Planning (UK) articles from October 2008

Planning (UK) archives from October 2008

Planning in the media.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... The Conservative Party's proposal for a high-speed rail line instead of a third runway at Heathrow Airport has reignited the transport debate but may not be as green as it appears on first sight, said Christian Wolmar on Guardian.co.uk. ...

Diary.(Diary entry)
October 3, 2008... Ken Livingstone was a pizza man, Boris Johnson prefers doughnuts These insights are not about the fast food philosophy of London mayors but their vision for the capital's suburbs, revealed in an exhibition on the areas' past and future. ...

Appointment at Capita Symonds.
October 3, 2008... Huw Evans has left Flintshire County Council, where he was chief planning services officer, to join Capita Symonds to lead its new planning team at Colwyn Bay

Appointment at JMP.
October 3, 2008... JMP has recruited Chris Sibthorpe as an associate director to manage the transport planning team in its London Docklands office. He was previously a managing consultant at Atkins and specialises in strategic transport studies, development...

Appointment at EDAW.
October 3, 2008... EDAW has brought in Keith Thomas as a senior director charged with establishing a regional office in Cardiff serving Wales and the South West. He moves from DTZ

Appointment at Indigo Planning.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Clare Bland has been promoted to associate director at Indigo Planning. She moves to its London West End office, where Kevin Watson has also been made an associate. In Manchester, Andrew Laing joins as an associate from Persimmon Homes and...

Appointment at DPP.
October 3, 2008... Alicia Mather has joined DPP's planning and retail team in London as an associate partner. She was previously an associate director at GL Hearn

Appointment at CSJ Planning.
October 3, 2008... Graduate Debra Harrison has joined CSJ Planning's Bristol team following a six-week agency project with the practice. She graduated from the University of the West of England this summer with an MA in planning

Appointment at Shared Intelligence.
October 3, 2008... Shared Intelligence has appointed Phil Swann as programme director for leadership and governance. He joins from the Tavistock Institute, where he served as director. Swann was editor of Planning from 1980 to 1983

Workplace service offers support in uncertain times.
October 3, 2008... Consultants can call on institute advice to help them ride out the economic storm, writes Chris Sheridan. The CBI estimates that by the end of September the economy will have shrunk by 0.2 per cent over the third quarter of the year, with a...

Events.(Calendar)
October 3, 2008... - Support development management planners' new role The development management network has teamed up with RTPI Cymru and the Planning Officers Society for Wales to provide regular continuing professional development events for Welsh...

Levy lacks detail on community role.(statements of community involvement)
October 3, 2008... Clearer explanation is needed of the public's involvement in deciding how infrastructure levy contributions are spent, argues Barry Pearce. When the government first promoted community involvement in the new spatial planning system in 2004...

Sub-region strives to reconcile plan conflicts.(regional spatial strategy )
October 3, 2008... Experience in Cambridge highlights the difficulty of updating regional strategies to respond to homes growth demands, explains Adrian James. The planning profession is struggling to deliver the growth agenda in many parts of the UK because...

Cities show the way on delivering a sustainable spatial planning vision.(Conference news)
October 3, 2008... Council leaders at a Labour Party conference meeting demonstrated that they have picked up the challenge of climate change and are committed to competing to become the UK's greenest city, reports Janet O'Neill. I recall working in an...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Caravan use restricted to farming season.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... A claim by a mixed enterprise farm company in Norfolk that caravans for seasonal workers must be available at the site for nine months a year has been judged excessive. The council had issued an enforcement notice alleging that part of the...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Permaculture home size ruled excessive.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... The provision of a dwelling at a permaculture enterprise in Devon has been rejected after an inspector expressed concerns about the proposed size of the building. The dwelling would occupy 320m2 and was designed to be low in cost and...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Forestry claim rejected on green belt site.
October 3, 2008... The construction of a forestry building with a floor area of 167m2 has been held inappropriate and unjustified in a forest in the North Yorkshire green belt. The site benefited from a planning permission authorising the import and...

DC Casebook: Agricultural development - Fence permitted subject to landscaping.
October 3, 2008... After refusal last year of an appeal to retain a palisade fence at an East Sussex fruit farm, an inspector has decided that it has been made acceptable by moving it and planting shrubs and trees. The appellants had resited the fence around...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Wedding marquee ruled out in rural area.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Plans to install a marquee for wedding receptions within the curtilage of a house in Hampshire have been judged inappropriate in a rural location and contrary to sustainable development principles. The appellant explained that the marquee...

DC Casebook: Commercial and Industrial - Studio extension rejected in green belt.
October 3, 2008... An extension to a recording studio in the Bath green belt has been held unacceptably harmful by an inspector who decided that the benefit of river views to artists was insufficient justification. The scheme would lead to a 47 per cent...

DC Casebook: Community Facilities - Crematorium turned down in green belt.
October 3, 2008... The secretary of state has endorsed an inspector's recommendation that the qualitative benefits of a proposed crematorium in Cheshire would be insufficient to clearly outweigh harm to the green belt in the absence of a compelling quantitative...

DC Casebook: Energy Development - Turbine judged to harm conservation area.
October 3, 2008... A wind turbine has been turned down on the approaches to a Yorkshire village following an inspector's ruling that it would harm the setting of a conservation area. The inspector noted PPS22's advice that planning permission for such...

DC Casebook: Food and Drink Uses - Mobile snack bar wins temporary consent.
October 3, 2008... The owner of a mobile catering unit at a trade centre in Milton Keynes has secured temporary planning permission to retain the facility for another three years. The inspector found that the unit had a simple, sturdy appearance and saw no...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Destruction of planning records deplored.
October 3, 2008... An inspector has criticised a Devon council for shredding its historic planning documents following difficulties in deciding a claim that 19 flats can be built under a permission issued in 1974. The appellants claimed that the permission...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Dwelling bid failed on flood grounds only.
October 3, 2008... An inspector has dismissed a proposal to replace a mobile home on a travelling showman's site in Oxfordshire with a bungalow on the basis of flood risk, despite finding no conflict with the underlying aims of housing policies. The...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Habitat boost insufficient to justify home.
October 3, 2008... Two appellants have failed to win permission for a home and wildlife habitat on land in Bedfordshire after a ruling that wildlife benefits would not outweigh the presumption against the scheme. The appellants proposed to reinstate a pond...

DC Casebook: Housing: New Build - Bungalow rejected due to Gypsy site loss.
October 3, 2008... A proposal for a bungalow on part of a Gypsy caravan site in Surrey has been overruled out of concern that it would undermine the stock of sites for the travelling community. The site was occupied by a single-unit mobile home and two...

DC Casebook: Householder Development - Parking area undermines highways claim.
October 3, 2008... A Berkshire planning authority has failed to persuade an inspector to uphold an enforcement notice requiring the removal of a balcony that proved to be permitted development. The property comprised one of five terraced dwellings with low...

DC Casebook: Householder Development - Fencing ruled out in historic landscape.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... The retention of a fence and gates at a grade II* listed mansion in Devon has been denied permission following a ruling that they undermined the property's architectural and historic importance. The house had been converted into a number of...

DC Casebook: Householder Development - Thatched roof extension fails linear test.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... A plan for a two-storey thatched roof extension on a house in a conservation area in the New Forest national park has been refused on the basis that it did not respect the property's linear character. The proposal comprised an extension at...

DC Casebook: Householder Development - Access deemed disruptive in street scene.
October 3, 2008... Alterations to a listed building in a Shropshire conservation area to form a vehicular access have been rejected following a ruling that they would disrupt the pattern and rhythm of the street scene. The inspector observed that the strong...

DC Casebook: Leisure and Entertainment - Guest house disturbance fears rejected.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... An inspector has allowed the conversion of a dwelling on the Isles of Scilly into a small guest house despite council fears that it would harm the infrastructure supporting the local tourist industry. The property lay in a quiet area and...

DC Casebook: Mixed use Development - Education centre staff housing rejected.
October 3, 2008... An appellant has been refused permission for the conversion of a stable block and garage in Hertfordshire to form an environmental education centre with staff accommodation after failing to convince an inspector that the development was...

DC Casebook: Retail Development - Format fails to justify policy exemption.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... An inspector has dismissed plans for a building for storage and sale of home entertainment equipment in the West Midlands after finding that it would conflict with retail planning policy. The appellant explained that the business was...

DC Casebook: Retail Development - Replacement car wash found acceptable.
October 3, 2008... The demolition of a car wash at a food store in Essex and its replacement with a larger facility has been approved on the grounds that it would be appropriate to the character of the area. The car wash lay to the rear of a forecourt shop at...

DC Casebook: Waste Management - Waste site subject to revocation action.
October 3, 2008... The Environment Agency has won support from an inspector who agreed that a company is operating a waste transfer facility in south Wales in breach of the Waste Management Licence Regulations 1994. The agency had issued a licence in 2004...

DC Casebook: Next week.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... - Depository refused despite pressing need A proposed depository building for the Bodleian Library on an industrial estate in Oxford has been rejected because it would erode views of the city's historic core. DCS Number 100-057-775 -...

DC Casebook: In depth - Harm to historic parkland held to outweigh leisure scheme benefit.
October 3, 2008... A leisure development proposed in an area of historic parkland in County Durham has been rejected, an inspector concluding that its many advantages would not outweigh harm to the character and appearance of the countryside. The scheme...

DC Casebook: Householder development - Chimney held to harm quality of barn.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... An enforcement notice directed against a chimney on a residential barn conversion in Herefordshire has been upheld on the basis that it detracts from the building's rural character. The inspector noted that chimneys were not normally found...

DC Casebook: Householder development - Flat ruling blocks permitted rights claim.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... An inspector has declined to issue a lawful development certificate for a single-storey rear extension on a terraced property in east London after ruling that it is not permitted development. According to the council's calculations, the...

DC Casebook: Householder development - Mobile home fulfils caravan definition.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... An enforcement notice directed against a garden extension and caravan at a house in Devon has been quashed following findings that the latter constitutes permitted development and the former raises no policy conflict. The local planning...

DC Casebook: DC Forum.(General Permitted Development Order)
October 3, 2008... NEW QUERIES. Amendments to the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) 1995 came into force this week. I am seeking advice on the legality of conditions removing permitted development rights specifically referring to the 1995 order and...

How we did it ... Blackpool doubles up to defend future as resort.
October 3, 2008... Project: St Chad's, the first of a series of six public spaces on headlands created on top of Blackpool's new sea defences. Background: The town is engaged in a pounds 73 million project to replace its century-old sea defences and has taken...

The things I know.(Scottish Borders Council)(Interview)(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Beatrice Nichol, Assistant planning officer, Scottish Borders Council. - Where did you study planning? I took a fast-track masters in urban and regional planning at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. - What skills did you have...

Restoring order.
October 3, 2008... Details still need to be resolved but clarification of the rules surrounding householders' permitted development rights should free up time for planners, Adam Sheppard concludes. For householders and planners alike, the amended permitted...

Keys to the door.
October 3, 2008... Recent experience points to considerable opportunities for affordable housing schemes that do not rely heavily on public subsidy to make them stack up, suggests Mark Auchincloss. The UK faces an undisputed and acute shortage of affordable...

Urban design physician.
October 3, 2008... Architects can transform the way that cities look and work if they are prepared to set aside their personal prejudices and talk to the people, US design doyen Ray Gindroz tells Huw Morris. Howard Roark, the antihero of Ayn Rand's The...

Statistics should not blind us to failure to deal with rural housing.
October 3, 2008... Sometimes a statistic is sufficiently gigantic that so few people comprehend its scope and scale as to render it almost meaningless. The pounds 73 billion estimated cost of cleaning up the UK's nuclear plants is one such figure. Even more...

Fyson on ... why community cohesion is as important ..(Viewpoint essay)
October 3, 2008... Fyson on... why community cohesion is as important as health and pollution to the case for cutting car use. The government has a long-time commitment to improving the environment for cyclists and pedestrians. There are accepted health and...

Legal report - Eco-towns facing threat as opposition intensifies.
October 3, 2008... A cross between The Vicar of Dibley and Yes, Minister - this observation sums up the evolution of the eco-town concept. It is not that the proposals themselves are comical but rather that, apart from on decisions to engage in military...

Shepley on ... making time for school visit.(Planning Summer School in St Andrews )(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... I went along to the Planning Summer School in St Andrews last month. I had been asked to say a few words. That apart, it was as always marvellous. Several things stood out. One was the large number of people who said they agreed with my...

Brickbats and mortar.(Office of Fair Trading)
October 3, 2008... Planning procedures and performance are back in the firing line for slow housing delivery in an official report and there may be more criticisms to follow, explains Domenic Donatantonio. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT)'s latest judgement...

Airport postpones showground move.
October 3, 2008... Plans to relocate the Royal Highland Showground to make way for the pounds 265 million expansion of Edinburgh Airport could be delayed for at least seven years. Airport owner BAA, which was expected to take over the existing showground...

Plans lodged for city hotel.
October 3, 2008... A 220-bedroom hotel, restaurant, nightclub and business centre feature in plans for the derelict Cowgate site in Edinburgh's Old Town. Whiteburn Projects submitted an application to Edinburgh City Council last week and hopes that work can...

Revamped retail bid submitted in capital.
October 3, 2008... Long-awaited plans for the redevelopment of Edinburgh's St James shopping centre have been submitted to Edinburgh City Council. They include 250 homes, 90 shops and a rotunda-style hotel. There are also offices, a square and multi-level...

Online now ..
October 3, 2008... Visit PlanningResource.co.uk today to see whether councils can use developer contributions to speed up the planning process Also online The Olympics stadium after 2012 Interview with Croydon Council chief executive Jon Rouse Second opinion...

Planning stats.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... pounds 400m The amount set to be invested over the next four years in Weymouth and Portland, the venue for sailing events in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 695,735 Number of people waiting for an affordable home in the...

Teams join in freight work.
October 3, 2008... Steer Davies Gleave (SDG) is launching a logistics and supply chain consultancy service with Heriot-Watt University to offer advice to the freight industry. It will be led by SDG principal consultant Alan Somerville and the university's...

Disabled bay policy tested.
October 3, 2008... JMP has been commissioned by the London Borough of Enfield to carry out a strategic review of disabled people's parking bays. The work is in line with national level reforms by the DfT and includes a review of the processes used in...

Bidwells wins circuit boost.(Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit )(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Bidwells has secured planning permission for a pounds 15 million proposal to upgrade Snetterton motor racing track in Norfolk and develop a 12.5ha business park. The firm was appointed by track owner MotorSport Vision to advise on the...

Firm studies homes links.
October 3, 2008... Colin Buchanan has carried out a transport assessment on a planned housing development in South Oxfordshire to assess how it can be integrated with the local village. Commissioned by developers Linden Homes, the consultancy looked at how...

Downturn prompts public land deal call.(Local asset-backed vehicles)(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Local asset-backed vehicles (LABVs) are the best way to save regeneration projects during the credit crunch, according to CB Richard Ellis's public sector team. The firm believes that the vehicles should be set up by councils. The...

TEP selected for habitat audit in Wigan redevelopment drive.(Environmental consultancy TEP contracts with Wigan Council)(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Environmental consultancy TEP has been commissioned by Wigan Council to carry out a biodiversity audit across the whole borough. With many former coal mining areas in the borough earmarked for regeneration, the council wants to see how much...

Resort gains coastal cash.
October 3, 2008... Weymouth has been added to the list of UK coastal towns to benefit from a regeneration funding boost. The South West of England Regional Development Agency has promised to invest pounds 6.6 million in the town via its esplanade regeneration...

Newcastle plan agreed.
October 3, 2008... The masterplan for Science Central has been approved by Newcastle City Council's planning and transport strategy committee. The plan sets the framework for a mixed-use, science-related development on the 7.6ha Gallowgate brewery site in the...

Town centre site secured.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Bracknell's pounds 750 million regeneration is moving forwards after the secretary of state confirmed a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the town centre site. The mixed-use project will provide 56,000m2 of retail space, 15,000m2 of...

Barnet signs home development agreement.(Barratt Homes contracts with London Borough of Barnet )(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... A major north London regeneration scheme can begin after the London Borough of Barnet signed an agreement with the developers. Barratt Homes will now seek planning consent for the pounds 230 million Stonegrove and Spur Road scheme in...

Coventry consults on centre redesign.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Coventry City Council has unveiled a pounds 1 billion masterplan for the regeneration of its city centre. The authority drafted in US architects the Jerde Partnership to draw up the plan. It is now out for a second stage of consultation....

Tory runway block slated.
October 3, 2008... A Tory plan to scrap a third runway at Heathrow Airport in favour of high-speed rail would not meet rising travel demand, transport secretary Ruth Kelly has said. Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers told the Conservative Party...

Group steps up road fight.(Campaigners against Heysham-M6 link road consider congestion relief measures)(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Campaigners against the controversial Heysham-M6 link road have renewed their call for Lancashire County Council to consider congestion relief measures instead. Transport Solutions for Lancaster and Morecambe (TSLM) wrote to councillors...

Government bids to keep planes out of green target.
October 3, 2008... The government is lobbying for aviation to be excluded from EU targets for the proposed renewable energy directive, it has emerged. Under the draft, Europe would have to supply 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. The...

Network Rail unveils strategy to expand service in Yorkshire.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Plans to enhance rail provision in the Yorkshire and Humber region include two new stations. Network Rail unveiled proposals this week that include possible stations at Kirkstall Forge and Apperley Bridge between Leeds and Shipley. ...

Tidal energy sites in view.
October 3, 2008... The world's largest tidal energy scheme could be built in British waters, it was announced this week. Scottish Power is considering two sites off Scotland and one off Northern Ireland for the installation of 60 underwater turbines. These...

Councils told to cut carbon.(zero waste policy )(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Councils are being challenged to set carbon reduction targets through their local development frameworks. At an energy event at the Tory conference in Birmingham, Friends of the Earth (FoE) said authorities have capacity to set such...

Agency calls for coal limit.
October 3, 2008... No new coal-fired power stations should be built unless they can be fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, the Environment Agency has warned. In its response to DBERR consultation on CCS, which closed last week, the...

Scrutiny duty lined up on marine policy.(Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs evaluates marine policy statement)(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... The government has agreed to subject the forthcoming marine policy statement (MPS) to a similar parliamentary scrutiny as national policy statements. In its response to a parliamentary committee report on the draft marine bill, DEFRA said...

Consultation opens on plan for tallest onshore wind turbines.
October 3, 2008... Public consultation started last week on proposals for the tallest onshore wind turbines in the UK. The npower renewables scheme would install 65 turbines of 137m in height on 2,000ha of hillside near the Snowdonia national park. The...

Campaigners seek rural homes action.(National Housing Federation )(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Housing and countryside campaigners have called on the government to publish a clear timetable for responding to recommendations to ease the rural homes crisis. The National Housing Federation and Campaign to Protect Rural England urged...

Student residence rule change recommendations challenged.(Use Classes Order 1987)(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Property industry experts have cautioned against changing planning rules to prevent the 'studentification' of university towns. The government is considering changing the Use Classes Order 1987 to control the distribution of houses in...

Scots store plan called in.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... Developers behind a project to bring the first Sainsbury's store to the Highlands have vowed to fight on despite a decision by Scottish ministers to call it in. Pettifer Estates remains determined to develop the supermarket with a second...

Agenda.(Brief article)(Calendar)
October 3, 2008... 14 October: Current Planning Issues - A Conference for Councillors Organiser: RTPI Venue: Cambridge Cost: pounds 110 + VAT Details: 01359 233408 14 October: Urban Design - The Art of Making Successful Places Organiser: RTPI...

Tories bid to boost public engagement.
October 3, 2008... The Tories pledged to give communities more say in planning decisions under proposals to shake up the system at their conference in Birmingham this week. Shadow planning minister Jacqui Lait told a debate on eco-towns that the party would...

Design chief role floated.(Brief article)
October 3, 2008... A Tory government would appoint a chief architect to prepare a joined-up strategy on design, the shadow culture secretary advocated at the party's conference. At the Urban Hub design event, Ed Vaizey slammed developers and house builders...

Gain pledge aims for community benefit.
October 3, 2008... A Conservative administration would encourage development by reforming section 106 rules, shadow housing minister Grant Shapps told the party's conference. 'Current planning law favours development while offering existing communities...