Planning (UK) articles from October 2006

Planning (UK) archives from October 2006

Agenda.
October 3, 2006... DIARY TO 17 NOVEMBER 8 November: Planning Law Update. Organiser: RTPI. Venue: Cambridge. Fee: pounds 85 + VAT. Details (tel) 01359 252366. 10 November: Mock Public Inquiry Training. Organiser: 6 Pump Court Chambers. Venue: London. Fee:...

Dead wood explodes into ecosystem.
October 3, 2006... It hardly seems the most environmentally friendly way of preserving ancient forests, but dynamite is being used to maintain woodland habitats in Scotland. The Scottish arm of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is blowing up...

Street name tribute paid to inspector.(Terry Kemmann)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Double-barrelled names are always likely to get you noticed, but Diary has discovered that one planning inspector has had a street in a development christened in his honour. Terry Kemmann-Lane must have made quite an impression when he was...

Scots stay cool as temperature rises.(Stop Climate Chaos)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... The onset of climate change has failed to rattle citizens north of the border. A survey commissioned by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition shows that only 59 per cent of Scots are concerned, against 70 per cent of all UK residents. Maybe...

Appointments at Atkins.(Trevor Pilbeam, Diarmid Lindsay, Diarmid Lindsay)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Trevor Pilbeam has joined Atkins as principal planning consultant, responsible for directing teams in Bristol and Cardiff. He was previously project manager for strategic land and planning at Westbury Homes. Diarmid Lindsay and Simon...

Appointment at Davies Arnold Cooper.
October 3, 2006... Kali Yau has been appointed as a senior solicitor by law firm Davies Arnold Cooper. He spent the past five years at Hertfordshire County Council specialising in environment and property law.

Appointment at Cushman and Wakefield.
October 3, 2006... Ian Blacker has joined Cushman and Wakefield as a partner and head of the consultancy's UK planning team. He was previously a planning partner at Gerald Eve and has worked for Turley Associates, Jones Lang LaSalle and GVA Grimley.

Appointment at Environmental Perspectives.
October 3, 2006... Paul Roebuck has been appointed as a consultant by Environmental Perspectives in London. His work will cover environmental planning, sustainability and environmental impact assessments. Georgina Maggs has been recruited as a graduate to carry...

Appointment at WSP Development and Transport.
October 3, 2006... Haydn Davies has joined WSP Development and Transport as a director. He will have particular responsibility for operations in the South West and south Wales. Davies was previously a regional director at Faber Maunsell.

Appointment at Natural England.
October 3, 2006... David Brooke has been appointed principal specialist for planning and land use by Natural England. He was previously head of planning at the Countryside Agency.

Appointment at Warwick District Council.
October 3, 2006... Chris Elliot has been made chief executive at Warwick District Council. Elliot, a chartered town planner, joined the local authority as a director in 1997 and became deputy chief executive in 2004.

Appointment at Planning Issues Ltd.
October 3, 2006... Andrew Burgess has been appointed managing director of Planning Issues Ltd, a subsidiary of Churchill Retirement Living. He will be responsible for the company's planning and design function. Burgess previously worked for Turley Associates.

Appointment at GVA Grimley.
October 3, 2006... Eve Fawcett has joined GVA Grimley in Leeds to lead development and regeneration projects. Dale Robinson has been promoted to associate and Russell Mills has been recruited as a surveyor. Philippa Edwards and Suzanne Philipson have joined...

Appointment at AZ Urban Studio.
October 3, 2006... Martin Harradine and Chris Lloyd have become directors at AZ Urban Studio. They will lead the company's planning and development management services.

Appointment at National Housing Federation.
October 3, 2006... John Cross has been elected chairman of the National Housing Federation. Deborah Shackleton has been elected vice-chairwoman.

Planners in the Workplace: ask the RTPI.
October 3, 2006... Planners in the Workplace is helping members to find solutions to problems in the work environment, explains Chris Sheridan. 'I operate in private practice as a sole practitioner. I have a situation that may develop where a client is likely...

Learning the lessons of long career in planning.(retired planner George 'Douglas' Marlow)(Interview)
October 3, 2006... Seventy years of planning were the subject of discussion when the RTPI spoke to retired planner George 'Douglas' Marlow. George Marlow gained a wide range of planning experience with many types of town planning authority in his long career....

Forty sustainable years of planning to deliver.(Column)
October 3, 2006... With growth areas now springing up everywhere, Kelvin MacDonald looks at how nearly 500,000 homes might be delivered. It came as a bit of a shock really. Here was I secure in the knowledge that there were four growth areas in England when...

RTPI Bulletin Board.(Royal Town Planning Institute)
October 3, 2006... OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARDS Two outstanding service awards were presented at the RTPI East of England regional activities committee meeting on 11 September. Regional honorary secretary Richard Chillingford and committee member and editor of...

New development management network will help share experience.(Royal Town Planning Institute)
October 3, 2006... By using the development management network we can pool all our expertise, maintain Janet Askew and Rhian Brimble. The RTPI development management network (DMN) launches this week, with the aim of actively tackling the topical issues...

Casebook: Development Control Casebook Forum.(town planning law)
October 3, 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 - Transport development- Truck stop allowed while intentions resolved.
October 3, 2006... The continued use of land adjacent to a Northamptonshire road junction as an overnight truck stop and mobile cafe has been allowed due to a pressing need for the facility. The site had been used under a series of temporary planning...

Casebook: Appeal case - Flats blocked by doubt over level of affordable delivery.
October 3, 2006... McCarthy and Stone (Developments) Ltd has failed to secure permission for sheltered apartments and a manager's house at a site in Wiltshire after an inspector voiced doubts about the adequacy of a financial contribution towards off-site...

Casebook: Appeal case - Advertisements - Poster display judged too strident and intrusive.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... An advertisement appeals inspector has rejected a poster sign in east London after finding that it would harm amenity, although he accepted that it would not jeopardise public safety. The proposal was to display an externally lit poster...

Casebook: Appeal case - Commercial and industrial - Bank refit held to benefit listed building character.
October 3, 2006... Planning permission and listed building consent have been granted to refit a grade II listed bank in the centre of Reading after an inspector found that the works would benefit the building's character. The appellants sought to improve the...

Casebook: Appeal case - Commercial and industrial - Commercial car storage ruled out in countryside.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... The change of use of three former agricultural buildings in the Leicestershire countryside has been refused after an inspector decided that the storage and cleaning of cars contravened sustainable development objectives. The appellant...

Casebook: Appeal case - Community facilities - Real tennis court rejected due to green belt harm.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... A real tennis court has been rejected at Eton College after an inspector found no very special circumstances to outweigh objections to inappropriate development in the metropolitan green belt. The council and the appellants accepted that...

Casebook: Appeal case - Energy development - Wind farm blocked on need and landscape grounds.
October 3, 2006... A community wind farm comprising four turbines has been rejected at a site in south Wales following a ruling that it was not needed and would harm the landscape. The turbines would each have a height to blade tip of 100m and a combined...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - Country house ruled out at disused sewage works.
October 3, 2006... The redevelopment of a former sewage works in the Sussex countryside for a home with a total floor area of 1,200m2 has been rejected on the grounds that it would have a harmful impact on highway safety and the area's character and appearance....

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - High-density redevelopment permitted at mill.
October 3, 2006... The secretary of state has allowed an appeal for 184 residential units on the site of a working mill in Hampshire after concluding that a financial contribution offered by the appellants towards affordable housing and recreational facilities...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - Former mill site found to have reverted to nature.
October 3, 2006... An inspector has refused to grant permission for a housing development on land associated with a former textile mill in West Yorkshire after deciding that most of the site was greenfield. The council and appellants agreed that the land had...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - New-build replacement secured for converted barn.
October 3, 2006... An inspector has granted planning permission for the retention of a four-bedroom house at a Staffordshire farm, concluding that it was not materially different from a previous building on the site. The council had granted planning...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - Pub loss justified by history of crime and disorder.
October 3, 2006... Plans to replace a vacant pub in Northamptonshire with two blocks of flats have been approved by an inspector who concluded that the facility was unlikely to reopen due to difficulties in attracting a landlord. The pub was located on a...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - Restraint policy prevails on mill site development.
October 3, 2006... The redevelopment of reservoirs and filters beds associated with a mill in Greater Manchester for residential purposes has been turned down in line with council claims that there was no need to release the land. The unitary development plan...

Casebook: Appeal case - Householder development - Permission required for dormer on private road.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... An inspector has refused to issue a lawful development certificate confirming that the insertion of a dormer window at a house in Hertfordshire would constitute permitted development after deciding that it fronted a highway. The property...

Casebook: Appeal case - Leisure and entertainment - Screening held adequate to obscure forest cabins.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... A proposal for ten timber cabins at a site in the National Forest in Leicestershire has been allowed following a ruling that they would not harm the countryside's character and appearance. The site lay in an area of opencast extraction,...

Casebook: Appeal case - Mixed use development - Mixed-use scheme overcomes policy conflicts.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... The secretary of state has accepted an inspector's recommendation to grant planning permission for a development in south-east London comprising offices, light industrial and distribution uses, a 102-bed hotel and 226 residential units. ...

Casebook: Appeal case - Mixed use development - Community centre held too large and incongruous.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... A community centre including shops, a gym, offices, student accommodation and a library proposed next to a mosque in the West Midlands has been rejected because it would have an unacceptable impact on visual and residential amenity. The...

Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Car boot sales fail green belt policy requirements.
October 3, 2006... The use of fields associated with a farm in the Derbyshire green belt for car boot sales has been firmly rejected by an inspector who decided that it would materially affect the area's openness. The inspector accepted that the land could be...

Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Factory outlet kitchen centre secured at tyre depot.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... The change of use of a former tyre, exhaust and MOT test centre centre in a Nottinghamshire conservation area to a kitchen units and appliances factory outlet has been approved after an inspector ruled that it would not adversely affect the...

Casebook: Appeal case - Telecommunications - Phone mast ruled out after green belt objection.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... A proposal to site a 15m slimline telecommunications mast adjacent to a roundabout in County Durham has been rejected on the grounds that it would appear intrusive and out of character with the area. Although the area contained lighting...

Casebook: Appeal case - Waste management - Additional landfill judged to improve site form.
October 3, 2006... A proposal for additional tipping of non-inert waste at a landfill site in Gloucestershire has won support from an inspector who decided that it was compatible with green belt policy. The operational landfill site was constrained by areas...

Casebook: Court case - Housing decision on former school site held sound.
October 3, 2006... Persimmon Homes (North West) Ltd has failed in a High Court bid to overturn an inspector's decision to refuse planning permission for a housing development on a former school site in Skelmersdale, Lancashire. The company argued that the...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: new build - Obligation doubt reinforces land supply fear.
October 3, 2006... A proposal for 54 homes on part of a factory complex in Derbyshire has been rejected after an inspector determined that it would add to an over-supply. The appellants accepted that there was an over-supply of land for homes in the area but...

Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Net increase in sports provision sways reporter.
October 3, 2006... A reporter has allowed two appeals for a retail development on a sports field and the provision of sporting facilities elsewhere in a small town in central Scotland. The retail element comprised a 3,400m2 food store and a 930m2 non-food...

Casebook: Downloading decisions.
October 3, 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...

Ideal town hit by hard times.
October 3, 2006... Planners from Europe and the USA meeting in the Italian town of Sabbioneta found it a very appropriate venue for an exchange of views, reports Cliff Hague. Built between 1556 and 1591, the town of Sabbioneta today lies almost forgotten and...

Decentralising to cut waste.
October 3, 2006... Local energy systems help to improve efficiency and cut carbon emissions but they need further support, as Jim Footner explains. The current debate over the UK's energy future routinely overlooks one of the key causes of rising emissions,...

Salford spreads its renewal advantage.
October 3, 2006... With major regeneration planned in several wards Salford hopes to repeat its success in the central area, notes David Dewar. The residents of Coronation Street and the punters at the Rover's Return have until recently comprised the main...

Climate plan adapter.
October 3, 2006... Science champion Frances Cairncross sees battles ahead as planners, developers and the public face up to the impact of climate change, Catherine Early discovers. World leaders continue to squabble over how to cut carbon emissions and...

Global warming's bill causes reality check.
October 3, 2006... Sir Nicholas Stern, the economist commissioned by chancellor Gordon Brown to put a price tag on global warming, has a stark message this week - pay now or pick up one hell of a bill later. His report, the first serious study of the economics of...

Fyson on why inducements may be essential to deliver homes.
October 3, 2006... A new planning principle seems to have been adopted by the government. If it becomes established, it is bound to attract criticism. At the start of what could be a sequence of invitations to volunteering authorities, ministers first asked...

Study points out shop jobs renewal potential.
October 3, 2006... The retail industry could play a bigger role in regenerating rundown localities, reports Huw Morris. In America, it is called 'flipping burgers'. In the UK, it is derided as a McJob - poorly paid, low-prestige work that offers little hope...

Halman on the latest radical vision to change building control.(Gary Halman)
October 3, 2006... Leaving the office photocopier switched on overnight uses as much electricity as making 1,500 copies. Flying from London to Manchester generates 40 times as much carbon dioxide as taking the train. The energy input for the white paper on local...

White paper retains targets.(powers for city councils)
October 3, 2006... The white paper sets out a significant role for planners but it is still driven by targets, says Mark Smulian. A new municipal future or the last gasp of a fading prime minister? The local government white paper has certainly delivered...

Businesses lobby for greater detail.
October 3, 2006... Development plans must include site-specific information detailing where wind farms and major retail projects would be accepted, businesses urged last week. At the same time, planning authorities need tools to match their plans to market...

Ravenscraig plans gain lords' support.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Law lords have ruled that the planned redevelopment of the Ravenscraig steelworks site does not breach planning policy. They rejected an appeal by Land Securities and British Land Company arguing that the Scottish Executive had ignored...

Hotels feature in scheme for site in capital.
October 3, 2006... Two hotels are included in the latest proposals for a major brownfield site in Edinburgh city centre. Offices, shops and a health and leisure club are also being proposed for the site, a former goods yard next to the city's Haymarket...

Planning and environmental advice for an energy ..(SITA UK)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Planning and environmental advice for an energy from waste plant in Cornwall is to be provided by Terence O'Rourke. The plant, proposed by SITA UK, would handle household waste and reduce the amount sent to landfill. The consultancy will...

Town centre plan for Bodmin.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... A town centre plan for Bodmin will be published in February, setting the framework for future development to attract visitors and commercial investors. GVA Grimley will conduct surveys of residents and businesses in the town next month. The...

Development of the Orford Park Sport Village.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... The ongoing development of the Orford Park Sport Village will continue to be supported by consultancy PMP, which has been retained on the pounds 21 million project by Warrington Borough Council. The village is to be developed on a former...

Transport impacts of development in Adur.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... The transport impacts of development in Adur are to be examined by MVA Consultancy. The work will inform Adur District Council's preparation of its local development framework. MVA will use a model that it developed for similar projects in West...

Mansfield District Council retains Colin Buchanan.(Colin Buchanan and Partners)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Mansfield District Council has retained Colin Buchanan to review and update its town centre parking strategy. The original strategy was drawn up in 2002 following a previous study by the company on parking in the short, medium and longer terms....

Designs for a revamp of Swindon town centre.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Designs for a revamp of Swindon town centre are to be prepared by LDA Design and lighting designers Speirs and Major for the New Swindon Company. The aim is for Canal Walk and the Parade to evoke the canal that ran along the street 100 years...

TLT advises Triodos Renewables.
October 3, 2006... Law firm TLT has advised Triodos Renewables on the acquisition of Hainsford Group, a leading producer of onshore wind energy. Triodos Renewables, a fund managed by Triodos Bank, now has assets of pounds 35 million. It owns seven per cent of...

JMP Consulting on the move.
October 3, 2006... JMP Consulting has moved its London Docklands offices after outgrowing its previous premises. The company took up residence at 3 Harbour Exchange Square this week. The office employs 40 staff and the firm aims to increase this total to 60. JMP...

Reading strives to clear rail bottleneck.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) is seeking a meeting with the transport secretary over plans to remove a major bottleneck at Reading station. Regional transport board chairman Nick Skellett has already written to Douglas...

Local projects thwarted by two-tier government.
October 3, 2006... Manifold problems in the relationship between councils and central government blight local transport policies, MPs complained this week. Members of the Commons transport select committee said in the report that the 'impasse' between the two...

Residents angered by bypass consent.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... The controversial Tunstall northern bypass in north Staffordshire will go ahead with a government pledge of pounds 3.1 million. The bypass, which will link the A527 to the A50, A500 and M6, aims to relieve congestion in Tunstall town centre...

Protesters hand banners from bridges across the M1.
October 3, 2006... Protesters hung banners from bridges across the M1 this week to demonstrate against plans to create four lanes between junctions 10 to 13 and 21 to 42. The No Widening M1 Alliance wants the pounds 3.7 billion cost of the work to be invested in...

Surrey tunnel scheme set to ease pressure.
October 3, 2006... A scheme to build a tunnel under the Devil's Punch Bowl in Surrey will go ahead, the government confirmed last week. The twin-bore tunnel will replace the A3 trunk road at Hindhead around a site of special scientific interest. The pounds...

Council study aims to back crossing case.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... A pounds 100,000 study is set to examine the wider impact of heavy traffic travelling through Kent and Essex in a bid to support the case for a third Thames crossing. Around 1.7 million lorries pass through Dover's docks annually. Kent and...

Resident's action beats demolition.
October 3, 2006... Liverpool's Edge Lane project has hit further delays after a resident secured an eleventh-hour injunction to prevent hundreds of homes from being demolished. Elizabeth Pasco won the injunction after campaigning against plans to bulldoze...

Manchester backs housing upgrades.
October 3, 2006... More than 100ha in east Manchester will be transformed after the Miles Platting regeneration project gained council approval. The project features an upgrade of 1,500 council homes and the refurbishment of six high-rise blocks....

Moor revamp put forward in Sheffield plan.
October 3, 2006... Plans to redevelop the Moor area in Sheffield city centre have been submitted to the city council. The application, part of a wider regeneration framework backed by Sheffield City Council, is for a mixed-use development featuring retail...

Phase two of the Middlehaven development on Teeside.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Phase two of the Middlehaven development on Teesside has been backed by Middlesbrough Borough Council. The plan, by Tees Valley Regeneration, covers the central industrial area of the 32ha former docks site. It includes more than 500 homes,...

The Northern Way programme.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... More than pounds 4 million will be invested in works of art as part of a pounds 13 million cultural programme across the north, it was announced this week. The Northern Way programme will see major artworks positioned at key gateways. The...

Plans to transform surplus land.
October 3, 2006... Plans to transform surplus land at the Countess of Chester Hospital have moved a step closer after Morris Developments was chosen as preferred developer. English Partnerships hopes to build 200 homes at the 14ha site. The scheme also features...

Plans to revamp parts of Stoke-on-Trent city centre.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Plans to revamp parts of Stoke-on-Trent city centre were boosted this week after Countryside Properties was appointed lead development partner. The proposals, by Citybuild, cover the area between Wellington Street and Lichfield Street in...

Hull's historic Burnett House to be redeveloped.
October 3, 2006... Hull's historic Burnett House is to be redeveloped into 1,360m2 of office space after Langtree Group was appointed as preferred development partner. The building has already had its facade restored, its structure repaired and a new roof fitted....

Residential tower blocks in Westminster to get a facelift.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Six residential tower blocks in Westminster are to get a facelift after the city council approved a pounds 36 million programme of improvements last week. The 22-storey blocks on Harrow Road between Westway and the Grand Union Canal will...

Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design selected.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design has been selected to draw up an area action plan for Croydon town centre. Architects SMC Alsop will help the consultancy and the London Borough of Croydon to create a mixed-use community that could accommodate...

Five host borough for the London Oympic Games.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... The five host boroughs for the London Olympic Games have secured more than pounds 9 million from the London Development Agency to boost employment and training. The boroughs will use the money to advise local businesses on how to reap the...

Government pledges to replace soundness test.(statements of community involvement )(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Statements of community involvement (SCIs) will no longer need to be independently examined under plans in last week's local government white paper. The government wants to help councils draw up a 'comprehensive engagement strategy'. This...