Planning (UK) articles from November 2008

Planning (UK) archives from November 2008

Planning in the media.
November 7, 2008... Planners have been encouraged to keep more than a close eye on local housing markets, but this is becoming an increasingly desperate task. The Independent reported on a Nationwide Building Society survey warning that homeowners are losing...

Diary.(Diary entry)
November 7, 2008... For those of you who have visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa and marvelled at its iconic wonkiness, a project in Abu Dhabi is bidding to go four times further. The Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) is bidding to enter the...

Appointment at The London Borough of Haringey.(The London Borough of Haringey has appointed Marc Dorfman)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The London Borough of Haringey has appointed Marc Dorfman to the new post of assistant director for planning, regeneration and economy He joins from the London Borough of Redbridge. -------------------- Did you find this article...

Appointment at Ashurst.(Law firm Ashurst has hired Trevor Goode )(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Law firm Ashurst has hired Trevor Goode as a partner in its London real estate practice. He joins from Berwin Leighton Paisner, where he specialised in planning, development control and urban regeneration. -------------------- Did you...

Appointment at i-Transport.(Steve Wilson has joined i-Transport)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Steve Wilson has joined i-Transport in Basingstoke as an associate to help expand its development planning team. He leaves Transport Planning Practice, where he was an associate. -------------------- Did you find this article useful?...

Appointment at Indigo Planning.(Indigo Planning has recruited associate director Claire Southam )(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Indigo Planning has recruited associate director Claire Southam from White Young Green in Edinburgh. Charlotte Turner joins as an assistant planner after completing a masters at the University of Sheffield, while Peter Hall has been promoted to...

Appointment at Capita Symonds.(Adrian Bullen has joined Capita Symonds as associate director )(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Adrian Bullen has joined Capita Symonds' Bristol office as associate director for transport planning. He joins the company from DLP Transportation Ltd, where he was a director. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why...

Appointment at Scott Brownrigg.
November 7, 2008... Scott Brownrigg's planning team in London has promoted Jeff Pyrah to planning director, Will Naylor to senior planner and Jonathan Taylor to senior sustainability adviser. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not...

Appointment at RPS.
November 7, 2008... Phil Hull has joined RPS in Oxford as planning director. He leaves Persimmon Homes South East, where he was regional planning director. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine? Please...

Appointment at Broads Authority.(Stephen Johnson joins)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Stephen Johnson replaces Kerry Turner as chairman of the Broads Authority. Johnson was previously Heritage Lottery Fund director. Turner continues to chair the authority's climate change panel. -------------------- Did you find this...

Online consultants directory matches services and skills.
November 7, 2008... Listing offers clients peace of mind that they are in touch with qualified planners, explains Simon Owen. The relaunched RTPI online directory of planning consultants is the only official listing of more than 500 firms providing the...

Planning for Housing network launched in London.
November 7, 2008... John Callcutt is due to officially launch the new planning for housing network - a joint initiative between the RTPI and the Chartered Institute of Housing - at today's sixth annual housing and construction conference at the CBI Conference...

Events.(Calendar)
November 7, 2008... - Water and Sanitation in India 25 November. London. This RTPI international development network event will see Arup senior consultant Priti Parikh speaking about her experiences on development projects across India, particularly her...

Young voices aim to heal divisions.
November 7, 2008... A city tour showed the importance of involving the public in planning, write Robert Hobbs and James Long. The centre of Brighton has grown dramatically over the centuries. Young planners at this year's national conference were able to...

Events.(Calendar)
November 7, 2008... - The Cornwall Lecture 24 November. Young Planners South West. Hall for Cornwall, Truro. The annual lecture takes the theme of the enduring relationship between Cornwall's landscape and its distinctive identity, culture and economy...

Young planners conference looks back to prepare for future challenge.(Town and Country Planning Act 1947)(Conference news)
November 7, 2008... Reviewing good and bad practice in the 60 years since the enactment of the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 provided young planners with an opportunity to take some vital lessons on board, reflects Helen Shaw. The south coast city of...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Prior approval time limit dispute resolved.
November 7, 2008... Two appellants have failed to persuade an inspector that they are entitled to put up a new building on their farm in North Yorkshire under permitted development rights. The appellants had lodged an application for prior approval of the...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Nature site conditions held unreasonable.
November 7, 2008... Natural England has secured the removal of two conditions imposed on a scheme in Cumbria after an inspector decided that the local authority had misunderstood the nature of the proposal. The appeal site comprised a site of special...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Aviaries judged acceptable in landscape.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... An enforcement notice requiring the removal of aviaries at a Somerset farm has been quashed despite an inspector's ruling that planning permission was required for their retention. The farm was used to grow crops and keep free-range pigs...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Stansted passenger growth wins backing.
November 7, 2008... The secretaries of state for communities and local government and transport have accepted an inspector's recommendation to grant planning permission for an increase in the number of passengers using Stansted Airport. The airport operator...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Small workshop accepted in countryside.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The change of use of a building in the Lincolnshire countryside into a small fabrication workshop run by the appellant has been approved despite the site's rural location. The inspector noted that PPS7 supports reuse of appropriately...

DC Casebook: Gypsies and Travellers - Day room in green belt secures reprieve.
November 7, 2008... An enforcement notice requiring removal of a building in the Essex green belt has been quashed after an inspector agreed that it was not being used as a dwellinghouse and the appellant had shown very special circumstances for retaining it. ...

DC Casebook: Housing: New build - Sunken rural house fails exemption test.
November 7, 2008... An inspector has rejected a proposal for an isolated dwelling in the Hampshire countryside after concluding that it would not respond fully to its immediate setting. Under the proposal, the house would be partially sunk into the sloping...

DC Casebook: Housing: New build - Homes allowed on surplus allotment site.
November 7, 2008... A housing development has been allowed at a site in Essex after an inspector supported the appellants' argument that there is no need to retain the land for possible allotments. The appeal site comprised an undeveloped open space used as...

DC Casebook: Housing: New build - Affordable home viability claim rejected.
November 7, 2008... Six houses and two flats have been rejected on a site in Somerset because of a lack of affordable housing provision, despite the appellant's argument that this would make the proposal unviable. The pub that had previously stood on the site...

DC Casebook: Housing: New build - Single-storey condition ruled superfluous.
November 7, 2008... A condition imposed on a planning permission for a house in East Sussex restricting construction to a single storey has been deleted after an inspector decided that it was superfluous. The council imposed the condition to protect...

DC Casebook: Housing: Conversion - Village shop loss accepted as inevitable.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The change of use of a former post office in a Kent village has been permitted after an inspector determined that the continued retail use of the building was unviable. Part of the ground floor of the grade II listed 17th century property...

DC Casebook: Leisure and Entertainment - Gaming centre vitality fears overruled.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The change of use of offices in a north London district centre into an adult gaming centre has been approved despite council claims that it would adversely affect the vitality of the shopping area. The centre served a densely populated...

DC Casebook: Leisure and Entertainment - Snooker club approved on edge of centre.
November 7, 2008... The change of use of a vacant shop unit in a shopping centre near Glasgow into a snooker club has secured permission after a reporter concluded that it would not undermine the vitality of the area. The 580m2 premises had been vacant for...

DC Casebook: Mixed Use Development - Green roof open space found unsuitable.
November 7, 2008... A major mixed-use proposal in west London has been rejected after an inspector determined that the amount and type of open space proposed would be unsuitable. The scheme comprised a mix of shops, food and drink uses, homes and offices in a...

DC Casebook: Telecommunications - Chimney shroud dismissed as clear fake.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The installation of telecommunications apparatus disguised as a chimney on a telephone exchange in Bristol has been declared by an inspector to be inappropriate and unrealistic. The appellants proposed to construct a glass-reinforced...

DC Casebook: Waste Management - Composting plant refused in green belt.
November 7, 2008... The change of use of a farm building in the Warwickshire green belt into a waste recycling and composting facility has been rejected on the basis that it would reduce the openness of the area. The appellant was already using the building to...

DC Casebook: Next Week.(secretary of state has allowed homes on former green belt)(inspector has approved six flats in north Wales )(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... - Safeguarded land released due to need The secretary of state has allowed homes on former green belt land in Essex on the basis of need, despite an inspector's recommendation that its release should wait for a local plan review. DCS...

DC Casebook: In depth - Distinctive design style judged out of place in canalside setting.
November 7, 2008... A proposal for housing and canalside facilities in Oxford's Jericho neighbourhood has been rejected after a ruling that it would not make the most of opportunities to improve the area's character and quality. The scheme involved demolition...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Dog shows ruled material change of use.
November 7, 2008... An enforcement notice directed against dog shows at a kennels in Leicestershire has been upheld after a finding that a change of use had occurred and was harming residential amenity. The appellant argued that activities on the site were...

DC Casebook: Commerical and Industrial - Car park held to clash with travel policy.
November 7, 2008... An enforcement notice requiring the cessation of a parking use in Lancaster city centre has been upheld on the grounds that it undermines development plan objectives to reduce long-stay parking provision. The local plan defined a central...

DC Casebook: Housing New Build - Affordable homes justify space loss.
November 7, 2008... Eighteen homes have been allowed in a West Yorkshire town after an inspector found that the site's value as open space and part of a green corridor was outweighed by affordable housing benefits. The inspector accepted that the scheme would...

DC Casebook: Housing Conversion - Permanent caravan residency denied.
November 7, 2008... An inspector has refused to replace a holiday occupancy condition on two caravans at a site in the Cumbria countryside with personal permissions, despite the appellants' claims that they had been misled by the vendor. The inspector heard...

DC Casebook: Housing Conversion - Oast works held to destroy character.
November 7, 2008... Residential conversion of an oast in the Kent countryside has been rejected following a ruling that the scheme would not contribute to the retention of a building of local character. The appellant claimed that the conversion would preserve...

DC Casebook: DC Forum.(General Permitted Development Order 1995)
November 7, 2008... Email your queries or your replies to earlier queries to casebook@haymarket.com or post them to Development Control Casebook Forum, DCS Ltd, Casebook Suite 1, Fullers Court, 40 Lower Quay Street, Gloucester GL1 2LW. Comment and post at...

Historic Solution.
November 7, 2008... The historic environment can play a significant role in reducing carbon emissions as English Heritage's efforts to improve energy efficiency prove, maintains Huw Morris. The London Transport Museum is a trendsetter. Formerly Covent...

Advancing care policy.
November 7, 2008... Integrated retirement communities can meet the housing, health and care needs of elderly people but are hampered by uncertainties over use class definitions, argues Robin Tetlow. According to the government's 2006 household projections,...

Spatial strategy shaper.(Interview)
November 7, 2008... Spatial planning faces a crunch test as the world grapples with looming recession and climate change, RTPI policy and practice committee chairman Richard Summers tells Huw Morris. These are troubled times. First came the credit crisis,...

Government green targets raise more questions than answers.(environmental audit committee audits about housing standards)
November 7, 2008... Members of the Commons environmental audit committee posed a fair question for their latest investigation. Are environmental concerns being sacrificed on the altar of the three million homes the government wants built by 2020? The...

Fyson on ... boosting participation between councils.
November 7, 2008... Fyson on... boosting participation between councils and the public to achieve local strategy consensus. The government has just held a consultation on improving local accountability under the populist slogan 'communities in control - real...

Legal report - Mayor talks up capital as call-in powers go unused.
November 7, 2008... A frisson of excitement ran round the room as London mayor Boris Johnson bounced onto the podium at last month's Future of London conference in Westminster. 'I am excited about the future of London,' he boomed confidently 'Rumours of the...

Shepley on ... words that kill confidence.(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... People say the strangest things - sometimes funny, sometimes downright scary. Take the spokesman for Donald Trump over the local authority's refusal of his golf complex plans: 'There is a view that we are arrogant. It may be...

Homes targets on trial.
November 7, 2008... The methodology behind the Greater London Authority's revised approach to affordable home numbers leaves councils facing what many regard as unrealistic targets, Ben Lee explains. On the face of it, a fresh approach to affordable housing...

Capital bids to raise affordability level.
November 7, 2008... More affordable homes would have to be included in developments in rural west Edinburgh under a draft alteration to the local plan. Edinburgh City Council has agreed to consult on proposals to raise the proportion from 15 per cent to 25 per...

Airport sets out rail plans.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Extended platforms and a refurbished railway station will be needed to enable Glasgow Prestwick Airport to meet its target for reducing car use by passengers. The airport's draft masterplan, published last week, aims to increase the number...

Parks use proposed for empty city sites.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Development sites put on hold during the economic downturn could be turned into temporary parks under plans approved last week by Glasgow City Council. The local authority is to work with owners to lay grass on vacant ground to provide...

Online now ..
November 7, 2008... Visit PlanningResource.co.uk today for a look at the implications of two European Court of Justice rulings on development agreements Also online Interview with political theorist and consultant Benjamin Barber Second Opinion on Crawley....

Planning stats.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... 160,000 - Total number of people who visited the Westfield shopping and leisure centre in Shepherd's Bush, west London, on its first day of opening last week. pounds 20,000 - Rate that West Northamptonshire Development Corporation is to...

Games fringe plan awarded.(Maxwan Architects)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Urban Practitioners and Maxwan Architects have been picked to prepare a masterplan for London's northern Olympic fringe area. The plan will be designed to enable the social, economic, environmental and physical benefits of the 2012 games to...

Homes deal wins consent.
November 7, 2008... David Lock Associates has secured outline permission for O&H Properties to build 480 homes on 30ha of land near the village of Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire. The site, east of junction 13 of the M1, was earmarked for a residential and...

Firm to steer fens bridge.
November 7, 2008... Royal Haskoning has been appointed by the National Trust to project-manage the planning, design and supervision of a bridge in the Cambridgeshire fens. The crossing over Reach Lode dyke aims to open an accessible corridor as part of the...

RPS nets lead roles in Northern Ireland.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... RPS's Northern Ireland planning and environment team has scooped two high-profile projects in the province. The firm has been chosen to provide planning and environmental advice on the proposed Olympic water sports centre at Portadown. It...

Knight Frank study to support Glasgow superstore proposal.
November 7, 2008... Knight Frank has submitted plans to build a superstore in East Kilbride on behalf of Dawn Developments. The consultancy has been appointed to provide a retail study and planning services for the proposed superstore at the junction of...

Court hears homes fight.
November 7, 2008... A legal battle over a compulsory purchase order (CPO) issued under the housing market pathfinder scheme in Oldham's Derker district has gone to the High Court. A group of Derker residents has asked a judge to save their homes from...

Blears allows towers plan.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Communities secretary Hazel Blears last week approved a mixed-use scheme including a residential tower in north London against an inspector's advice. The proposal from developer LMS would see the demolition of existing buildings to allow...

Cornish road wins funding.(English Partnerships is funding for road improvement project )(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... English Partnerships is funding a pounds 5 million road improvement project that it hopes will kick-start a range of regeneration schemes in the South West. It maintained that major improvements to the East Hill junction of the...

Cambridge city centre flats gain approval.
November 7, 2008... Developer Highland Homes won planning permission last week for a ten-storey residential scheme in Cambridge city centre. The development, designed by architects Gort Scott, will form an edge to the Cambridge Leisure Square and includes 130...

Tottenham unveils stadium proposals.
November 7, 2008... Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has announced plans for a 60,000-capacity stadium that it said will regenerate the area surrounding its north London home. The new ground is planned at the existing 36,000-seat White Hart Lane site. The...

Ministers set for link probe.(High-speed rail)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... High-speed rail (HSR) is back on the government's agenda, transport secretary Geoff Hoon revealed to MPs last week. In a statement, Hoon announced the establishment of a national networks strategy group. Its programme of work will focus on...

Budget cuts hit rail work.
November 7, 2008... Network Rail is under pressure to cut costs after the industry's financial regulator left it with a pounds 2.4 billion shortfall last week. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) said the rail infrastructure firm will have pounds 27 billion...

Back-to-back sessions at inquiry stir Stansted fears.
November 7, 2008... Campaigners fighting a second runway at Stansted Airport have reacted furiously to what they call the 'steamrollering' of next year's public inquiry. Under the revised inquiry procedure rules introduced in the Planning and Compulsory...

Heathrow service boost seals Crossrail funding contribution.
November 7, 2008... Heathrow Airport operator BAA has pledged pounds 230 million towards the pounds 16 billion Crossrail project. The scheme will connect Maidenhead in Berkshire to Shenfield in Essex with four fast trains an hour linking Heathrow and the City....

Boroughs set waste goals.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... London Councils has revealed plans to improve the way that the capital manages its waste. The organisation's transport and environment committee called for greater consideration to be given to deploying energy from waste facilities. ...

Scots review marine plans.(strategic environmental assessment)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The Scottish Government is to launch a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of offshore wind power to keep developments consistent. It follows a call for applications for offshore wind projects from the Crown Estate. Fourteen developers...

Tyrone site's status axed.(special scientific interest)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Green campaigners have blasted Northern Ireland environment minister Sammy Wilson after he overturned government advice to protect a site in County Tyrone. The Lisnaragh site near Strabane was declared an area of special scientific...

Green power deals struck.(Department for Energy and Climate Change and Masdar)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The UK has joined forces with two Gulf states to secure a mix of green energy supplies that could see hundreds of millions of pounds invested in the sector. A memorandum of understanding has been signed by the Department for Energy and...

Safeguard policies urged in green belt.
November 7, 2008... A group of MPs has warned that planning policy does not provide local authorities with adequate means of defending green spaces against development. The Commons environmental audit committee's report says councils are expected to...

National park considers legal action on wind farm proposals.
November 7, 2008... The Peak District National Park Authority will today decide whether to appeal against plans for a wind farm near the park boundary. Officers are asking senior members to agree a joint High Court challenge with Derbyshire Dales District...

Board settles home levy for developers.(West Northamptonshire Development Corporation)(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) has approved proposals for a standard infrastructure charge for new developments. The WNDC's board agreed the charge last week. Equivalent to pounds 20,000 a home, it will apply to...

Veto backed on green belt.
November 7, 2008... The government has rejected appeals for three separate developments that would have resulted in nearly 2,000 homes being built in South Staffordshire's green belt. Taylor Woodrow - now Taylor Wimpey - and BAE Systems proposed 1,000 houses...

South Midlands admits housing target failure as downturn hits.
November 7, 2008... The South Midlands growth area failed to meet its homes targets during the economic boom and must now do so in the face of a downturn, its business plan states. Development quango Milton Keynes South Midlands (MKSM) director Hilary...

Agenda.(Brief article)(Calendar)
November 7, 2008... 18 November: Parks for People Organiser: GreenSpace Venue: Nottingham Fee: pounds 90-pounds 230 Details: 0118 946 9068 19 November: Vital and Vibrant Town Centres Organiser: Business Improvement Districts Scotland Venue: Stirling...

London Homes scoop building for Life prize.
November 7, 2008... First Base's Adelaide Wharf affordable housing scheme in Hackney was one of six Building for Life (BfL) award-winners unveiled by CABE this week. The others were City Point in Brighton, Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, Rostron Brow in Stockport,...

Shift in PPS4 focus sought.(Planning for Sustainable Economic Development )(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... The Housing Corporation wants PPS4 revised to ensure that councils consider the economic impact of residential development in decisions on planning applications. In a report released yesterday, the government's affordable housing agency...

East of England sets out potential sites.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Planners reviewing the East of England Plan have published details of 100 potential development sites put forward by developers after their call for proposals. Failed eco-town bids Hanley Grange and Coltishall are on a list of potential...

UNESCO representatives visit Bath.(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Representatives from UNESCO were visiting Bath as Planning went to press this week to investigate how its architectural heritage is being preserved. The visit stems from the body's criticism of developments in the city earlier in the year....

Designers to work with Home Office.
November 7, 2008... Designers are to work with the Home Office to try to make safety integral to the design of public spaces. The pounds 1.6 million initiative, launched by home secretary Jacqui Smith and the Design Council, will bring together planners, public...

Measures to secure a yes vote agreed by city council.
November 7, 2008... Measures to secure a yes vote for Manchester's proposed congestion charge were agreed by the city council last week. The final transport innovation fund proposal now includes reprioritised local transport plan cash to develop the East...

Buglife to fight on in its campaign to block scheme in West Thurrock.(Wildlife charity Buglife campaign againsts buiding of distribution hub )(Brief article)
November 7, 2008... Wildlife charity Buglife is to fight on in its campaign to block a distribution hub at an environmentally sensitive site in West Thurrock, Essex. The charity claimed that a nationally important population of more than 900 invertebrate species...