Planning (UK) articles from October 2003

Planning (UK) archives from October 2003

Bursary funds aim to lighten staffing crisis.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Nine planning and environment students were each awarded pounds 1,500 this week in what is believed to be the first bursary scheme to help ease the planning recruitment crisis. The bursaries, awarded by RPS, could be widened next year to...

Wales issues first countrywide plan.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Development in Wales should respect environmental capacity, local distinctiveness and cultural diversity, according to a ground-breaking 20-year plan launched this week. The Wales Spatial Plan, published for consultation by the Welsh...

Mandelson throws down the gauntlet.(Peter Mandelson)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Peter Mandelson has urged the government to seize the sustainable development agenda by setting 'high and challenging design standards' for the homes envisaged in the communities plan. Mandelson, patron of the UK Business Council for...

Surplus public land released for residence.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Plans to build more than 1,600 affordable and key worker homes on surplus public land in the South East and East of England have been announced by deputy prime minister John Prescott. A partnership between the Housing Corporation and...

Architect details vision of supercities.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A vision of a city stretching from coast to coast along Britain's motorways is the theme of a television series that began on Channel 4 last week. In the first episode of Supercities UK, architect Will Alsop explained how an urban area...

Report outlines system reform north of border.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Third party rights of appeal and a statutory purpose for planning are options discussed in a report published this week on the possible content of a planning bill for Scotland. Drawn up by Scottish Executive social researcher Jeremy Rowan...

Bennett cleared by employment panel.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Bob Bennett, who was sacked last year as head of planning and development at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, has been cleared of any wrongdoing, Planning has learnt. Bennett revealed this week that after an industrial tribunal ruled...

Development Securities secures planning.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Development Securities has secured planning permission from Westminster City Council for 31,000 sq m of offices at Paddington Central. The Sheppard Robson-designed building will comprise ten floors of office space and an entrance level. It...

Legal advice delays Welsh village ruling.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A decision on the fate of plans for a holiday village in the Pembrokeshire coast national park has been deferred following last-minute legal advice. Lawyers for the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority this week advised members of...

Lawyer points to dangers of designations.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Nature designations are threatening to take over the planning system, a leading lawyer claimed last week. David Brock, partner at law firm Mills & Reeve, told the Joint Planning Law Conference: 'It is clearly important that areas of...

ODPM reveals rise in cases handled.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Planning authorities made a big improvement in the speed of processing applications during the second quarter of 2003, latest government figures reveal. The ODPM statistics, released last week, state that, overall, 72 per cent of planning...

Plan aims to foster greener principles.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A programme aiming to break the link between economic growth and environmental damage was launched by the government this week. A consultation document drawn up by DEFRA and the Department of Trade and Industry sets out proposals to...

Rural activists call for values in frameworks.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Public participation and environmental protection must be at the heart of local development frameworks (LDFs), according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). In a briefing paper launched at the Labour Party conference this...

NEWS BRIEF: PAC rebuffs criticism.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... The Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) has rebuffed criticism that it is remote and unaccountable. At the launch of its annual report last week, chief commissioner John Warke said that much of the criticism directed at the body from third party...

NEWS BRIEF: Land proposals under fire.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Proposals to use employment land for housing in the South East have come under fire from the South East England Regional Assembly. The assembly's planning committee is concerned that the ODPM's proposals to encourage local authorities to...

NEWS BRIEF: Advice on land supply published.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Advice on managing industrial land supply in London is contained in draft supplementary planning guidance published by London mayor Ken Livingstone this week. The guidance, which supplements the London Plan, outlines how land can be protected...

NEWS BRIEF: Hegarty managing director.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Wychavon District Council head of planning Jack Hegarty has been promoted to the post of managing director at the council, after overseeing a turnaround in the fortunes of its planning department. Hegarty arrived at Wychavon three years ago and...

NEWS BRIEF: Moren takes over from Holt.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Philip Moren takes over from Gordon Holt as one of the compilers of Planning's Casebook section this week, working alongside Mark Wood. Moren, who has 25 years' planning experience with local authorities, commercial companies and as a...

NEWS BRIEF: Prescott refuses applications.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Deputy prime minister John Prescott refused a pair of applications for factory outlet villages last week. Prescott said that both Freeport Leisure's proposal for an extension to the village in Fleetwood and Kendal FOC's scheme to build a centre...

NEWS BRIEF: Village gets green light.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Plans to create a 'second Bournville village' got the green light this week from Telford and Wrekin Council. The pounds 50 million Lightmoor Village in Telford will be developed by English Partnerships and the Bournville Village Trust along...

NEWS BRIEF: Middleton faces financial crisis.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Middleton, formerly known as the National Botanic Garden of Wales, is facing a financial crisis and may be forced to close, it has emerged. The Millennium Commission-funded garden has run out of money and the Welsh Assembly Government has...

Morrison cleared for Safeway takeover.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Supermarket chain Wm Morrison was given the go-ahead to take over Safeway last week on the proviso that it sells off 53 Safeway stores in areas where there is concern over competition. Trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt decided to...

Study condemns failure on public service goals.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... The government is slipping further behind its targets to improve transport, housing, schools and hospitals, according to the findings of a report by the Construction Products Association (CPA). The study, published this week, examines how...

Development rights changes detailed.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Moves to extend the scope of permitted development rights in Northern Ireland have been floated by the province's planning service this week. The changes, detailed in a consultation paper, aim to cut the number of applications and the...

Guide to focus on impacts of quarry activity.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Quarrying's impact on communities and the environment will be the focus of a review of planning guidance announced by the Scottish Executive last week. The review of NPPG4 on land for mineral working aims to update the predict-and-provide...

Paper calls for Wales to unify heritage rules.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Unification of separate regimes for protecting the historic environment has been proposed in a consultation document issued by the Welsh Assembly Government last week. The paper argues that bringing the regimes for listing, scheduling and...

REGENERATION NEWS: Developers told to seek public voice.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Developers must go beyond tokenism and tap into local knowledge if they want to deliver successful schemes, according to a report published last week. The British Council for Offices (BCO) report says that effective engagement with...

REGENERATION NEWS: Regeneration role urged for schools.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... The role of schools in boosting neighbourhood regeneration can be improved by setting out expectations in locally agreed strategies, according to a report published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this week. The study claims that many...

REGENERATION NEWS: Swansea bids to regenerate Clydach area.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Part of an area of Swansea that has become notorious for a multiple murder has been designated as a renewal zone in a bid to lever in regeneration funding. The Players Industrial Estate in Clydach has received industrial renewal area...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Major conultation launched.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A major consultation has been launched by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and Coventry City Council over plans for a revamp of the Swanswell area of the city. The area, which forms a gateway to north Coventry, has been...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Green projects can have impact.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Projects to improve green spaces can have a long-term impact on the social fabric of communities, according to latest research. A report examining the sustainability of Barclays SiteSavers, an environmental regeneration programme supported by...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Welsh Development Agency unveils plans.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... The Welsh Development Agency has unveiled plans for a 14.5ha business park in Aberystwyth, mid Wales. The park, next to the main A44 trunk road south of Capel Bangor, is expected to create more than 800 jobs. The agency has submitted the plans...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Stockport Metropolitan Council invites masterplan.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council has invited consultants to come up with a detailed masterplan for the regeneration of its town centre and M60 gateway. The closing date for submissions is 15 October, after which a shortlist of four...

REGENERATION BRIEF: Toft writes to DTI.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Cumbria County Council leader Rex Toft has written to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to warn of the dangers of mass unemployment in the area when the Sellafield nuclear complex winds down in 2010. He is calling for the Nuclear...

REGENERATION BRIEF: New East Manchester appoints Hill.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Urban regeneration company New East Manchester has appointed Peter Hill as development director. Hill was previously head of urban regeneration at English Partnerships and prior to that was head of regional regeneration for the Northwest...

REGENERATION BRIEF: More needed for empty homes.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Considerable progress has been made by the government in tackling empty homes but more still needs to be done, the Empty Homes Agency warned last week. The agency has published a study of how the government has reacted to the Commons select...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Tram routes in Edinburgh win local backing.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Most Edinburgh residents are in favour of reintroducing trams in the city, according to public consultation results out this week. Proposals put forward by Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE) received an 83.6 per cent mandate for routes...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Authority springs rail fares warning.(Strategic Rail Authority )(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Rail improvements are likely to be financed by fare increases rather than central government grants, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) admitted last week. An SRA document pledges that it will make a case for money in next year's spending...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Airport design submitted for RAF Finningley.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Detailed designs for the proposed Finningley Airport have been submitted to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council. Proposals by architects Leach Rhodes Walker tackle disabled access, security, facilities, public transport accessibility and...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Study moves Heathrow rail links forward.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A direct train link between Surrey, Berkshire, south-west London and Heathrow has moved a step closer with the commissioning of a study last week. The AirTrack Forum, a coalition of organisations chaired by Surrey County Council, has...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Architects submitt bridge proposals.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Five architects have submitted proposals for the design of a bridge at Northbank in Stockton-on-Tees, where Tees Valley Regeneration, English Partnerships, One North East and Stockton Borough Council are regenerating 24ha of derelict riverside...

TRANSPORT NEWS: Tyne and Wear set for transport talks.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Detailed plans to rejuvenate public transport in Tyne and Wear over the next 20 years have been put forward by passenger transport executive Nexus this week. Members of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (PTA) are set to...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Drivers Jonas profits increase.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Drivers Jonas has announced a 36 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to pounds 7.5 million for the year ended 31 May 2003. Planning made up 21 per cent of its fee income. Year highlights for the privately-owned consultancy include its...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: RPS buys Hydrosearch.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... RPS has bought Hydrosearch, provider of geological and environmental services to the energy sector, for pounds 15.24 million. Hydrosearch will be integrated into a new RPS energy services division, which will be supplemented by further...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: CBRE and Hamptons form venture.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) and Hamptons International have formed a joint venture to capitalise on the growing trend for mixed-use developments in the UK. The 50-50 venture will operate from London with expansion in the coming year via CBRE's...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Three-year evaluation commissioned.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A three-year evaluation of local transport plans has been commissioned from a consortium led by Atkins by the Department for Transport. The study will assess the framework through which councils submit and manage five-year transport strategies....

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Taylor Young to carry out strategy.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Taylor Young's urban design team has been commissioned to carry out an environmental detractors remediation strategy by business partnership St Helen's City Growth. The study forms part of a strategy being piloted in seven locations across four...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Nathaniel Lichfield appointed.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners have been appointed by the South East Northumberland and North Tyneside Regeneration Initiative to carry out research into the housing market in the sub-region, with a particular focus on market failure. The study...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Scott Brownrigg to prepare applications.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Scott Brownrigg has been instructed to prepare and submit planning applications for the redevelopment of seven schools in the London Borough of Waltham Forest by developer Kier London. The appointment forms part of a pounds 150 million private...

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Entec to open Bristol office.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Entec will open an office in Bristol next week as part of plans to expand its customer base in the South West. The company increased its staff numbers by 13 per cent last year as well as opening an office in Reading and moving to a larger...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Aberdeen floats wedges proposal.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Aberdeen's green belt would be replaced with a series of green wedges separated by new urban areas under proposals from the city council. The assessment of housing need has been drawn up by Aberdeen City Council head of physical...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Authority contests hydroelectric plant.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Proposals for two hydroelectric schemes within 8km of Loch Lomond are being opposed by the national park authority. Loch Lomond and the Trossachs' planning and development control committee is maintaining its objections to the developments...

SCOTTISH NEWS: Capital backs down on road toll exception.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Edinburgh City Council has made the first alteration to its road charging proposals and agreed that people living within the city boundary should be partially exempt. It has decided that residents outside the toll area will not have to pay...

ANALYSIS: Developing a design for life.
October 3, 2003... High-density design faces the bugbear of privacy loss. Rob Winkley checks out what the experts say It does not take much to imagine how disgusted you would feel if a workman on scaffolding peered through your bathroom window and shouted...

ANALYSIS: East Coker referendum sets trend for country.
October 3, 2003... Copycat referenda are set to follow the vote that put East Coker on the map. From his hilltop farm above the village of East Coker, Stan Turner can look out over the green valleys of rural Somerset. In the distance, a cluster of 1950s...

ANALYSIS: Gummer on... the tradition of building great country houses.
October 3, 2003... The clause in PPG7 that allowed a new country house to be built in isolation in a significant park if it were of outstanding architectural merit was a decision I took alone. The largely admirable 1947 Town and Country Planning Act and the...

OPINION: Fyson on... the benefits of a decentralised government.(Column)
October 3, 2003... There is no denying that the northern parts of the communities plan - the nine pathfinder housing market renewal areas - provide little more than an adjunct to the main thrust of deputy prime minister John Prescott's grand design for four...

EDITORIAL: Leadership is vital to protect environment.(Editorial)
October 3, 2003... One of the old favourites used by the Department for Transport to explain our ever more congested roads is that while you may be choking from all those fumes, it is a sign of a healthy growing economy. The joint report by DEFRA and the...

INTERVIEW: Transatlantic rescue.(Interview)
October 3, 2003... Bill Boler is bringing a wealth of expertise from the USA to moves to drive up the quality of shops and services in deprived UK communities, reports Rosie Niven Pints of bitter and English breakfasts are just two of the things that Bill...

Greens initiative embraced.
October 3, 2003... A scheme to introduce green space into the heart of communities is paying dividends, says Pete Johnstone With the spotlight turning recently onto the declining quality of England's green spaces and play areas, it is refreshing to look at a...

NOTEBOOK: Brief encounter rocks world.
October 3, 2003... A chance meeting on a train throws new light on key identity and planning process issues for an old-school planner. Cliff Hague embarks on a steamy literary expedition The train was delayed. Nothing unusual about that. As a planner of a...

CASEBOOK: Golf course on Dartmoor ruled to harm landscape.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... The retention of a private golf course in the Dartmoor national park has been rejected, despite the appellant's intention to organise special golfing events for charity, on the grounds that its 'manicured' character and appearance would...

CASEBOOK: Excessive size of green belt tree house faulted.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... An enforcement notice directed against a tree house in the metropolitan green belt and the Chilterns area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) has been upheld after the structure's size was judged to render it inappropriate and harmful to the...

CASEBOOK: Court cases - Full hearing allowed into unauthorised hangar.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... The High Court has granted permission for a full hearing into an inspector's decision to uphold an enforcement notice requiring the demolition of a hangar in Essex used to house light aircraft. The inspector had determined that while a 650m...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Advertisements - Tower signs judged to harm amenity and safety.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A proposal to site two advertisements on a 22m tower in a yard on the approaches to Paddington Station in west London has been refused on the grounds that it would be detrimental to the interests of amenity and public safety. The proposed...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - Farmhouse and flat conditions judged necessary.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Two conditions imposed on a planning permission for a farmhouse and granny flat in Nottinghamshire have been upheld by an inspector as necessary and reasonable in allowing the development, which had received planning permission in 1993. ...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Agricultural Development - House permitted to support viability of nursery.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Permission has been granted for the construction of a house to support a nursery in Cheshire mainly devoted to growing plants after an inspector agreed that it was needed to secure the long-term future of the business. The inspector noted...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Immunity claim lost on extra exhibition days.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... An appeal seeking confirmation that land in Nottinghamshire can be used for exhibition purposes in excess of the number of days permitted by a lawful development certificate (LDC) and the provisions of the General Permitted Development Order...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Commercial and Industrial - Skip hire and waste use held materially different.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... An inspector has upheld two enforcement notices directed against the use of 0.3ha of land in Hampshire for a skip hire business and waste storage, concluding that both uses were materially different in planning terms from the lawful use of the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Community Facilities - Temple pavilions ruled out on design grounds.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A proposal for a glazed pavilion to house a ceremonial cart at a Hindu temple in west London has been refused on the grounds that it would be harmful to the character and appearance of the temple and the surrounding conservation area. The...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Community Facilities - Local concerns about children's home overruled.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... The change of use of a vicarage in Greater Manchester to a home capable of housing eight children has been allowed despite concerns among local residents that it would undermine their quality of life due to the anti-social behaviour of the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Food and Drink Uses - Pizza home delivery judged harmful to viability.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... The Domino Pizza Group has failed to secure permission for a hot food take-away in a Buckinghamshire shopping centre after an inspector concluded that the use would be harmful to the area's vitality and viability. Local planning policy...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - New home allowed subject to road improvements.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... In allowing an appeal for a new dwelling within a Gloucestershire conservation area, an inspector has accepted that a road narrowing scheme had a reasonable prospect of proceeding and that this justified a negatively worded condition...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: New Build - Green belt designation upheld despite map error.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A scheme involving the demolition of a house and the erection of ten new homes at a site in Middlesex has been rejected after an inspector accepted council claims that part of the land fell within the green belt, despite an error in the adopted...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Housing: Conversion - Enforcement notice prevails despite new evidence.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... In refusing to issue a lawful development certificate (LDC) for use of an existing building in Kent as a dwellinghouse, an inspector has concluded that an extant enforcement notice upheld at appeal precludes the use from being lawful despite...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Householder Development - Security issues override damage to green belt.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Proposed security improvements at a house in Berkshire used as a formal residence by the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates have been allowed despite acknowledgement that they would harm the openness of the...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Householder Development - Front garden playhouse ruled out by street harm.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... Enforcement action taken against a timber playhouse in the front garden of a corner house in Gloucestershire has been upheld. Although the structure was partially screened by a fence and shrubs, the roof of the building was still visible. The...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Mixed Development - Bid to revive element of old permission rejected.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A lawful development certificate seeking confirmation that 32 residential units can be built at a marina in West Sussex has been denied because subsequent changes to a scheme granted permission in 1971 had altered the operator's ability to...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Mixed Development - Police museum extension design held acceptable.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A scheme involving the conversion of the Bow Street police station and magistrates' court in London's Covent Garden has been supported on the basis that it would secure the long-term future of the buildings and would not harm the character of...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Mixed Development - Discount store held to support town centre.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A proposed Aldi discount food store within a mixed-use redevelopment in a Suffolk town centre has been ruled acceptable by an inspector who concluded that it would not harm the vitality and viability of an historic market town. Planning...

CASEBOOK: Appeal cases - Retail Development - Mezzanine floor escapes retail space condition.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... A lawful development certificate has been issued for a mezzanine floor in an Asda store in Staffordshire following a finding that it was not in breach of a condition limiting the retail floorspace of the building. The development included...

CASEBOOK: Downloading decisions.(Brief Article)
October 3, 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.(Brief Article)
October 3, 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 01452 830047 or e-mail them to...

RTPI NEWS: RTPI welcomes proposal to license houses in multiple occupation.(Royal Town Planning Institute)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2003... However, the opportunity is being lost to address the integration of planning and housing strategies for the delivery of housing Policy and research director Kelvin MacDonald, responding to the consultation on the draft Housing Bill,...