terrace of three cottages in its burial ground have been allowed after an inspector agreed that they would not harm a conservation area's character and...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: conversion - Pub conversion allowed after viability ruling.
November 10, 2006... The conversion of a pub in a Shropshire village to a dwelling has been approved after an inspector acknowledged that the business was unviable. The appellant bought the property in April 2004 and concentrated on food and event evenings to...

Casebook: Downloading decisions.
November 10, 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 case - Leisure and entertainment - Alternative facilities justify loss of squash club.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The demolition of a squash club and gym in north London and its replacement with a seven-storey mixed residential and commercial development has been allowed after an inspector accepted that the existing facility was surplus to requirements....

Casebook: Appeal case - Mixed use development - Retail element agreed to help regain custom.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to approve an appeal involving a range of uses on a former pottery on the edge of a Staffordshire town centre. Proposals for the 3.4ha site included a primary care centre,...

Recovery planners improve standards.(Hayley Barbour )
November 10, 2006... The recovery effort on the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina involves ground-breaking planning, notes Anthony Alexander. Just over a year ago, more than 100 planners and architects from around the world met in Biloxi, Mississippi,...

Change offers key rural role.
November 10, 2006... Compact cities and land management are crucial in planning's response to climate change, say Paul Miner and Neil Sinden. Climate change is happening now. We can no longer afford to listen to doubters. Our cherished landscapes and wildlife...

Red tape decipherer.(Oak Holdings)
November 10, 2006... Having negotiated his way past the obstacles facing many big developments, Oak Holdings' Stephen Lewis talks about the art of the possible with Christina Papas. Stephen Lewis was delighted to win planning permission for Oak Holdings'...

Urban escalation set to boost importance.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Every week the planning system contends with a legion of complex and sometimes bewildering issues. In the past month alone the UK agenda, as always, has been packed. Current challenges include another round of legislation, the debate over the...

Fyson on striking the right balance to tackle climate change.
November 10, 2006... Sir Nicholas Stern's review of the economics of climate change accepts the now overwhelming scientific opinion that the phenomenon is serious and demands urgent action. He was probably not surprised that his publication brought protests from...

North East hit by house price hike.
November 10, 2006... Rising house prices are posing massive problems even in a region where property has traditionally been cheapest, Huw Morris finds. Inspired by economist Kate Barker, the government wants local planning authorities to use the state of their...

Stern warns of climate cost.(Tony Blair )
November 10, 2006... The Stern review has put planning on the front line in the fight on climate change, reports Huw Morris. It did not start auspiciously. Speaking at a black tie dinner for the CBI North East region last month, Tony Blair made an all too...

Agency demands firth plan rethink.(Scottish Natural Heritage)(Sir Terry Farrell)(Whiteness Property Company)
November 10, 2006... Plans for a town comprising nearly 2,000 homes, a marina, hotel and leisure facilities on the Moray Firth have attracted a formal objection from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The Scottish Executive agency argued that the development on a...

Homes allowed at Airdrie factory site.(Woodford Land)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The former Boots factory site in Airdrie is to be redeveloped with 620 homes after being approved by North Lanarkshire Council. The 27.7ha site will feature two, three, four and five-bedroom homes in the iconic Boots office building, which...

Wind projects could bring in public income.
November 10, 2006... Scotland's largest landowner has announced that it could develop its own wind farms to maximise revenue for the taxpayer. There are currently only six wind farms on the 648,000ha estate managed by Forestry Commission Scotland although a...

Study by the Conservation Studio.(Vale of Glamorgan Council)(conservation areas)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... An independent study into how Vale of Glamorgan Council manages its 38 conservation areas is to be conducted by the Conservation Studio. The evaluation is part of the local development plan process and involves surveying each conservation area,...

Pinsent Masons appointed to advise Gleeson Capital Solutions.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Pinsent Masons has been appointed to advise Gleeson Capital Solutions on two social housing private finance initiatives (PFIs). Gleeson is part of the Chrysalis consortium, the preferred bidder on the Stanhope Housing PFI project in Ashford....

2005 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Awards.
November 10, 2006... Design practice tp bennett has had its management systems and practices recommended for an environmental management standard. The ISO14001 accreditation recognises the emphasis that the practice places on ensuring that all aspects of its...

A study commissioned by the South East England Development Agency.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... A study of the long-term sustainability of the regional coastal fishing industry has been commissioned by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). The project, funded by SEEDA, DEFRA and the Sea Fish Industry Authority, aims to fully...

Atkins appointed by Sheffield City Council.
November 10, 2006... Atkins's northern regeneration and economic development team has been appointed by Sheffield City Council to conduct an employment land review focusing on the quality of current sites. The research will help to form the evidence base for the...

Alliance Environment and Planning works with Birmingham City.
November 10, 2006... Alliance Environment and Planning is working with Birmingham City Council's urban design team to masterplan and obtain planning permission for the city's first fully inclusive special needs school. The school will enable 40 pupils with severe...

Proposals for a spine cycle route through Kendal town centre.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Proposals for a spine cycle route through Kendal town centre have been produced by Colin Buchanan for Cumbria County Council. The firm's recommendations were prepared in close co-operation with charity Sustrans and are also aligned with...

Paddington station earns a prize.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... A complex road bridge serving Paddington station has earned Hyder Consulting a prize in the British Construction Industry Awards. The replacement of Bishops Road Bridge, which runs over 15 rail and underground lines and a canal, received the...

Government pays to ease congestion.
November 10, 2006... Nine areas were granted government funding this week to help tackle congestion. Most of the recipients of the so-called 'pump-priming' cash from the transport innovation fund (TIF) received money in the first round of bids last year....

Study questions focus of transport objectives.
November 10, 2006... Large inter-urban transport projects lose out in planning and delivery because of the Department for Transport's (DfT) focus on congestion, the government's transport adviser has warned. In a major study to be published shortly, the...

Campaigners want inquiry on link road.
November 10, 2006... Opponents of a bypass linking the M6 and the Morecambe-Heysham peninsula have stepped up the campaign for a public inquiry after Lancashire County Council approved the scheme. Councillors voted unanimously for the pounds 137 million link...

Bristol groups sound call for city authority.
November 10, 2006... Campaigners in Bristol are calling for a transport authority to be created for the city. Groups including Living Streets, Sustrans, Friends of the Earth and the Bristol Civic Society launched a manifesto for transport in the city this...

Station option remains open for Woolwich.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Plans to include a Crossrail station at Woolwich could still be on the cards after the government decided to allow further work on costing the proposal. Transport secretary Douglas Alexander made the concession in a Commons debate last...

City centre plans updated in Derby.
November 10, 2006... Revised proposals to redevelop Derby city centre have gone out for consultation after a failed lottery bid for pounds 25 million forced regeneration bosses to abandon plans for a theatre. Derby Cityscape has seen the cost of the 15-year...

Plan targets major Tottenham revival.(Tottenham Hale)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... A masterplan to revive an area including 2,500 homes and a quayside has been unveiled by the London Borough of Haringey. The plan aims to regenerate Tottenham Hale from 'an incoherent collection of retail units, warehouses, roads and homes'...

Consortia bid for scheme in south London.
November 10, 2006... Two developers' bids have made the final shortlist for the pounds 1.5 billion scheme to rebuild Elephant and Castle in south London. The two consortia put together by St Modwen Properties and Lend Lease now have to wait until December for...

Final phase of Brindleplace development in Birmingham approved.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... The final phase of the Brindleyplace development in Birmingham has been approved by the city council. Eleven Brindleyplace, next to City Inn on Brunswick Square, will comprise 9,940m2 of office space on 12 storeys, with ground-floor retail or...

Community exhibitions of regeneration plans.
November 10, 2006... Community exhibitions of regeneration plans for south-east Northampton have been held by English Partnerships. The scheme would turn around 30ha of land between Delapre Abbey and the River Nene into a community with 2,000 homes, shops and a...

Regeneration scheme in Norwich approved.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... A multi-million pound regeneration scheme in Norwich has been approved by the city council. The 5.75ha site between the River Wensum and Barrack Street will feature 200 homes, 20,500m2 of offices, 1,500m2 of shops, restaurants and cafes, cycle...

Birmingham residents asked for their comments.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Birmingham residents are being asked for their comments on planning guidance for development alongside the city's rivers and brooks. City council planners want to manage the increasing development pressures on bankside locations as well as...

East Thames Group appointed a panel of developers and contractors.
November 10, 2006... East Thames Group has appointed a panel of ten developers and contractors who will be responsible for the majority of the housing association's development and refurbishment work. The agreements could lead to the development of 3,000 homes...

Talking to residents in Southend.(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... Renaissance Southend is taking its central area masterplan out to local residents to have their say on the future of the town. People will be encouraged to sit in deckchairs while talking to members of the planning team and fill in a postcard...

Mixed-use development on the Barnet Trading Estate approved.(M25 Securities)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... A mixed-use development on the Barnet Trading Estate in High Barnet has been granted permission. M25 Securities will build a mainly pedestrianised terraced development with curving roofs and landscaped public gardens. The 1.9ha sloping site...

Consultation launched in the east end of Hexham.(Milecastle Housing)(Brief article)
November 10, 2006... A consultation has been launched in the east end of Hexham to look at the area's development needs. A survey has been sent to every home in the area and an information day was held at a local school, where residents were invited to plot ideal...

Birmingham City Council and the Birmingham Alliance highly commended.
November 10, 2006... Birmingham City Council and the Birmingham Alliance have been highly commended in the urban design category of the European Urban and Regional Planning Awards run by the European Council for Spatial Planners. The parties had to demonstrate how...

Minister backs Salford stadium project.
November 10, 2006... Salford City Reds Rugby League Club has been given government approval for a pounds 130 million stadium complex. The 20,000-seat arena will be built in Barton-upon-Irwell. It will form the centrepiece in a development including a hotel,...