The Planner June 2020

JUNE 2020 HOMES TARGETS MISSED // p.4 • A ROOT AND BRANCH REVIEW // p.7 • PARAGRAPH 79’S SHORTCOMINGS // p.24 • CASE STUDY: MARMALADE LANE // p.28 • TECH LANDSCAPE: TRACKING SOCIAL HOUSING // p.33 • NATIONS & REGIONS: IRELAND // p.36

T H E B U S I N ES S M O N T H LY FO R P L A N N I N G P R O F ES S IO N A LS

N

Path to we ll

be

ing

Local food production

o C on ta ct C lo

r r- f

ee

Dr

ive

Co

vid

Clo

se

se

Ca

Rec

ove

ry

Ro

ad

Clea

Resilient homes

B re

ath

e-e

Str asy

Av e n u e n Air

How will coronavirus change planning?

Local employment

eet

Cy

cl

e

of

im

pr

ov

Loc

em

ent

Exe

kdo

wn

Lan

e

rc i s e G a rd e n s

w I s o l a t i o n ro

ay le w ubt

ab

Riv

er

of

do

W

alk

Room to roam

Bik

1 Cover_June 2020_The Planner 1

a eP

rad

e

13/05/2020 15:47

p02_PLN.JUNE20.indd 2

04/05/2020 13:55

CONTENTS

JU NE

06 NEWS 4 Government’s housing targets lie in tatters 6 Co-housing scheme wins RTPI Silver Jubilee Cup

18

8 Root and branch reviewed

OPINION

9 Bradford adopts design guide

14 Louise BrookeSmith: Are we the Goodies in this episode?

10 Cardiff gasworks site bought for major housing scheme 11 £700m funding for NI infrastructure, regeneration and tourism 12 PINS details legal compliance concerns about St Albans plan

15

16 Emma El Deen Luke: The RTPI must empower BAME planners 16 Chris Bryson: It’s time for technology in the NI planning system 17 Lucinda Rogers: Democracy shouldn’t suffer just because the show must go on 17 Ben Kite: No shortcuts: Restarting outdoor work amid the risk of Covid-19

QUOTE UNQUOTE

“RECOVERY RY AND TRANSFORMATION NEEDS TO CONSIDER LOCAL AUTHORITIES PLAYING A GREATER PART IN THE TOWN CENTRE ECONOMY THROUGH REFRESHED VISIONS” JONATHAN BOWER OF WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON ON HOW LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN REVITALISE HIGH STREETS POST COVID 19

20 20

“THERE’S BEEN A PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGE IN THE WAY IN WHICH WE SEE OUR HOME. IT’S BOTH A LITERAL PHYSICAL SHELTER BUT ALSO A MENTAL SHELTER”

C OV E R I L L U S T R AT I O N | M I K E H A L L

FEATURES

INSIGHT 33 Tech Landscape: An app to monitor affordable housing during its lifetime has won the 2020 RTPI Award for Excellence in Tech within Planning Practice. Simon Wicks finds out how it works

18 How will the coronavirus affect the way we plan, and the things we plan for? The first of three articles takes a look at housing and public realm 24 Paragraph 79 was intended to champion design and innovation.

But has its imprecise wording created a ‘planning no man’s land’? asks Matt Moody 28 Cambridge’s Marmalade Lane scheme was victorious at the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence. Martin Read looks at how the project came to fruition

33

14

36 Nations & Regions: Ireland 38 Cases & decisions: Development decisions, round-up and analysis 42 Legal Landscape: Opinions, blogs and news from the legal side of planning 44 RTPI round-up: News and interviews from the institute 50 What to read, what to watch and how to keep in touch

26 J U NE 2 020 / THE PLA NNER

3 Contents_June 2020_The Planner 3

3

13/05/2020 15:49

NEWS

Report { COVID­19 AND HOUSING

Government’s housing targets lie in tatters

KEY STATISTICS

300,000

The government’s annual target for new homes

Covid-19 will shatter government housing delivery targets and require further planning reforms to kickstart development, says Huw Morris

244,000

Pete Redfern’s company was the first policy and operations facing reform. major homebuilder to close its building Two significant studies point to the sites in the wake of the Covid-19 extent of the crisis. The first, by Knight pandemic. Although construction was a Frank, warns that private housing delivery permitted activity by the government, the in 2020 will be lower than in the years chief executive of Taylor Wimpey says: “It after the global financial crash of 2007was essential to be confident that we could 09. The knock-on effect of the Covid-19 modify our working practices to adhere to lockdown will mean 56,000 fewer homes strict social distancing and this required delivered this year, a fall of 35 per cent. time and careful planning.”

Nationally, the figure will be By early May the around 104,000 this year.

“THIS HAS CAST developer was one of the In London, new housing A DARK CLOUD first homebuilders to reopen will sink to its lowest point OVER THE sites, with Persimmon, since 2014, with 8,000 fewer CAPACITY FOR Barratt Developments, homes forecast compared HOUSEBUILDERS Vistry, Bellway, Lovell and with the five-year private TO DELIVER Redrow – a shot in the arm housing delivery average AT SCALE AND for a collapsing economy. of 14,405 completions – a SPEED” – Nevertheless, the government JUSTIN GAZE significant body blow to will face shock waves from the London mayor’s annual Covid-19 for the rest of its target of 55,000. The capital’s tenure, with its housing problems run deeper, targets in tatters and planning according to recent data from

The number of homes built last year, a post-financial crash high

160,000

The number of homes to be built in 2020/21 amid the Covid-19 crisis, as predicted by Barton Willmore

37,299

The number of build-to-rent homes in planning across London, a 10 per cent fall on last year, according to the British Property Federation

66%

The percentage of small and medium-sized building firms in Scotland expected to collapse within two or three months, according to the Federation of Master Builders Scotland

35%

The drop in the number of homes delivered this year predicted by Knight Frank

4

TH E PL AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

4-5 News_June 2020_The Planner 4

13/05/2020 09:27

PLAN UPFRONT

SCOTLAND’S PANDEMIC CRISIS

the British Property Federation. Its figures versus harm. “These policy changes should show that build to rent, one of the biggest also be set alongside measures to improve drivers of recent growth in the capital’s the financial support for local authority housing market, is running out of steam. planning departments, including the ringThe number of build-to-rent homes in fencing of pre-app and application fees to planning is 37,299, 10 per cent less than support their resourcing for decision and the 41,322 planned at the same point last plan-making functions.” year. Elsewhere in the country, the number The government’s review of the of build-to-rent homes in planning has standard methodology for calculating local increased by 41 per cent. housing need – promised this summer – Knight Frank’s research suggests that will be a priority, agree most observers, as construction had been suspended on will extending the help-to-buy scheme residential sites capable of delivering as demanded by developers. They also 250,000 homes across the UK. Some of want planning regulations relaxed to give these sites will include projects at different them greater flexibility on section 106 and stages of delivery over several years, but Community Infrastructure Levy payments. the lockdown’s impact will go on far Christopher Young of No5 Barristers beyond this year.

Chambers says: “Major Barton Willmore takes initiatives are required “NOW IS ALSO up this point. Its study in response and this is a THE TIME TO also predicts a “sizeable MAKE MAJOR AND perfect opportunity for the slowdown” in housing government to assist housing LONG OVERDUE delivery in 2020. Net delivery by funding a whole CHANGES TO THE additional homes will drop new wave of infrastructure NPPF TO SHOW A from last year’s post-financial proposals of all scales to COMMITMENT TO crisis high of 244,000 to ADDRESSING THE allow large sites to progress. around 160,000 in 2020/21 – “Now is also the time HOUSING CRISIS a fall of 84,000. to make major and long AND BOOSTING Delivery will stay at overdue changes to the NPPF HOUSING around 150,000 homes a to show a commitment DELIVERY” – year during the first half to addressing the housing CHRISTOPHER of the decade, hitting an crisis and boosting housing YOUNG “all-time low” of 140,000 delivery. Two main things are in 2023/24. At around half needed here: the government of the government’s annual must abandon the hopeless target of 300,000 new household projections, which homes, the government faces perpetuate the constant a “major political problem”, decline in household says Barton Willmore, as the next general formation ratios, and replace them with election must be held by December 2024. ambitious regional housing targets.”

Furthermore, completions will recover Whatever the policy changes, any in the second half of the 2020s, returning recovery will be slow, “not simply a case to around 240,000 homes annually in of flicking a switch back on”, according 2027/28. Only by 2029/30 is delivery to Knight Frank. “Faced with supply predicted to exceed the current level. chain challenges and a national material So what does this mean for planning? shortage, developers are under increasing Barton Willmore joint senior partner Mark pressure to adhere to tight social Sitch predicts significant government distancing controls, while also coping intervention, “akin to the 2012 National with an ever-dwindling availability of Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) skilled workers,” says head of residential following the last recession”. He prescribes development land Justin Gaze. a reinforcement of the presumption in “This has cast a dark cloud over the favour of sustainable development and the capacity for housebuilders to deliver at rebalancing of the weight given to benefits scale and speed.”

I M AG E | A L A M Y

4-5 News_June 2020_The Planner 5

The economic impact of the efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic could see gross domestic product fall by around a third, according to the Scottish Government’s chief economist Gary Gillespie. The predicted fall of around 33 per cent is in line with estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Construction is one of the most exposed sectors.

Federation of Master Builders Scotland warns that two-thirds of small and medium-sized firms will follow Central Building Contractors and collapse within two or three months.

Meanwhile, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland and Chartered Institute of Building have called on the Scottish Government to allow a gradual reopening of nonessential building sites within health and safety requirements as soon as possible.

Homes for Scotland chief executive Nicola Barclay says “we can, quite literally, build our way out of this” and the organisation is “working on a recovery plan which includes the core components necessary to kick-start homebuilding, including putting robust control measures in place to protect workers, home purchasers and tenants, as well as working across the sector to ensure everyone is ready to go as soon as we can”.

J U NE 2 020 / THE PLA NNER

5

13/05/2020 09:27

NEWS

Analysis { RTPI AWARDS FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE

Co-housing scheme wins RTPI Silver Jubilee Cup A co-housing scheme in Cambridge has been awarded the Silver Jubilee Cup at the 2020 RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence, held on 30 April on YouTube.

Marmalade Lane, submitted

by Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service and development company TOWN, is the city’s first co-housing scheme. (See case study, p.28.)

Residents share a ‘common house’ and shared garden, and are active in community life and engaged in their local area. The scheme features 42 houses and apartments collaboratively planned by a team comprising residents, architects and developers.

Marmalade Lane won the Excellence in Planning for Health and Wellbeing category and the Excellence in Planning to Deliver Homes – small schemes (up to 50 homes) award, before the judges decided from all of the category winners to award the project the Silver Jubilee Cup. Frances Wright, head of community partnering at TOWN, said: "Everyone involved is delighted that Marmalade Lane has won this prestigious award. It sends a strong message that a collaborative approach between council planners, developers, architects and end users has real value. We hope this will be replicated for many more projects as communityled housing comes ever more

6

into the housing mainstream.”

Katie Thornburrow, executive councillor for planning policy and open spaces at Cambridge City Council, added: “The scheme was created with low car dependence to promote a more active community life, with beautiful buildings, streets and spaces. The project shows that you can deliver community-led, sustainable housing on public land, challenging the standard approach to housing design.”

The judges were impressed by the project’s “innovative approach” and the way in which it clearly articulated the role of the planner.

“They were able to deliver tangible benefits to the community through strong engagement with the end user from the outset, and keeping health and wellbeing being as part of their wider ethos.”

The judges also felt that the development model could easily be replicated

THE WINNERS OF THE 2020 RTPI AWARDS FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE ARE:

Excellence in Plan Making Practice Winner: Wind Microclimatic Guidelines Submitted by: City of London Commended: Tower Hamlets Local Plan 2031: Managing growth and sharing the benefits Submitted by: London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy Winner: Wokingham Town Centre Regeneration Submitted by: Wokingham Borough Council Commended: Calton Barras Project Submitted by: Glasgow City Council

Excellence in Planning for Health and Wellbeing Winner: Marmalade Lane Submitted by: TOWN & Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service Commended: Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre Submitted by: Arup and BS Stanford Ltd

Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture Winner: The Newt in Somerset Submitted by: AZ Urban Studio & South Somerset District Council

Excellence in Planning for the Natural Environment Winner: South Humber Gateway Mitigation Strategy Submitted by: North East Lincolnshire Council/ Engie

Excellence in Planning to Deliver Homes – small schemes (up to 50 homes) Winner: Marmalade Lane Submitted by: TOWN & Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service

Excellence in Planning to Deliver Homes – large schemes (50 or more homes) Winner: New Lubbesthorpe, submitted by Blaby District Council

TH E P L AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

6-7 News_June 2020_The Planner 6

13/05/2020 12:14

PLAN UPFRONT

Excellence in Tech within Planning Practice Winner: Affordable Homes Monitoring Submitted by: Southwark Council

International Award for Planning Excellence Winner: Hills at Charlesworth Sustainability Plaza (Canada) Submitted by: Stantec Consulting Ltd Commended: Slender West Lake Region Masterplan (China) Submitted by: Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute

In-house Planning Team of the Year Winner: Anglian Water Services Limited Commended: Planning Aid Wales

Local Authority Planning Team of the Year Winner: London Borough of Tower Hamlets Council Commended: apT, Telford & Wrekin Council (West Midlands)

for the benefit of many communities, and that it was a “distinctive and sustainable” neighbourhood full of character and vitality.

Sue Manns, RTPI president, said: “Planners were central to this innovative scheme, which puts community at its heart. A well-designed and attractive place has been created which puts the needs of the user at its centre. The development highlights both best practice and the benefits that can come from thinking outside the box.”

Sadie Morgan, design industry leader and chair of the judging panel, commented: “Marmalade Lane shows the importance in new housing developments of greater local participation, increased opportunities for accessing

nature and the prioritisation of people over cars – its design has helped create a place with a genuine sense of belonging and a rich local culture that harnesses the humour and warmth that are so vital in these challenging times.”

The awards’ Young Planner of the Year title went to Robyn Skerratt, Department for International Development.

The Julie Cowans Memorial Trust has awarded Skerratt £1,000 to contribute towards her career development. n Because of social distancing restrictions in place to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the awards were announced live in a virtual ceremony hosted on YouTube. You can watch it here: bit.ly/planner0620-ceremony

JUDGES’ COMMENTS

Silver Jubilee Cup, Excellence in Planning for Health and Wellbeing, and Excellence in Planning to Deliver Homes – small schemes (up to 50 homes): Marmalade Lane

Small Planning Consultancy of the Year Winner: Atriarc Planning (Wales) Commended: Kevin Murray Associates (Scotland)

Planning Consultancy of the Year Winner: Nexus Planning Limited (South East) Commended: Edgars (South East)

Young Planner of the Year Winner: Robyn Skerratt (London) n A brochure of the winners can be found on the RTPI website (pdf). bit.ly/planner0620-winners2020

SPONSORS

The RTPI would like to thank AECOM and Savills, the headline sponsors of this year’s RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence, as well as all the category sponsors for their continued support and positive approach to the digitally enabled transformation of the ceremony.

I M AG E S | C R E DI T S

6-7 News_June 2020_The Planner 7

“A well-designed and attractive place has been created which puts the needs of the user at its centre. Community is both at the forefront and heart of Marmalade Lane, which the judges not only thought was timely but also a model that others will be looking to replicate in the future.”

Young Planner of the Year – Robyn Skerratt, Department for International Development (pictured left) “The judges believe Robyn embodies the idea of what an ambassador should be, not only for young planners but the profession for many years to come. Her confidence and passion for planning, and the future of the profession, shone through; it was all-encompassing and reached beyond the conventional realms of planning. Her work on developing the SDGs within government and with the UN was particularly impressive and noteworthy.”

International Award for Planning Excellence – Hills at Charlesworth Sustainability Plaza (Canada) “The judges really liked that this project creates a strong community hub that can be used year-round, and they’ve used aspects of the natural winter location as a vision for design. The project not only showcases sustainability in planning, but has been able to demonstrate strong community outcomes too. An ingenious scheme.”

J U NE 2 020 / THE PLA NNER

7

13/05/2020 12:14

NEWS

Analysis { TREES

Root and branch reviewed

By Laura Edgar Back in January 2018, the then Prime Minister Theresa May committed the UK government to creating a Northern Forest as part of its 25-year environment plan. This would see the Woodland Trust and Community Forest Trust planting more than 50 million trees from Liverpool to Hull during the next 25 years.

In May 2019, the government committed £10 million to planting 130,000 trees in England’s urban areas.

And in January, the Committee on Climate Change recommended an increase in forestry cover from 13 per cent to 17 per cent as one of the ways that the UK could transform the way land is used as it moves to achieve a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.

According to Land Use: Policies for a Net Zero UK, this requires planting a minimum of 30,000 hectares of broadleaf and conifer woodland every year until 2050.

So, plenty of movement towards tree planting in general – but what of tree planting in urban areas?

‘Accelerating Woodland Creation’ – a conference quickly moved online once Covid-19 restrictions were implemented – saw panellists consider the value of woodland in and around urban areas, its contribution to the climate crisis and people’s health; and the challenges faced by organisations and local authorities to successfully delivering more urban woodland.

The focus was on how England could fulfil its share of the UK’s ambitious

8

from better-integrated strategies for goal of an additional 30,000 hectares of places. And while directives for the new woodland a year until 2050. protection of birds and habitats are Session chair and Trees for Cities CEO much used, there are none for trees or David Elliott described one of the people, he noted. The problem is the biggest problems as not so much the result of a tendency to create separate initial financing of trees but their legal frameworks for each component maintenance beyond year one. Many part of the environment, which is businesses express a desire to invest in compounded by the “absence of any trees, but convincing them to fund their kind of overarching vision for places”. ongoing maintenance “has historically “We need to think big in terms of the been a challenge” he told attendees. space we look at and the number of Then there is the problem of ensuring subjects we consider,” said Blyth. “The that the design of projects to increase or interface between trees, improve urban species, land use, flooding woodland – or ‘BY WORKING and housing… needs to be woodland generally – CLOSELY WITH thought of in an integrated offer the deep COMMUNITIES way over territory, rather community benefits IN LIVERPOOL, than a series of individual they promise. It is space WE’VE MANAGED subjects,” he explained that must be enhanced, TO MINIMISE Elliott suggested that offering environmental VANDALISM many structural changes and ecological benefits BECAUSE WE WORK needed to be considered if in a single design.

WITH THEM AND the proposed targets were to Richard Blyth, head ASK FOR HELP be achieved. Allocating of policy at the RTPI, WITH THE DESIGN” money towards increasing said sensible tree – CLAIRE OLVER woodland is not enough – deployment results

T H E P L AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0

8-9 NEWS_June 2020_The Planner 8

13/05/2020 09:28

PLAN UPFRONT

Bradford adopts design guide “the structures that are currently in place are not really set up to deal with the level of increased growth change that we need”.

For John Deakin, head of trees and woodland at the National Trust, there is “far too much disconnect” between the realities of good woodland management and woodland creation, and how people both perceive and use them in society more generally.

“Accessing and locking into those urban communities, through trees and through woodland creation, is a real opportunity for us to engage with people in a way that will support good woodland management, and in a way that perhaps we haven’t really done with before.”

Deakin characterised this requirement as the creation of a “woodland culture”, something community forests are doing.

Mersey Forest/England’s Community Forests' Claire Olver spoke of working in the most deprived areas in Liverpool.

While acknowledging how vandalism often meant that keeping the trees in the ground would be the hardest bit, she said: “By working really closely with communities in Liverpool, we’ve managed to minimise that because we work with them and ask for help with the design.”

Community forests across England are an incredible force for change, she added.

In North Cheshire and Merseyside alone, nearly 10 million trees have been planted, although it had not been easy as there are competing demands for the land.

It is quite easy to deliver the singular benefits of trees, said Deakin, but the key is to find ways of delivering their multiple benefits.

Blyth agreed that, ultimately, welltargeted planting would deliver wider benefits, from providing people with recreation, the unique blending of different species, or simply their innate climate benefits. Instead of offsetting tree planting, it might be considered how their deployment locally could boost accessibility or otherwise add value. Urban areas are contributing to tree targets, but in order to reap the full benefits, as Olver said, you must work with local people, rather than do things to them.

I M AG E S | I STO C K / T I B BA L D S PL A N N I N G A N D U R BA N DE S IGN

8-9 NEWS_June 2020_The Planner 9

The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council has adopted a residential design guide as a supplementary planning document to the area’s core strategy.

Homes and Neighbourhoods: A Guide to Designing in Bradford outlines the council’s aspirations for new homes and neighbourhoods and its intention to support local planning policies and focus on delivering “high-quality, health-enhancing and inclusive design”.

It sets out priorities developed through engagement with local stakeholders including health and wellbeing groups, a disabled and older people’s group as well as developers.

It focuses on three areas – defining a brief, creating a neighbourhood and making a home. Each section contains illustrated design principles, setting out advice on how to get the best out of the design and planning process – and how to engage with communities over new proposals. It identifies how a development should create character and offer inclusive design, and also considers how best to address the climate

emergency, and prioritises in particular active travel.

The guide is for use by developers, housebuilders, selfbuilders, local communities, planners, politicians and other built environment professionals who wish to bring forth schemes.

Alex Ross-Shaw, portfolio holder for regeneration, planning and transport at the council, said: “This guide sets out innovative new standards for housing developments across Bradford district which will make our communities safer, more sustainable and healthier places.

“The guide looks at how we make our neighbourhoods greener, with more planting on the street with better air quality and a requirement for developers to provide opportunities for children to play. It is a step change for housing development in the Bradford district and is the product of great partnership working with Bradford Civic Society, Born in Bradford and the Property Forum.”

The project was a finalist in the Excellence in Plan Making Practice category at the 2020 RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence.

J U NE 2 020 / THE PLA NNER

9

13/05/2020 09:28

of of

NEWS

News { Cardiff gasworks site bought for major housing scheme Cardiff City Council has acquired the 12-hectare former gasworks site in Grangetown, earmarked for a major residential development and will see its iconic listed gasholder incorporated in the scheme.

Property consultancy Knight Frank assisted with the acquisition of the Ferry Road site on behalf of the council from vendors National Grid and Wales and West Utilities.

The local authority intends to deliver a council-led mixed-tenure development of up to 500 new homes on the site as part of its target of

delivering 2,000 new homes in the capital – 1,000 of which are expected to be complete by 2022. Lynda Thorne, cabinet member for housing and

Pedestrianisation in prospect as Cork plots post-Covid-19 strategy A number of narrow and historic high-footfall streets in Cork city are set to be pedestrianised to help the city reopen as Covid-19 restrictions are eased.

Paul Street, Tuckey Street and Pembroke Street will be closed to traffic and pedestrianisation measures will be enhanced to ensure that physical distancing can be maintained. This involves removal of some car parking and bollards, and relocation of disabled parking bays.

The Marina riverside amenity, about three kilometres downriver of the city centre, will be closed to

10

T H E P L AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0

10-11 News_June 2020_The Planner 10

all vehicular traffic this summer.

The strategy was outlined in a 22-page document presented to city councillors and some city centre stakeholders in May. It outlines how the pedestrianisation of Oliver Plunkett Street would be restored as soon as possible, subject to a review of car parking for essential workers in the city centre, and includes: • plans for additional bike parking stands, and repairs to damaged bike-parking facilities; • lights at pedestrian crossing points will be demand-led; and • a more streamlined process for street furniture licensing.

communities, said: “The acquisition of this site allows us to build more high-quality sustainable homes that are close to local amenities and open spaces and will help us deliver an ambitious and wide-ranging regeneration in Grangetown.

“The Ferry Road gasholder is a wellknown Cardiff landmark and I think it’s very exciting that the structure will be incorporated into the development of the site, retaining a key part of our city’s heritage.”

Proposals set out for Dunbar development Ambitious proposals have surfaced for a low-carbon neighbourhood called DunBear Park, designed around the monumental sculpture in Dunbar commemorating locally born naturalist John Muir.

He played a key role in establishing national parks around the globe.

Hallhill Developments Ltd has submitted a proposal of application notice to East Lothian Council for a 21-hectare mixed-use development.

This will involve retail, office, leisure, distribution and residential activities.

Proposed are a hotel, a care home, a nursery, elderly amenity flats, community facilities and industrial and storage units.

An innovation hub is also in prospect along with a district-heating scheme.

In addition the plan features 100 lowcarbon affordable homes for key workers.

I M AG E S | A L A M Y / G E T T Y

13/05/2020 09:29

NEWS

£700m funding for NI infrastructure, regeneration and tourism The Northern Ireland Executive has unveiled a £700 million investment package to target infrastructure, regeneration and tourism projects across the province.

The sum includes £562 million match funding for city and growth deals and £55 million for the Inclusive Future Fund.

First Minister Arlene Foster said the executive had also agreed to create a £100 million pot for city and growth deal areas to bid for additional funding.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill explained that the package’s match funding for the Derry and Strabane City Deal and Inclusive Future Fund now totalled £210 million.

“After years of sustained underinvestment in the region, this is a significant and long overdue development for Derry, west Tyrone and the entire North West area,” she said.

Rochdale plans to deliver 7,000 homes

Rochdale Borough Council has published a masterplan for the delivery of 7,000 homes and 250,000 square metres of employment space along the Calder Valley rail corridor.

It outlines crucial redevelopment surrounding the borough’s five railway stations – Rochdale, Castleton, Smith Bridge, Littleborough and Mills Hills and forms part of the council’s next phase of regeneration.

The masterplan prioritises creating neighbourhoods on underused brownfield sites close to amenities and transport links.

Work will be delivered in collaboration with the Greater Manchester Station Alliance – a partnership between Network Rail, Northern Rail, Transport for Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). The plans were drawn up with urban planners Broadway Malyan and WSP. The alliance is working in partnership with local councils to “spearhead” regeneration close to railway stations. Rochdale will be the first borough to benefit from the new partnership.

The council sees the area’s railway stations as prime sites for economic development, particularly given the 2.7 million journeys made from them last year.

John Blundell, cabinet member for economy, business and skills at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The land around our railway stations has huge potential for regeneration because you’re putting people close to the transport connections and local facilities that you need to create sustainable neighbourhoods.

“Rochdale’s incredible connectivity, with five railway stations – and a sixth on the cards – puts us in an unrivalled position to repurpose brownfield sites along the Calder Valley corridor to unlock thousands of new homes which are a stone’s throw from Manchester city centre, for a fraction of the price.”

Over the next few months, more detailed masterplanning work and feasibility studies will take place, with construction of the first new homes identified in the strategy set to begin as early as next year.

D EC EMB J U NE ER 20 2 0 216 0 / THE PLA NNER

10-11 News_June 2020_The Planner 11

11

13/05/2020 09:29

of of

NEWS

News { PINS details legal compliance concerns about St Albans plan The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) has outlined concerns that St Albans District Council has failed to engage constructively when producing its local plan.

Louise Crosby and Elaine Worthington believe there is “a very strong likelihood” that the plan will need to be withdrawn from examination or they will recommend in their final report that the plan should not be adopted as it fails to meet the duty to cooperate (DtC).

In January, the inspectors wrote to the council explaining that they had “serious concerns in terms of legal compliance and soundness” about the draft plan, which was submitted for examination in March 2019. Now they have set out their reservations in detail. These include: n The council failed to engage constructively and actively with neighbouring authorities on the strategic matters of (a) the Radlett Strategic Rail Freight Interchange proposal, approved by the secretary of state in 2014, and (b) their

ability to accommodate St Albans’ housing needs outside of the green belt. n The preparation of the plan was not in accordance with the council’s statement of community involvement. n There is inadequate evidence to support the council’s contention that exceptional circumstances exist to alter the boundaries of the green belt. n It fails to meet objectively assessed needs. n The rail freight interchange site is proposed for housing in the draft plan as the Park Street Garden Village broad location. The rail freight interchange project is not identified as a strategic matter by the council because it is not a proposal in its plan.

The letter explains that the proposed alternative development of the garden village has the effect of precluding the rail freight interchange. “On this basis, the council considers that it did not need to cooperate in relation to this matter, since once the [rail freight interchange] ceased

to be a strategic site promoted under the plan, it was no longer required to engage in the DtC discussions.”

The inspectors believe that there is no evidence to demonstrate that other nearby authorities have been approached in terms of the possibilities of accommodating either the rail freight interchange or the housing now proposed on the site.

Jamie Day, portfolio holder for planning at St Albans City and District Council, said: “The council is in the unique position of having a government-permitted strategic rail freight terminal site actively promoted by the landowner for alternative housing use. Over recent years, the council has made improved efforts to work with its neighbouring councils and the county council to demonstrate its commitment to cooperating with our neighbouring authorities, so it’s disappointing to be called out by the inspectors on that point.”

The council said it is considering its response, after which, the inspectors will reach a final position on the draft plan. n The inspectors’ letter is on the council website: bit.ly/planner0620-stalbans

Welsh ministers mull over raising response to climate emergency

12

Environment minister Lesley Griffiths has announced that the Welsh Government is considering ramping up its response to the climate emergency.

Details are due to be outlined this month (June), when Griffiths intends to make a statement in the Senedd Cymru, followed by publication of the government’s first supplementary budget.

She said this would outline how the administration’s plan for recovery after the Covid-19 outbreak “aligns with our net-zero ambitions and how we might go further and faster in realising them.”

“The coronavirus pandemic is a public health crisis, which has taken hold in just a matter of weeks. Whilst the climate emergency has taken hold over a much longer period, its impact on public health and our economy is no less significant.

“In repairing the damage to our society and our economy caused by the pandemic, we must ensure we consolidate the progress we have made in answering the climate emergency and take every opportunity to make sure a healthier and prosperous Wales is also a greener and more sustainable one.”

T H E PL AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0

I M AG E S | A L A M Y / G E T T Y

12 News_June 2020_The Planner 12

13/05/2020 17:22

LEADER COMMENT

Opinion on Here’s how The Planner’s response to Covid-19 affects you Welcome to our June 2020 edition. We have two important messages for you this month as we continue to negotiate the restrictions imposed on us by the Covid-19 lockdown

The Planner goes digital –

You are currently reading the first of three editions of The Planner to appear exclusively as a digital edition. We’ve decided to do this because so many of our readers receive their copy in the office and thus cannot currently access it, making our print and distribution costs unsustainable. Although we recognise this is inconvenient for those who enjoy y The Planner in magazine e form, our digital edition – together with our

daily online activity – gives you the full panoply of Planner content.

With the RTPI we will continue to monitor the situation before confirming a return to print. Our current plan is to recommence print production and distribution from the September 2020 edition, and with current government advice suggesting no significant routine office return to rou working until July, we hope that September represents a realistic aspiration.

The Planner Live Online –

The Planner Live Online is a week of online events put together in place of the postponed The Planner Live conference. On each day from Monday 29th June until Friday 3rd July our online sessions will look at how planning is coping in this age of crisis. We’ll be using a mix of webinars, online discussions, presentations, interviews and social media Q&As. Speakers will consider co s de tthe e profession’s post-pandemic ic priorities and its involvement nt in the road to a sustainable and nd

green economic recovery.

What’s more, we’ll be inviting your involvement and comment after each day’s sessions for inclusion in the next day’s events.

It’s all free – and you can find out more by visiting www.theplanner.co.uk During our exclusively online existence we will continue to explore the theme of a world changed Covid-19

by Cov d 9 as well we as running all run our coverage ou of tthe sector’s activities. See act you online, and stay safe. an

CONTACTS Redactive Publishing Ltd Level 5, 78 Chamber Street, London, E1 8BL, 020 7880 6200

Sub-editor Deborah Shrewsbury

SUBSCRIPTIONS Picture editor Claire Echavarry Designer Craig Bowyer

EDITORIAL

A D V E RT I S I N G & M A R K E T I N G

Tel: 020 7324 2736 editorial@theplanner.co.uk

020 7880 6206 sales@theplanner.co.uk

Editor Martin Read martin.read@theplanner.co.uk

R E C RU I T M E N T

Consultant editor Huw Morris Deputy editor Simon Wicks simon.wicks@theplanner.co.uk News editor Laura Edgar laura.edgar@theplanner.co.uk Section editor Matt Moody

ISSN 2053-7581

020 78806232 jobs@theplanner.co.uk PRODUCT ION Production director Jane Easterman Production manager Aysha Miah-Edwards PUBLISHING Publishing director Joanna Marsh

Average net circulation 17,608 (January-December 2020) (A further 5,700 members receive the magazine in digital form)

£120 – UK £175 – Overseas To subscribe, call 01580 883844 or email subs@redactive.co.uk – alternatively, you can subscribe online at subs.theplanner. co.uk/subscribe © The Planner is published on behalf of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) by Redactive Publishing Ltd (RPL), 78 Chamber Street, London E1 8BL This magazine aims to include a broad range of opinion about planning issues and articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the RTPI nor should such opinions be relied upon as statements of fact.

All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any print or electronic format, including but not limited to any online service, any database or any part of the internet, or in any other format in whole or in part in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publisher. While all due care is taken in writing and producing this magazine, neither RTPI nor RPL accept any liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein. Printed by PCP Ltd.

RT P I C O N TA C T S Membership membership@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9462 Education education@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9451 Planning Aid England advice@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk 41 Botolph Lane London EC3R 8DL Media enquiries Rebecca Hildreth rebecca.hildreth@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9477 The Planner is produced using paper that is elemental chlorine free and is sourced from sustainable managed forest.

J U NE 2 0 2 0 / THE PLA NNER

13 leader_June 2020_The Planner 13

13

13/05/2020 13:06

LO U I S E B R O O K E ­ S M I T H O B E

O Opinion

Are we the Goodies in this episode?

“G – you need a helping hand, O - you know we’ll understand, O – we’re with you right to the end, Everyone needs a friend, Goody, Goody, Goody…”

In the words of The Goodies, and by way of a tribute to the late Tim Brooke-Taylor, it seems that some of us will do anything, anywhere, anytime.

If there is one message that has rung out during the lockdown, it’s that a number of people have adopted this as their mantra. They have been setting off to work not knowing if that will ultimately kill them or their families.

The rest of us have joined the weekly cheers for healthcare workers (and all the others keeping our basic services going) who are looking death in the eye every day.

Is it a choice to bring in a pay cheque, a sense of obligation, or a human need to ‘do stuff’? How many of us are selfless enough to do the extra shift? Conversely, how many of us wouldn’t dream of working longer than our standard 9 to 5 without overtime payment agreed?

Is one a group of angels, the other selfish demons?

Currently, our angels include those working in the NHS and nursing homes, in supermarkets, in schools that are supporting key workers’ kids, and driving buses.

I think we can list an increasing number of key workers in food production, distribution and sales, together with various administrators – our friends at HMRC or colleagues

14

T H E PL AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

14 Louise_June 2020_The Planner 14

at MHCLG, PINs or local authorities.

But we shouldn’t forget either the households where cleaning, cooking and domestic chores all need repeating more frequently as the rest of us face what might be a long summer. It’s worth looking behind the virtue to scratch at the realism.

You may well be practised at balancing home chores with work and other responsibilities, but finding the strain kicking in. You might be part of a liberated household where domestic chores are shared, including teaching offspring who are not at school.

Before Covid-19, many of us liked the idea of equality but 75 per cent of unpaid care and domestic work was picked up by women. Indeed, if women around the world received even a minimal wage for the

“HOW MANY OF US WOULDN’T DREAM OF WORKING LONGER THAN OUR STANDARD 9 TO 5?” unpaid work they do at home the bill would run to trillions.

As most of us try to do our jobs from home are we also sharing fairly the additional support we may be providing to our children, elderly relatives, friends and neighbours? I get that there is a time and place to wave the equality flag – but in my view that is all the time, even now. I hope this epidemic will provide the chance to bring about a monumental change in the way we live and work.

Perhaps along with finding a Covid-19 antiserum, getting our economy back into the

black should also include a new approach to working regimes. We could value more of those ‘key roles’ and also encourage a proper work-life balance for everyone, so that domestic activity previously conducted under the radar is given more kudos. We could see more job shares or condensed hours. Of course we will still have to pay the basic bills, but a fundamental review of values might not be a bad thing.

Covid-19 has already claimed thousands of people.

Some have been in the spotlight and are well-known faces; multitudes are not. So whether it’s one third of The Goodies, the Portuguese nurse working for a pittance, or the Nigerian doctor supporting his family back in Abuja, or the driver of the number 11 bus, they all did what they could and gave everything.

Perhaps an ethos of ‘anything, anytime, anywhere’ is too much for many people, but let’s be grateful that it’s clearly the mantra for some and that it might seep into our collective consciousness post-Covid-19.

Dr Louise Brooke-Smith is a development and strategic planning consultant and a built environment non-executive director I L L U S T R AT I O N | Z A R A P I C K E N

13/05/2020 09:30

Quote unquote FROM THE RTPI AND THE WEB “Communities evolve; the truth of this project will come in 10 to 15 years, but there’s no doubt in my mind it will work” GREATER CAMBRIDGE PLANNING SERVICE’S TROVINE MONTIERO ON THE LIKELY LONGER TERM IMPACT OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE’S NOW RTPI AWARD WINNING MARMALADE LANE DEVELOPMENT

“The risks we face as a globalised society are now in sharp focus. For their part, UK leaders must act decisively on a climate resilient recovery, and do so together” BARONESS BROWN OF CAMBRIDGE, CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE ON CLIMATE CHANGE’S ADAPTATION COMMITTEE

“Recovery and transformation needs to consider local authorities playing a greater part in the town centre economy through refreshed visions”

I M A G E S | I S T O C K / D AV I D B U T L E R / K T S D E S I G N / S C I E N C E P H O T O L I B R A RY

JONATHAN BOWER OF LAW FIRM WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON ON HOW LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN REVITALISE HIGH STREETS POST COVID 19

“One thing is Covid; but the next thing we need to see coming is a very deep mental health crisis.”

“Often the barrier to adoption of innovative, data-driven technologies is that the users don’t want it. However, this is not the case with digital planning”

ARACELI CAMARGO BLUNTLY ASSESSES HOW INADEQUATE HOUSING, ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES AND POVERTY WILL HAVE AMPLIFIED THE IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

CONNECTED PLACES CATAPULT’S DATA SCIENTIST ISAAC SQUIRES

“There is a risk that the 2020 act will not have the desired effect, and the pandemic will continue to delay the planning process”

“Spring 2020 will be a catalyst for change, but what sort? Will we return to the damaging parts of the old normal, or build back better so that the next normal improves the health of people and planet?”

MIKE CHILDS, HEAD OF SCIENCE AT FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, RESPONDS TO A CCC REPORT ON A GREEN RECOVERY FROM COVID 19

MICHAEL GILBERT MRTPI OF STANTEC ASKS ROBERT JENRICK TO MAKE SURE COUNCILS FULLY DEPLOY THEIR NEWLY ACQUIRED CORONAVIRUS ACT POWERS

J U NE 2 0 20 0 / THE PLA NNER

15 Quote_June 2020_The Planner 15

15

13/05/2020 09:30

B E S T O F T H E B LO G S

O Opinion

1 BLOG

Emma El Deen Luke MRTPI is working to establish the Office for Environmental Protection at Defra

The RTPI must empower BAME planners

As a planner of dual-heritage, I’ve long been aware that minority ethnicities are underrepresented in our profession.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is no different. And like the RTPI, Defra is confronting this issue.

Defra launched ‘Project Race’ in 2018, when only 7 per cent of staff were non-white. Its goal is to create a more inclusive culture so that minority ethnicities can truly belong, not just ‘blend in’, and to increase diversity at middle and senior grades. We have representatives in every Defra team, critical to keeping racial equality high on the agenda.

Fifteen months on, change is visible.

Strong l e ad e r s h i p has delivered increased diversity at most grades, and Cabinet Office data shows that more than 9 per cent of Defra staff are now from minority ethnicities.

A grass-roots approach has been key to success – colleagues across the whole of Defra have run workshops, trialled new approaches to recruitment and shared successes.

But our challenge continues.

We have not yet reached our diversity targets, and better representation is needed in senior roles, so Project Race has been extended until the end of 2020.

Chris Bryson MRTPI is director of planning with Gravis Planning

It’s time for technology in the NI planning system

The RTPI also has a plan to improve ethnic diversity. It was great to see RTPI president Sue Manns launch the CHANGE strategy for a more diverse planning workforce earlier this year. It is much needed: just 6 per cent of planners are from minority ethnic backgrounds.

As over 14 per cent of the UK population is BAME, this is far from representative.

Look around you at your next seminar – look at the stage. The RTPI must ensure that planners of all backgrounds are seen and heard.

It must create real BAME role models; we need to know that people like us have a place at the table, otherwise why would we want to work in planning?

As with Project Race, the RTPI CHANGE strategy needs to be delivered in partnership with BAME planners: with us and by us – not just for us. This is what will secure the diverse new wave of young planners we desire, and the important perspectives they bring.

The disproportionate impacts of Covid-19 on BAME communities has amplified the need for diverse planners. Their insight can help inform the way we design communities.

This is an opportunity to review our approach and learn lessons from the past – let’s embrace it.

“WE NEED TO KNOW THAT PEOPLE LIKE US HAVE A PLACE AT THE TABLE. OTHERWISE, WHY WOULD WE WANT TO WORK IN PLANNING?”

16

2 BLOG

The Covid-19 crisis has exposed the fragility and cumbersome nature of the planning system in Northern Ireland – most greatly felt in the development management process. Within a matter of days from the lockdown coming into force, the processing and determination of planning applications across the region slowed dramatically, with some council planning departments grinding to a halt.

But no one could have expected the scale of this disruption to the development management process in NI. The reason for this capitulation? The lack of agile technology to respond quickly to the sudden change in circumstances.

In NI planning applications can’t be submitted online.

All applications must be made in hard copy. Despite this, the actual processing of plans is undertaken online via the Planning Portal used by all local councils. This means we have the bizarre situation where digital plans need to be printed and formally submitted, only for them to be scanned and uploaded to the Planning Portal – returning them to their original digital state (albeit reduced in quality due to the need for printing, scanning and uploading). Surely something that starts off in digital form and

ends up in digital form should always remain in digital form?

This is a significant time burden on council staff. The scanning and validation process can take weeks, especially for big development proposals that may be accompanied by bulky reports. Herein lies the problem when a lockdown comes into force; no one in the office or a greatly reduced on-site staff to keep the wheels turning.

At the time of writing this piece, we’re on the downwards slope of ‘the curve’ and many councils are doing the best they can to keep the show on the road, including flexible (offline) consultations and a greater number of decisions being made through delegated powers.

Belfast City Council was the first to publish guidance on online planning application submissions, albeit by email rather than an interactive online process.

A priority once we’re over the Covid-19 crisis must be the implementation of a fit-forpurpose and technological agile development management system. This was acknowledged by the chief planner for NI in the May update to councils, with the aim of having a new IT system in place by early 2022 that allows online planning application submissions. But what will we do in the meantime?

“SURELY SOMETHING THAT STARTS OFF IN DIGITAL FORM AND ENDS UP IN DIGITAL FORM SHOULD ALWAYS REMAIN IN DIGITAL FORM?”

T H E P L AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

16-17 Blogs_June 2020_The Planner 16

13/05/2020 16:19

Have your say Would you like to see yourself in these pages?

Get in touch by email – editorial@theplanner.co.uk Topical, inspirational, angry or amusing – we consider all relevant comment

3 BLOG

Lucinda Rogers is an artist and member of the Just Space network

Democracy shouldn’t suffer just because the show must go on

In late March on the pretext of Covid19, the public was shut out of an Enfield planning committee that determined one of the largest applications ever dealt with by the borough. The applicant’s argument was read to the meeting, but a deposition by residents went unheard.

Responses to the Coronavirus Act 2020 by local authorities mean a postcode lottery for democracy. The least democratic have delegated decisions to officers, while others will recreate virtual committees, some allowing third parties to speak, others that permit only written statements.

The well-resourced, computer-literate citizen has the advantage.

The Just Space network has cowritten a statement of principles [bit. ly/planner0620network] to councils and the housing secretary, asking them to uphold standards for the public voice in the planning process and to recognise the public’s role in securing better, more resilient development.

Just Space is a community-led network of voluntary and action groups influencing planning policy, focused on issues of social justice and economic and environmental sustainability.

Planning committee stage – even with a pitiful three minutes of speaking time – can be the final

4 BLOG

chance to expose the flaws in a scheme.

The Covid-19 upheaval has revealed something known for years; the system operates happily without public input.

In Zoom webinars we see chief officers and property developers in cosy collaboration. “We’ve never been closer,” said one developer. “We’re open for business,” say officers, who argue the planning show must go on; the government implies the same. We’re told the show must go on for the economy’s sake, but not all development genuinely helps the economy.

The deputation ignored at Enfield found three main deficiencies in the application: too little open space and sports provision, job losses caused by the replacement of employment areas with housing, and the lack of rented housing for lowincome residents.

These are familiar concerns that have gained urgency through the lens of the Covid19 epidemic.

We find we need green space for health, we need to manufacture our own stuff, and we need to house the people providing vital services.

Planning in the Covid Era: A Joint Statement by Just Space, CPRE London, Friends of the Earth and London Forum of Amenity and Civic Societies: bit.ly/planner0620-justspace

“PLANNING COMMITTEE STAGE – EVEN WITH A PITIFUL THREE MINUTES OF SPEAKING TIME – CAN BE THE FINAL CHANCE TO EXPOSE FLAWS”

Ben Kite is managing director and principal ecological consultant for EPR

No shortcuts: Restarting outdoor work amid the risk of Covid-19

At the time of writing, the construction industry has largely paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has now indicated that work should continue where it is safe to do so.

The government’s position is presumably a reflection of the fact that maintaining some level of momentum is vital.

The ecological consultancy sector plays a key supporting role in delivering projects and ensuring that their e nv i r o n m e n t a l consequences are acceptable.

Data gathered in the field helps both project developers and planning authorities to make the right calls to protect the environment.

Defra wrote to the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management to say that, subject to safety measures, “ecologists and environmental managers should therefore be able to continue with outdoor work, including ecological surveying and supervision, where they can continue to follow Public Health England guidelines”.

Ecological consultancies are now faced with hard decisions about what outdoor work they should carry out and in what circumstances, without putting their staff or others at risk. The directors of each company facing

this decision must ensure that every work-related activity has been subject to a comprehensive and dynamic risk assessment that has carefully considered and mitigated the risks to every staff member and indeed the public – from the moment an individual leaves home to carry out work to the moment they return home.

It is crucial to ensure that the risk of spreading Covid-19 is addressed in these risk assessments, even where the individual tasks involved in an activity include those that arise as a result of routine tasks such refuelling a car.

For example, at EPR, project managers must explain in each risk assessment why it is necessary for the work to proceed, prove that they have applied our internal guidance on dealing with the risks associated with Covid-19, as well as applicable government guidance, and then carefully examine every unique aspect of the work activity in question to identify and mitigate any task-specific risks that cannot be anticipated. Each risk assessment must then be read and approved by a director.

Professional bodies like CIEEM are working on guidance to help members carry out their work safely, but it is vital that the industry shares tips to establish a new best practice to enable key activities to be carried out safely.

“ECOLOGICAL CONSULTANCIES ARE NOW FACED WITH HARD DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT OUTDOOR WORK THEY SHOULD CARRY OUT”

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

16-17 Blogs_June 2020_The Planner 17

17

13/05/2020 09:31

g

Path

to

we

llb

ei

n

Local food production No Co nta ct Cl os e

of

do

ubt

Ri

r ve

Re

co

ve

ry

Ro

ad

Br ea th e-

Co

vid

Cl

os

e

Resilient homes

“THERE’S A WHOLE NEW SENSE OF THE WAY PLACES IMPACT ON PEOPLE AND HOW PEOPLE RELATE TO PLACES”

et ea sy St re

Cy

cl

e

of

im

p ro

vem

ent

Local employment

Lo

ck

do

wn

La

ne

Room to roam Isolat

i o n ro w

Exe

18

rc i s e G a rd e n s

T H E P L AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0

18-22 Recovery plan_June 2020_The Planner 18

13/05/2020 15:49

PLANNING POST­COVID

IN THE FIRST OF THREE ARTICLES CONSIDERING THE IMPACTS OF THE CORONAVIRUS ON THE WAY WE PLAN OUR LIVING ENVIRONMENTS, SIMON WICKS ASKS WHETHER A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO HOUSING AND PUBLIC REALM COULD PROVIDE GREATER RESILIENCE IN A HEALTH CRISIS

C

ee a r- ffr

Driv

e

RECOVERY

PLAN

C l e a n A i r Av e n u e

T

here’s been a psychological change in the way in which we see our home,” Araceli Camargo explains. “It’s a literal physical shelter but it’s also become a mental shelter, a sanctuary; the only place where you can go, ‘OK, I can breathe’.”

Under lockdown, says the cognitive neuroscientist and founder of Centric Lab, the “utility” of our homes has changed. Hitherto, for many of us, our homes have been places where we would mostly eat and sleep. Now we’re working in them, working out in them, socialising in them (if only virtually), we’re educating our children in them and managing sickness and recovery in them.

But do our homes offer the flexibility of space and quality of utilities we need? Do they provide sufficient warmth, peace and ventilation, particularly to those recovering from respiratory illness?

Camargo, whose research investigates links between the design of living environments and mental and physical health, says the answer to these questions is a definite no. Her work is finding a distinct relationship between environmental stress and susceptibility to illness. The stresses she is looking at – noise, air and heat pollution, lack of ventilation and temperature regulation – are more common in areas of socio-economic deprivation.

Research into Covid-19 hotspots appears to reinforce the point: Office for National Statistics data released in late April revealed that people living in the most deprived 30 per cent of areas in England and Wales are more than twice as likely to

I L L U S T R AT I O N | M I K E H A L L

18-22 Recovery plan_June 2020_The Planner 19

die from Covid-19 than people living in the richest 10 per cent of areas. People in cities are more than six times as likely to die than people in rural areas, with the London boroughs of Newham, Brent and Hackney the worst hit places, along with parts of the West Midlands.

As reported by the Science Media Centre, experts have offered potential explanations for the raw data, ranging from greater population density to residents of deprived areas being more likely to be key workers. But the scientists considered other areas, too. People in poverty are less able to shop online (because of internet and delivery costs) and more likely to keep shopping in person. There is also a correlation between living in these areas and the kind of underlying health conditions that can make a case of Covid-19 more severe.

“These areas also suffer from poor housing, nutrition and higher incidence of health conditions that might act to lower immunity,” observed Prof Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for EvidenceBased Medicine, and an Oxford University professor of evidence-based medicine.

A sense of detachment Houses ought to protect us from external threats such as pollution and disease. But for many, they seem to be failing in this requirement. Furthermore, as Graham Marshall, founder of Prosocial Place and NHS Healthy New Towns Steering Group Member, says, the way that we design houses can also detach people from community. As such, lockdown has

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

19

13/05/2020 15:50

PLANNING POST­COVID

been an intense experience for some.

“There’s a whole new sense of the way places impact on people and how people relate to places,” he says. Speaking of people with conditions such as anxiety and depression that already create a sense of isolation, he notes that many “seem to be doing quite well because their lives haven’t changed that much. They are still quite isolated from people” but may have support strategies already in place.

Some, he says, appear to be “thriving” in lockdown – “they are quick to adapt and bounce around these things. They have a resilience”. It’s a third group that is causing him to worry. “There’s a group of people that didn’t know they had [underlying] problems and I think it’s going to impact on those people quite badly.”

There’s more. A lack of ‘cooling-off’ space in some homes may well be exacerbating conflict in relationships. It’s been widely recorded that calls to domestic violence helplines have gone up during lockdown.

“You start wondering about the quality of housing that we’re building,” remarks Prof Tim Townshend, professor of urban design for health at Newcastle University. “Do they exacerbate them [these underlying problems] – a lack of privacy, noise transference from adjacent properties, just the fact that we’re crammed into the smallest housing in Europe?”

In spite of space standards, we do build small houses. In 2014, Cambridge University found that UK new-builds averaged just 76m2 compared to 137m2 in Denmark. Research in 2017 by property company Sellhousefast.co.uk found that a “British” new-build three-bedroom averaged 88m2 – smaller, they said, than the stipulated minimum of 93m2.

Then there’s the issue of access to private outdoor space, whether a garden or even a balcony. As one much-viewed social media video has shown, balconies not only offer access to outdoors, but also provide communal experiences while maintaining distance. In this case, residents of an apartment block danced on balconies as music was played in the courtyard below.

Issues relating to size, adaptability and quality of housing long predate Covid-19 but are being thrown into relief by the virus. Planners – and others – have long made the case for giving wellbeing greater prominence in a rebalancing of the social, environmental and economic pillars on which planning rests.

Although voices calling for such a change have become louder, other forces

20

T H E PL AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

18-22 Recovery plan_June 2020_The Planner 20

Balconies have proven their worth during lockdown, for those that have them

High levels of air pollution have been associated with a higher rate of Covid-19 deaths.

that drive the way we plan our living environments may well be exacerbating the health inequalities that seem to be shown up by the statistics.

The growth of private rental, buildto-rent and co-living models, allied with a policy stress on densification that permits office-to-residential conversions without planning permission all present challenges to the size and adaptability of internal and external spaces, not to mention suitability of location.

The private rented sector has a problem with “over-occupation” of spaces, says Dr Riëtte Oosthuizen, head of planning for HTA Design, albeit “some inroads have been made over the last three years or so to regulate quality”. Furthermore, rules for rented accommodation may cover bedroom

size, she says, but they neglect access to outdoor space.

“In the build-to-rent sector some purpose-built homes are provided without private external space, although these schemes do and should have shared facilities built in,” she explains. “It would be important for planning officers to ensure these schemes are located in areas with reasonable access to appropriately sized green spaces.”

She continues: “Co-living is probably the one recent trend that might be under a lot of focus post-Covid-19.

These schemes are completely dependent on communal living with small private living units. They are sui generis and, as a result, are not (in London) subject to minimum size standards for homes.” Selfisolation in such a scheme could be “claustrophobic”, she concedes, although co-living may offer compensatory support networks.

Then there are the nationally described space standards. “New C3 schemes in London go through fairly rigorous assessments in relation to internal space standards and the provision of private external space. So unless it is a conversion, most recent schemes should have balconies.

However, it has become the norm that

I M AG E S | G E T T Y / A L A M Y

13/05/2020 15:50

PLANNING POST­COVID

the minimum space standards are also the maximum – it is perhaps time to review this trend.”

Housing in parts of the UK may well be doing little to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 in vulnerable populations. Can our wider neighbourhoods pick up the slack?

Neighbourhoods that nurture

“IT’S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BOUNCE FORWARD AND DO ALL THE THINGS THAT URBAN DESIGNERS, PLANNERS AND ARCHITECTS HAVE BEEN PENT UP ABOUT ALL THESE YEARS”

Camargo notes that adequate ventilation for the circulation of clean air is a critical aspect of good health generally and especially in recovery from respiratory disease. But “if a home is in an area that has high levels of air pollution and they cannot open up windows…”

“If we can keep air pollution down that’s an option. That’s where the home and urban realm has to come together,” she urges. “We need to open up the urban realm, and make it comfortable for them to be in those spaces if they don’t have access to public space and garden space.”

The value of good, secure public realm to ‘surviving’ lockdown has been well attested. There are many accounts of people enjoying car-free streets and less polluted air as a result of the massive reduction in human activity brought on by the epidemic.

“I live on a private road in Liverpool,” explains Graham Marshall. “At the end of the road there’s an old Victorian High Street, but not a main thoroughfare for the city. There’s a lot of poverty around here as well but it’s an almost perfect urban fabric – it’s just destroyed a bit by the heavy transport the highway engineers have imposed on the place. With that suddenly taken

away, people are walking everywhere, discovering things they haven’t seen before; they’ve been fascinated by the level of birdsong and things.”

Lockdown has offered many a glimpse of something different from what has become the norm. For some it has been an intolerable experience, for others a strangely liberating one. Our homes and neighbourhoods have a role to play in either experience.

How many people will want to see their streets remain more or less traffic-free, post-Covid? How many will continue to walk and explore their neighbourhoods, ride bicycles, enjoy the unexpected incursions of nature, support the local businesses that have managed to stay operational? How many will want to continue working from home and forgo the time-consuming daily commute?

“It’s a great opportunity to bounce forward and do all the things that urban designers, planners and architects have been pent up about all these years – creating great cities where people thrive, not just where some people can make some short-term money,” says Marshall.

Places where people are “able to develop some sense of meaning in their life. So it’s not always about work, but living in neighbourhoods where you can thrive.”

Thus far, in this beautiful spring, we have been living in a “grace period”, says Camargo. But if this epidemic were to be combined with the kind of flooding we saw earlier this year, crisis could become catastrophe. “Even when the pandemic is over, climate change is going to come,” she warns.

Car-free streets provide more space for people a necessity during the coronavirus epidemic

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

18-22 Recovery plan_June 2020_The Planner 21

21

13/05/2020 15:51

PLANNING POST­COVID

A better world?

Her point is that building more resilient and healthy homes and neighbourhoods is not a choice, but a necessity. But how realistic are spacious, adaptable houses, walkable neighbourhoods and access to green space given the development context: constraints on affordability driven by the UK land market; the focus on numbers that pressures volume builders into creating easily replicable, minimum standard housing; the policy preference for densification; and the focus in the UK economy on property as asset and investment?

There are good examples out there, many built by the same volume housebuilders that come in for so much flak. “Up here in the North East, we have the Staiths South Bank project [600 homes on a former industrial site] which was a collaboration between Wimpey Homes and the fashion designer Wayne Hemingway,” reports Townshend.

Here, “Malmo-esque” houses are arranged around open courtyards that catch the sun. Some are dedicated to children’s play, others to quiet contemplation, All are overlooked, creating a sense of observation that provides security. It could be intrusive, but isn’t, says Townshend – “there’s not a net curtain in sight”. It’s “very, very popular”.

Why isn’t everywhere built with such sensitivity?

According to Townshend, volume housebuilders say it is “too complicated” to do so as a matter of course.

Oosthuizen cites the work of architect Peter Barber – featured in last month’s The Planner – where, for example, decking at the front of houses enables residents to sit, relax and interact with neighbours while still maintaining their own space.

Yet, she says, developers tend to be reluctant to use space in this way.

“Double-banked corridors achieve more flats in the same space, although outlooks for some are poorer,” she explains, continuing: “Our obsession with achieving the BRE guidance for sunlight and daylight (which was not originally conceived with city living in mind) and back-to-back distances between 18 and 22 metres ensure we do not design places that encourage the interaction across balconies seen in Italy and Spain.”

As for density creating greater risk, she dismisses the idea. “Poor, non-human centred, developerdriven design is definitely the problem. We need to ensure access to good-quality open space, natural light, storage, flexibility in floor plan, adequate space for washing and drying of clothes, views of green space and trees, are all adequately integrated into the design of new homes.”

But how? Oosthuizen advocates policy change; Townshend says only deeper structural change will produce the kind of human-centred, resilient environments he would like to see. “We need to challenge the whole way in which we deliver housing in this country,” he adds, referring to “this persistent system that we’ve had of this oligarchy of

22

T H E PL AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

18-22 Recovery plan_June 2020_The Planner 22

The need for access to private outdoor and green space has become clearer as a result of coronavirus

COVID QUESTIONS

This is the first of three features considering the ways in which Covid-19 is casting into relief the strengths and weaknesses in our living environments - as well as what can be done to make them more resilient to future challenges.

Next month we’ll be looking at the movement of people and goods; in the August issue we’ll be asking whether planning itself needs to be repurposed in the wake of Covid-19 and if so, how?

“CO­LIVING IS PROBABLY THE ONE RECENT TREND THAT MIGHT BE UNDER A LOT OF FOCUS POST­COVID­19”

companies which act as land banks and the way in which the cost of housing is dictated by the price of land. It’s complete madness. We really have to demand that something better is done.”

He is “dubious” that it will happen, however, because it’s “been demanded for a very, very long time”. Townshend is also acutely aware of the “flip side” – that volume housing developers can rightly point to demand for their product as a rationale for continuing to provide it as is.

“It’s a complex argument because people say, ‘If people are buying something, they want to be able to sell it on in a few years’ time’. They don’t want to buy anything too different because they think it might be challenging. Mortgage companies don’t like giving mortgages to things that are unusual.”

For the neuroscientist Camargo, the secret lies in taking a “holistic” approach to planning and design of living environments. This would involve calling on expertise that ranges from epidemiology to industrial engineering.

“You need all of these different types of brains in a room to go ‘What’s the best way to move forward?’

Industrial engineers are fascinating. You have to look at one element and the risk that it poses. High density, for example, solves a lot of problems. It means we can get to resources faster. But it also means all the pollutants becoming higher.”

So homes have to then mitigate pollution effectively. “How do we densify intelligently so that it doesn’t cause these unintended human consequences? How do we design the urban realm to boost our immunity but also to stop the spread of viruses in a mechanistic way? We need systemic thinking. We have to have all the expertise.” n Simon Wicks is deputy editor of The Planner I M AG E | A L A M Y

13/05/2020 15:51

ONLINE

Planning in an Age of Crisis -81( -8/<

The Planner Live goes online A week of digital conference sessions looking at how planning is coping in this age of crisis

The world is in the grip of two crises - the coronavirus epidemic which has brought societies to a halt; and the climate change crisis, which continues to eat away at our capacity to build resilient, healthy and sustainable societies.

This year, we’ll be holding an alternative planning convention: The Planner Live Online looking at how planning is coping in this age of crisis.

Incorporating webinars, online discussions, presentations, interviews and social media Q&As, this five-day event will be open to all to get involved and pick up expert insights and practical knowledge.

FREE to all members

Save the dates { -81( -8/< Put the dates in your diary now and make sure you’re there to hear about how the pandemic will change the planning landscape.

Topics Include The role of technology now and in the future New priorities for planning post-pandemic Environmental planning Transport for green recovery and zero carbon An update from PINS

rtpi.org.uk Ô @RTPIPlanners

p23_PLN.JUNE20.indd 2

Planning Radicals

13/05/2020 16:59

PARAGRAPH 79

EXCEPTIONAL BEHAVIOUR FIRST DUBBED THE ‘COUNTRY HOUSE CLAUSE’, THE NPPF’S PARAGRAPH 79 WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO CONTINUE THE GREAT ENGLISH TRADITION OF COUNTRY HOUSES WHILE CHAMPIONING DESIGN AND INNOVATION. BUT SOME THINK THE POLICY’S IMPRECISE LANGUAGE HAS CREATED A “PLANNING NO MAN’S LAND”. MATT MOODY REPORTS

I

n the final months before the Labour landslide of 1997, outgoing environment secretary John Gummer was determined to preserve what he saw as “one of the great glories of England” – the country house. ‘Gummer’s Law’, as it became known, set out that new houses in the countryside could be justified if they were “of the highest quality”.

Despite subsequent attempts to dilute or scrap it, the ‘country house clause’ has survived to this day. But is it an aristocratic relic that allows the wealthy to build on protected landscapes, with unclear wording and inconsistent application, or a crucial tool for enabling top-quality architecture in England?

In its present form the policy takes its name from paragraph 79(e) of the NPPF, which allows isolated homes in the countryside if their design is of “exceptional quality”. To meet this standard, designs must first be “truly outstanding or innovative, reflecting the highest standards in architecture

24

and helping to raise standards of design more generally in rural areas”. Second, they must “significantly enhance their immediate setting, and be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area.”

A question of interpretation Crucially, key terms like ‘isolated’, ‘outstanding’ and ‘innovative’ are not defined. For instance, the meaning of ‘isolated’ has become controversial since a Supreme Court judge ruled in 2018 that its normal meaning – that is, “far away from other places, buildings or people” – differs in the NPPF, so that whether a site is remote or not is a matter of planning judgement (this is now known as the

“SOMETIMES SUBJECTIVITY ALLOWS POTENTIAL FOR CREATIVITY, BUT THE MEANING OF TERMS LIKE ‘ISOLATED’ IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL, AND NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS”

‘Braintree ruling’, after the council that contested the case).

Wilf Meynell, of paragraph 79 specialist architecture practice Studio Bark, wants more clarity. “Sometimes subjectivity allows potential for creativity, but the meaning of terms like ‘isolated’ is absolutely critical, and no one really knows what it means. It’s a mess.”

Richard Gardner, a planning officer at Stratford-upon-Avon District Council, agrees. “It’s not clear whether the policy means isolated in a physical sense from other buildings, trees etcetera, or isolated from services in a functional sense. We’ve seen our own members and inspectors wrestle with that,” he says.

Meynell contends that the wording has created a “planning no man’s land” in areas that are beyond settlement boundaries but not physically isolated, which he says can often be more sustainable places to build than truly isolated sites.

The term ‘innovative’ is also questioned, although architect and paragraph 79

T H E PL AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0

24-27 Para 79_June 2020_The Planner 24

13/05/2020 09:32

expert Richard Hawkes says the word is just poorly understood. “All too often, people ask of a project, ‘what’s groundbreaking about this?’ and I have to remind them that the word ‘groundbreaking’ was removed from this policy in 2012”, he says, “because it’s impossible to go out and prove empirically that something has never been done before.”

Jonathan Braddick, who chairs the national Design Review Panel, defines innovation as about a “continuation of learning”. In some decisions, he says, the interpretation has been too light, while in others it is as if applicants were “expected to invent perpetual motion or something, which of course is impossible”. Braddick wants fresh guidance to clarify that “while the bar is really high and difficult to reach, it is achievable, and this is how we think it might be achieved”.

Stratford’s Richard Gardner believes the onus is on the applicant to explain to the decision-maker where technology is currently at, and how their scheme will I M A G E | H AW K E S A R C H I T E C T U R E

24-27 Para 79_June 2020_The Planner 25

innovate on that and take it further. “That way, a planning officer or even a member of the public can see how the scheme will push the boundaries,” he says.

In Meynell’s view, “innovation shouldn’t be about ‘can I buy the longest piece of glass in the world’” – instead, it should focus on advancing technologies that will impact sustainable architecture and the built environment beyond the house itself.

Room for manoeuvre?

Another commonly misunderstood aspect of paragraph 79, according to Hawkes, is that applicants should “start with the landscape” and make sure the site “has the capacity to pass the policy’s tests”. He recalls a scheme where the site was “two acres of elevated land covered in maybe the best wildflower meadow I’ve ever seen, right next to a listed building and within the green belt and an AONB”. The baseline condition of the site was so high that the scope for it to be enhanced – a non-negotiable policy test – was far less.

“It shouldn’t have made it past the first

LAKE HOUSE BY HAWKES ARCHITECTURE Conceived in response to the fishing lakes and derelict railway line at the site in the High Weald AONB. Despite use of ‘tried-and tested’ methods, allowed for a design that was ‘truly outstanding’. bit.ly/planner0620-hawkes

phone call, to be honest”, he says.

“You can’t start designing a paragraph 79 scheme until you understand the defining character of the site”, he continues. “If an architect says that landscape design is ‘the next phase’, that’s complete bollocks – they’re just going by their standard design process where they design a building and then ask a landscape architect to ‘fill in the gaps’; it’s completely inappropriate for paragraph 79.”

Braddick says the best schemes that come before his panel are “ecology and landscape-led”.

Paragraph 79 also requires schemes to raise design standards more generally

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

25

13/05/2020 09:32

PARAGRAPH 79

in rural areas. Some applicants involve academics to help with what they think might pass this test but, as Hawkes points out, “the specific wording of the policy is actually ‘help to raise standards’ – it’s a lighter test”.

Both Hawkes and Braddick compare paragraph 79 projects to concept cars.

“Manufacturers design these groovy prototypes that few actually get to drive, but the technology disseminates down into consumer car design”, says Braddick, who would like to see “a stronger commitment to wider learning outcomes”.

He refers to a scheme in development that seeks to innovate in terms of disability access. “That’s laudable, because there’s lots of guidance on this for commercial buildings and social housing, but not so much for private housing; that’s the kind of knowledge that can be disseminated and shared.”

Paragraph 79 also suffers from inconsistency in decision-making and the subjectivity of what makes good design.

“The consistency is really very poor,” says Meynell. “If you think of it as a high jump, the bar ranges between six metres and half-a-metre depending on which planning authority you’re talking to. And it’s not just local planning departments – even at inspector level it feels like there’s one rule for one site and one for another.”

Duncan Hartley, director of planning at the consultancy Rural Solutions, says cuts to local authority budgets have hit their design and heritage expertise most. “Councils are often unsure of what exceptional quality is – they rarely see it, so how should they know?”

Some are more positive about the Planning Inspectorate, however.

“Personally, I see it as like bringing a grown-up into the room,” says Hawkes.

“Sometimes, after the fun and games you can have with a local authority, I’m quite relieved to say ‘come on, let’s get an inspector involved and have a proper discussion’. I speak very highly of them.”

For its part, the inspectorate says it “does not provide any further guidance to Inspectors in relation to paragraph 79 e) proposals. However, these cases are allocated to Inspectors who have the required specialist knowledge and experience and they are kept up-to-date on design matters through in-house training”.

Inspectors are free to use their

26

professional expertise to judge the scheme, “taking account of the individual proposal and including an assessment of the setting of the site and the defining characteristics of the local area. By their nature, these proposals are highly case-specific”.

There’s more agreement on the importance of independent design review. According to Paul Kirkham, who coordinates the Suffolk design review panel, “it’s difficult to crystallise what constitutes outstanding design in a guide, and there’s inevitably a high degree of subjectivity”. The solution, he says, is for applications to go before a design review board that can reach a joint decision – just as long as board members are

“IF YOU THINK OF IT AS A HIGH JUMP, THE BAR RANGES BETWEEN SIX METRES AND HALF­ A­METRE DEPENDING ON WHICH PLANNING AUTHORITY YOU’RE TALKING TO”

“design experts” who “really know their onions”.

According to Braddick, if a council is “politically opposed” to paragraph 79 – often because of a lack of understanding of what it is – then “an independent group with no political axe to grind that can comment on a scheme’s quality of design” is a real benefit – particularly for “Marmite designs” that may not be to everyone’s taste. Review panels must be both multidisciplinary and truly independent.

For Hawkes, England is “so rich and diverse in terms of topography, geology, vernacular”, that “we need to have design standards and design processes that recognise how important it is to design contextually”. In that sense, he says: “There is something quite English in the way paragraph 79 is constructed.

We pride ourselves as a country on being innovative and creative, and the policy is an outlet for that. It broadens public understanding of what’s possible.”

Perhaps, but for those whose grand designs have been turned down, any clarification from government will be too little, too late.

I M A G E S | J O H N PA R D E Y A R C H I T E C T S ( J PA ) , H AW K E S A R C H I T E C T U R E , S T U D I O B A R K

Subjective assessment

T H E PL AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

24-27 Para 79_June 2020_The Planner 26

13/05/2020 09:33

PARAGRAPH 79

Case Study Name: Water House Location: Letheringsett, Norfolk Council: North Norfolk District Council Status: Refused at appeal

FAIRMAN’S MEADOW BY JOHN PARDEY ARCHITECTS Innovations included biomimicry to prevent bird strike and the use of rammed earth. Despite being deemed innovative, outstanding and isolated, it was rejected for not being sensitive to the character of the area. bit.ly/planner0919-Weald

SHEW VALLEY BY HAWKES ARCHITECTURE Originally submitted before the ‘Braintree ruling’, it has since become a principle case study in the interpretation of the word ‘isolation’. Refused despite its ‘intrinsic design quality’. bit.ly/planner0620-shew

Water House was a paragraph 79 scheme designed

by Studio Bark on behalf of Raven Cozens-Hardy.

Its two main ‘innovative’ design features included a filtration and aeration system to filter pollutant agricultural nutrients from local surface water, which would flow through the house to regulate the home’s temperature and grow indoor plants; and a ‘hibernacular façade’, being a wall with gaps of varying sizes allowing access to a void that would provide shelter for various creatures.

The scheme went to appeal and was ultimately refused permission after a public hearing by inspector S J Papworth.

Papworth referred to the Court of Appeal ‘Braintree ruling’, which had set out that the word ‘isolated’ in the context of paragraph 79 had its normal meaning of “far away from other places, buildings or people”. The degree to which the appeal site was “away” from other buildings was limited, Papworth ruled, and could not be considered isolated.

Papworth agreed the scheme was innovative, but was not convinced that its design “responded successfully to its context”.

Cozens-Hardy told The Planner that he was “very unhappy” with the decision because he felt that “the goal posts had been moved” as a result of the Braintree ruling. Referring to another home in Norfolk that had been allowed on a site closer to other buildings than his, he said that the meaning of ‘isolated’ needs to be clarified and called for greater weight to be given to climate change in the paragraph 79 planning balance.

Wilf Meynell, who led the Water House project, was also critical of the decision, commenting that under the interpretation of ‘isolated’ that had been applied, six of Studio Bark’s seven previous paragraph 79 approvals would have been refused.

“The policymaker needs to define terms like ‘isolated’”, he added. “That would put a stop to people like our client in this case having to base all their plans on previous decisions that turned on the isolation issue, spending lots of money for a good cause, only to get nowhere.”

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

24-27 Para 79_June 2020_The Planner 27

27

13/05/2020 09:33

CASE STUDY: MARMALADE LANE

Marmalade Lane’s car-free street is a key element of the cohousing design

CO­STAR CAMBRIDGE’S MARMALADE LANE CO­HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CELEBRATED STELLAR SUCCESS AT THE RECENT RTPI AWARDS FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE. COULD THE COVID­19 CRISIS AND THE PROJECT'S MESSAGE ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DRAMATICALLY INFLUENCING QUALITY OF OUTCOME LEAD TO MORE INTEREST IN THE CO­HOUSING MODEL? MARTIN READ REPORTS

You don’t need to look far to find people praising Marmalade Lane. Situated at the eastern end of North Cambridge’s Orchard Park development, the project has been lauded as high-quality architecture resulting from high-quality community engagement and, yes, highquality planning.

The UK’s largest co-housing project has been met by a wave of positivity, the plaudits coming thick and fast in the last year or so. Last month, it took no fewer than three of the RTPI’s Awards for Planning Excellence – winning in both the Small Housing Schemes and Health and Wellbeing categories before taking the Silver Jubilee Cup as overall winning entry. Perhaps there’s a place in Marmalade Lane’s central communal house for guests to view the various trophies.

You can understand why judges called the project “highly pertinent to the times” with a development model that can be “easily replicated for the benefit of many communities”.

28

But the extent to which this is really the case has yet to be tested.

Marmalade Lane is certainly a story about succeeding in meeting the core co-housing brief of cars being pushed to the periphery, a focus on communal activity, a central common house and sustainable timber-framed buildings.

But it is also a story about the unusual circumstances that created the opportunity for Marmalade Lane’s co-housing credentials to come to the fore.

A local co-housing group had been looking for a site for several years, while

T H E PL AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

28-31 Case study_June 2020_The Planner 28

13/05/2020 12:14

“THE ADDED ELEMENT HERE WAS PLANNERS TALKING TO END USERS ALONGSIDE THE DEVELOPERS AND ARCHITECTS”

the developer originally slated for Marmalade Lane had been forced to abandon the project in the teeth of the 2008 financial crisis. The local authority decided to allocate the plot for co-housing and engaged with the local co-housing group (subsequently named K1 Housing, named after the plot number allocated on the Orchard Park development). A tender process resulted in developer TOWN and local architects Mole becoming involved to adapt designs from an original masterplan built around a more traditional approach to car parking. A I M A G E | D AV I D B U T L E R

28-31 Case study_June 2020_The Planner 29

series of consultations established that moving car parking to the site’s periphery would open up a greater variety of outcome. This, and a new plan that took the location of two ancient trees on site, became topics of discussion between the future residents, developer and architect.

TOGETHER AS ONE In fact, it’s in this dynamic that the Marmalade Lane project stands apart.

Frances Wright is head of community partnering at developer TOWN and group member director for the Cohousing Net-

work – as well as a founding resident on Marmalade Lane, serving as one of the co-housing community’s representatives during the consultation process. She is complementary about the way in which the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service not only helped to fashion, but also ultimately accept a much-altered final design.

“I was looking at the evolution of the plan and layout for Marmalade Lane recently, reminding myself of how it had changed through our interaction with the planners,” says Wright. “It was at times a challenging process, but ultimately a positive one that managed to accommodate everybody’s needs along the way.”

Just how different Marmalade Lane is to ajoining plots can be seen when you move west across the Orchard Park development, where more conservative housing fare is girdled by roads and individual car parking bays.

From a planning engagement perspective, says Wright, the lessons are probably typical in terms of the value of early engagement. “However, the added element here was planners talking to end users alongside the developers and architects. I think that brought a different perspective to the discussion for everybody involved. And the more we reorientate development towards custom-build, the more that’s going to happen, and that’s a really positive thing.”

For the planners, Trovine Monteiro, built environment team leader at the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service, agrees that Marmalade Lane involved a considerable learning curve.

Ultimately, though, he sees lasting potential in the model that has emerged from the process and that fits several

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

29

13/05/2020 12:15

themes of our times, with community involvement in quality of design chief among them.

“The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission’s report speaks of ensuring more democratic participation and design collaboration; of creating homes that deliver on health, inequality and wellbeing measures – and this scheme meets all these requirements. It’s something that, as an authority, we are now quite enthusiastic about.”

The authority had to be particularly

flexible concering the idea of moving car parking to the site periphery. Indeed, “flexibility is the big lesson we learned,” says Monteiro. “Projects don’t come in a binary form and increasingly we’re seeing more mixed-use places emerging out of the current situation, particularly with the retail sector undergoing such a decline. In a post-Covid-19 world, we can see more flexibility being required.

Policies need to be adaptable and amendable according to circumstances.”

As for wider planning policy, “certainly

there could be more done to allow different models of housing alongside traditional volume housing on bigger sites”, says Monteiro.

And Wright agrees. Marmalade Lane, with its titular car-free street and expansive green space, stands out from the more conservative housing developments that surround it.

“Marmalade Lane was one of the last plots to be developed in the much larger Orchard Park development. Had it been thought of in advance and designated

Marmalade Lane is the UK’s largest co-housing project to date

30

T H E PL AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

28-31 Case study_June 2020_The Planner 30

13/05/2020 12:15

T H E E VOLU T ION OF MARMALADE LANE

Original masterplanning of plot K1 shows a more conservative approach to space allocation

Initial group brief from K1 Housing sees developer and architect focused on moving car space out and better accommodating ancient trees on the site

The final design with its car-free street and open space

at the masterplanning stage, right at the spoke of its “greater local participation, beginning of the journey – that might increased opportunities for accessing have had a very different effect on the nature and the prioritisation of people wider Orchard Park development.” over cars”. You sense that answers to Monteiro agrees that the process saw how this can be accommodated in a non “huge lessons that could have fed back co-housing context are as important as into the standard way of development any likely increase in co-housing develbased around the car”. opments elsewhere.

The success of Marmalade Lane has What of co-housing more generally? influenced the way the planning service It demands a more engaged approach to works, says Monteiro. “The dialogue community living perhaps less suited to between community and planners the UK than other countries. But Wright evolved over time to strike a balance is confident of a surge in interest caused between the community’s aspirations,

by Marmalade Lane as an exemplar and which were central to this project, and the coronavirus crisis as a further spur. compliance with the broader objectives Freshly sparked interest in basic neighbourliness, perhaps powered by the of the Orchard Park development. I think ubiquity of local social media groups, we have now benefited from seeing the results of the scheme. could lead to lasting change in what peo“We are now working with Homes ple see as important.

England on Northstowe “I would like to think Phase 2 (set to be the UK’s what comes out of this biggest new town since is more recognition of “DE­EMPHASISING Milton Keynes) alongside the value of really strong CARS AND developer Urban Splash communities, and more EMPHASISING and architects Proctor questions asked about SHARED SPACE HAS Matthews. There we are how you create them. I’m TRANSFORMED THE looking at self-build or hoping with all this pubEXPERIENCE OF licity that it’s the right custom-build using modern LIVING HERE” moment for co-housing methods of construction. to take off in the UK and It’s not exactly the same begin influencing mainthing, but it’s a different stream housing developmodel nonetheless of ment,” she says. delivering the kind of “I do think Covid-19 will have an bespoke housing that people want. More impact,” says Monteiro of the current generally I think there’s a lot more scope crisis. “It's about how planning, a now to accommodate the wishes of other typically top-down process, can respond communities by considering this kind of in a much more flexible way, giving co-housing project in the future.” more power to local communities and Monteiro also points to his service’s local authorities to do things that suit engagement on local village design statethe needs and circumstances of those ments that have recently adopted as suppeople. I’d like to think answers to those plementary planning guidance. questions will emerge out of all this.”

“That involved significant community“De-emphasising cars and emphasisled engagement, communities telling ing shared space has transformed the design teams what they did and did not experience of living here,” concludes like. And we are also now engaging in the Wright. “These are the physical aspects new local plan for Greater Cambridge, of health, but the scheme’s social aspect looking to put more resources into planmeans people’s mental health is also making and engaging with communities catered for. All of this has come out from at an early stage.” the intention behind the design, it’s a really tangible thing; co-housing is a THE FUTURE FOR CO HOUSING good response to the isolation so many Marmalade Lane was lauded by the chair people experience in today’s society and of the RTPI Awards for Planning Excela counterbalance to that tendency.” lence judging panel Sadie Morgan who

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

28-31 Case study_June 2020_The Planner 31

31

13/05/2020 12:15

The UK’s leading supplier OF HARDWOOD BUS SHELTERS Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment Townscape Assessment Expert Witness, Public Inquires & Appeals Strategic Land Promotion Local Plan Representations Green Belt Assessment Sensitivity and Capacity Appraisals Minerals and Waste Development Urban Design, Public Realm and Masterplanning Regeneration and Renewal Heritage Landscapes and Restoration

PR

Ecological Consultancy and BREEAM NEWSTEAD BUS

TERS

Littlethorpe O F L E I C E S T E R LT D ESTABLISHED 1983

Mark Flatman - mark.flatman@lizlake.com Head of Landscape Planning

0116 2603777

S

EL

HARD

O

OD

H

W

M O FR 0 ES 98 I C 4 , AT £ V +

Landscape Design and Implementation

01279 647 044

sales@littlethorpe.com

www.lizlake.com

littlethorpe.com

Stansted | Bristol | Nottingham

HERITAGE SERVICES SINCE 1997

Read by the RTPI’s 23,000 members, The Planner reaches in excess of 8,000 more planners than its nearest competitor.

ABC d

ite Our features and editorial Aud coverage reflect the views and concerns of the UK’s leading town planning professionals.

T: 0203 301 5670 E: ask@borderarchaeology.com

borderarchaeology.com

32

CONTACT If you want to reach the valuable audience, please contact: daniel.goodwin@redactive.co.uk or call 020 7880 6206

T H E PL AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0 The Planner house_all sizes REVISED Sept17.indd 4

p32_PLN.JUNE20.indd 32

06/09/2017 12:08

11/05/2020 10:59

LANDSCAPE

Tech { L A N D S C A P E

P33 TECH P36 REGIONAL P38 DECISIONS P42 LEGAL P 5 0 W H AT ' S O N

OPEN SOURCE AN APP TO MONITOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGHOUT ITS LIFETIME HAS WON THE 2020 RTPI AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TECH WITHIN PLANNING PRACTICE. SIMON WICKS FINDS OUT HOW IT WORKS AND HOW OPENNESS IN TECHNOLOGY IS DRIVING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN SOUTHWARK “A resident in a development in Southwark let us know that the affordable housing units were on sale on an estate agent website in Hong Kong,” says Jack Ricketts, a planning officer with the London Borough of Southwark.

“When we looked into it, we realised they had been ‘flipped’ – gone from being affordable shared ownership units to being privately owned in a very, very short space of time.”

There was obviously foul play and Southwark Council took a range of defendants to court over ‘flipping’ at three different sites.

Ultimately, the council was able to return most of the homes and recoup most of its costs. In doing so, it learned that its process for monitoring affordable housing was inadequate, a particular

I M A G E S | S H U T T E R S T O C K / S O U T H WA R K C O U N C I L

33-34 tech landscape_June 2020_The Planner 33

problem in the London borough with the highest volume of social housing.

Indeed, when Ricketts, and colleague Lasma Putrina, attempted an affordable housing audit, they ran into difficulty. “I contacted all the housing associations and providers saying ‘Can you tell us what units you have in Southwark?’ Naively, I thought it would be fairly simple to tie those back to the original section 106 agreement. It just wasn’t.”

The problem was a “total disconnect between the planning world and the built world”. Once a section 106 agreement is signed off and an application approved, local authorities trust developers to deliver what’s been promised. To date, explains Ricketts, Southwark has had no formal mechanism to record exactly which units in a development meet

The app relies on collaboration between the local authority, the developer and housing associations

which kind of affordable criteria, what their addresses are, and whether they have been sold to a housing provider.

Each year, Southwark reports its affordable housing numbers to the Greater London Authority and the government, which takes six people a month. There had, thought Ricketts, to be a more accurate, secure and immediate way to do this.

A technological solution After advertising for a tech partner on the government’s Digital Marketplace, Ricketts and his collaborators – dxw Digital and Peabody Housing – designed

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

33

13/05/2020 09:34

LANDSCAPE

TTech { L A N D S C A P E an app to routinely record and monitor the borough’s affordable housing stock.

The affordable housing monitoring app relies on collaboration between the local authority, the developer and housing associations. “Now, when affordable housing is secured via a s.106, the case officer will put that agreed number and split of homes into the system. And then that’s it. There’s no more admin burden.”

Ricketts adds: “When that development is consented, the developer will be notified and can log in and update the record. When they’ve completed the building they will say it’s completed, and when they apply for addresses, they and the local authority will add them, and crucially the UPRNs (Unique Property Reference Numbers), to each property.”

The developer will also be required to record sales of affordable homes to housing associations “so we will be able

to know exactly what the status of the properties are, and we’ll be able to then monitor that on a continual basis”.

Counting the benefits The app’s benefits are numerous. “One, it allows an accurate figure to be put against numbers of affordable homes,” says Ricketts. “Two, it allows accurate reporting to central government. Three, it makes sure the number of affordable homes we’ve spent time and effort securing will be available to people that need them. Four, it dissuades them from being lost to the system through cynical intentions or otherwise.

“It means we don’t have to build additional units to offset the homes we didn't know we’d lost. It’ll help validate our policy as well: if we’re providing X number of social rent one-bed homes, but actually those aren’t being taken up in this particular area, then it will allow us to adjust our policy on a timely basis.”

The app also introduces a transparency that will please local groups such as the 35% Campaign, which works to ensure

The monitoring app promotes a ach systematic and transparent approach to recording data on affordable housing in new developments

A BACK­OFFICE REVOLUTION?

Southwark Council is also driving development of a back-office system for local authorities to handle planning applications. BoPS (Back-office Planning System), being developed with digital agency Unboxed, is currently set up for small applications but in time will manage applications of all scales.

It has been developed to be “intuitive” to planners, as opposed to what Ricketts describes as the “clunky” systems that planning authorities are currently tied to. “We found that a case officer would open up the back-office case management system, then something else to look at plans, and then something else to look at the local GIS system, and they are bouncing to and fro.”

Funded by the Local Digital Fund, the software has been developed with planners from different types of authority. It is cloud-based, conforms to the government’s digital standards – and it is open-source. “All the source code and all the research behind it are freely available to anyone. If a local authority has its own in-house capability and wants to pick this work up and develop it, that’s perfect,” says Ricketts.

34

AN EXEMPLARY PROJECT

Southwark’s affordable housing monitoring app beat off stiff competition to take the inaugural Award for Tech within Planning Practice. Fellow shortlisted finalists were the City of London’s use of tech to develop its wind microclimate guidelines, North Ayrshire’s development brief prototype incorporating 3D fly-throughs, and the Lake District National Park Authority’s use of digital consultation tools.

But it was Southwark’s app that the judges described as “an exemplar of planning-led problem-solving”. They said: “Their code is open-source, which means that their success can be easily transferred and replicated across all local authorities.” that the borough fulfils its affordable housing target. Campaigners will be able to access this data without having to make a Freedom of Information request.

Next steps But what of tracking changes in the status of homes – such as shared purchase homes that are paid off, homes sold under right to buy legislation or where ownership is transferred from one housing provider to another?

“We want to see if it’s possible through APIs to link addresses with the Land Registry and services such as Rightmove and Zoopla. So the local authority will know immediately if the occupier of that 25 per cent shared-ownership unit now owns 75 per cent or all of it, and we will be able to remove it from our list.”

He would also like to see automation to remove the need for case officers to key in data. The app has been built on an open-source platform and Ricketts is keen for other councils to use it.

The spirit behind the affordable housing monitoring app is the same as that behind the back-office planning system (see box) that Southwark is developing with other authorities, including Coventry.

Collaboration, says Ricketts, will be at the root of the digital transformation of planning. “The new way of working is by being open, honest and transparent with each other and working in partnership with other local authorities, but also private sector agencies.”

T H E PL AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0

33-34 tech landscape_June 2020_The Planner 34

13/05/2020 09:34

RTPI Online Events 2020

Access our online events from wherever you are: rtpi.org.uk/onlineevents2020

In a series of FREE weekly online events we will help planners navigate the current crisis, keep up their CPD and explore planning in a post-pandemic world.

• Webinars • Online talks and discussions • Virtual conferences Members can also access free modules on a wide range of planning topics on RTPI Learn. #RTPIOnlineEvents

RTPI Online Events FP bleed.indd 2

06/05/2020 11:36

N AT I O N S &REGIONS

W H AT ’ S H A P P E N I N G I N I R E L A N D ?

HERE’S A ROUND­UP OF KEY PROJECTS AND EVENTS IN 2020

Ireland MetroLink MetroLink is the proposed 19km high-capacity, high-frequency rail line from Swords to Charlemont, linking Dublin Airport, Irish Rail, DART, Dublin Bus and Luas services to fully integrate public transport in Greater Dublin. As well as linking transport hubs, MetroLink will connect the key destinations of Ballymun, the Mater Hospital, the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin City University and Trinity College Dublin. It is set to carry up to 50 million passengers a year. bit.ly/planner0620-metrolink

National Children’s Hospital, Dublin Now under construction for completion in 2022, the children’s hospital and Children’s Research and Innovation Centre will be a national facility for young people with illnesses requiring specialist care. At its heart will be an oval ward pavilion, set within one of Europe’s largest roof gardens, with a ‘floating garden’ halfway up the building. It elevates the importance of nature’s link with therapeutic environments, making it a central part of the architecture’s character. bit.ly/planner0620-nch

Horgan’s Quay, Cork This regeneration project Horgan’’s comprises a six-acre, mixed-used Quay in development centred on conserving the Cork site’s industrial heritage. The refurbished Station House will form the centrepiece of the residential element. The Carriage Shed will house retail and restaurant uses next to the hotel. The Goods Shed refurbishment and restoration of the nine-metre high Cork Limestone wall are integral to the development of the office buildings. bit.ly/planner0620-horgans

Galway City

NOTABLE SUCCESSES

Portlaoise 2040 and beyond Winner of the Irish Planning Institute Awards 2020 Participation and Engagement category, ‘A Vision for Portlaoise’ is a plan that re-examines Portlaoise town centre in a changing social, environmental and economic context. Key aspects of the project are how it formalises a shared vision that focuses on improving the public realm, underpinned by a more coherent spatial framework for dealing with public spaces, parks, landscaping, walkways, traffic, transport and parking. bit.ly/planner0620-portlaoise

Galway Public Realm Strategy Winner of the Irish Planning Institute Awards 2020 Design category, this strategy explores the condition of

central Galway’s townscape and network of public and green spaces, and sets out improvements to guide investment and development.

The design response is specific to the location, history and character of Galway City and looks to create a pedestrianised zone, investment in the Fish market and Eyre Square, and opening up the riverside walk. bit.ly/planner0620-galway

Living Georgian City Project, Limerick Winner of the Irish Planning Institute Awards 2020, Limerick’s Living Georgian City programme involves innovative change to Newtown Pery, the heart of the city’s Georgian architecture. It focuses on targeted interventions and underused stock to increase residential use, showcase the transition to a low-carbon city and deliver compact growth. bit.ly/planner0620-limerick

I M AG E | I STO C K

36

T H E PL AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

36-37 N and R_June 2020_The Planner 36

13/05/2020 12:16

Regional contact details: contact@rtpiireland.org

See more on the Ireland at the Nations and Regions gateway: bit.ly/PlannerGateway

COVID­19 AND IRISH PLANNING

“The OPR has a statutory function in reviewing development plans, to ensure that they comply with higher level policy. It makes sure that they are in line with national and ministerial guidelines on various interlinked The Mahon Tribunal, which ran issues, for example energy policy. This between 1997 and 2012, was set up involves commenting on development to investigate corrupt payments to plans at different stages, including the politicians, focusing particularly on adoption process.” planning and zoning decisions in The OPR is also responsible for the Dublin area in the early 1990s. “driving national research, training, The eventual cost of the inquiry is education and public information expected to reach up to €300 million. programmes” as well as The final report, issued 14 “establishing best practice years after the inquiry in planning matters and began, recommended highlighting the role the establishment of and benefit of proper a new independent planning”. planning regulator to If a local authority improve transparency does not comply in the Irish planning with the OPR’s system. recommendations it In response, the Office cannot enforce the changes of the Planning Regulator itself.

Instead, it can refer the (OPR) was established in Jerry Barnes matter to the relevant minister, 2019. who can then issue a ministerial The OPR’s function is to oversee order to the local authority compelling the delivery of planning services in it to make changes.

Ireland delivered by local authorities However, like many government and An Bord Pleanála, the Irish functions in Ireland and around the planning inspectorate, to ensure world, the Covid-19 pandemic has consistency. affected planning in Ireland.

One of its statutory functions The country’s first case of the virus is to review each local authority’s was recorded on 29th February, and it development plans, explains Jerry entered lockdown a month later.

Barnes, planning consultant and At the end of March, an emergency former chair of RTPI Ireland.

The longest-running and most expensive public inquiry in Irish history was focused on the issue of corruption in planning.

COMING UP

RTPI President’s Visit 2nd/3rd September, Galway

RTPI Ireland Annual Members’ Meeting 8th December, Dublin

8th September, Dublin

To see all upcoming RTPI Ireland events:

Annual Law Seminar

bit.ly/planner0620IrelandEvents

RTPI Ireland Annual Dinner 12th November, Dublin

Dublin

Limerick Wa te r fo rd

C o rk

bill gave the Irish housing minister the power to pause all statutory deadlines relating to planning, causing a knockon effect in terms of the OPR’s review of development plans.

The deadlines were initially paused for 23 days – three weeks, plus an extra two days to accommodate Easter – but have since been extended again to 42 days. Could they be extended for a third time? “I don’t think so,” says Barnes, “but it all depends on what happens with the pandemic.”

CONTACTS

Members’ Open Forum

7th October, Dublin

Ga lway

Regional Chair – Aidan Culhane MRTPI, chief executive, The Iveagh Trust Director - Craig McLaren FRTPI Coordinator - Catherine Bolster Regional Web Address www. rtpi.org.uk/find-your-rtpi/ rtpi-nations/rtpi-ireland/ Postal address: Royal Town Planning

Institute Ireland 1 Westland Square, Pearse Street, Dublin, D02 EP02 Telephone: 08925 15649 Email: contact@rtpiireland.org Twitter : @RTPIIreland

NEXT MONTH:

London J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

36-37 N and R_June 2020_The Planner 37

37

13/05/2020 12:16

LANDSCAPE

C&D { C

CASES &DECISIONS

A N A LY S E D B Y M A T T M O O D Y / A P P E A L S @ T H E P L A N N E R . C O . U K

Zaha Hadid’s twin Vauxhall skyscrapers win communities secretary’s approval Plans for two interlinked skyscrapers on the site of Vauxhall bus station in London can now go ahead, after housing secretary Robert Jenrick approved the scheme created by the practice of the late architect Zaha Hadid.

The decision concerned an area in south-west London known as Vauxhall Cross, a transport hub with bus, train and underground interchange stations and a busy multilane road network.

In November 2017, plans to redevelop the site were submitted by ZHA, the practice of the celebrated Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, who had died a year earlier.

The scheme followed two previous applications to redevelop the site, in 2005 and 2010. The first was refused on affordable housing grounds, while the second was approved by then-secretary of state Eric Pickles. However, instead of implementing the permission, the landowner appointed ZHA to create a new design.

The plans involved the demolition of the bus station at the site to make way for two towers, standing at 53 and 42 storeys respectively and connected by a 10-storey podium.

The scheme would provide almost 20,000 square metres of office space, 508 hotel bedrooms and 110 ‘hotel apartments’, as well as 257 flats. At street level

38

LOCATION: Vauxhall AUTHORITY: Lambeth Borough Council

INSPECTOR: John Braithwaite PROCEDURE: Called­in decision DECISION: Allowed REFERENCE: APP/ N5660/V/19/3229531

a new public square would be created, featuring shops, restaurants, and a new bus station.

The council was supportive of the scheme, describing it as "an important opportunity to assist in the realisation of the regeneration of Vauxhall”. But before it could grant permission, the housing secretary Robert Jenrick called in the application following objections from local groups. A three-day inquiry led by inspector John Braithwaite was held in December 2019.

Local people objected to the loss of the bus station, which had only been built in 2005, arguing that its unusual cantilevered design and 200-metre steel-ribboned ‘ski jump’ roof had become symbolic of the area.

Braithwaite noted that as well as wishing the bus station to be retained, these residents also supported the idea of the new ‘town centre’ that the scheme would deliver at the site.

“They can’t have both,” he pointed out, “because retention of the bus station would prevent [the area] from becoming anything other than it is at present.”

He also noted that there was an extant permission to replace the bus station separate from the present application.

There was “virtual unanimity” between the parties in terms of the scheme’s design. Braithwaite described the quality of the scheme as “undeniable”. He recommended the scheme for approval, commenting that it would “successfully contribute to the planned cluster of tall buildings in Vauxhall”.

In his own decision letter, Robert Jenrick was satisfied that the appellant’s offer of 23 on-site affordable units and £30 million in off-site provision was the maximum that could viably be delivered.

Although there was a “technical conflict” with local policy restricting building heights in the area to 150 metres, he noted, a number of other buildings of that height or taller had been built or approved nearby.

Concluding that the scheme complied with the local development plan, Jenrick decided to grant permission.

T H E PL AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0

38-41 C and D_June 2020_The Planner 38

13/05/2020 09:35

These are just a few of the 40 or so appeal reports that we post each month on our website: www.theplanner.co.uk/decisions

‘Exceptional’ paragraph 79 ‘butterfly house’ rejected An inspector has refused plans for a ‘very personal’ home designed in the shape of a butterfly in the Yorkshire green belt, despite accepting that the design was ‘exceptionally good’ and ‘truly outstanding’.

Jenrick approves green belt special needs campus

I M AG E S | S L A S HCU B E / I STO C K

The housing secretary has approved a specialist care charity’s plans for new facilities and 325 homes of enabling development in Stockport’s green belt, finding ‘very special circumstances’.

The appeal concerned plans submitted in 2016 by The Seashell Trust, a charity that provides specialist care for disabled children in north-west England.

It sought permission to create a new campus at its headquarters in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, featuring schooling, swimming and hydrotherapy facilities. As part of the hybrid application, the charity also planned to build 325 homes on nearby agricultural land to fund the development.

However, the plans were rejected by the council, which cited harm to the green belt. The application was recovered in September 2018, and an inquiry convened by inspector Michael Boniface sat for 15 days in May 2019.

Boniface recommended the scheme for approval, ruling that its benefits amounted to “very special circumstances”.

In his own decision, Jenrick acknowledged that the facilities had been designed to meet the needs of students with “challenging and complex needs”.

He rejected arguments that the proposed development was “more than the minimum necessary” for the trust to meet its objectives, noting that it had been designed to deliver “multiple, interlinked objectives" LOCATION: Cheadle Hulme as part of a long-term masterplan.

AUTHORITY: Stockport Metropolitan Jenrick accorded “very Borough Council significant weight” to the provision of 325 homes, INSPECTOR: Michael Boniface noting that the council could demonstrate a PROCEDURE: Recovered appeal housing supply of only 2.8 years.

DECISION: Allowed Agreeing that the need for the scheme had been REFERENCE: APP/ “robustly made out” C4235/W/18/3205559 and amounted to very special circumstances, the housing secretary allowed the appeal.

38-41 C and D_June 2020_The Planner 39

The appellant, an artist, planned to build an ‘off the grid’ home called ‘Butterfly House’ on green belt land between the two settlements of Sandal Magna and Walton.

Inspector Richard Aston found that the scheme would cause a “significant degree of harm” to green belt openness, and to the setting of a “large and impressive” grade-II listed home nearby.

The appellant sought to justify the scheme under NPPF paragraph 79(e), which allows isolated rural homes if they are of outstanding or innovative design and would “significantly enhance” their immediate setting.

She argued that the site was isolated because it was “clearly physically separate” from two nearby settlements.

On this point Aston gave the appellant the benefit of the doubt, as the council also rated the site as isolated.

In terms of innovation, Aston said that although the home's technical features would result in a low-carbon home, these were “not necessarily... particularly original and creative” ideas.

He concured that the

LOCATION: Sandal Magna AUTHORITY: Wakefield Council INSPECTOR: Richard Aston PROCEDURE: Written submissions DECISION: Dismissed REFERENCE: APP/ X4725/W/19/3235581

butterfly-based design was intended to be “a piece of sculptural abstract art” as well as a home,and that it was “original and creative in its thinking”. He also accepted that the “exceptionally good” design satisfied the first limb of paragraph 79(e).

In terms of setting, Aston agreed that the mirrored exterior of the structure would mitigate its “strident” appearance to an extent, but disagreed with the appellant’s view that the building would “dissolve into the landscape”.

He ruled that the scheme did not accord with paragraph 79.

13/05/2020 09:35

LANDSCAPE

C&D { C I M A G E S | I S T O C K / G E T T Y / A L A M Y / S C I E N C E P H O T O L I B R A RY / S H U T T E R S T O C K

Low-flying helicopters would ‘distress’ crematorium mourners An inspector has refused plans for a crematorium near an RAF base in Shropshire despite a ‘clear need’, ruling that helicopters flying as low as 30 metres off the ground nearby would be ‘disconcerting’ to mourners.

LOCATION: Nesscliffe AUTHORITY: Shropshire Council INSPECTOR: Thomas Hatfield PROCEDURE: Hearing DECISION: Dismissed REFERENCE: APP/ L3245/W/19/3236638

Westerleigh Group, the UK’s largest operator of crematoria and cemeteries, sought permission for a crematorium near Nesscliffe, Shropshire.

However, the appeal site was a short distance from an “extensive” military training area, and only 20 kilometres from RAF Shawbury, which provides helicopter training for armed forces personnel.

RAF representatives told the hearing that the appeal site fell within a narrow corridor used by helicopters travelling between the airbase and the

Jenrick allows 500 homes at green belt university campus The housing secretary has approved Oxford Brookes University’s plans to vacate one of its campuses to make way for 500 homes, after agreeing that ‘very special circumstances’ existed.

The appeal concerned eight acres of crescent-shaped pasture field on the edge of Egerton, curving around the appellant’s existing converted barn home.

The appellant sought permission to build an “exceptional, communityfocused zero carbon home” in the centre of the site, along with a detached stable block, an outdoor learning area for local schoolchildren, and a wildlife area dedicated to lapwing nesting.

There was no dispute that the scheme would be inappropriate green belt

40

development. Instead, the appellant sought permission under national policy provision for homes of outstanding or innovative design.

The scheme was assessed by a local design review panel, which said that although it was an improvement on earlier iterations, it was not a “totally convincing work of architecture that could be described as ‘outstanding’”.

training area. These would be flying at altitudes as low as 30 metres over the appeal site, two to three times an hour.

A demonstration was arranged for a helicopter to fly over the appeal site. Hatfield said the “loud, pulsating” helicopter noise was “clearly audible above road traffic noise” from the nearby A5.

“Given the speed at which the helicopters were travelling”, he added, “the noise emerged relatively quickly and intensely.” This, “coupled with the visual

impact of a helicopter travelling at low level and high speed had a startling effect that would be highly disconcerting”.

Although the crematorium building could be insulated to prevent disruption to services, Hatfield noted, mourners would gather outside before and afterwards. He said: “A low-flying helicopter in the vicinity would be highly distracting and likely to result in annoyance or distress to those grieving.”

He refused permission.

Inspector Brendan Lyons agreed.

The parties were at odds over what is meant by the term ‘innovative’. Lyons said that while “the application of previously tried techniques to evolve understanding of their potential” could be regarded as innovative, “there must be some element of a uniquely novel approach”.

The proposal would be unique in its design, he noted, but would involve “an assemblage of forms and materials that are well tried and tested”. Indeed, the use of insulated concrete formwork proposed “had been used several times within the borough alone”.

He agreed with the council’s comment that “the design of individual dwellings to achieve very high standards of sustainable performance should now be regarded more as the norm than the exception”, and while “commendable”, was not innovative.

LOCATION: Wheatley, Oxford AUTHORITY: South Oxfordshire District Council

INSPECTOR: D M Young PROCEDURE: Recovered appeal DECISION: Allowed REFERENCE: APP/ Q3115/W/19/3230827

T H E P L AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

38-41 C and D_June 2020_The Planner 40

13/05/2020 09:35

DECISIONS DIGEST{

SUBSCRIBE to our appeals digest:

https://subs.theplanner. co.uk/register

Jenrick approves ‘horrendous’ Gladman 200­home scheme Gladman has won a second permission in two weeks from housing secretary Robert Jenrick, who approved plans for a village extension in Essex described as “horrendous” by home secretary and local MP Priti Patel. bit.ly/planner0620-Gladman

Pandemic implications cut council’s housing supply

Marquee would ‘dominate’ grade­I listed country house

An inspector has dismissed plans for 118 homes in the Berkshire countryside, despite revising down the council’s housing land supply in light of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the housebuilding industry. bit.ly/planner0620-pandemic

Plans to install a marquee at Moggerhanger House in Bedfordshire, one of only three surviving houses designed by Sir John Soane, have been rejected by an inspector, who cited heritage and parking concerns. bit.ly/planner0620-marquee

Jenrick rejects 112,000sqm ‘agritech’ campus

New business plan following family tragedy rejected

The housing secretary has rejected plans for an agricultural technology campus in Cambridgeshire after finding no mechanism in place to ensure it did not become a “general business park”. bit.ly/planner-620-agritech bit.ly/planner 620 agritech

An inspector, not persuaded that a new business plan prepared by a rural worker after the death of her partner was viable, has upheld enforcement action against her “ramshackle” on-site home. bit.ly/planner0620-dairy

Pandemic lockdown cancels out traffic concerns

Return to original use not exempt from financial al contribution

An inspector has extended the compliance period of an enforcement notice against an Islamic school in East London, noting that traffic concerns would not be a problem during the Covid-19 lockdown. bit.ly/planner0620-lockdown

A retired doctor’s plan to convert onvert her listed townhouse surgery ery in Richmond back into a home me has been rejected after an inspector pector ruled the scheme was not exempt from affordable housing duty. uty. bit.ly/planner0620-surgery ry

Jenrick finds ‘too many compromises’ in regeneration scheme

New stand allowed for table­ topping Welsh football team topp

EN

FO

RC AP EM PE EN AL T S

E UR IS LE

SI BU

UN MM

NE

Y IT

L LE

GA CO

RO VI EN

GR MO DE

NM

AP

EN

HI

TA

L

CS

E NC NA FI

DE PE VE RM LO IT PM TE EN D T

WE HEA LL LT BE H & IN G

E SC ND LA

TU UC TR FA S

IN

AP

RE

G IN US HO

GE HE

RI

TA

GN SI DE

LT BE N EE GR

SS

Plan submitted by North Wales Plans football team Hawarden foo Rangers for a 100-seater R sstand can go ahead after an inspector deemed it to be an “essential facility” that was therefore justified in the w area’s “green barrier”. ar bit.ly/planner0620-Hawarden bit.

The housing secretary has rejected major regeneration plans for a business park in Camberwell, South London, ruling that the design sought to “maximise, rather than optimise” the site and was ”not exemplary”. bit.ly/planner0620-businesspark

JUNE 2020 / THE PLANNER

38-41 C and D_June 2020_The Planner 41

41

13/05/2020 09:35

LANDSCAPE

LLegal landscape OPINION

Continuity: Immunity v Abandonment Successful enforcement of non-permitted changes of use depends on proving that the use has not been going on for four years. What if it has, but there have been breaks during that period?

Tracy Lovejoy considers a tricky area of law

The recent case of London His decision was quashed Borough of Islington v in the High Court. Lady Justice SSCLG and Maxwell Estates Hale stated that the inspector ([2019] EWCH 2691) is a had applied a presumption of reminder that the person continuity during the break asserting that a use is lawful and had taken into account bears the burden of proving irrelevant matters such as the that the use has continued owner’s intentions – he had for the requisite period used rules for considering of time. It also illustrates abandonment to assess how important it is not to whether the use as a flat confuse rules had continued for establishing sufficiently long “HALE STATED abandonment to establish THAT THE with those for lawfulness.

INSPECTOR establishing To decide that HAD APPLIED A lawfulness this approach PRESUMPTION when assessing was wrong, Lady OF CONTINUITY continuity of use. used case DURING THE SIX­ Hale The Maxwell law, including the MONTH BREAK case related to Court of Appeal AND HAD TAKEN an unauthorised cases of Thurrock INTO ACCOUNT change of use Borough Council IRRELEVANT of a basement v Secretary of MATTERS SUCH from professional for the AS THE OWNER’S State services (A2) to a Environment INTENTIONS” flat. The unlawful [2002] EWCA Civ residential use 226) and Swale v started over four Borough Council years before the v Secretary of enforcement State for the notice was served. The Environment [2005] EWCA inspector had to consider Civ 156). whether the use was deemed In Thurrock, the inspector to continue during a sixhad confused lawfulness and month break in residential abandonment and decided use, when the flat was that despite the intermittent renovated. He decided that, nature of the unauthorised as there was an intention to use of the site as an airfield, continue the use during the lawfulness had been renovations, the break did established, as this use had not interrupt continuity and not been abandoned during lawfulness was established. the four years necessary

42

to prove lawfulness. Swale related to the residential use of a site between 1995 and 2000. Although the use was intermittent, partly because of renovation works, the inspector had decided that lawfulness had been established because there had been no intention to abandon the use of the land.

The Appeal Court ruling in Thurrock gave clear guidance on establishing lawfulness, which was different from the issue of whether a lawful use right had been abandoned.

It said lawfulness could only be established if the use has continued for the requisite time without enforcement.

The rationale behind immunity from enforcement was that the council had a period within which to take action. If it didn’t enforce during that period it did not think the breach was significant. But if at any time during that period, the breach was not taking place, it could not be said that the authority had a fair chance to enforce against it.

Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal held that the inspector had misdirected himself in law and quashed his decision.

The Court of Appeal in Swale said it was vital for inspectors to ask the legally correct questions: 1) When did the

current unauthorised use start? and 2) Has it continued for long enough to establish lawfulness? If there are any breaks in use, the question is whether they are significant enough to affect continuity, not whether the owner intended to abandon the use during the break.

Similarly, once lawful use rights are established it is not necessary for the underlying use to continue to retain those rights and avoid abandonment. Although a long period of a non-use may point to abandonment, any intermittent use can keep a lawful use alive.

Tracy Lovejoy is an associate lawyer in the planning department of Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors

In brief In assessing lawfulness of a change of use, decision-makers must be aware of the difference between breaks in use and abandonment Three Court of Appeal cases illustrate the point, where inspectors have mixed up the rules Each decision was quashed – lawfulness of non-permitted changes of use must be judged on time alone, not on presumed intentions of owners

T H E P L AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

42-43 Legal_June 2020_The Planner 42

13/05/2020 09:36

EVENTS

CASES

LEGISLATION

NEWS

NEWS Sevenoaks challenges Planning Inspectorate’s ruling on local plan Sevenoaks District Council has launched a judicial review against an inspector’s recommendation to withdraw its local plan.

In October 2019, inspector Karen L Baker reported that she had “significant” concerns about several aspects of the plan.

Her main doubt related to a “lack of constructive engagement” with neighbouring authorities to resolve the issue of unmet housing need and the absence of cross-boundary planning to identify how this need could be accommodated.

The council “strongly” disagrees with this conclusion. In January this year, it vowed that it would not voluntarily withdraw its draft local plan.

Its statement published in April explained that more than 800 pages of evidence were submitted for examination, setting out how it had worked with its neighbours while producing the plan.

Peter Fleming, leader of Sevenoaks District Council, says: “Taking legal action is not something we would undertake lightly and demonstrates we are serious about standing up for our residents and our cherished environment, against what we believe is a fundamental failure by the Planning Inspectorate to take account of the weight of evidence in front of them.

“Working with landowners, communities and developers, our new local plan put forward innovative solutions to deliver almost 10,000 homes and improved infrastructure while protecting nearly all of our green belt. It’s a huge frustration that, after so much work, we cannot take our plan forward at this time.

“Concluding that we failed to cooperate with neighbouring councils was the only way to halt the examination.

“We reject this. We gave the planning inspector detailed evidence of our work with our neighbours and, from the start, they said they couldn’t accommodate the homes we could not deliver.”

The housing secretary now has the opportunity to respond before a judge decides whether of not the judicial review should proceed.

Court says council’s decision on retail park is ‘flawed’ The Court of Session has ruled that North Lanarkshire Council’s decision to allow a retail park planning permission to extend is “flawed”.

The application for Westway Retail Park in Cumbernauld included a cinema, hotel and food and retail outlets. Bridges Antonine LLP – owner of Antonine Shopping Centre in the town centre – challenged the approval in the Court of Session.

Ruling against the council, the court said the reasons for approving the development were “perverse and inadequate” and “materially flawed”.

Lord Burns stated: “I find that the respondents failed to fulfil their statutory duties under the 1997 act; that they erred in law; that they failed to give proper reasons; and that they acted unreasonably... The respondents should re-examine the application in the light of this opinion.”

Dutch firm Promotoria Holdings applied to extend Westway Retail Park and North Lanarkshire Council approved the proposals in June 2019. Bridges Antonine LLP sought a judicial review of this decision.

ANALYSIS

LEGAL BRIEFS Neighbourhood Planning – The State of Play in 2020 This webinar with Peter Edwards, author of The Power of Neighbourhood Planning, will answer key questions for planners, local authorities and parish councils preparing a neighbourhood plan. bit.ly/planner0620-neighbourhood

APC and Becoming Chartered This webinar, part of the RTPI’s online events series, will be hosted by RTPI South East. It will offer guidance for planners looking to submit their assessment of professional competence (APC) in 2020, with an opportunity for questions. bit.ly/planner0620-apc

County Meath quarry ‘not beyond reach of EU directives’ The owners of a 150-year-old quarry have lost their High Court claim that the quarry is beyond the reach of EU environmental directives as its activities do not need planning consent, the Irish Times reports. bit.ly/planner0620-quarry

Completing s.106 agreements during Covid-19 restrictions Pinsent Masons partner James Lockerbie and legal director Jo Miles propose solutions for planners wishing to seal section 106 agreements during lockdown. bit.ly/planner0620-s106

An Bord Pleanála questions court’s analytic role The Irish planning board has requested permission to challenge the extent of the High Court’s jurisdiction to analyse board decisions, after a judge quashed the agency’s approval of a biogas plant project in County Meath, says the Irish Times. bit.ly/planner0620-bord

There is no ‘E’ in inquiry Planning lawyer Simon Ricketts analyses the Planning Inspectorate’s plans to continue casework during the lockdown with digital hearings. bit.ly/planner0620-simoncity

Housing v Allocation: The Kings Hill Decision Oliver Lawrence of No5 Barristers assesses an inspector’s recent ruling allowing 350 homes on land set for employment use. bit.ly/planner0620-kingshill

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

42-43 Legal_June 2020_The Planner 43

43

13/05/2020 09:36

NEWS RTPI news pages are edited

by Will Finch at the RTPI, 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3R 8DL

Winners of RTPI Awards 2020 announced live in YouTube Premiere

44

Missed the YouTube Premiere? To relive the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence 2020 in full, visit bit.ly/planner0620RTPIAwards2020

Rob Shepherd Good luck everyone… ! Loving the virtual awards. th Well done RTPI!!

W Phil Scott Ph Well done to W the Institute for th adapting to the ad lockdown to pull loc this all together th CEJesson CE Love it! I approve Lo of the house music backing. ba

the best of planning in this innovative way. In these challenging times, it is more important than ever before that we come together to share the amazing achievements of our profession and this year we've been able to do this not only with members but also the wider world.

“Since this lockdown began we’ve seen unprecedented numbers of people subscribing to our YouTube channel.

“With lots more exciting content planned over the coming months, including the Planner Live Online from 29 June to 3 July, now is the time to follow us if you don’t already.”

For more on this year’s RTPI Awards, including a full list of winners and commended entries, see pages six and seven.

Number of views that the YouTube video of the ceremony had gained within days of its launch

500

Peak live audience for the RTPI Awards 2020, staged as a YouTube Premiere

2,500

764

Members have reacted with overwhelming positivity to the RTPI’s decision to announce the winners of this year’s Awards for Planning Excellence in an online ceremony.

As well as those who watched the ceremony live, many more took to social media to celebrate planning, ensuring the hashtag #RTPIAwards trended at number 5 nationally on Twitter.

The ceremony had been due to take place at Milton Court in the City of London, but was rearranged because of the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent social distancing guidelines.

The 23-minute video featured winners and commended entries in 14 categories and climaxed in the announcement of the winner of the Silver Jubilee Cup, awarded each year to the project adjudged best overall.

RTPI President Sue Manns FRTPI, who welcomed viewers to the ceremony with a message recorded at her home in Elford in Staffordshire, was among the first to congratulate the winners.

Speaking afterwards, she said: “I’m delighted that we were able to celebrate

LIVE CHAT – HOW VIEWERS REACTED TO THE CEREMONY

Above: The moment Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service and development company TOWN learned that they had been awarded this year’s Silver Jubilee Cup for the Marmalade Lane CoHousing Community.

For a detailed look at the Marmalade Lane project, see pages 28-31

The number of guests at the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence 2019, held at Milton Court Concert Hall at the Barbican in the City of London

Mark Bishop Ma Great presentation.

Everyone who made the finals is a winner. Keep up the fantastic work.

Planners are needed more than ever for a truly sustainable future.

Jamie Pyper RTPI have pulled this out of the bag!!!

Well done on such a high-quality presentation Lubaina Mirza This is amazing!

Never had this much fun during an awards ceremony Planning Aid England Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!

Lindsey Richards This is a great celebration of excellence, well done all winners and RTPI

T H E PL AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0

44-47 RTPI News_June 2020_The Planner 44

13/05/2020 13:59

Editorial E: rtpinews@rtpi.org.uk

RTPI (switchboard) T: 020 7929 9494

Registered charity no.

262865 Registered charity in Scotland SCO37841

MY VIEW ON… RESPONDING TO THE COVID­19 PANDEMIC In west Wales, senior planner Russell Hughes-Pickering is looking at opportunities created by the lockdown By and large, in Ceredigion we’ve been able to continue dealing with planning applications and accepting new applications that are received electronically. We do have a couple of challenges in terms of planning committees and neighbour consultations, but we’re trying to avoid a situation where a backlog builds up so we can be in a good position when we get back to the new normal. We want to be able to help businesses and others who need to get their applications through, rather than dealing with a backlog of smaller applications.

I’ve also been keen to look at other opportunities – in our situation in Ceredigion, we’re about 30 to 35 per cent down on the number of applications and I’m hoping to use that time to see

if we can get a clean slate in terms of applications. This is unique situation, where we are able to go away and reduce the numbers like that.

Also, we’re looking at whether there are some processes that can be reviewed and whether there are some new practices we can adopt going forward. Can we build on some of the remote working we are doing now? Do we operate differently with agents and committees in future? Can we set our own bar higher than it is at the moment, so that our services can continue to improve?

n Russell (top right) is Corporate Lead Officer: Economy & Regeneration at Ceredigion County Council. Together with Victoria Robinson (Vale of Glamorgan Council), bottom right, and Gareth Jones (Gwynedd Council), he was speaking to the RTPI’s Roisin Willmott for RTPI Online Events 2020. See the full video at bit.ly/planner0620-Wales

POSITION POINTS

DELEGATED POWERS VICTORIA HILLS, RTPI CHIEF EXECUTIVE The RTPI refutes any allegation that council planners are “abusing” the system by using draconian lockdown powers to take decisions without properly involving the public.

On the contrary, we’ve been inspired over the past months to see planners successfully rising to the challenges they have faced in responding to the impacts of Covid-19.

Local authorities have needed to make decisions about ways of progressing planning applications to ensure that development can continue, including by using virtual planning committees and by delegating some temporary powers to senior officers.

We support the continued ability of Chartered, professional planners to make key decisions, as they did prior to Covid-19. Chief planning officers must follow the local plan, which is based on public consultation, and the RTPI recognises the vital importance of transparent decision-making and of community engagement as a key stage in an effective planning process..

RTPI TRUST SUE MANNS FRTPI, RTPI PRESIDENT RTPI is here to support its members and one very practical way it can do this during these particularly challenging times is through the RTPI Trust.

The Trust is a registered charity, independent from the RTPI, which exists to help members and their families who are in genuine financial hardship.

It provides financial support in the form of grants for specific items of expenditure which are regarded as needed to support the welfare of the member and their family. So if you are experiencing hardship resulting from the Covid19 pandemic lockdown period, please consider whether the RTPI Trust could help you.

Assistance is discretionary so further information may be asked for in order to assist the case. If applicable, the Trustees will be contacted and they will reach a final decision on whether to provide a grant. The privacy of the applicant is respected at all times and information about decisions will always be treated in the strictest confidence.

Any donations that you wish make to the Trust would also be very gratefully received.

For more information about the RTPI Trust, visit rtpi.org.uk/trust I M A G E S | R T P I / K AT E D A R K I N S

44-47 RTPI News_June 2020_The Planner 45

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

45

13/05/2020 13:59

NEWS

RTPI N E W S

RTPI sets out post Covid-19 planning reform priorities A well-resourced, digital planning system is essential to prepare for a sustainable economic recovery in England post Covid-19, according to a new RTPI report.

Priorities for Planning Reform in England, published ahead of the government’s forthcoming ng planning white paper, sets out a range of recommendations for how better planning can be part of the solution to issues including tackling the UK’s housing crisis.

It welcomes the government’s plans for reforms aimed at delivering ing secure and affordable housing, high-quality sustainable development, and a more efficient and accessible planning system. However, it warns of the risks of deregulation through greater permitted development rights and increased US-style zoning.

RTPI Chief Executive Victoria Hills said: “This report aims to highlight the value of strategic, proactive planning in a sustainable economic recovery post Covid-19 and beyond.

“Poorly planned developments create significant cost for occupiers, local communities, infrastructure providers, wider society and the environment and many of these issues have become increasingly visible becom during the lockdown period. durin “I urge policymakers “ tto take heed of the recommendations in this report and work constructively with the RTPI to constr create a strong plan-led system.”

The report also recommends that the role of Chief Planning Officer is made a statutory position within every local authority. n To download the full document, visit bit.ly/planner0620-priorities

RTPI Elections 2020 2020 has been a year of exceptional change. In February we launched our 2020-2030 Corporate Strategy, and we have responded to the coronavirus outbreak by adapting our business practices at pace. Now, as we turn our attention to recovery, there couldn’t be a more important time to get involved.

In order to adopt an effective and standardised governance process, vacancies in the Nations and Regions will now be advertised alongside vacancies for the General Assembly and Board of Trustees. This means nominations for all RTPI elected positions will open on 15 June.

Could you help ensure that we are delivering value for our members? Do you want to broaden your planning

46

T H E P L AN N E R \ J U N E 2 0 2 0

44-47 RTPI News_June 2020_The Planner 46

experience? Do you want the opportunity to take part in discussions that affect the profession?

We’re looking for a diverse range of nominations for positions on the Board of Trustees (the group that manages the RTPI’s affairs), the General Assembly (which provides a forum for debate about the development of planning policy and practice) and for various positions on the RTPI Regional Management Boards and National Executive Committees.

Your voice matters now more than ever. Help to shape the RTPI – put yourself or a fellow member forward when nominations open. n For more information, visit bit.ly/planner0620-governance

RTPI INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY The RTPI’s International Strategy Working Group (ISWG), a key part of the Institute’s vision to be the world’s leading professional planning body, has met for the first time.

The group will write the RTPI’s new International Strategy, which will run until 2030 in parallel with the RTPI’s Corporate Strategy, launched earlier this year, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The ISWG is chaired by International Committee Chair Janet Askew. As well as members of the International Committee, it includes representatives from the Membership and Ethics Committee, Education and Lifelong Learning Committee, Policy, Practice and Research Committee and Nations and Regions Panel.

RTPI Vice-President Wei Yang is also part of the group. She said: “I was delighted to help kick off the work of the ISWG. With a growing number of the RTPI’s members living and working abroad, the development of an international strategy is one of the foundations of the RTPI’s new Corporate Strategy, and will support us in delivering our ambitious global goals over the next decade.” g

Among those taking part online in the first meeting of the International Strategy Working Group were (clockwise from top left) Oliver Charlton, Michele Vianello, Kirsty Macari, Janet Askew, Nadeem Ahmed, Wei Yang, Deb Upadhyaya, Steve Kemp and (centre) Christine Naylor

I M A G E S | R T P I / B E ATA C O S G R O V E P H O T O G R A P H Y

13/05/2020 14:00

G PLANNIN AHEAD MEMBER NEWS

NEW MEMBERS

Key dates for 2020

The RTPI would like to congratulate the following planners who have recently been elected as Chartered members.

RTPI Online Events 2020 During the unprecedented situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re working hard to bring you the best of our events and training programmes online.

Whether you’re interested in webinars, discussions between professional planners or premieres on our YouTube channel, we can help you navigate the current crisis and explore planning in a post-pandemic world. n For more information about RTPI Online Events, visit bit.ly/planner0620-OnlineEvents

For the very latest news, follow us on Twitter @RTPIPlanners

REGIONAL AWARDS Don’t forget to get your entry in before 26 June for the RTPI’s Awards for Planning JUNE Excellence in the English Regions. The awards celebrate the power of planning at a local level and are open to all planners, architects, surveyors and developers, members and non-members of the RTPI, and to all projects regardless of their size or level of completion.

26

n For more information, visit bit.ly/planner0620-EnglishRegions

PLANNER LIVE ONLINE The world is in the grip of two crises – the coronavirus epidemic, which has 29 JUNE ­ brought societies to a halt; and the 3 JULY climate change crisis, which continues to eat away at our capacity to build resilient, healthy and sustainable societies. This year, we’ll be holding an alternative planning convention The Planner Live Online, looking at how planning is coping in this age of crisis. Details are still being confirmed as this magazine went to print, but we hope that the event will feature webinars, online discussions, YouTube premieres, and social media Q&As. This five-day event will be open to all members to get involved and pick up expert insights and practical knowledge.

East Midlands Matthew Pullan Christopher Walton Antonia Wyatt Matthew Harmsworth Philip Jordan Katherine Lowe East of England Bethany Jones Jake Alexande Kelley Alice Lawman James Lloyd Danielle Miller Rebecca Smith Victoria Yeandle Bethany Philbedge International Aliyu Salisu Barau Horatiu-Cristian Cojan London Rebecca Burt Tsun Chan Fortune Gumbo Peter Hayward Nona Jones Jennifer Keith Amaryllis Myer Bramastra Prabowo Tanveer Rahman Amy Robinson Tania Skelli Luke Slattery Luke Sumnall Silas Willoughby Aaron Zimmerman Henry Asson James Burman George Creamer Monika Jain Evelyn Jones Sophie King Tanya Kozak Leah McGuinness Lewis SandifortWesthoff Catherine Tusien Taylar Vernon Owen Weaver North East Helen Boston

Christopher Johnson Fiona Riley Philippa Baruch Hannah Chapman Joshua Murphy Jamie Simpson North West Yvette Black Elliott Bullock Ann Daniels John Dixon Katarzyna Gotlibowska Victoria Harvey Melanie Hughes Jessica Jarman Luke Jiggins Andy McLaren Olivia Pemberton Emily Buckley Christie Burns Jack Hobbs Sarah Papaleo Northern Ireland Hannah Brown Chelsea Johnston Scotland Ritchie Gillies Keith Stirton Roslyn Purdie Thomas Francis Walsh Robert Portman Samuel Simms Meadhbh Maguire Neil Millar Kenneth Mitchell Clarinda Stewart-Leslie Kate Givan Stephen Macleod Carrie Main Murray Rankin Kara Harrison Amy Unitt South East David Akam Timothy Bailey Lawrence Blyth Joseph Brooke Michael Corbett Emily Ford Victoria Goldberg Susannah Green Thomas Harris

Angela Kiwanuka Kathleen Little Giles Maltby Matthew Miller Stephen Musk Hatem Nabih Marissa Nash Harriet Pitney Annie Reid Haydon Richardson Phillippa Robinson Emma Showan Lucy Wilford Rosalind Brace Ana de Freitas Terceiro Juliet Evans Andrew Marsh Harrison Moore Sarah Odu South West Stephen Baimbridge Isabel Brumwell Abbey Coles Michael Downes Ellen Fortt Hayden Foster Claire Hambleton Benjamin Hatt Monika KusKwiatkowska Catherine Renfrew Philip Saunders Daniel Tyrrell Barry Wilson Jonathan Hill Alan Muir Wales Karla Johnson Ruth Jones Bryn Pryce Emmeline Reynish Claire Seddon Adam Turner West Midlands Charis Blythe Andrew Dean Alice Jones Sonia Sivanesan Helen Stocks Yorkshire Cheryl Jarvis Ishaq Khan Leanne PogsonWray Lucy Wilson

n For the latest information on the Planner Live Online, visit bit.ly/planner0620-planneronline

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

44-47 RTPI News_June 2020_The Planner 47

47

13/05/2020 14:00

Reach out to our audience of membership professionals Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never been a more important time to reassure the planning community that their skills are in need.

The Plannerr job board board offers offfers you an opportunity it to t attract tt t the th attention tt ti of a guaranteed, dedicated audience of membership professionals, and reassure them that you are still looking to recruit.

Whether you have vacancies now, or will be looking to recruit at a later time, remind our readers what sets your organisation apart, and let them know your plans.

You might also consider advertising in The Planner magazine, and ensure you are seen by the professionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top-calibre candidates and kept at the forefront of their minds. Show them that you are here, your brand is strong, and your organisation needs them.

For more information and rates, contact us now on: T: 020 7880 6232 E: jobs@theplanner.co.uk The Planner full page ad2 option 2 BLEED.indd 1 p49_PLN.MAY20.indd

09/04/2020 16:19 16:16 09/04/2020

19 14:19

RECRUITMENT ADVERTISEMENTS

We have a range of new roles available in the Planning Team, across all three service areas of Strategic Planning, Development Management and Planning Enforcement.

Graduates or Planning Assistants (37 hours, £19,554 -£23,836) Senior Planning Officers (37 hours, £31,371-£34,788) Strategic Projects Assistant Team Manager (37 hours, £31,371-£34,788 plus £5k market supplement).

Planning for South Staffordshire

Why work for South Staffordshire Council?

Are you an experienced planner looking for more responsibility, or a chance to gain experience and work across a variety of projects? Or maybe you are looking to start a rewarding career in planning?

With a Local Plan review underway, we’ve invested additional resources into our planning service and now have exciting new opportunities in our development management, enforcement and strategic planning teams. We’re looking to recruit in a variety of roles across the three disciplines and have opportunities whether you are just beginning your planning career, are looking for a more senior role, or you would like to expand your experience in a forward-thinking local planning authority.

We are an award-winning Council that has lots to offer. Flexible and agile working, strong IT support, great access by road to the Council offices in Codsall and free car parking. We’re located within a 5-minute walk of Bilbrook train station which is a short journey from Wolverhampton station and 25 minutes from Birmingham New Street. Our main offices in Codsall are soon to be undergoing modernisation and refurbishment to provide a real community hub with partner organisations, local businesses, library, doctors surgery and cafe all in one central location.

South Staffordshire is a diverse district, made up of a collection of large and small villages, each with its own distinctive character set in an attractive semirural area on the western edge of the West Midlands conurbation. Around 80% of the district is Green Belt and we have a rich legacy of historic buildings and conservation areas. We are also home to some major employers such as Jaguar Land Rover and Moog Aerospace on our i54 South Staffordshire site, one of our 4 strategic employment sites.

Our senior roles need planners who can hit the ground running and who have the experience to take on major projects, be able to mentor colleagues and help them broaden their experience. We also have graduate and assistant posts which will enable up and coming planners to grow in the knowledge they have the support of a friendly and enthusiastic planning team.

There will be opportunities to work across all 3 areas of planning and so flexibility would be a great asset.

South Staffs Council FP.indd 1

p48-49_PLNMAY20.indd 51

Closing Date for Applications: If you would like to join our forward-thinking planning team, please apply by 5pm on 29th May. Interview Dates: Development Management – Weds 17th June Strategic Planning – Thurs18th June Planning Enforcement – Fri 19th June You are welcome to contact Lead Planning Manager, Kelly Harris, for an informal discussion about the vacancies by calling 01902 696317 or by e-mailing k.harris@sstaffs.gov.uk Please note, as a Council we support flexible, agile and homeworking (subject to business need), so if this is consideration for you, we invite you to apply and would welcome discussion around this.

For further information and how to apply visit our website www.sstaffs.gov.uk/find-a-job/ current-vacancies.cfm .

07/05/2020 15:32

11/05/2020 09:39

ACTIVITIES Although we’ve now had the Prime Minister’s “first sketch of a roadmap for reopening society”, the decimation of what would have been a packed spring ng events programme – with the postponement of all live RTPI events until 31 August and many other industry events besides – has meant we have again thrown a wider net over online activities this month.

of going to press visits Loch Etive, Loch Gairloch and Loch Maree.With around 31,000 lochs across Scotland in total, this series could run and run. bit.ly/planner0620-lochs

RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence 2020

What is it with the BBC and coast-based documentaries? After 10 series of Coast – and three each of Coast Australia and Coast New Zealand – we now have Our Coast, which seems a remarkably similar format to us, albeit perhaps with the celebrity draw of Adrian Chiles to bring it all together. bit.ly/planner0620-coast

Grand Tours of Scotland G Scotland’ss Lochs

bit.ly/planner0620-covid-19

Urban Design after Covid-19. An Urban Design Group Webinar

WHAT WE WE'RE RE WATCHING...

Our Coast

Gwynedd explain how their services have adapted and coped.

Sceptics warned that presenting the RTPI’s annual celebration of planning excellence against a series of particularly insistentt dance anthems would prove one step beyond the pale.

Ah, but how wrong they were. Initially broadcast on 30th April, the event was both a sensible measure in the midst of the coronavirus crisiss and a more trafficked ceremony than would perhaps normally have been the case. Missed it? All you need do is subscribe to the RTPI’s YouTube channel and the full 23-minute presentation can be streamed at the time of your choice. bit.ly/planner0620-ceremony

Now that Zoom is part of everyday media life, opportunities for conversations about the direction of planning are being taken by groups of all kinds. This webinar, focusing on the future of retail and workspace, considers whether use class orders reflect how we live now and the likely increase in mixed-use schemes. Chaired by Paul Reynolds, director at the Urban Design and Planning Consultancy Urben Studio. bit.ly/planner0620-urban

Have We Got Planning News For You My, but this is great. You might expect barristers to have ex strong broadcasting voices, st and indeed strong views, a but what you get here b surpasses expectations: a su review of the week's latest re developments by five Landmark dev Chambers barristers from across Cham Planning and Environment Bar the Plann Association: Paul Tucker QC, Mary Cook, Sasha White QC, Charles Banner QC and Christopher Young QC. Take part on Zoom at point of broadcast, or catch it afterwards on YouTube. bit.ly/planner0620-landmark

Heads of Planning in Wales: responding to Covid-19 Scotland’s natural beauty is never more splendidly presented than in the series of programmes documenting the country’s most iconic natural phenomena. Dubbed ‘Scotland’s gift to the world’, the country’s lochs have long been ripe for celebration. The current BBC iPlayer streaming episode at time

50

Understandably, this has been a good month for this subject.

In this session, director of RTPI Cymru Roisin Willmott asks Heads of Planning across Wales about how they are delivering in a different way during the Covid-19 crisis. Representatives from Ceredigion, Glamorgan and

T H E PL AN N E R \ JU N E 2 0 2 0

50-51 Activities_June 2020_The Planner 50

13/05/2020 09:37

LANDSCAPE

WHAT WE’RE READING...

The Property Lobby ISBN 978-14473-4816-0

In which activist and commentator Bob Colenutt presents an “indepth critique of the nexus of power of landowners, housebuilders, financial backers and politicians that makes up the property lobby”, which he describes as a complex, self-serving and intimidating network perpetuates a cycle of low supply, high prices and poor building which has resulted in one of the biggest social and economic challenges of our time.

Soft City: Building Density for Everyday Life ISBN-13: 9781642830187

by Katy Lock (author), Hugh Ellis (author)

David Sim’s book discusses the concept of a Soft City being about ease and comfort, where density has a human dimension, adapting to p our ever-changing needs, nurturing relationships, and accommodating the pleasures of everyday life. How do we move from the current reality in most cities – separated uses and lengthy commutes in single-occupancy vehicles that drain human, environmental, and community resources – to support a soft city approach?

WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO...

50 Shades of Planning: The London Plan – Capital Punishment Sam Stafford is joined for this one by Rob Krzyszowski, head of planning policy, transport and infrastructure at Haringey Council; Andrew Taylor, head of planning at Countryside Properties; and Alice Lester, operational director regeneration, growth and employment at London Borough of Brent. A manageable 45 minutes dissecting the plan from the perspective of the boroughs and others, with an emphasis on housing targets.

Available through all podcast delivery mechanisms.

WHAT WE’RE PLANNING...

The Planner Live online In place of The Planner Live as a physical conference, the team here and at the RTPI are preparing a week of online events concerned with coronavirus and climate change and the wellbeing of planners. It all starts on Monday, 29th June, with online events each day throughout the week. To get involved, visit www.theplanner.co.uk for full details of what’s happening and when.

July’s issue of The Planner Our second straight-to-digital edition will delve deeper into the longer-term ramifications of the Covid-19 crisis, while we are also interviewing Mark Southgate, chief executive of the educational charity MOBIE, about the necessary revolution in housing.

We’re also considering the implications of the forthcoming planning white paper. Have your say by getting in touch at editorial@theplanner.co.uk

J U NE 2 0 20 / THE PLA NNER

50-51 Activities_June 2020_The Planner 51

51

13/05/2020 09:37

RTPI PLUS 280X210.indd p52_PLN.JUNE20.indd 2 2

01/04/2020 13:56 12:10 04/05/2020