Planning (UK) articles from September 2005

Planning (UK) archives from September 2005

Agenda.(Calendar)
September 2, 2005... DIARY TO 16 SEPTEMBER 7-12 September: Sustainable Energy. Organiser: Energy Saving Trust. Venues: London, Manchester and Exeter. Fee: Free. Details: (tel) 0845 120 7789. 12 September: How Transport Policy Can Save the World. Organiser:...

Trafalgar Square hit by flower power.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Londoners love Trafalgar Square. It is one of the capital's most popular meeting points. Within a matter of weeks it played host to the 2012 Olympic celebrations as well as a sombre silence to commemorate victims of the 7 July terror...

Counting down to a planning top ten.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... What is stored on your iPod? Do you listen to legends like The Beatles, The Who and the Rolling Stones, or are your tastes a little more obscure? Planning wants to probe planners' musical tastes and is looking to reveal its readers' top...

Appointment at Hampshire County Council.
September 2, 2005... Alan Tilly has moved to Hampshire County Council as team leader for transport policy. He has joined from Transportation Planning International and the Transport Research Laboratory. He was previously senior transport planner at Sandwell...

Appointment at Jones Lang LaSalle.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... David Brown joins Jones Lang LaSalle as director to lead the occupier projects team. He was previously at project management practice Trench Farrow. Alan Jeffrey will join from EC Harris to lead the small projects team, Richard Payne will join...

Appointment at i-Transport.
September 2, 2005... Emily Coombes has joined i-Transport as a consultant in its Basingstoke office, where she will work with the development planning department. Coombes moves from Atkins, where she was project manager in the firm's Winchester office.

Appointment at Law Society.(Simon Carter Appointed In Law Society)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Simon Carter, managing partner at law firm Aaron & Partners, has been appointed to the Law Society's planning and environmental law committee. Carter replaces Ian Kinloch, who served nine years on the committee. Carter joined Aaron & Partners...

Appointment at Adams Hendry Consulting.
September 2, 2005... Stephanie Dawson has been appointed senior planner at Adams Hendry Consulting. She recently moved from New Zealand, where she worked for local planning authorities in Auckland and Wellington. Joanne Golding also joins Adams Hendry on her...

Appointment at Faber Maunsell Transportation.
September 2, 2005... Johan Els has been appointed senior consultant to Faber Maunsell Transportation's Redhill office. Els previously worked at Biggin Hill as an airport planner. Richard Walker has joined the Edinburgh office as senior engineer.

Appointment at White Young Green.
September 2, 2005... Wendy Wright has joined White Young Green (WYG) as an associate. She previously worked for Sprunt helping to develop its landscape and urban regeneration team. She will head up WYG's Leeds-based design team.

Appointment at Lambert Smith Hampton.
September 2, 2005... Stephen Hemming has been appointed associate director in the development and planning team of Lambert Smith Hampton. He previously worked at Inventures, the property consultant arm of the NHS.

Appointment at Scott Brownrigg.
September 2, 2005... Christopher Tennant has been promoted to planning director at Scott Brownrigg. Hilary Goodban has been promoted to associate, while Ben Rogers has been made senior planner.

Appointment at Atkins.
September 2, 2005... Ian Charie will join Atkins as associate director to lead on its urban regeneration work in the Thames Gateway. He joins from the URS Corporation, where he was principal of development planning.

Why stand in the next round of elections?
September 2, 2005... RTPI members should become more involved with the governance of the institute, as Chris Shepley explains. There are probably a lot of reasons why people do not get involved with the RTPI. These can include: - An unwillingness of...

RTPI Bulletin Board.(Royal Town Planning Institute )
September 2, 2005... PRESIDENT VISITS THE EAST OF ENGLAND BRANCH At the end of June, RTPI president Ron Tate visited the East of England branch. First he toured Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth before visiting Broadland District Council where he met strategic...

Forging networks and spreading the message.
September 2, 2005... On 24 June a meeting was held to discuss the recently formed RTPI young planners network. Gary Ashby reports. The RTPI young planners network meeting took place at Botolph Lane. It involved the young planners network steering group and...

Bulletin Board.
September 2, 2005... YOUNG PLANNERS CONFERENCE: BELFAST The highlight of the young planner's year, the annual conference will be held in Belfast this year and looks as though it will be the best yet. The conference will run from 1pm on Friday 4 until 2pm...

RTPI - The Futures Forum: analysing the potential of emerging trends.
September 2, 2005... Futures thinking must be focused, informed and robust if it is to yield practical insights, says Natalie Kirschberg-Back. Thinking about the future is an important tool that can be used to improve decision-making in any organisation,...

Casebook: Appeal case - Noise and visual impact put paid to harbourside catering.
September 2, 2005... A reporter has rejected an appeal for a restaurant and public house on an exposed site overlooking the Firth of Forth to the south of Dunfermline after concluding that it would give rise to unacceptable levels of noise and disturbance. The...

Casebook: Appeal case - Advertisements - Trailer signs held harmful to safety and amenity.
September 2, 2005... Banner signs on an A-frame trailer in a field adjacent to a motorway junction in East Yorkshire have been rejected on the grounds that they would be against the interests of public safety and amenity. The banners were to measure 6m by 3m...

Casebook: Appeal case - Commercial and industrial - Gateway plans approved subject to road deal.
September 2, 2005... The deputy prime minister has indicated that he is minded to grant planning permission for the redevelopment of the former Shell Haven oil refinery in Essex, subject to agreement being reached on improvements to the highway network. The...

Casebook: Appeal case - Commercial and industrial - Traffic impact on amenity halts recycling plant.
September 2, 2005... The change of use of a commercial and industrial site in the West Midlands to a vehicle scrap and recycling plant has been rejected, primarily because it would harm neighbours' amenity due to traffic noise and disturbance. The application...

Casebook: Appeal case - Energy development - Wind farm landscape impact held acceptable.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A scheme promoted by EDF Energy for four wind turbines in County Durham has won support from an inspector who decided that the landscape was capable of assimilating the tall structures. The appellants proposed that each 1.3MW turbine would...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: New build - Flats judged to show high standard of design.(the construction of apartments at a former pub site has been accepted)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The redevelopment of a pub site in Cheltenham to include 21 flats in two blocks has been allowed after an inspector agreed that it represented a high standard of design and would not harm sustainable development objectives. The proposal...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: New build - Country home fails to secure policy exemption.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Proposals for a substantial house in the Northamptonshire countryside have been dismissed after an inspector decided that the details submitted in support of the scheme did not demonstrate that it would be of exceptional quality. The site...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: New build - Homes found premature on employment land.
September 2, 2005... An inspector has rejected local authority appeals that a factory site in Essex should be retained for employment purposes but decided that residential development on should be refused due to conflict with housing policy. One appeal...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: New build - Redevelopment let down by frontage parking.(a proposal for building 21 apartments on the site of a service station has been rejected)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The redevelopment of a former service station adjacent to a Cheltenham housing conservation area has been rejected after an inspector decided that parking spaces along the front of the site would undermine the character of the area. The...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: New build - Contemporary replacement held in keeping.
September 2, 2005... Plans for a house in Cornwall to replace a fire-damaged property have been allowed after an inspector decided that the contemporary design would be appropriate to the area. The site occupied an isolated position overlooking the Camel...

Casebook: Appeal case - Householder development - Raised patio ruled not to be permitted development.
September 2, 2005... An inspector has refused to issue a lawful development certificate for the raising of the level of a patio and an extension to a verandah at a bungalow on a sloping site in Middlesex after concluding that the works were not permitted...

Casebook: Appeal case - Leisure and entertainment - Pavilion ruled essential facility in green belt.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... An enforcement notice directed against a tennis pavilion outside the curtilage of a house in West Yorkshire has been quashed after an inspector found that it was appropriate development in the green belt and did not harm the character and...

Casebook: Appeal case - Minerals development - County thwarted in bid to prescribe material use.
September 2, 2005... An inspector has quashed an enforcement notice issued by Kent County Council requiring a company to stop extracting sand and gravel from a 10.6ha site after ruling that the operation fell within the scope of a planning permission granted in...

Casebook: Appeal case - Mixed use development - Log sales at farm judged to harm rural area.
September 2, 2005... An enforcement notice directed against the change of use of farmland in Berkshire to a mixture of agriculture and forestry as well as the importation, storage and sale of logs and Christmas trees has been upheld, following findings that it...

Casebook: Appeal case - Retail development - Store extension makes need and sequential case.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The deputy prime minister has accepted a call-in inquiry inspector's view that permission should be granted for an extension to an out-of-centre Asda store in Somerset, concluding that there was a need for the development and a lack of...

Casebook: Appeal case - Telecommunications - Mast judged to have neutral impact on locality.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... An enforcement notice directed against a telecommunications mast in Liverpool has been quashed following a ruling that it is not harmful to the character and appearance of the locality or the setting of an entrance to a country park. The...

Casebook: Court case - Enforcement decision challenge held hopeless.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A Berkshire householder has failed in a High Court bid to overturn an enforcement notice requiring him to remove extensions at his property after a judge held that he did not have an arguable case. Planning permission had been granted by...

Casebook: Appeal case - Food and drink uses - Fast food restaurant secured at filling station.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The construction of a fast food restaurant at a former petrol filling station in Greater Manchester has been permitted in the face of council attempts to direct it to a district centre. The site featured a sales building, forecourt and...

Casebook: Appeal case - Housing: Conversion - Church apartment scheme let down by design.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The residential conversion of a grade II listed former church last used as a youth club in Torquay's harbourside conservation area has been rejected after an inspector expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed design. The appellant...

Casebook: Downloading decisions.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Decision letters for all cases with a DCS reference number can be immediately downloaded from the DCS website for pounds 12 + VAT per case. Readers without a free entry code can apply through the site. The site may also be used to browse...

Casebook: Appeal case - Listed buildings - Works held necessary to preserve listed castle.
September 2, 2005... The Welsh Assembly Government has granted listed building consent for works to Margam Castle in south Wales after concluding that it would ensure the long-term future of the building. The scheme involved internal alterations to create a...

Casebook: Appeal case - Mixed use development - Mill redevelopment held to undermine setting.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The deputy prime minister has accepted an inspector's advice to refuse planning permission and listed building consent for the conversion of textile mills and other buildings in Derbyshire, concluding that the scheme would lead to an...

How to utilise your keyboard.
September 2, 2005... Harnessing the potential of the internet is equally as important for planning practice as it is for sports updates, as Cliff Hague explains with the help of a typical office exchange. 'Good morning, Debbie. Are you e-mailing again? In the...

Reassessing flood checks at Boscastle.
September 2, 2005... The Boscastle clear-up is nearing completion but the debate over how to successfully reduce the threat of flooding in the future rages on, says Susanna Gillman. The torrential flood waters may have gone, but the dramatic images of cars and...

Regeneration doyen.
September 2, 2005... The renewal of our urban centres must begin with local knowledge and deliver a multidisciplinary approach, GVA Grimley's Gerry Hughes tells Susanna Gillman. For Gerry Hughes, urban regeneration is not just about physical renewal but also...

Agency raises doubt over ownership push.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Investment, stability, security and status. These are some of the real benefits that sink in when you buy your first home. They can really transform your outlook on life. That is why the level of homeownership in the UK has been rising...

Fyson on: A missed chance to promote home energy provision.
September 2, 2005... According to deputy prime minister John Prescott, the nine finalists in the Design for Manufacture competition had to 'defy the sceptics' to create high-quality houses costing just pounds 60,000 to construct. The nine now go to the final...

Legislation puts paid to inland water swimming.
September 2, 2005... Swimming in lakes and rivers should be encouraged rather than banned, says Jean Perraton. When country parks were first created, it was envisaged that they would cater for bathing among a wide range of outdoor activities. Over the...

Salter on: Creating credible visions for our towns and cities.
September 2, 2005... Superhuman is so yesterday. Or so it would seem from the latest Nike advertising campaign, which sees the pert butts and bulging pecs of sports personalities replaced by everyday bottoms and scabby knees. Heaven forbid that this giant of...

Revised PPS9 splits opinion.(Planning Policy Statement 9)
September 2, 2005... The finalised PPS9 aims to promote a positive approach to biodiversity, reports Catherine Early. The government has given itself the hefty task of halting biodiversity loss in the UK by 2010. It promises that its latest tool, PPS9, will ensure...

Power cables risk wind farm delays.
September 2, 2005... The development of Europe's largest wind farm may be delayed after Highland Council claimed that an earlier decision on the Isle of Lewis scheme could breach planning law. The local authority is urging ministers to postpone any further...

Names requested for Glasgow bridge.(Competition For Naming The Bridge)
September 2, 2005... A competition will be held to name a bridge that will form a centrepiece of Glasgow's riverfront redevelopment. The pedestrian crossing, which is shaped like the bow of a boat, is due to be finished in 2007. It will link the financial...

Lothian depot waits on third plan outcome.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A third attempt is being made to develop a site that is regarded by many citizens as one of Edinburgh's worst eyesores. Two applications by house builder Wimpey for homes on the site of the former Lothian bus depot in Shrub Place have...

Planning's ninth annual consultancy survey is under way.
September 2, 2005... Planning's ninth annual consultancy survey is under way. If you have not yet received a form and would like to participate, please contact Lars Jespersen (e-mail) ljespersen@camarguepr.com stating whether you would like the form to be sent by...

Study commissioned by the Northern Way.(GVA Grimley examining the future housing)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... GVA Grimley is set to examine different approaches to specifying the level and distribution of future housing across three northern regions. The study has been commissioned by the Northern Way sustainable communities team. It will assess how...

A development framework for areas of Motherwell.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A development framework for the Park Street and Scott Street areas of Motherwell is to be prepared by Urban Initiatives for North Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire. The firm, working with Turner and Townsend, Lambert Smith...

A study of cycle-friendly routes in Ireland.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A nationwide study to identify a 2,500km signed network of cycle-friendly routes in Ireland is to be carried out by Colin Buchanan. The project, for national tourism development authority Failte Ireland, aims to publicise the country as a...

A design guide for streetscapes in the London Borough of Southwark.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A design guide for streetscapes in the London Borough of Southwark is being developed by Mouchel Parkman's urban design division. It will advise the council on planning street appearance, all aspects of the public realm and traffic and highway...

Drivers Jonas is to manage the Museum of London project.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Drivers Jonas is to manage the Museum of London's pounds 18 million Capital City project. The scheme will transform the lower-floor galleries with fresh displays. A glass-fronted gallery will be created to display the lord mayor's coach, which...

Building Design Partnership to help Serco Group.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Building Design Partnership will help Serco Group on the design aspects of a pounds 400 million contract to provide new and refurbished laboratory and office accommodation for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. Serco, which is the...

Denton Wilde Sapte's planning and public law team appointed.
September 2, 2005... Denton Wilde Sapte's planning and public law team has been appointed to the legal panel of residential builder Crest Nicholson. The firm will advise on a wide range of planning, property and contaminated land issues. The appointment follows...

Liverpool road competes with hospital.
September 2, 2005... A pounds 12 million road scheme proposed on the same site as a new hospital could face a public inquiry, it emerged last week. The 250m road proposal is backed by Liverpool City Council, which wants better links to the city centre from the...

Lobby group demands tighter advert controls.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Tighter controls on roadside advertising could be on the way with the ODPM planning a consultation on regulations later in the year, Planning has learnt. The ODPM is working with the Local Government Association and the Planning Officers...

Work begins in countdown to Olympics.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The start of preparatory work on London's 2012 Olympics transport schemes has been ordered by mayor Ken Livingstone. Last week Livingstone granted permission to Transport for London (TfL) to carry out site clearance, demolition and...

Green car use sparks street sockets study.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The possibility of on-street charging points for electric cars is to be investigated by the London Borough of Barnet. The move follows calls for the council to install sockets on the pavement or allow residents to run cables under paving...

Agency offers carrots to cut overcrowding.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Birmingham train passengers will be offered incentives to travel off-peak to help ease overcrowding, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority (WMPTA) announced last week. The move follows a Strategic Rail Authority proposal to...

Watchdog slates Sandwell renewal.
September 2, 2005... Plans for a site that aims to be a catalyst for regeneration in Birmingham and Sandwell's housing market renewal (HMR) area have been slammed by the government's design watchdog. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment...

Road ruling boosts project in Leicester.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The development of a business quarter in Leicester is set to move forward after plans to move a major road were discarded. The proposal to move the ring road around the railway station was part of original plans to provide an uninterrupted...

Relocation to make way for riverside plan.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Proposals for the multi-million pound renewal of the River Nene's south bank in Peterborough are progressing after plans were submitted to relocate two major retail stores last week. Under the scheme, B&Q and Matalan will move from East...

Plans for a modern business park given the green light.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Plans for a modern business park on a former colliery site near Dinnington, South Yorkshire, have been given the green light. Entec produced the masterplan and a landscape framework for the project, one of the biggest colliery regeneration...

Plans to help regenerate Millom given kick-start.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Plans to help regenerate Millom in Cumbria and its surrounding area have been given a kick-start after pounds 1 million was secured from the Northwest Development Agency. The investment in the Millom and Haverigg Economic Development Group will...

Funds for former Chatterley Whitfield colliery site.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Efforts to transform 50ha of spoil heaps on the former Chatterley Whitfield colliery site in Stoke-on-Trent into parkland have received a pounds 14 million funding boost. Money from the national coalfields programme will be spent on reclaiming...

Plans submitted for the Longbridge Technology Park.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Detailed plans for the 23ha Longbridge Technology Park, which is being created on part of the former MG Rover site, have been submitted by St Modwen Developments Ltd and Advantage West Midlands. In the first phase, two buildings totalling...

Plans for Leeds city centre given go-ahead.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A pounds 100 million development in the eastern sector of Leeds city centre has been given the go-ahead by the city council. The Caddick Developments scheme seeks to convert the Quarry Hill area, once the site of Europe's biggest social housing...

Cardiff County Council chooses Lovell.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Cardiff County Council has chosen specialist Lovell for the pounds 1.1 million second phase of a major regeneration programme at the St Mellons estate in Cardiff. Lovell, which worked on the first phase of the estate's renewal programme, has...

Plans submitted for mixed-use skyscraper with helipad in Birmingham.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A 39-storey mixed-use skyscraper with helipad is due to be developed in Birmingham's Broad Street. Richardson Cordwell has submitted plans to redevelop the site to include 1,858m2 of retail and leisure space, a 150-bedroom hotel, 350 flats and...

Institutes rally to support regeneration.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Leading professional institutes in Wales joined forces this week to call for a greater co-ordination of regeneration efforts. Following a Wales Audit Office report last month that called for a clearer and simpler approach to renewal, the...

Charity calls for better balance in home policy.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The government should pursue a more balanced housing strategy that concentrates on providing an adequate supply of affordable homes as well as promoting homeownership, campaigners demanded this week. The call was made by Shelter after...

Government unveils funding recipients.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A civic hub for Corby, transport improvements in Cambridgeshire and an overhaul of a goods yard in Hertfordshire are among the key beneficiaries of a provisional government funding announcement made last week. The pounds 200 million growth...

Westminster aims to boost visitor figures.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The transformation of Leicester Square and the renewal of Chinatown form key parts of a package for the recovery of London's West End launched by Westminster City Council last week. Council leader Simon Milton announced a ten-point plan to...

Scottish town centres policy draft released.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Updated guidance on town centre policy was published for public consultation by the Scottish Executive last week. Draft SPP8 aims to highlight the role of a range of land uses in promoting town centres. It insists that town centres are the...

Research attacks location handicap.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Where someone lives is often a more important factor in influencing what type of job they do than their qualifications, according to latest research. A study published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this week found that the UK is...

Developer shocked by second rebuttal.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... The developer behind plans to build Liverpool's tallest tower is to launch another appeal after a second rejection of its proposals. Maro Developments had submitted fresh plans for a 51-storey tower at Brunswick Quay after an initial...

Council starts final action to end Bluestone.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A final attempt to scupper the Bluestone holiday village in Pembrokeshire was launched by the Council for National Parks last week. The campaign group submitted a petition with the House of Lords asking it to hear a final appeal on whether...

Major study to examine the environmental impacts of harnessing energy.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... A major study to examine the environmental impacts of harnessing energy from Scotland's marine environment has been commissioned by the Scottish Executive. Focusing on the west coast, the Orkney and Shetland islands and Pentland Firth, Faber...

Proposals for leisure development in Southend-on-Sea.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2005... Proposals for a pounds 70 million leisure development in Southend-on-Sea have been submitted to the borough council in a bid to improve the town as a holiday destination. Atkins has worked with Dedman Planning and Regeneration to prepare...