The Planner November 2019

NOVEMBER 2019 CHILDREN & PLANNING // p.4 • HOPES FOR SCOTLAND’S NPF4 // p.6 • INTERVIEW: YOUNG PLANNER OF THE YEAR // p.18 • COASTAL TOWNS & YOUNG PEOPLE // p.26 • CASE STUDY: SPANISH CITY // p.31 • NATIONS & REGIONS: NORTH EAST // p.34

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

Taking our place YOUNG PLANNERS ISSUE: WHY PLANNING MUST LISTEN TO THE NEXT GENERATION

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CONTENTS

NO VEMBER

10 NEWS 4 Report: Is UK planning leaving children behind?

C OV E R I M AG E | A N DY JON E S / T W E N T Y T W E N T Y

6 Will Scotland’s NPF4 bring hope to the table?

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7 Role of AONBs in planning should be strengthened

OPINION

8 Report: RTPI Northern Ireland Conference

14 Louise BrookeSmith: People power

9 Small decline in NI planning decisions

16 Nicola Crowley: Can ‘meanwhile uses’ renew our town centres?

10 Scottish minister launches first national islands strategy 11 An Bord Pleanála reports progress on appeals backlog

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16 Patrick Johnston: Planners must be bold enough to pedestrianise our city centres tua Maclure: 17 Stuart Delibera Deliberative democracy mode for better is a model engagemen in planning engagement 17 Jul Julia Thrift: Puttin health Putting into pla place

“IT’S NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT DEGREES OR GOOD EXAM RESULTS, IT’S ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE WITH AMBITION, DRIVE AND COMMON SENSE”

22 Katherine Simpson considers the Instagram generation’s likely effect on the future shape of our town centres

3 31 Case Study: Spanish Ci Whitley Bay City,

“WE HAVE A CLIMATE CRISIS TTHAT THREATENS THE VERY PLAC PLACES THAT WE LIVE, WORK AN AND PLAY ...

DOING MORE OF THE SAME JUST WON’T CUT IT AN ANYMORE” KEVIN STEWART, SC SCOTTISH PLANNING MINISTER, OUTLINING THE CHALLENGES FACING SCOTLAND AT THE RTPI SCOTLA SCOTLAND ANNUAL CONFERENCE

34 Nations & Regions: North East

18 Jenna Langford, 2019’s Young Planner of the Year, talks to Keiran Blaydes about the planning profession and the role of young people in it

26 Alastair Welch looks at the signs of revival in Britain’s seaside towns

QUOTE UNQUOTE

INSIGHT

FEATURES

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38 Cases & decisions: Development decisions, round-up and analysis

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42 Legal Landscape: Opinions, blogs and news from the legal side of planning 44 RTPI round-up: News and interviews from the institute 50 Meet the members of RTPI North East Young Planners who have contributed to this special edition

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NEWS

Report { P R E V I E W : R T P I R E P O R T O N C H I L D ­ F R I E N D LY E N V I R O N M E N T S

Report: Is UK planning leaving children behind?

A forthcoming RTPI report finds that the UK’s planning systems make little accommodation for children and young people

By Jack Osgerby and Simon Wicks A soon-to-be published RTPI report that looks at the ‘child-friendliness’ of the UK’s planning systems argues for a refocusing of planning’s priorities, away from economic goals and towards childfriendly environments This, the authors contend, could reverse the cultural trend away from emphasising “structure and education over freedom and participation” while acknowledging that children and young people “have a vital stake in the both the present and future of placemaking”.

Child-friendly Planning Policy in the UK: A Review – to be published on 29 November – finds that of the UK’s four planning systems, only Wales prioritises people over economics.

England’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has a single mention of children. Northern Ireland’s policy framework is similarly quiet on children. Scotland, the report finds, is taking steps with its new planning act.

By contrast, Wales already has strong child-focused legislation and social policies that give planning a framework within which it can prioritise the needs of children as a matter of course.

“Each nation of the UK has a different

planning system with a slightly different focus, but children are most visible across UK planning policies through their absence,” says Aude BicqueletLock, deputy head of policy and research at the RTPI. “In most cases social issues relevant to planning are relegated to guidance rather than to key national planning policies and frameworks. Nonetheless, there is room for more child-friendly planning in each country within their existing setup.”

A rights-based approach The report, commissioned by the RTPI and written by Dr Jenny Wood, co-founder of A Place in Childhood, and Dinah Bornat, University of East London lecturer and co-founder of ZD Architects, surveys each of the UK nations’ planning policy frameworks, guidance and relevant legislation.

In particular, it assesses the extent to which UK planning fulfils three rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC): n Article 12: A right to be heard and taken seriously in all matters affecting them; n Article 15: A right to gather and use

public space, providing no laws are broken; n Article 31: A right to play, rest, leisure and access cultural life appropriate to their age.

“Given the broad mission of town planning, all communities should be served,” the authors write. “This includes the under-18 age group, who despite having more limited democratic rights than their adult counterparts, have a vital stake in both the present and future of placemaking.”

The report maintains that planning has been failing children and young people for decades. “Independent outdoor play and children’s independent mobility have been in

W H Y C H I L D ­ F R I E N D LY P L A N N I N G ?

Teresa Strachan is a lecturer in planning at the University of Newcastle and founder of YES Planning, which supports students to run planning workshops with children and young people.

“Academic research reveals that it is 4

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precisely a young person’s heightened local knowledge and expertise that makes their inclusion in a plan-making process such a valuable proposition.

“How else are we to learn more about areas that feel unsafe,

unwelcoming, or non-family friendly, or to accurately reflect on what such places should offer in the future?” n Read Teresa Strachan’s full thoughts on The Planner website: bit.ly/planner1119-Strachan I M AG E S | A L A M Y / GU Y B E L L

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PLAN UPFRONT

HOW YOUNG PEOPLE ARE HELPING TO DESIGN A COMMUNITY IN KINGSTON

Matt Bell is social value & community engagement lead at the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

Cambridge Road Estate was built by Kingston Council in 1969.

Today, it contains 832 homes and a community of about 1,810 people, 26 per cent of whom are under 15. It is the borough’s largest regeneration programme, aiming to deliver 2,000 new homes over the next 10-15 years.

Over the past six months we have worked with 18 young people to help them understand and influence the plans for regeneration.

We have run design training, listened to their experiences, and conducted spatial analysis of the estate together, culminating in their

rapid decline since the 1970s, and “We often see children as lesser urban environments have become adults when in fact they are a distinct increasingly car-intensive. A plethora group with their own needs and of child-focused research explores requirements,” she says. “A good how outdoor play is fundamental to functioning planning system must allow children’s immediate wellbeing and for all citizens to have a role in it.” long-term development, as well as PAS, she explains, is responsible for improving community cohesion.” three programmes that introduce young Although Scotland, like England people to planning and placemaking. It and Northern Ireland, is criticised for has also created a youth education team. framing planning “through an economic “It’s now really good to see that local lens”, the authors acknowledge that authorities are definitely picking it the Planning Act introduces a statutory [engagement with young people] up,” right for children and young people she says. “It has got to be introduced right to participate in local planning and a from the start [of the planning process].” statutory duty for local authorities to The report says Wales has the most conduct play assessments for children. child-friendly planning system in the Petra Biberbach, chief executive UK, driven by the Welsh Government’s of Planning Aid Scotland (PAS), says decision to adopt a rights-based that Scotland’s planning approach to children’s system is waking up to policy. Moreover, “WE OFTEN SEE the role that young people the Wellbeing of CHILDREN AS LESSER Future Generations can play in placemaking.

ADULTS WHEN IN FACT Act ensures that all Biberbach was a member THEY ARE A DISTINCT planning policy is of the independent panel GROUP WITH THEIR that reviewed the Scottish people-centred.

OWN NEEDS AND planning system ahead “Children are REQUIREMENTS” – of the introduction of the mentioned four times PETRA BIBERBACH planning bill. across PPW [Planning

direct critique of the masterplan.

We found that their fundamental interest was in the public space – not the buildings. They conceive of all external spaces in their neighbourhood as somewhere to meet friends, get about and play. They have a strong sense of justice and want all blocks to have equal access to space on their doorstep.

Katrina, one young resident who took part, said: “Being involved in the project made me realise the good things about my community but also that quite a lot needs changing.” n Read Matt’s full story on The Planner website: bit.ly/planner1119-Bell

Policy Wales] in relation to ensuring that placemaking is inclusive, children’s legislation and policy is adhered to, and specifically mentioning that children’s play must be a consideration,” the report notes.

Cultural shift The report stresses the need for “childfriendly outcomes” in planning, in which children’s rights would be set as “baseline targets that planning should be meeting, and from which planners and planning authorities can see to improve their performance in future”.

For Bicquelet-Lock, this means a cultural shift at a national level.

“If we are honest and serious about building inclusive and diverse communities, we have to take into account children’s needs and rights.” n Child friendly planning policy in the UK: A review will be launched at an international child-friendly cities conference in Bristol on 29 November: bit.ly/planner119-Child n Jack Osgerby is a member of the RTPI North East Young Planners’ Committee.

Simon Wicks is deputy editor of The Planner

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NEWS

Analysis { RTPI SCOTLAND ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Hope springs as NPF4 process kicks off

By Laura Edgar As work begins on National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), Scottish planning minister Kevin Stewart used the recent RTPI Scotland conference to insist that the new document, with its strong emphaiss on sustainability, will not be produced in isolation.

The intention is for NPF4 to set out the long-term spatial strategy for Scotland until 2050. Stewart told his audience that NPF4 will bring together policies and programmes to “enable sustainable and inclusive growth” across the country while also dealing with the climate emergency.

NP4, said Stewart, will incorporate policy that has been reviewed over the past few years and updated through the Planning (Scotland) Act – and it “will likely be very, very different” to previous iterations.

“We have to be fleet of foot in terms of dealing with a huge amount of things that are going on, not only here in Scotland, not just in the UK, not just in Europe, but globally. We have to make sure the NPF is specced for the future and is also adaptable.”

Stewart was also keen to emphasise that NPF4 will link in well with the Scottish government’s wider national policies and strategies.

Realm of hope A key theme to emerge from the conference, directly and indirectly, was that of hope. Professor Brian Evans FRTPI, Glasgow’s city urbanist and head of urbanism at the Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh School, tackled the topic in his presentation on the embedding of place in Glasgow.

The task today for vision leadership is to be truthful, said Evans. Citing his own lecturer Frank Walker, he explained how the principle challenge

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in design today is the “reconciliation of the genius loci; the spirit of the place with the spirit of the time”.

Evans asked the audience to put itself in the position of the hardpressed nurse married to the hard-pressed teacher spending their days saving lives and dealing with unruly kids. They get home and switch on the telly to see somebody tell them that they, and furthermore their kids, are doomed.

“You change the channel to give yourself a break”, he said. “I think the fundamental challenge in most of what we do is around hope, actually."

People need to be given hope on the issues we all face – demographic change, climate change and technological change. These things bring opportunity as well as challenge, and can in fact do something positive for them and their lives, beyond terrifying the life out of them and Top: NPF4 their kids. will not be Hope is perhaps what Giulia produced Vallone, senior architect at Cork in isolation, says Kevin County Council, gave to residents with Stewart her work on the Clonakilty 400 urban design plan to reclaim the streets of Above: Giulia Clonakilty, Cork from the car.

Vallone “It is always the space between designs roads for buildings that we undermine,” said tables, not Vallone, explaining her work. Coming cars from Italy 14 years ago as an architect, she used the city of Palermo, Sicily, as inspiration for her work. Harking back to how streets were designed before the coming of the car, she “WHEN YOU DRIVE ON bemoaned how traffic THOSE LITTLE ROADS lights had transformed AND THERE’S ANOTHER towns. Vallone’s PERSON, YOU HAVE TO engineer friends told JUST FOLLOW THEIR her traffic lights were PACE” needed, as were – GIULIA VALLONE

borders and road markings. But in Sicily, she remarked, they use “ice cream vans and octogenarians” to slow traffic.

“When you’re on those little roads and there’s another person, you have to just follow their pace. You don’t really need anything else, just people on the street.”

Vallone’s knowledge of Italian public realm has helped make pedestrians in Clonakilty the priority, allowing them, through the team’s work on two squares and the town’s main street, to reclaim the streets in an area facing economic pressure.

Vallone concluded that she no longer designs roads for cars; instead she designs them for tables – and in doing so she and her team give communities hope through a place to be, a place to live.

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PLAN UPFRONT

Role of AONBs in planning should be strengthened

NPF4 TIME FRAME

At the end of September, the Scottish Government published its programme for implementing the Planning (Scotland) Act, most of which should be facilitated by early 2021.

Work has begun on preparing the NPF4. Section 2 of the act, which allows for the preparation of the NPF, is due to come into force on 8 November. Also on this date, section 1 – the Purpose of Planning, which applies to the preparation of the NPF and local development plans (LDP), will come into force.

A draft of NPF4 is expected to be published for consultation in the third quarter (July to September) of 2020.

The draft will be laid in the Scottish Parliament so that representations can be made. It will then be revised.

With the Scottish Parliament elections taking place in May 2021, it is expected that the final version of NPF4 will be laid in the third quarter of 2021, with approval anticipated in the final quarter of 2021.

I M A G E S | G E T T Y / I S T O C K / D E R M O T S U L L I VA N

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A review of national parks has proposed that the stature of national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) should be strengthened in the planning system – with AONBs given statutory consultee status.

The review, led by writer and journalist Julian Glover, also recommended that, where appropriate, AONBs should be supported to work within local plans for their areas, prepared in conjunction with local authorities.

The independent review suggests that a National Landscapes Service should be established to support and hold to account national parks and AONBs. National landscapes should have a renewed mission to recover and enhance nature, and this would bring together the 44 national landscapes to “achieve more than the sum of their parts”.

Then environment secretary Michael Gove launched the review in May 2018, after it was first mentioned in the government’s 25-year environment plan in January 2018.

Landscapes Review also proposes: n National landscapes should have a renewed mission to recover and

enhance nature, and be supported and held to account for delivery by a new National Landscapes Service. n Strengthened management plans should set out clear priorities and actions for nature recovery including, but not limited to, wilder areas and the response to climate change (notably tree planting and peatland restoration). Their implementation must be backed up by stronger status in law. n A stronger mission to connect all people with our national landscapes, supported and held to account by the new National Landscapes Service. n A new National Landscapes Housing Association to build affordable homes. n New designated landscapes and a new National Forest. n AONBs strengthened with new purposes, powers and resources, renamed as National Landscapes. n Reformed governance to inspire and secure ambition in our national landscapes and better reflect society. n A more detailed report and comment on the review can be found on The Planner website: bit.ly/planner1119-AONB

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NEWS

News { RTPI NORTHERN IRELAND CONFERENCE

A guide to good living

By Simon Wicks Delivering Living Places RTPI Northern Ireland Conference 2019 Living Places: An Urban Stewardship and Design Guide for Northern Ireland was published by Northern Ireland’s Department of the Environment in 2014. It is intended to function as a guide for planners to help them shape more ‘liveable’ places – living environments that are ‘collaborative’, Prof. Alister Scott ‘responsible’, ‘hospitable’, ‘crafted’, ‘visionary’, ‘contextual’, ‘accessible’, ‘vibrant and diverse’, ‘viable’, ‘enduring’.

As yet, the guide may not quite be the ‘go-to’ document for planners in Northern Ireland. But, as speakers at the RTPI Northern Ireland conference emphasised, it could steer planners towards spatial solutions to modern challenges such as poor health, inequality, climate Irene Beautyman change, loss of biodiversity that you’re trying to address, what are and ageing infrastructure. the important planning issues that ‘Holistic’ approaches to new need to be addressed in design.” developments can help build in the One such issue is health. Irene solutions to such challenges. Planners, Beautyman MRTPI, the Planning for said RTPI president Ian Tant MRTPI, Place Programme manager at need to think “outside of the red box” Scotland’s Planning Improvement that circumscribes any development Service, highlighted how prioritising site and consider the wider physical economic outcomes in development and social context in which over human ones can have a profound development takes place. effect on health that will ultimately This would require public sector prove costly to the public purse. planners to be on design teams from an “In 10, 20, 30 years’ time [that] is early stage, collaborating, coordinating, going to mean that the population that sequencing and providing policy are living there are actually suffering, context. “It’s not just the context in their bodies are suffering, as a result,” place – the designers ought to be able she said. “That isn’t great in creating a to read place – but it’s knowing what happy community. That is not even planning policies are, what’s the policy

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good business sense because it will be the public sector has to pick up the tab when people need to go to the doctor.”

Health considerations had been woven into Scotland’s new planning act and a new body, Public Health Scotland, would seek to embed health-focused thinking into the nation’s planning and development culture.

She agreed with Tant that collaboration is fundamental. To make a place-based approach to development work “we need to be looking at the skills of partners and those that are working in public health also, pulling together all those aspects that work in spatial planning. So that’s transport, economic development, regeneration, housing”.

Prof Alister Scott MRTPI, from Northumbria University, argued that bringing nature into our lives in the form of green infrastructure is an ingredient of good placemaking. For example, using trees, SUDS and green space to slow water flow naturally can mitigate the effects of flooding caused by poor development.

To understand the value of ‘ecosystems services’ in proposed developments, Scott has created a ‘scorecard’ that assessed the strength of proposals. But it cannot be used in isolation. Like previous speakers, Scott found that delivering ‘living places’ is contingent on planners engaging with other professionals. “We really need to get out of the policy silos … We need the people who don’t think green infrastructure is relevant to them to understand why.”

The thrust of the day was that creating ‘living places’ requires guidance, vision and collaboration. As Andrew Haley, chair of the ministerial advisory group, said, Northern Ireland’s planners have the tools to support this.

“Living Places… is not something that we should be having to find on the library shelves. It should be something that is actually sitting at our site as a valuable useful tool to support the agenda of placemaking.”

“WE REALLY NEED TO GET OUT OF THE POLICY SILOS” – PROF ALISTER SCOTT

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PLAN UPFRONT

Small decline in Northern Ireland planning decisions authorities decided 2% Planning 3,009 planning applications in the first quarter of 2019/20, a decrease of 2 per cent compared with the previous quarter.

2,971

Of those decided were local, 37 were major, and one was a regionally significant planning application.

3,403 planning applications were submitted during

7%

the first three months of 2019/20 – an increase of 7 per cent compared with the final quarter of 2018/19 and a 5 per cent increase on the same period a year earlier.

Source: Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure

New-build starts decreased in June quarter in England

37,220

homes were started between April and June 2019, which is 2 per cent less than the number of starts between January and March 2019.

160,640

In the year to June 2019, homes were started, a 1 per cent decline on the number started in the year to June 2018.

45,190

homes were completed in the three months to June 2019, which is 4 per cent more than the previous quarter and 11 per cent higher than a year ago.

173,660

In the year to June 2019, homes were completed – 8 per cent more than the year to June 2018.

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Slight fall in English planning applications granted granted

91,700 decisions

District-level planning authorities granted 91,700 decisions between April and June 2019 – a 3 per cent decline compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

n 103,900 decisions were reported in April to June 2019, which is 3 per cent less than the 106,900 decisions in the same quarter of the previous year. n 88 per cent of major applications were decided with 13 weeks or the agreed time – the same as the corresponding quarter in 2018. n 85 per cent of minor applications and 90 per cent of other applications were decided within eight weeks or the agreed time, the same as a year ago.

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

More than 8m people live in unsuitable homes in England people in England are living in homes that are unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable.

8.4m

n 3.6 million people are living in overcrowded homes. n 2.5 million people cannot afford their rent or mortgage. n 2.5 million adults are living with their parents, an ex-partner, or with friends because they cannot afford to move out. n 3.6 million people in England who need social housing n 340,000 new homes every year to meet this demand, including 145,000 social homes.

Source: National Housing Federation

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News { Scottish minister launches first national islands strategy

The first National Islands Plan, setting out the priorities for helping Scotland’s islands, has been published for consideration by the Scottish Parliament.

Tackling depopulation, boosting housing and the need for improvements to transport and health services are listed among objectives of the plan.

Ministers accepted that the blueprint is largely aspirational, but speaking at Holyrood, islands minister Paul Whitehouse agreed with MSPs that depopulation was a critical issue. “In some of the archipelagos, such as Orkney and Shetland, outer islands are being depopulated, while the mainland is experiencing population growth. Tackling depopulation is a key priority across the islands, particularly in the Western Isles,” he said.

“The programme for government includes a number of commitments that will support the plan’s ambition to increase population levels, which include work on talent

attraction, labour market policies and housing and planning.

“We recognise the specific challenges that island communities – and, indeed, some very remote rural communities – face, and there is a specific commitment to develop an action plan to support repopulation of our island communities and to work with partners to test approaches using small-scale pilots.

“We will also work with the young islanders’ network to identify actions to encourage young people to stay on or return to the islands.”

The 70-page document notes that over the past 10 years almost twice as many islands have lost population as have gained. “Future population projections suggest that islands are at further risk of depopulation with Orkney and Shetland each projected to lose 2.2 per cent of their population by 2041 and Eilean Siar (the Western Isles) 14 per cent.”

PPW to be amended to stimulate housebuilding Welsh housing and local government minister Julie James has launched a consultation on changing the housing delivery section of Planning Policy Wales.

(PPW) In a written ministerial statement, James said the changes removed the fiveyear housing land supply policy. It will be replaced with a policy statement that makes it “explicit that the housing trajectory will be the basis for monitoring the delivery of development plan housing requirements as part of AMRs [annual monitoring reports]”.

James believes this approach would ensure that monitoring housing delivery is an “integral” part of the process of

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development plan monitoring and review.

In July 2018, then planning minister Lesley Griffiths launched a call for evidence that sought views on how to improve the delivery of housing requirements set out in local development plans and considered the measuring of housing land supply and its interrelationship with the monitoring of local development plans.

James said the evidence given highlighted that many adopted local development plans fail to deliver the number of new homes required. Sites allocated for these homes were either not being brought forward for development or were being developed at a slower rate than expected. “Detailed analysis of the responses to the ‘call for

evidence’ has confirmed that the current policy framework for ensuring housing delivery and the associated monitoring mechanism are not sufficiently aligned with the local development plan process.”

The proposed policy change would see the revocation of TAN 1, which currently provides the methodology for calculating the five-year housing land supply, while amendments to the development plans manual would provide additional guidance on the process of monitoring against the housing trajectory. n The ministerial statement can be read in full on the Welsh Government website: bit.ly/planner1119-PPWHousing

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PLAN UPFRONT

An Bord Pleanála reports progress on appeals backlog An Bord Pleanála has highlighted increased productivity and significant progress in dealing with the backlog of longstanding appeal cases.

In its annual report the independent statutory body notes that the upward trend in the number of planning cases received and disposed of continued during 2018.

While total case intake was up 16 per cent to 2,734 compared with 2,570 in 2017, there was a significant jump of 32 per cent in the total number of cases decided during 2018, which came to 2,847, compared with 2,143 cases in 2017.

Despite the increased productivity, compliance with the statutory objective period to decide appeal cases was down on previous years to just over 40 per

cent, primarily because of the impact of the transition to the new Plean-IT case management system and an increased caseload.

The report stressed that “during the first eight months of 2019, we have been able to significantly clear the backlog of older cases on hand and improve our overall compliance rate for appeal cases through to endAugust this year to 66 per cent”.

“Indeed, the average compliance rate for the months May to August stood at 76 per cent, a level we expect to maintain to the end of the year.”

The average number of weeks it takes to dispose of appeals is now 19.5 weeks, down from 23.3 weeks noted last year. The rise in intake has continued in 2019 with 1,965 cases received by the end of August 2019 – up 5 per cent on August 2018.

Huge Derry housing scheme makes a mark Derry City and Strabane District Council has signed the section 76 legal agreement that cements outline planning permission for about 750 new homes at Ballyoan.

The 37.5-hectare site involved lies to the east of the Foyle Bridge between Clooney Road and Rossdowney Road, in the city’s Waterside area.

Developer South Bank Square Ltd’s £100 million scheme represents one of the largest residential developments in the province. As well as a range of house types, the new neighbourhood will include community facilities, the provision of significant play and recreation areas, a linear park and public amenity space.

Planning consultant Turley is the agent for the proposals. Director Brian Kelly said: “This is a hugely significant permission for the city of Derry and the North West regions and a huge boost to the area’s economy and housing supply.

“It is understood that a detailed planning application will follow this outline permission in order to enable the commencement of development on site in the first quarter of 2020.”

Government to help housebuilders deliver schools The Department of Education has announced that it will hand out loans to housebuilders to deliver schools places before new properties are finished.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said up to £20 million would be made available to housebuilders for each school.

The loans come as the government tries to increase the number of homes built a year to 300,000 by the mid2020s. Williamson said the loans would enable

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housebuilders to finance schools before completion of the residential element of schemes, instead of having to wait until homes are sold to be able to deliver the school.

Loans would be charged at interest and repayable once new homes are sold. It is hoped that the scheme will “incentivise developers” to build more properties in areas most in need, such as on sites that have stood empty for a long time.

Housing minister Esther McVey said: “It’s only right that infrastructure is delivered up front – including thousands of new school places – which supports existing communities and the new homes which we need building.

“I welcome this support being made available today – helping medium and large-sized housebuilders to deliver new schools as they deliver the

homes we urgently need.”

Starting as a pilot, the Developer Loans for Schools programme will initially offer around 10 loans to successful bidders. The Department for Education said all projects would need to demonstrate value for money, affordability, and must meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the prospectus. n Information on applying for a loan can be found on the UK Government website: bit.ly/planner1119-Loans

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LEADER COMMENT

Opinion onn Planning and identity – On 31st October, around 300 young planners from across the UK will arrive in Newcastle upon Tyne to attend this year’s Young Planners’ Conference.

As has become custom, we on the RTPI’s North East st Young Planners committee e have worked with The Planner on articles in this edition that relate to the topics we’re addressing from the stage in Newcastle.

This year’s conference theme ‘A Sense of Place: Planning and Identity’ highlights the important role planners play in establishing a sense of belonging within the built environment. It examines the impacts that changes to place have on spatial identity and the ways we engage with them.

These are all matters of particular relevance to planning across the North East. Following the decline of heavy industry in the region, some former industrial areas have experienced

Dominic Crowley radical change, successfully overcoming economic, social and environmental issues to create places that excite, innovate and attract people from around the world to live, work and play.

At this year’s conference, speakers from across the region and wider UK consider how innovation in planning, design and community engagement have supported dramatic positive shifts in the redefining of former industrial areas.

The North East is famed for its coastline, with our internationally significant wildlife habitats, dramatic castles, never-ending beaches and attractive seaside towns. At the conference, and in these pages, we explore the changing identity of coastal communities, many of which face profound economic and social issues.

Later in this edition we consider how young people are choosing (or not choosing) to engage with place in deprived coastal communities and what can be done to make them attractive places to live.

We also explore the ways in which young people are interacting with town centres and how this is directly

"FOLLOWING THE DECLINE OF HEAVY INDUSTRY, FORMER INDUSTRIAL AREAS HAVE EXPERIENCED RADICAL CHANGE"

impacting on the perceived identity of certain areas – a particularly relevant topic for many high streets facing the challenges that the continuing growth of internet shopping, out-ofcentre retail development and wider economic uncertainty bring.

As chair of the Young Planners’ North East committee it has been a privilege to work with my fellow committee members alongside Kieran Blaydes (the conference chair), Hannah Armstrong, Helen Gibb and Kim Walker from the RTPI to develop this year’s conference. The programme includes a fantastic array of speakers on topics sure to provide plenty of food for thought.

We hope you enjoy this special edition and look forward to welcoming those of you attending the conference. n Dominic Crowley is a Senior Planner at Lichfields and Chair of the North East Young Planners

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People Power Given the unusual, some might say hysterical times we are currently living through, I’m not sure if it’s brave or foolish to even begin to comment on democracy and the rise of people power.

But given the rhetoric that has emerged from the political gatherings in Bournemouth, Brighton and Manchester this autumn and the continuing debate as to the Top Trumps winning hand of legal and political systems, why not add 10 pennies to the mix?

By the time you read this, BoJo might be eating his words or have fallen on his sword, Jezzer might be leading an interim caretaker government, or we might have had that snap election.

One of the interesting common threads to emerge in recent weeks has been the view that letting the people speak is vital. It can of course be either a curse or a comfort depending on the question asked and the message received. But whether it has been a case of asking big political questions and then having to deal with the difficult ensuing fallout or whether it has meant bringing in subtle legislative changes or tweaking the planning system, everyone has the ability to share their view through social media.

For planners, the edict in recent years has been one of ‘let the people speak’ and then respond accordingly. With community input, collaborative working, and co-creation, variations on the C- words seem to have no bounds. But perhaps what I am saying is that it’s actually all the L-word.

Localism isn’t dead but is seeing

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a resurgence. This has little to do with Brexit and everything to do with community.

While big governance in the form of an executive agency, a combined authority or enterprise partnership can help to channel funds from whoever holds the purse strings this week, I think there is a far more relevant grassroots movement afoot. I’m not referring to the hit-and-miss success of neighbourhood plans; I am thinking of the community groups coming together with a common local goal or aspiration that isn’t waiting for a big governance system to get its act together or needing to get a pretty plan published.

Groups that are not dependent on funding streams that might take time to galvanise. Passion and strength of feeling at a local level doesn’t need this.

Take Extinction Rebellion.

Few can fail to acknowledge

“FOR PLANNERS, THE EDICT IN RECENT YEARS HAS BEEN ONE OF ‘LET THE PEOPLE SPEAK’” that as a movement it has been effective in getting a common message out. Similarly, the Greta phenomenon has grown from one Swedish schoolgirl’s lone stand outside a government building in Stockholm to a worldwide movement that has captivated students to former US presidents. Why? Because at its heart the message has relevance. It can influence how people choose to live and the dialogue surrounding the movement can be shared easily through social media.

Perhaps that’s the key.

Communities will support

an initiative when it has direct relevance and can manifest itself in something local like changing what we buy, where we buy it and how we use resources.

So out go single-use plastic stuff, diesel cars and coal-fired power stations and in come zerowaste retailing, vegan cafés, and sustainable wooden cutlery. In this age of instant gratification, people power is seeing speedy results. How many bars now dare serve drinks with plastic straws without risking the wrath of the customer? How many diesel cars are on order?

How many supermarkets are experimenting with a ‘bring your own container’ policy? I accept that I’m mainly talking about the middle classes, who have the luxury of choice, but increasingly more challenged and less affluent communities are clearly choosing specific social markets.

So, however the Brexit debacle runs its course, community empowerment and the ability to not only choose a way of life, but also shout about it, should lead our political mothers and fathers as opposed to the other way around.

Localism and people power are on the up.

Dr Louise Brooke-Smith is a development and strategic planning consultant and a built environment non-executive director

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Quote unquote FROM THE RTPI AND THE WEB “We We cannot regulate our imaginations” imagination ns

I M AG E S |

ISTOCK

AND PROFESSOR BRIAN EVANS,, GLASGOW’S CITY URBANIST AN ND S HEAD OF URBANISM AT THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART’S RT T PI MACKINTOSH SCHOOL,, TALKING ABOUT PLACE AT THE RTPI SCOTLAND ANNUAL CONFERENCE

“We have a climate crisis that threatens the very places that we live, work and play ... doing more of the same just won’t cut it anymore”

“Engineers tell me we need traffic lights, we need the borders, we need road markings, to calm the traffic. I say why? In Italy we actually use ice cream stands and octogenarians.”

GIUIA VALLONE, SENIOR ARCHITECT AT CORK COUNTY COUNCIL, SPEAKING AT THE RTPI SCOTLAND CONFERENCE ON RECLAIMING THE STREETS

KEVIN STEWART, SCOTTISH PLANNING MINISTER, OUTLINING THE CHALLENGES FACING SCOTLAND AT THE RTPI SCOTLAND CONFERENCE

“It’s not a question of the South doing better than the North – we’re all losing out. The UK is decoupling” UK2070 COMMISSIONER VINCENT GOODSTADT ON THE NEED TO ‘CHANGE THE NARRATIVE’ AROUND UK PLANNING POLICY FORMATION

“The pedestrians are obviously so dangerous that you have to move them away from the traffic and put them well out of harm’s way” RTPI PRESIDENT IAN TANT ON DARLING HARBOUR IN SYDNEY, WHICH IS SEPARATED FROM THE CITY BY A WIDE ROAD

“How can planners ignore human nature? And why are developers running the planning system?”

HOUSING CAMPAIGNER PAUL BURNHAM ON A PARAGRAPH IN A GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY TECHNICAL REPORT FORECAST THAT NO FAMILY SIZED MARKET HOMES WILL BE BUILT IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE PROFITS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVIDERS HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS

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

O Opinion

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Nicola CrowleyMRTPI is a senior planner with DPP Planning and a member of RTPI North East Young Planners

Can ‘meanwhile uses’ renew our town centres?

Flexibility in planning is essential to main maintain vibrant places where people want to live, work and visit.

The NPPF dedicates a chapter to this, encouraging the development of underused land and the need for planning policies and decisions to reflect changes in demand.

It is common knowledge that our towns and city centres are changing. The introduction of office-to-residential permitted development in 2013 – and retailto-office rights more recently – has gone some way to providing the flexibility towns and cities need to adapt, but can more be done?

On a recent trip to Budapest, I was inspired to see the ways vacant plots and buildings have been turned into street food markets, bars, restaurants and exhibition spaces, creating vibrant pockets of usable space that are highly sought after for their character and central locations.

It was a refreshing change from the familiar sight of empty shops and fenced-off plots.

The UK is following suit to some extent with ‘meanwhile uses’ – short-term uses for buildings and plots. These offer a range of benefits, including a temporary solution to vacant spaces, opportunities for start-ups and experimental uses, increased footfall, and additional income for landowners.

There are 51 active meanwhile

Patrick Johnston is a member of RTPI North East Young Planners

Planners must be bold enough to pedestrianise our city centres

uses in London and many more across the country, including Stack in my hometown of Newcastle, where shipping containers occupy the former Odeon site in the city centre offering food outlets, shops and a yoga studio while permanent plans for the site are developed.

A 2018 report published by Centre for London found that in the capital alone – which has the lowest commercial vacancy rate in the country – there were 24,000 empty commercial properties, with many other towns and cities in similar or worse positions.

Many more sites earmarked for development or with planning consent also remain undeveloped.

The rise of meanwhile uses is positive but there is limited data available on facilitating these uses for developers, landowners and potential occupiers to access. This should be addressed through measures such as better guidance, incentives and a vacant space registers.

Currently, many temporary uses need full planning consent, which can be a costly and long process for something that might only be there a year or two.

With the right guidance and legislation, meanwhile uses could play a vital part in solving the problem of vacant spaces in our towns and cities.

“IN NEWCASTLE, SHIPPING CONTAINERS OCCUPY THE FORMER ODEON SITE IN THE CITY CENTRE, OFFERING FOOD OUTLETS, SHOPS AND A YOGA STUDIO WHILE PERMANENT PLANS ARE DEVELOPED”

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The thr threat of climate change is nearer near and clearer than ever before, with air pollution a direct contributor that is also causing a severe impact on human health.

Across the UK planners must address this and the decline of our high streets. Encouraging citizens to enjoy safe, clean urban centres through pedestrianisation is the most logical approach.

The evidence shows that pedestrianisation of city centres has led to a boost for nearby businesses and retailers. This has been seen at the Grassmarket in Edinburgh where, between 2013 and 2018, the local business improvement district company introduced festivals and markets on trial days in some streets during the year.

The result? More ‘liveable’ streets with cafés, bars and restaurants embracing an al fresco style – led to tangible increases in economic activity. From 2019, this prompted the pedestrianisation of these streets on the first Sunday of every month for 18 months.

Newcastle upon Tyne, my home city, is at a crossroads.

The council must meet central government targets on air pollution while simultaneously combating city centre decline.

One street has become a focus for potential change. Running past the famous Grey’s Monument (as seen on the cover of this issue) and Eldon Square Shopping Centre, Blackett Street is the main

crossing point for pedestrians from Northumberland Street, the city’s high street, towards the cultural centres of the historic Grey and Grainger Streets. Blackett Street also serves as the main eastwest bus route for 11 buses running through the city, serving some of the most populous suburbs.

It’s a narrow carriageway, well used by taxis, pedestrians and buses. This creates bottlenecks and congestion, which adds to air pollution. Unsurprisingly, this place where people and large vehicles interact is also no stranger to road accidents.

Although there have been trial closures (rerouting of buses into nearby streets), these have never outlasted the opposition from bus companies and their customers who rely on the services for access to the city.

Equitability of access could be used by bus operators to appeal against any permanent closure because many bus users are socially excluded (students, elderly, and the unemployed). The closure of Blackett Street could be presented as a physical and mental barrier to their enjoyment of the city centre, jobs and education.

The topographical nature of the West End prevents expansion of the Metro to solve this problem.

Enjoyment for all in city centres must be the aim of all planners. Opposition will arise to pedestrianisation, yet the inescapable threat of climate change requires such a civic action.

“ENJOYMENT FOR ALL IN CITY CENTRES MUST BE THE AIM OF ALL PLANNERS EVERYWHERE”

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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

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Stuart Maclure is a campaigner and project manager for Long Live Southbank, a grassroots nonprofit that recently completed a project to restore sections of the Queen Elizabeth Hall Undercroft

Deliberative democracy: a model for better engagement in planning

I recent recently attended the Oslo Architec Architecture Triennale, which explored the idea of ‘degrowth’.

Degrowth in a planning context is the idea that we need drastically to reconsider how we plan and build our cities. It means disputing the idea that economic growth, rather than environmental or social improvement, should be the most desirable output from change.

One way to embed this shift in practice is to involve communities in planning – and we know that going beyond the statutory obligations of consultation has a positive impact on the communities most affected by new developments.

Yet it is often us – the communities, individuals and critics – who are the barrier to achieving this.

One of the Triennale’s themes was the need to imagine alternative strategies for shaping better cities. I was particularly struck by the work of Alexander Eriksson Furunes, who produced a book called Reflection, which focuses on the Norwegian concept of ‘dugnad’.

Dugnad originated in the 11th century and is used to bring residents together to manage local affairs. It involves residents sharing time and resources when needed to assist on work that benefits the community, say, building a football pitch, a drainage ditch or a nursery.

The deliberative democracy carried out through dugnad allows for natural understandings of local

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traditions and knowledge specific to geographical context to arise.

Consultations that happen at dugnads are not necessarily easy but they do motivate collective work and feelings of belonging.

Shared benefits are teased out through debate and the result is an expression of civil commitment.

To understand how we make better decisions together involves an appreciation of the value of listening to others as the basis for generating agreement despite conflicting views.

Furunes draws on case studies from as far away as Vietnam and The Philippines, where in post-disaster communities compromises are made as a sign of respect and intellectual humility, not as a sign of weakness.

This practice in deliberative democracy promotes a culture of empathetic politics, which in turn connects people with different identities and solves shared problems.

In light of this theme of this issue, I call on young planners not only to help promote and organise consultations as part of their work, but also to attend and engage in consultations as residents. Planning is having to adapt thoughtfully to new technologies that are seeping rapidly into our lives. Planning can engage young people better by not only continuing to be savvy about changing technologies and trends, but also by considering past techniques such as open conversation.

“DUGNAD HAS BEEN USED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO BRING RESIDENTS TOGETHER TO MANAGE LOCAL AFFAIRS”

Julia Thrift is projects and operations director for the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA)

Putting health into place

According to the British Medical Associat Association, 50 per cent of all GP appointments are for illness that could have been avoided. Not only is this economically disastrous for the NHS, it represents a shocking amount of needless suffering. As a nation, we cannot continue in this way: we have to help people avoid becoming ill as far as possible.

Creating healthy places has, to some extent, always been part of planning’s remit. Yet many relatively new developments are places in which it is difficult for residents to make healthy choices, and particularly hard for people who are old, frail or unwell, have low incomes, or are of school age.

NHS England has published Putting Health into Place – four free publications that set out a practical approach to creating places that are planned, designed and managed to help their residents stay healthy for longer – and, when they do need healthcare, to provide 21st-century services that are significantly different from the GP-and-hospital model that has dominated the NHS since its inception.

Written by the TCPA, the King’s Fund and the Young Foundation, with input from NHS England, Public Health England and others, the publications draw on what has been learned from NHS England’s Healthy New Towns programme.

Ten principles set out the process of creating healthier new places.

So what’s new for planners?

Throughout, there is a strong emphasis on understanding the health of the local population in the area to be developed, and, crucially, ensuring that the new development will help the least healthy – often the least well off.

For instance, if local kids have nowhere to play and as a result are not active enough for good health, could the development provide a play space before the new homes are built? This was achieved at Whitehill & Bordon, one of the Healthy New Town demonstrator sites, where the Hogmoor Inclosure was created in an early phase of development.

It is a beautiful and accessible natural green space designed for all ages, with an exciting natural play area for kids, and safe places for people with dementia.

Focusing on parts of the population whose needs are greatest is vital when planning active travel, too. Providing cycle paths is important, but so too is ensuring that footpaths have benches so that the least-fit people have confidence that if they walk to their destination they can rest along the way.

Details such as this can seem insignificant when planning and delivering a large development over many decades.

Yet, surprisingly often, relatively inexpensive details can make the difference between a place that helps its population live well, and one that doesn’t.

“PROVIDING CYCLE PATHS IS IMPORTANT, BUT SO IS ENSURING THAT FOOTPATHS HAVE BENCHES”

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RE: GENERATIONS 18

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Getting into planning Kieran Blaydes (KB): Let’s start with your route into planning.

Jenna Langford (JL): “Well, it wasn’t conventional! My undergrad [degree] is in art and graphic design and advertising. I graduated in 2005 and there weren’t any jobs in advertising or marketing unless you moved to London, which I wasn’t willing to do. So I had to retrain. I went to night college to learn business admin and got a job at Sandwell council in 2007 as secretary to the housing strategy manager. He was then seconded to be programme manager for West Bromwich regeneration programme. This was pre-2010, so there was money for regeneration projects and regional development agencies were still going.

He needed a project officer to support him, so I retrained in project management.

“Then in 2010, when austerity kicked in, he said, ‘The project management budget is no longer there. Would you like to be a town planner? I think you’d be really good at it.’

“My response was that I wasn’t clever enough but he disagreed and put me on the master’s course … I’m now regeneration manager.”

An ambassadorial role KB: As Young Planner of the Year, what impact can you have on young people who were like you a few years ago?

JL: “I had some quite bad career advice when I left school. The highest aspiration my secondary school had for me was a job plucking chickens on a market. My exam results weren’t that bad,

“We need to reignite planners’ambition and vision because austerity has had a real impact” I M AG E S | R IC H A R D G R A N G E / U N P

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de ay

JENNA LANGFORD BECAME 2019 YOUNG PLANNER OF THE YEAR IN NO SMALL PART “FOR ASSISTING PEOPLE TO TAKE UP PLANNING AS A PROFESSION THROUGH THE PLANNING FUTURES PROGRAMME”.

HERE SHE TALKS TO KEIRAN BLAYDES ABOUT THE PROFESSION AND YOUNG PEOPLE’S ROLE IN IT

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but even at age 15 that stuck with me – is that the best you can come up with?

“The majority of people think that all the council does is collect your bins and council tax. They’re not aware that you can work as a quantity surveyor, a lawyer, a town planner.

When the RTPI introduced the Future Planners initiative it was a natural fit for me because it was a route to get to young people and promote what planning is – and all the other routes you can pursue working for the council.”

KB: In terms of getting graduates from other fields involved in our discipline, could that be done better?

JL: “The RTPI’s apprenticeship [degree] is a massive opportunity. But a lot of authorities haven’t had the budget to recruit for the best part of a decade. I imagine that’s created authorities that are not necessarily diverse in terms of ethnicity, culture or age. So as well as how you nurture talent, it’s about how you make sure your organisation is representative of the communities you serve when you haven’t been recruiting for a decade.

“It’s not necessarily about degrees or good exam results, it’s about getting people with ambition, drive and common sense. It’s getting into schools early and identifying those people.

Not everybody is good at exams; it doesn’t mean they’re any less intelligent.”

A multidisciplinary approach KB: You come to planning with a regeneration mindset. Does that give you a better overall picture of schemes?

JL: “Oh God, yeah. The regeneration side of planning links you in with other disciplines. I’ve pulled in the economic development team and work quite heavily with public health too. I’m also working with employment and skills. These are not built environment professions, but all have massive implications for delivering successful regeneration projects. I love regeneration. I find it a really exciting area to work in.

“In terms of what we’re working on now, hopefully HS2 will go ahead, and that’s an

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I N T E R V I E W : J E N N A L A N G FO R D

opportunity for places like Sandwell. We’re the 34th largest local authority and we share a contiguous border with Birmingham. With HS2 we can get to London in an hour. The opportunities are huge.”

KB: How are you showcasing this opportunity?

JL: “We’re working with the West Midlands Combined Authority on how we can attract investors into Sandwell; how we can promote it on not just the national but also global stage. Our land values are low but remediation costs are high because of our industrial heritage. We really rely on public intervention to bring schemes forward.

“Things are happening at such a pace and my concern is that the planning system isn’t geared to keep up. For example, we’re looking to do a masterplan for West Bromwich town centre.

We’ve an area action plan that was adopted in 2012 that was years in development, but it is now unfit for purpose. A masterplan today is going to be completely different to what a masterplan will have been traditionally. You’ve got to consider the implications of 5G infrastructure, reinventing the high street, different uses. We’ve got to consider inclusive growth and community wealth building.

Different actors need to be involved: public health, employment, skills – all elements that planners should consider when thinking of wholesale regeneration of the town centre.”

CU RR I CU L UM

V IT A E

JENNA LAN G FOR D Born: West Bromwich, Sandwell, 1984 Education: Wodensborough High School, Wednesbury; Walsall College Art & Design ; University of Central England BA Visual Communication (Graphic Design & Advertising) 2005; Birmingham City University MA Environment & Spatial Planning 2013 (1st)

2007

2014

Admin asst/project officer, Sandwell MBC – housing strategy & regeneration

Sandwell wins RTPI Local Planning Authority of the Year

2009

2016

Regeneration officer, Walsall Council

Becomes chartered town planner

2010

2018

Regeneration project officer, Sandwell MBC

Regeneration manager, Sandwell MBC – regeneration & economic growth

2013 Planning officer, Sandwell MBC – regeneration

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2018­present Key role in regeneration of West Bromwich town centre phase II. Becomes RTPI Young Planner of the Year.

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Building an inclusive economy KB: You talk about community wealth building.

One challenge about your job is distributing investment throughout a large area – away from the transport nodes and areas you’ve regenerated.

JL: “We’re in the process of writing the inclusive economy deal. We’re finalising the evidence base so that we can really understand the anatomy of Sandwell’s opportunities and challenges.

“We’ve found that our businesses do really well and we have relatively good GVA – but our wages are low and the majority of residents have low qualifications. Success is not filtering through.

“The benefit of my team is that I’ve got planners and the economic development team working together on regeneration proposals. We’re now thinking what does the supply chain look like for that development? How can we tie in local businesses to be suppliers? As construction opportunities are being developed, how can we get young people involved? When whatever is being built becomes operational, have we people skilled enough to take those job opportunities?

“This is where planners and regeneration need to work closely with employers and with skills.

“In Sandwell we mapped where there are high levels of unemployment. In the Black I M AG E S | R IC H A R D G R A N G E / U N P

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New Square opened in 2013 in the first phase of the West Bromwich town centre regeneration

“A masterplan today is going to be completely different to what a masterplan will have been traditionally’

Saint Michael’s university-style sixth-form college is part of West Bromwich phase 1

Multi-storey car park to be bulldozed as part of West Bromwich regeneration phase 2

Country, it’s commonplace to have industry and housing literally across the street from one another. Surprisingly, that’s where the highest level of unemployment is. Yet the jobs are on their doorstep. Isn’t that bizarre? You need to unpick why. I’m Sandwell born and bred, and I was brought up to not get a job in a factory, in manufacturing, not to get a job that my parents and my grandparents, would consider ‘dirty work’… they didn’t want that for me.

“Those industries now are … actually quite high-skilled, clean industries. But I don’t think that message is getting across to young people and there’s a responsibility for education providers to get more involved with local businesses and communicate that. When planners develop a new industrial area they need to be looking at the opportunities and asking how they can benefit local communities. I want to introduce an inclusive economy approach and encourage planners to think outside built environment professions.

“We need to reignite planners’ ambition and vision because austerity has had a real impact.” n Keiran Blaydes chaired the 2019 Young Planners conference committee and is a graduate planner and surveyor with Hiveland

SETTING AN ENGAGED TONE

KB: At Newcastle University I helped out with YES Planning, an insightful initiative where students go into schools and present to young people. We’ll get their views on things such as ‘What makes this place?’ ‘How do you see your neighbourhood in a few years?’

JL: “I don’t think planners are the best at engaging with communities. Sometimes planners can still be guilty of presenting a plan as a fait accompli in a town hall and they’re shocked when hardly anyone turns up.

“What is a real opportunity is where we need to reinvent our town centres We need to consider bringing in far more residential and reduce retail. There’s then the need to create community and place in the town centre. I think that’s the biggest wholesale opportunity for young people to get involved in how town centres are going to

work for them, through innovative things like a pop-up shop while you’re developing the plans.”

KB: Young people have an almost unblemished vision of what they want their area to be like. I had some brilliant suggestions from a class in Gateshead. We asked: ‘What do you want in your community?’ One child said ‘I want a football stadium; another said ‘I want a castle’.

JL: “You could say ‘We can’t get you a castle but did you know there’s a grade II listed building here? We can’t get you a football stadium but are you saying you want a pitch?’

That’s the start of a conversation about something deliverable.”

‘Participation 50 years after Skeffington’, 2019’s RTPI Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture, will be given by Prof.

Gavin Parker at the London School of Economics on 18 November: bit.ly/planner1119-Lichfield

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TOWN CENTRE REVIVAL

THE INSTAGRAM GENERATION MEDIATE THEIR LIVES THROUGH APPS, WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN WAYS THAT WERE UNIMAGINABLE EVEN 10 YEARS AGO. KATHERINE SIMPSON CONSIDERS WHAT THIS MEANS FOR TOWN CENTRES NOW AND IN THE FUTURE day doesn’t seem to go by at the moment when the high street, in one way or another, isn’t in the headlines.

The recent pace and scale of change has been remarkable, reflecting changes in the market demand for town centre floor space arising from shifts in shopping behaviour – particularly the growth in online shopping – and consumer demand generally.

Town centres have evolved over time in a way that has met the needs of successive generations. The speed of change has been so great that it has caught planners and policymakers flatfooted. Current planning policies may effectively meet the needs of the recent past, but they are not necessarily well suited to the needs of a rapidly unfurling present or future.

An array of reports, articles and reviews has been published highlighting fresh ideas for adapting to new consumer habits.

In September, the British Property Federation held a #highstreetchallenge day that brought together more than 100 young property professionals (including

A

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town planners) to bring a new perspective to thinking on the future of town centres, focusing on Hyde, in Greater Manchester.

The government is also reacting, with a ‘High Streets Task Force’ to provide guidance to local authorities seeking to breathe new life into their high streets and town centres. On top of this, The Grimsey Review 2, published in 2018, sets out 25 recommendations for reinvigorating town centres. The review covers the smarter use of technology, government and planning, as well as measures to create a more supportive environment.

The 2019 NPPF and updates to the PPG suggest ways to accommodate changes in

“SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOW BEING USED AS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A TOOL FOR CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS, AND THAT IT CAN ALSO BE USED AS A PLATFORM FOR TOWN CENTRE BUSINESSES TO PROMOTE THEMSELVES”

shopping and leisure habits in town centres to secure their long-term viability.

Specifically, paragraph 85 of the NPPF states that town centres should be allowed “to grow and diversify in a way that can respond to rapid changes in the retail and leisure industries”, as well as allow a “suitable mix of uses” to reflect their distinctive characters.

However, without detracting from the response to date – it is too early to judge, for example, how effective the High Streets Task Force might be; we should perhaps take a step back and think about how different demographics, including younger people, are actually interacting with town centres. If we understand their specific needs we can take these into account as we plan for successful town centres in the future.

Meet Generation Z Generation Z is the term given to people born between 1997and 2012. Labelled retail’s ‘chief disrupters’ in a 2018 report into their shopping and work habits by Retail Week Connect, they now make up a significant proportion of town centre users. Their unique characteristics mean that the way they are interacting with town centres in a manner very different

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WHY DO YOUNG PEOPLE GO TO TOWN?

“THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS EMERGED OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS IS HERE TO STAY AND FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL NOT USE TOWN CENTRES IN THE WAY THAT PAST GENERATIONS HAVE”

from previous generations.

There can be no doubt that Generation Z is tech-savvy. A recent survey of internet access by the Office For National Statistics (ONS) found that 100 per cent of those aged 16 to 24 access the internet on a mobile device.

Unsurprisingly, this age group engages actively with social media (98 per cent) and is highly adept at finding out about information on goods and services online (84 per cent). Yet despite their upbringing with the internet, only 13 per cent take part in online public consultation on political and civic issues – including planning issues.

A recent survey of 16 to 25-year-olds in North East England undertaken by Lichfields sought to develop a more concrete understanding of Generation Z’s shopping habits and how they are interacting with town centres.

The research indicates that through their use of technology, 39 per cent are very or quite likely to share and interact with a venue in the town centre online once they had visited. This suggests that social media is now being used as much more than just a tool for connecting with friends, and that it can also be used as a platform for town centre operators and businesses to promote themselves online to their target audience.

Respondents also said they found out about things going on in their town centre using Facebook (60 per cent) and Instagram (41 per cent). This extended not only to new stores or venues, but also other events happening, including events and markets taking place.

Against this background the ‘Instagram effect’ can also be used as a vehicle for change and it is often emphasised in special experiences and 24

events in town centres. Indeed, both established and emerging retail and leisure brands are building on ‘Instagrammable’ opportunities through their stores; the phenomenon is becoming so prevalent that trend analyst Insider Trends recently named 40 of the world’s most Instagrammable concept stores.

Gen Z’s online habits also extend to retail. The Lichfields survey found that more respondents (39 per cent) prefer to browse and buy non-food products online than in store (33 per cent).

To many, these survey results will not be surprising, but the implications for town centres should not be understated.

The technology that has emerged over the past 20 years is here to stay and future generations will not use town centres in the way that past generations have.

That said, most young people do still visit town centres regularly and the presence of shops in town centres remains a key reason for this. Indeed, the survey results suggest that 50 per cent of young people still prefer to either buy or collect products in town or in store.

In September 2019, Lichfields conducted a field survey of 16 to 25-year-olds to find out why they visit their local town centre. This is what they found.

41%

Very or quite likely to interact with a town centre venue online

60%

Said that Facebook and Instagram (41 per cent) are where they find out about what’s happening in their town centre

Gen Z and the future high street The future – or, rather, the present – is digital, and town centres and their stakeholders need to get on board.

It is clear that young people are interacting online with town centres and there are obvious opportunities for the promotion of town centres through their chosen channels. But these channels also offer opportunities to give a greater civic voice to young people in a relatively cheap and efficient way.

47%

Visit their town centre to browse the shops

39%

Prefer to browse and order goods online

59% Visit their town centre to eat out

Source: Survey by Lichfields, September 2019

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YOUNG PEOPLE'S PREFERRED SHOPPING METHODS

3% 2% 39% 33%

6%

Browse online and order online Browse online and then buy in store Browse in store and then buy online

Life cannot be totally virtual, however, and town centres are being used for a more diverse range of visits than ever before. Data released by the Local Data Company in May 2019 illustrates that there has been a clear rise in non A1 retail uses in town centres, with barbers, beauty salons, restaurants, bars and health clubs being among the top 10 rising categories in 2018. What’s more, Generation Z is getting on board.

Lichfields’ research indicates that 59 per cent of those aged 16 to 25 visit their own town centre to eat out, significantly higher than those visiting for shopping purposes (for food 23 per cent and nonfood 46 per cent). Young people prefer to visit town centres for ‘an experience’, with leisure uses being a popular option (39 per cent). Almost half (46 per cent) of those aged 16 to 25 also use their town centres as a place to meet friends.

‘Pop-ups’, markets and festivals are proving to be popular ways to draw footfall to town centres. As well as being highly Instagrammable, they offer a valuable opportunity for town centres to diversify their offer and create a buzz and unique selling point in the town, even if for a limited period of time.

In 2016, planning students at I M AG E S | G E T T Y / I STO C K

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Newcastle University (under the guide of YES Planning), published Tyneside 2030: A Young People’s Plan. The research asked 11 to 18-year-olds across Tyneside in the North East for their thoughts on the future of their town centres beyond retail. Their aspirations extended to a range of facilities, “better food facilities”, “good shops”, “sports and leisure attractions” and more places for students to study, including “the library, study cafés and study halls”.

What does this mean for the future of our town centres? We know they are experiencing significant change as a result of shifts in shopping patterns, consumer demand and levels of market demand for town centre floor space.

Rather than focusing on the past, we need a better understanding of the needs of consumers of the future – and, in particular, we need to take account of Generation Z’s habits and preferences.

These young people want something different from previous generations, something that is more of an experience and that offers a broad range of uses and attractions. Retail is a key part of that, but it’s not the dominant element.

This creates obvious challenges, but also great opportunities for leisure and

17%

Browse in store and then buy in store Buy online and collect elsewhere Prefer not to say/ don’t know Other (please specify)

other uses to come into centres and take advantage of the location, not least the high levels of accessibility by all modes of transport.

Technological developments, such as the rise of online shopping, also create difficulties and threats. However, these can also be harnessed to help town centres respond to such threats – and social media offers obvious potential to promote town centre locations and events more effectively.

Planning also has a key role to play in facilitating change in our town centres.

Planning policies must reflect the need to accommodate a broader range of uses within centres. In some instances there will be a need for an early review of local plans to ensure that planning policy does not act as a barrier to change. More generally, planners have a role to play in understanding the needs of all generations – including through increased engagement with younger people – and looking ahead to the land use implications for the future. n Katherine Simpson MRTPI is a planner with Lichfields and a committee member with RTPI North East Young Planners

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R E V I V I N G C O A S TA L T O W N S

BRITAIN’S SEASIDE TOWNS HAVE BEEN THROUGH A TORRID FEW DECADES, PARTICULARLY AS PLACES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO LIVE AND WORK, SAYS ALASTAIR WELCH. BUT ARE THERE SIGNS OF REVIVAL?

he seaside town of Whitley Bay was in its heyday a popular holiday destination, the crowds drawn in every summer by the long stretches of golden sand that flanked the A BBC News analysis of population projections local coastline. in July this year estimated that 40 per cent of Unfortunately, by the time I was growing up coastal communities in England could see the there, its glory days had passed. For example, the number of residents under 30 decline by the Spanish City (see case study pages 31-32), with year 2039, with seaside towns in northern its distinctive dome, was a grade II listed England hit particularly badly. Earlier this year, building and local landmark that housed a too, a House of Lords report, The funfair. I enjoyed visiting it with my Future of Seaside Towns, family, but at times we would be the “IT WAS CLEAR summarised that these areas have only ones there. On those days the AT THIS POINT been “neglected for too long”. attendant would follow our small THAT MY FUTURE In Great Britain, average annual group around, opening each ride LAY BEYOND gross pay was about £3,600 lower just for us and then closing it again WHITLEY BAY in coastal communities than in before we moved on to the next AND I MOVED non-coastal communities in 2016. one. The building soon fell into AWAY TO PURSUE In 2017, according to the Social disrepair and eventually closed.

OPPORTUNITIES Market Foundation, half of the local The family confectionery ELSEWHERE” authorities in Great Britain with the business, Welch’s of Whitley Bay, highest unemployment rate were fared no better. As demand for the coastal communities, and half of boiled sweets manufactured there those in England and Wales with over generations diminished, this, the highest proportion of people in too, finally shut its doors around the poor health were also coastal same time. It was clear at this point communities. English indices of deprivation that my future lay beyond Whitley Bay and I figures released in September 2019 showed that moved away to pursue opportunities elsewhere. nine of the 10 most deprived neighbourhoods in England were in coastal towns.

Coastal decline To address the issues facing coastal Coastal towns have great potential as places to communities, the government will have invested live. Yet, for decades, many have struggled to almost £227 million in these areas by 2020 and provide young people with sufficient this is already producing results, according to the opportunities. The growth of affordable package government’s own response to The Future of holidays overseas has hit areas where the local Seaside Towns. Some coastal areas have also economy has been centred on tourism; many managed to reinvent themselves – Brighton, for communities built around shipbuilding, port example, has broadened its economy to focus on and fishing activities have faced similar the digital sector, which is now of equal value to problems.

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R E V I V I N G C O A S TA L T O W N S

the tourism sector. It has also focused on education, with 35,000 students at its two universities, and expanded its cultural offering with an emphasis on arts and special events.

Planning is integral to realising benefits in coastal communities. The House of Lords report states that “poor connectivity is central to the problems faced by many coastal areas”.

Connectivity affects access to both further and higher education opportunities as well as job opportunities in these areas.

For planners, the challenge is to improve transport links to these areas and ensure that they cater to the needs of young people.

Significantly, the number of drivers aged 17 to 20 has declined since the mid-1990s and only a minority in this age group uses cars. So an increased focus on public transport must form part of the solution. But walkers, and d cyclists in particular, would also benefit from investment in public realms and off-road green corridors, which would also boost physical health and wellbeing.

Retro returns We may be underestimating the potential attractiveness of coastal towns for young people. Vinyl record d sales have soared in recent years, largely among a demographic too young to remember vinyl in its prime; me; the importance of an authentic and retro experience could also be applied ed to these places. As an island nation, we seem to have a natural affinity with the coast. Young people are environmentally ntally aware and appreciative of the natural al

environment, and Greta Thunberg is the envi figurehead of this movement. As coastal gu towns tow often showcase unrestricted sea views vie that have remained unchanged for millennia, this is something to capitalise on. ca And property prices in coastal towns are a usually lower than those in cities – an attractive proposition to a generation that is increasingly unable g to afford to buy homes. The growth of the digital economy means it is no longer essential to take part in the daily commute to the nearest city or to work in one of the more

A SEAHAM STORY

Seaham is a former mining town on the County Durham coast. When the last of the local collieries closed in the early 1990s, jobs were lost and the coal left the beach black and polluted.

However, the beach has since been cleaned up and the town has been transformed. “One of the major triggers for the transformation, in my opinion, has been the ‘Tommy’ statue,” says Chris Pipe, a planner at locally based Planning House and resident of a neighbouring village.

“Whilst not the only piece of artwork in the area, it is an iconic symbol which is a focus for visitors of all ages, 28

promoting substantial economic growth for the area. It is astounding that such a small investment would be a catalyst for such a change.”

‘Tommy’, is a 9ft 5in sculpture of a soldier erected to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War. Initially a temporary installation, it was bought to keep by local people.

Elsewhere in town, Lickety Split Creamery, a seafront ‘dessert parlour’, draws customers from miles around.

Seaham Harbour, which serviced the nearby collieries for many years, has been redeveloped and is now home to a marina, commercial units and heritage centre.

The Water Sports Activity centre won the RTPI Excellence in Planning for Health and Wellbeing award in 2018. There is the new Byron Place shopping centre. Seaham Hall, a former country house, is now a luxury hotel and spa.

The diversification of the economy has increased the number and variety of jobs for young people and created more social opportunities. East Shore village was built on the site of a local colliery and house prices in Seaham remain affordable in comparison with the wider area, altogether forming a tantalising draw for the next generation.

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R E V I V I N G C O A S TA L T O W N S

THE COASTAL CHALLENGE – FURTHER READING

A number of recent reports have highlighted the issues facing coastal towns, writes Simon Wicks. These include: n The Future of Seaside Towns – report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns: bit.ly/planner1119-LordsReport n Government response to the above report: bit.ly/planner1119-GovtResponse n Living on the Edge: Britain’s Coastal Communities – report by

[top left] Brighton has led the way on regenerating seaside towns [left] Reviving coastal towns could stem the exodus of young people

traditional sectors in seaside towns: working at home is a credible alternative. The number of universities offering online learning has also never been higher. There is potential for us as planners to design and market development in coastal towns that caters to young people.

As the Lords’ report points out, coastal towns often suffer from low levels of quality housing.

Young people find it particularly hard to find suitable housing because of their lack of resources and opportunities. A recent survey by mortgage lender Santander found that fewer than 25 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 would be able to afford a home by 2026: in 2006, that figure was 50 per cent – it will have halved in just 20 years.

A sustained increase in housing supply would be likely to improve affordability of homes.

Build-to-rent (BTR) development increases the number of available homes and will be more obtainable for young people, although JLL I M AG E S | G E T T Y / A L A M Y / I STO C K

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“WE MAY BE UNDERESTIMATING THE POTENTIAL ATTRACTIVENESS OF COASTAL TOWNS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE”

the Social Market Foundation: bit.ly/planner1119-SMF n English Indices of Deprivation 2019: bit.ly/planner1119-Deprivation n BBC analysis of population projections in coastal towns: bit.ly/planner1119-BBCAnalysis n In its work on the report ‘Ambitions for the North’, the RTPI outlined the value of an overarching spatial vision and informal 'place network' to coastal communities: bit.ly/planner1119-GNP

Residential Research has found that, in London, renters typically pay an 11 per cent premium as a result of the additional amenities often attached to BTR developments. Therefore, a strategy to increase housing stock with affordability in mind is also important.

Blackpool Housing Company, owned by Blackpool Council, has since 2016 acquired and converted or renovated homes for market rent.

Two hundred homes have been delivered in two years, among them the conversion of a former hotel into two-bedroom apartments. The lesson here is that planners should encourage housing developments that are both affordable and of sufficient quality to make coastal towns more desirable to young people.

As with the tide that always turns around, there is no reason why the fortunes of our seaside towns cannot do the same. Since I left Whitley Bay, the town has seen a resurgence. The Spanish City has been redeveloped as a successful venue featuring restaurants, cafés, bars and event spaces, offering young people greater prospects for work and leisure. It even won two RTPI awards, for Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy and Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture earlier this year and will be a topic for discussion at the Young Planners’ Conference in November.

There are even plans to convert my family’s old sweet factory into modern apartments, offering ideal living spaces for young people.

Perhaps now is the time for me to return! n Alastair Welch MRTPI is vice-chair of the RTPI North East Young Planners

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The Habitats Regulations Assessment Handbook and Journal Practical guidance on the assessment of plans and projects on SACs, SPAs and Ramsar sites Go to www.dtapublications.co.uk

The single most up-to-date and comprehensive source of authoritative guidance on the interpretation and application of the Habitats Regulations (including the UK Offshore Regulations). • • •

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Subscribe before March 2020 and get a £100 discount off your 2nd year renewal – please quote RTPI20

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07/10/2019 09/10/2019 12:48 10:40

CASE STUDY: RTPI AWARDS

SEASIDE SHUFFLE AFTER DECADES OF DECLINE, A MULTIMILLION­POUND MAKEOVER OF SPANISH CITY HAS GIVEN RENEWED HOPE TO WHITLEY BAY IN NORTH TYNESIDE, REPORTS RACHEL MASKER Awards: Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy & Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture Project name: Spanish City, Spanish City Plaza, Whitley Bay Submitted by: North Tyneside Council Key players: ADP (Architects), Robertsons (construction contractor) Heritage Lottery Fund (part funders), Kymel (building operator)

BACKGROUND In the early 20th century, the seaside town of Whitley Bay was a thriving resort and its domed Edwardian concert hall and 55-metre-long neo-classical façade, now a grade II listed building, was at its centre.

Built in 1910, the distinctive dome was among the largest in the UK after St Paul’s Cathedral in London. At its zenith, the pleasure palace attracted tens of thousands of visitors to its concerts, restaurant, roof garden and tearoom. A ballroom was added in 1920 and later a permanent funfair.

Mark Knopfler, lead singer of Dire Straits, immortalised the funfair in his 1981 hit song, Tunnel of Love. In truth, by the 1980s Whitley Bay, like many British seaside resorts, was in dire straits itself, owing to the collapse of the tourist trade, battered by cheap package I M AG E S | A L A M Y / S H U T T E RSTO C K

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holidays to sunshine destinations.

By the late 1990s, the landmark building on the North Sea coast had fallen into disrepair, its concrete badly weathered by wet and salty air. In 2000, the venue finally closed and was left to rot.

Few believed it would ever reopen.

North Tyneside Council eventually stepped in and with the help of £3.47 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £2.5 million from the Coastal Communities Fund, reinvented Spanish City as the centre point of a bold masterplan to turn the town’s fortunes around.

THE PROJECT Ultimately, the aim of the ambitious £10 million project was to bring the landmark building back

to life with the expectation that it would once again become a big attraction in the North East.

Architectural practice ADP was chosen to work closely with the council’s team to restore and reinvent the landmark building for the 21st century.

The necessary statutory planning permissions were secured. This involved cross-departmental and partnership working, says the local authority.

“All involved had a passion and commitment to see the best result,” said Graham Sword, senior manager for regeneration, who led the flagship project on behalf of the council.

As it is a listed building, it was crucial to keep as much of the original fabric as possible, including two copper statues of dancing ladies, restored and installed on top of two redeveloped cupolas. Alongside the conservation, was the addition of a bold copper-clad service wing.

Today, the revamped leisure facilities include fine dining restaurants, a champagne bar, ice cream and waffle house, a wedding/party venue and, of course, a fish and chip restaurant and takeaway.

The restoration was widely welcomed by local people, who had long wanted to see action taken. Nearly 16,000 people visited during the opening weekend – equating to almost half of Whitley Bay’s entire population.

When work started in 2016, the building had stood empty and derelict for

The aim of £10 million project was to revive the landmark seafront building as a big attraction in the North East

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CASE STUDY: RTPI AWARDS

The restored Spanish City seafront building

years, a depressing symbol of decline.

Although its famous dome survived, many of the building’s original features were damaged or missing.

“Externally, the conservation focus was to reinstate lost features, including the tower heads, missing cupolas, loggias and historic shopfronts,” said Sword. Moulds were taken for reproduction and innovative replicating techniques used for the cupolas and columns, he said.

Construction company Robertsons worked on the building; the architects used old photos and archive information for reference where original details had been lost.

State-of-the-art technology was used to survey and model the existing and new parts of the building in three dimensions. The entire building was laser scanned, resulting in a precise 3D model. Information from this became crucial for reinstating missing features of the building and devising a new services strategy.

Inside, the upgrade included returning the central rotunda to its original splendour by removing a mezzanine floor. Visitors can now see inside the soaring dome space and gallery for the first time in 100 years.

Challenges included optimising commercial lettable floor space to support a robust business case. Added to this

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J U D G E S’ C O M M E N T S “The judges saw this as a project that had the local community at the heart of it all.

Despite being cherished by the locals, this seaside resort had been left behind but the council are putting it back on the map despite challenging circumstances. They were particularly impressed by the use of technology in the overall transformation of the building.”

was the need to provide modern infrastructure while minimising changes to the original historic fabric. The solution was to add three contemporary extensions housing the new level entrance, staircase, lifts, toilets, plant equipment and storage.

Ike Ijeh, Building magazine’s architectural correspondent, commented: “In the careful restoration of its original features and the imaginative redistribution of function between its new and old spaces, Spanish City offers a compelling template of how derelict historic buildings in seaside towns can be reutilised as assets rather than obstacles.”

Work to revive Spanish City dome included a facelift for its seafront setting.

Footpaths have been created as well as new planters, grass and flowerbeds.

HIGH TIDE FOR WHITLEY BAY Millions of pounds were pumped into Spanish City dome, including £4 million

from the council. Civic chiefs say ‘The Dome’ has been safeguarded for future generations, boosted local employment and has restored pride in Whitley Bay. In the short term, building work created about 76 posts in construction and its supply chain. Seven young people were employed on heritage skills apprenticeships, including joinery, plastering, slate roofing and bricklaying. Seven more will be employed on non-heritage apprenticeships.

The regeneration of the much-loved local landmark is the centrepiece of North Tyneside Council’s £37 million seafront masterplan to make the area more attractive to tourists, businesses and residents.

Civic leaders say the high-quality leisure venue, now run by Kymel Trading, is helping to attract private investment to the area and bringing the feel-good factor back to Whitley Bay. Dozens of enterprises have started up in the town over the past two years. Significant private investment in the area includes new housing.

Spanish City, crowned the winner in both the RTPI Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy and Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture categories, will continue to boost investment and confidence in the area, say civic leaders.

Mayor Norma Redfearn said: “The accolades for Spanish City just keep coming and it’s wonderful to see. The job that’s been done to bring such a fantastic building back to life and the overwhelming positive reaction from the community has been incredible.”

She added: “It’s pleasing to see Whitley Bay flourishing again. We’re already seeing people flock back to the area, thanks to our investment and the confidence shown by the private sector.”

ADP chairman Roger FitzGerald said: “This project is an exemplar of how historic, buildings in seaside locations can be revitalised by careful restoration and imaginative extensions, thereby ensuring their future viability and helping to regenerate the whole area.”

n Rachel Masker is a freelance journalist specialising in the built environment

I M AG E | A L A M Y

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Interpreting the NPPF The New National Planning Policy Framework

Interpreting the NPPF The New National Planning Policy

Framework

Alistair Mills

By Alistair Mills, Landmark Chambers The first book to explain in depth the revised NPPF to planners, developers and legal advisers throughout England The Planner Reader Offer Save £10 on the print/digital edition bundle Use the discount code PLAN1218 when ordering How to order Visit bathpublishing.com/planning Call us on 01225 577810

BUY NOW £40

www.bathpublishing.com/planning

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N AT I O N S &REGIONS

W H AT ’ S H A P P E N I N G I N T H E S O U T H E A S T ?

HERE’S A ROUND­UP OF KEY PROJECTS AND EVENTS IN THE REGION IN 2019­20

The North East IN THE PIPELINE

The Whey Aye Wheel, Newcastle The Whey Aye Wheel, a 140-metre observation wheel at Spillers Quay in Newcastle, was given permission in July. In addition to the £100 million wheel, the scheme will see an entertainment centre, restaurants and a giant LED screen on the former flour mill site. The developer expects the project to draw 200,000 visitors a year. bit.ly/planner1119-WheyEye

The Milburngate scheme is being developed in Durham

RECENT SUCCESSES

Milburngate, Durham

Beacon of Light, Sunderland

A 42,000 square-metre mixed-use development near a World Heritage Site on the banks of the River Wear in Durham. The scheme will include 21,000sq m of offices, 5,500sq m of retail, 153 flats, car parking and public realm. bit.ly/planner1119-MilburnGate

A new community hub next to the Stadium of Light and overlooking the River Wear, the Beacon provides both indoor and outdoor sports, community and education facilities, alongside events and exhibition space. Opened in September 2018, it was commissioned by the Foundation of Light, Sunderland AFC’s charitable foundation. bit.ly/planner1119Beacon

Lynefield Park, Northumberland Permission has been granted for 124,000sq m of new employment space at the 102-hectare rail-connected site near the A189 and A19 coastal transport corridor. The site was formerly occupied by an Alcan Rio Tinto smelter. bit.ly/planner1119-Lynefield

TeesAMP, Middlesbrough

The Beacon of Light in

The Tees Advanced Manufacturing Park (TeesAMP) Sunderland is an 11ha development to address the lack of highquality buildings for advanced manufacturing firms and processes. It is a joint project by Middlesbrough Council, Tees Valley Combined Authority, SSI Taskforce and private funders. Phase 1 is under way. bit.ly/planner1119-TeesAMP

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Urban Sciences Building, Newcastle Helix On the site of a former colliery, Newcastle University’s Urban Sciences Building is bringing a new set of

21st century skills to a postindustrial area. The overall winner of RTPI North East’s planning awards in 2018, the visually impressive, 1,200sq m home to the University’s School of Computing is a centre for research to make urban centres more sustainable. bit.ly/planner1119-USB

Trilogy I, Gateshead Another regional award winner, Trilogy I is a housing regeneration project that is the first phase of a wider £350 million regeneration of Saltwell, Gateshead. A private/public sector joint project, the scheme replaced pre-war semi-derelict houses with 99 new homes and communal gardens, a third of them affordable. In the process it created 11 jobs for unemployed people and three apprenticeships. bit.ly/planner1119-Trilogy

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Regional contact details: north.east@rtpi.org.uk

See more on the North East at the Nations and regions gateway: bit.ly/PlannerGateway

INSIGHT: BACK TO LIFE

Life Kitchen at The Lodge, Sunderland, is the overall winner of the 2019 RTPI North East Awards for Planning Excellence Founded by 25-year-old Ryan Riley, Life Kitchen is a cookery school with a mission: to help anyone who has survived or is going through cancer to learn recipes that will help to mitigate the dramatic changes in taste that result from the treatment.

Riley, a food writer, was inspired to start the initiative having seen his mother’s enjoyment of the foods she loved diminish hugely while she was receiving treatment for terminal cancer.

Life Kitchen began with classes around the country that quickly reached capacity. The next step was to find a permanent base for a cookery school. But finding a home was a challenge. Eventually, Riley settled on the vacant Mowbray Park Lodge, a grade II listed Victorian

were the bats that lived in its roof…

Fortunately, Riley had support – in the form of public donations and pro bono help from planners, architects and builders. Sunderland City Council’s planners, too, were closely involved from an early stage. Seven months after putting in the application for planning and listed building consent, Life Kitchen opened its doors to its first students in June 2019.

“Sunderland is now furnished with an outstanding space for the local community that is not only designed for the delivery of the cookery lessons but is also suitable as a base for bloggers, writers and photographers in the heart of the city,” says James Fryatt, planner with Lichfields, who worked on the project.

Life Kitchen in Sunderland opened its doors to students in June this year

NORTHUMBERLAND Mo r p e t h

Ne wc a s t l e u p o n Ty n e

TYNE AND WEAR Su n d e rl a n d

D u rh a m

DURHAM

HARTLEPOOL

M i d d l e s b ro u g h

DARLINGTON

REDCAR AND CLEVELAND

COMING UP

Infrastructure – Policy, planning and delivery at a national, regional and local scale Venue: Business Central, Darlington Date: Monday 11 November 2019 bit.ly/planner1119-NE

Preparing for Public Inquiry (with Kings Chambers and Womble Bond Dickinson)

building within a public park close to Sunderland city centre – and close to where his mother had lived.

The building, however, would require sensitive repair work to its façade and interiors, in addition to its conversion into an accessible and inclusive cookery school and space for community groups and creative freelancers. It also needed consent for a change of use from a dwelling house (C3) to a nonresidential institution (D1). Then there

It’s already having an impact well beyond the simple fact of restoring and finding a new use for a vacant listed building. “The benefits that this will bring to cancer patients in the region is immense and has been recognised by the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, which has chosen to support the delivery of Life Kitchen’s cookery workshops for its patients,” notes Fryatt. http://lifekitchen.co.uk

Venue: Womble Bond Dickinson Offices, Newcastle Date: Monday 18 November 2019 bit.ly/planner1119-Inquiries

Technicalities of Planning Venue: Centre for Life, Newcastle Date: Wednesday 27 November 2019 bit.ly/planner1119-Technicalities

NEXT MONTH:

Northern Ireland

I M A G E S | FA U L K N E R B R O W N S A R C H I T E C T S / A L A M Y / L I C H F I E L D S

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CAREERS SURVEY 2020

Working conditions, professional development, use of technology - air your views in our 2020 Careers Survey

Last year 965 RTPI members took part in The Planner Jobs Careers Survey. We reported the findings back in February. Here are some of the key findings: Salary: 55% of all respondents said they were happy with their salary progression; but 45% said they felt they were underpaid.

Development: 65% said they were happy with opportunities for development provided by their employer; 35% said they were not.

Career progress: 60% of all respondents said they were happy with how they were developing as a planner; 33% expressed doubts.

Value: 61% of all respondents said they felt their team or department was valued by their organisation; 24% said they did not feel their team or department was valued.

your job and with your choice of profession? n How do you feel about your working conditions and your opportunities for development? n How do you use technology at work?

The Planner is preparing its 2020 Planner Jobs Careers Survey – the second time we’ve sought the views of readers about remuneration, job satisfaction and career development.

This year we’re also including a separate section on your use of technology to perform your job. n What tools do you use? n What tools would you like to have access to? n How is tech changing how you perform your function?

In return for your time, we’ll enter you into a prize draw to win either an Apple Watch or Android equivalent.

Through this work we aim to ensure

that the issues that most keenly affect you are highlighted and acted upon. You’ll see the results pulled together for a report in our February 2020 issue, with a month of online activity focused on careers development content and activities.

If you completed our inaugural careers survey last year, helping us again this year can only help us read career trends in the profession that most need action. If you didn’t complete it last year, the addition of your views can only add to the weight and value of the data.

To have your say, please go to: bit.ly/PlannerCareersSurvey2020 The survey closes on Friday 22 November 2019.

Once you’ve filled out the survey, we’ll enter you into a prize draw to win an Apple watch (or Android equivalent).

Thank you in advance for your time!

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I M AG E | G E T T Y

n Are you happy in

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Have your say in our Careers Survey and we’ll enter you in a draw to win a smart watch

36 Watch_November 2019_The Planner 36

Resources: More than half of all respondents – 53% – said they did not feel their team or department had the resources it needed to deliver its goals.

Megatrends: 29% of respondents felt that the availability of digital tools was the big trend most likely to impact on how planners work.

21st century skills: 28% of respondents felt that training in urban design was the msot important element of a 21st century planning educaiton.

Future planners:: 77% felt more work experience placments would be the best way for planning to attract a more diverse range of young people.

n A PDF of the 2018/19 careers survey report can be downloaded at bit.ly/ planner0219-survey

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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

Deliveroo ‘dark kitchen’ in Swiss Cottage wins a year’s reprieve A controversial deliveryonly kitchen facility operated by app-based start-up Deliveroo has been awarded a temporary 12-month permission, subject to several conditions and compliance with a community liaison group.

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Danny Beales, cabinet member for investing in communities at Camden Borough Council, said:

( “We are pleased the inspector upheld our view on the fundamental issue, that this was not a normal light industrial use, but instead was a unique use that did indeed require planning permission.

This is a key victory that prevents uses like this popping up around the borough without permission.

( “We gathered considerable evidence to show the negative impact the location was having, and the inspector agreed that the robust controls and restrictions we suggested were necessary to resolve these.

( “The inspector's decision to only

LOCATION: Swiss Cottage AUTHORITY: Camden Borough Council

INSPECTOR: Diane Lewis PROCEDURE: Inquiry DECISION: Allowed REFERENCE: APP/ X5210/C/18/3206954

was sympathetic to local concerns, noting that according to Deliveroo’s data, the maximum number of pickups from the site in any given hour in 2018 was 96.

Since the notice was issued, however, the company had

made various improvements to the facility’s operation, including ventilation upgrades to control odour and ceasing the use of motorised scooters.

Lewis noted that traders could set up on site without significant upfront costs. She also considered that as well as the 29 people employed full-time at the site, a total of 1,340 riders made deliveries from the facility in 2018.

In the planning balance, Lewis commented that the use required “a high degree of planning and management control”. However, “very significantly”, she noted, “the council’s position was that suitable conditioning, could bring the development within planning control and make it acceptable”.

She therefore awarded

allow a temporary trial period allows us to make sure the restrictions and controls are effective, and we will continue to monitor the site over this period. We are committed to working with the community to ensure impacts do not occur.”

A Deliveroo spokesperson said:

( “We strongly support the pragmatic approach taken by the Planning Inspectorate and we are pleased that the benefits Editions brings to the local area have been recognised.”

a temporary one-year permission, during which the facility would be monitored through a community working group secured by a planning obligation. The permission was also subject to conditions legally securing the improvements proposed and already made by the appellant, and an operational management plan.

I M AG E S | G E T T Y / I STO C K

The appeal concerned the lower-ground floor of a building formerly used for storage in Swiss Cottage, north-west London, bought

by Deliveroo in 2017.

The company initially offered delivery of food from existing restaurants.

More recently, it launched a venture called Deliveroo Editions – fully equipped commercial kitchens staffed by “restaurant partners”, where food is prepared for delivery through the app only, with no provision for eating in or collection.

Each restaurant brand has its own staff and cookers, but storage and facilities such as refrigerators are shared.

Deliveroo does not charge for rent or utilities, instead taking a commission on each order. As of April 2019, there were 16 similar facilities, called ‘dark kitchens’ by the BBC and others, operated by Deliveroo in the UK. Camden Council issued enforcement action against the facility in June 2018.

Backed by a residents’ group, it argued that the facility had caused noise, odour and highway safety problems, and had diverted trade away from existing restaurants.

Inspector Diane Lewis

EXPERT ANALYSIS

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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

Paragraph 79 home ‘exceeds highest standards of architecture’ An inspector has approved plans for a unique new home in the High Weald AONB under NPPF paragraph 79, saying the scheme ‘in many aspects exceeded the highest standards of architecture’.

‘Mistakes were made’ over countryside party house An inspector has upheld enforcement action against the use of a 10-bedroom Georgian mansion in the Warwickshire countryside as an ‘events venue’, after finding that late-night antics had disturbed neighbours.

The appeal concerned High House, a 10-bedroom country home in the Warwickshire green belt featuring croquet lawns and a swimming pool. In 2016, the appellant and her family moved elsewhere “for personal reasons”. In 2018, the council alleged that a change of use to an “events venue” had occurred earlier that year.

The appellant argued that “renting out the house for small groups of families for their own private celebrations, relaxation and enjoyment” was not a change of use. She accepted that “mistakes were made” in 2016 and 2017 over the type of events that had been allowed, but added that steps had since been taken to reduce disturbance.

But inspector Elizabeth Jones noted that screenshots from various booking websites showed that the property had been available to hire for events including hen parties, weddings corporate events, film shoots and ticketed public events, and had been advertised as sleeping up to 23 people.

She also noted evidence from neighbours that described “regular late-night disturbances including shouting, swearing, screaming and loud music” up until 2019.

LOCATION: Fillongley Given the “frequency, scale and nature of the AUTHORITY: North Warwickshire events”, Jones ruled, a Borough Council material change had occurred. She noted INSPECTOR: Elizabeth Jones that 'policing' use of the property would require PROCEDURE: Written submissions “an unrealistic degree of control” that had not been DECISION: Dismissed successful so far. Finding harm to neighbours’ living REFERENCE: APP/ conditions, she upheld the R3705/C/18/3217237 enforcement notice, altering its compliance period to allow the appellant to honour existing bookings.

The appeal concerned a commercial trout fishery in the High Weald AONB in East Sussex, run by the appellants since the 1980s. In 2018, they submitted plans to create a bespoke home under NPPF paragraph 79, which permits isolated countryside homes of “exceptional design quality”.

The scheme was tipped for approval by the council’s officers and nearby residents, but opposed by the High Weald AONB Unit and Rotherfield Parish Council.

The site was bound by a disused, partly elevated railway line. The main house’s first of three sections, closest to the lake, would take “visual and material cues from a railway aesthetic”, including a barrel vaulted roof. The second section would be set back from the water, with mainly brick detailing.

This would provide “a solid base for the lighter weight aesthetic” of the third section, which would sit on top.

Three free-standing, selfcontained “railway carriage structures” spaced along the track of the former railway

LOCATION: Rotherfield AUTHORITY: Wealden District Council INSPECTOR: S J Papworth PROCEDURE: Hearing DECISION: Allowed REFERENCE: APP/ C1435/W/19/3223513

line would house guests.

Inspector S J Papworth said the design of the internal spaces would continue the railway theme, while guest accommodation ‘carriages’ would be “a suitably light touch and light-hearted addition”. He ruled that “the rigorous approach to the site analysis and the requirements of the appellants have led to a singular building that is of the highest standards of design ... at least reflecting the highest standards in architecture and in many aspects exceeding them”.

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C&D { C Jenrick approves modified hazardous substances consent

LOCATION: Greenwich Peninsula AUTHORITY: Greenwich Borough Council

INSPECTOR: John Woolcock PROCEDURE: Recovered appeal DECISION: Allowed REFERENCE: APP/ E5330/V/18/3216423

The appeal concerned a chemical distribution business on the Greenwich Peninsula, south-east London. The appellant sought an extension to the hazardous substances consent (HSC) that has covered the site since 1999.

The site is close to the site of the proposed Silvertown Tunnel, which will pass under the River Thames to connect Greenwich and Silvertown.

The government approved the tunnel in May 2018, but the plans were challenged by the Health and Safety

30MW solar park allowed despite cholera grave concerns The Welsh housing secretary has approved plans for a solar park near Tredegar, despite concerns over harm to the setting of the country’s last cholera cemetery.

The appeal concerned 58 hectares of valley upland south-west of Tredegar, south-east Wales, within the jurisdiction of both Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and Caerphilly Council. The appellant sought a temporary 30-year permission for a solar farm on the site with an output of 30 megawatts a year.

The site was 400 metres from the Cefn Golar cholera cemetery, a scheduled monument. The application was rejected over concerns that the scheme would harm the setting of the cemetery, and the wider

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landscape. It was recovered for determination by housing secretary Julie James.

After the inquiry, inspector Melissa Hall called the site “a rare physical reminder of one of the few known surviving cholera cemeteries”, noting that its “isolation and

Executive, which was concerned that the opening to the tunnel would pass too close to the storage of chemicals at the appeal site.

The appellant sought a new, modified HSC on the basis that a condition would be attached requiring the chemicals to be stored farther away from the tunnel mouth.

The main point of contention between the parties was whether the new consent should come into effect immediately, or be subject to a ‘trigger’ linked to

the implementation of the Silvertown Tunnel project.

Inspector John Woolcock agreed that the consent should be renewed immediately, noting that its revocation could result in “the loss of an important chemicals distribution centre”.

In his first appeal decision as secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Robert Jenrick agreed with his inspector, concluding that a new consent would not pose a problem to public safety.

remoteness, together with the sense of bleakness and loneliness”, were its overriding qualities. She found the scheme would have a “direct and significant adverse effect” on its setting.

Hall added that the proposal would realise concerns that solar arrays can lead to “creeping urbanisation of the countryside”. Though she accepted that the park would only be in place for 30 years, she commented that “this time period represents a generation”.

In her decision letter, the secretary of state referred to Planning Practice Wales, which states that in proposals for a renewable energy facility only “direct and irreversible impacts on landscape should be considered” as grounds for refusal. She was satisfied that the temporary permission would accord with policy.

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

In his first recovered appeal as secretary of state, Robert Jenrick has approved an application to modify and extend a hazardous substance consent near the site of the proposed Silvertown Tunnel in south-east London.

LOCATION: Tredegar AUTHORITY: Blaenau Gwent Council and Caerphilly Council

INSPECTOR: Melissa Hall PROCEDURE: Recovered appeal DECISION: Allowed REFERENCE: qA1365732

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DECISIONS DIGEST{

SUBSCRIBE to our appeals digest:

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

Calls for stronger policy lead to second home approval An inspector has discounted an emerging plan policy that prohibits holiday homes in Swanage in removing an occupancy condition on a flat, citing obje objectors to the policy who had, ironically, argued that it did not go far enough. bit.ly/planner1119-SecondHome

Housing benefit records disprove landlord’s HMO claim A Brent landlord who claimed he had converted his property into an HMO and not self-contained flats was caught out by evidence showing the high level of housing benefit he had been receiving as rent payment. bit.ly/planner1119HMO

Demolition of Victorian school halted De after 1,100­signature petition A developer who began to demolish a Victorian school in Swindon without p permission has had his plans to replace the building with 10 flats blocked by an inspector, after a petition to save the building gathered more than 1,100 ssignatures. bit.ly/planner1119-Victorian lanner1119-Victorian

Alpaca fatality does not justify rural worker’s bungalow Plans for a farm worker’s bungalow at an alpaca farm near Warrington have been rejected after an inspector found unacceptable harm to the green belt and no very special circumstances to justify it. bit.ly/planner1119-Alpaca

Extra housemate’s wastewater could harm Solent protection areas An inspector has refused to allow an extra bedroom in a Portsmouth HMO on environmental grounds, despite ruling in a costs decision that the council should have approved the plans before the environmental concerns had been raised by Natural England. bit.ly/planner1119-Solent

GPDO office conversion allowed despite ‘quality of life’ concerns

Overshadowing caused by Vauxhall regeneration scheme ‘acceptable’

The conversion of an office on an industrial estate to 30 flats can go ahead even though residents would have to close their windows for “significant periods” because of noise, after an inspector found no evidence that reliance on mechanical ventilation harms living conditions. bit.ly/planner1119-GPDO

A mixed-use scheme comprising three towers of up to 13 storeys can go ahead in Vauxhall, an inspector has ruled, after finding that the scheme’s impact on daylight levels in existing flats and a bookshop would be “significant”, but not unacceptable. bit.ly/planner1119-Vauxhall

Cardboard ‘Wikkelhouse’ w would harm setting of listed maritime villa

Mixed­use scheme would disrupt Grenfell support facility

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A nine-storey commercial building in Kensington would unacceptably disrupt visitors to a support facility for those affected by the 2017 Grenfell fire, an inspector has ruled, after the appellant failed to legally secure its proposed mitigation measures. bit.ly/planner1119-Grenfell

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Plans to install an innovative Dutch micro-home in the grounds of a listed Dorset villa for use as holiday accommodation would harm its historic significance, an inspector has ruled. bi bit.ly/planner1119-Wikkelhouse

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CIL reform – will it work?

Recent reforms to the developer infrastructure contributions system fall short of the major overhaul needed, says Kate Ashworth

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which came into force in April 2010, is a charge per square metre that was described as a tax to be applied to all developments in accordance with the local authority’s charging schedule. It was intended to fund the local infrastructure needed to support the cumulative impact of local development.

CIL – a brief history CIL was intended to be a fairer, faster, more certain and more transparent system of securing developer contributions for local infrastructure than section 106 contributions, but this is not how things have turned out. Uptake of CIL by local authorities has been slow and even now, more than nine years later, fewer than half of the local authorities in England and Wales have an adopted a charging schedule.

The interaction between CIL and section 106 contributions may be one reason for the slow uptake.

If infrastructure was included on the regulation 123 list as being funded by CIL, a contribution could

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section 106 contributions for larger developments, received no support from the government, and the strategic infrastructure tariff is nowhere to be seen. But on 1 September two key changes came into force.

1. Pooling restrictions have not be sought for that type now been removed. For of infrastructure through a local authorities without planning obligation. There a charging schedule this were pooling restrictions, is incredibly helpful too, which meant a local and will enable them to authority was not able appropriately fund larger to ask for more than five pieces of infrastructure contributions for a single work using contributions piece of infrastructure from more than five through planning developments. obligations.

These “WHERE LOCAL restrictions AUTHORITIES DO 2. The regulation led many local HAVE A CHARGING 123 list has been replaced with a authorities to SCHEDULE IN requirement for decide not to PLACE, THERE local authorities adopt CIL and IS NOW A to publish continue to seek POSSIBILITY an annual contributions OF DOUBLE infrastructure for site-specific COUNTING” funding infrastructure statement. This through planning must set out the obligations or infrastructure limiting the types on which the of infrastructure levy is intended to be spent listed on the regulation 123 in the next year, as well list. As a result, section 106 as financial information agreements for site-specific from the previous year contributions are still common. about actual collection and spending.

Recent reform The CIL Review Group Developers should proposed major reform welcome this change in to the existing system. terms of transparency.

However, its proposal However, a possible of a hybrid system unintended consequence with a low-level ‘local of the change is that the infrastructure tariff’ to link between CIL and apply to all development infrastructure no longer with no exceptions, and

exists and there are no restrictions on spending or pooling. So where local authorities do have a charging schedule in place, there is now a possibility of double counting, particularly for major developments.

Developers will want to seek confirmation of what the CIL payments are being spent on to ensure that no double counting is taking place and may want to invest time scrutinising each annual infrastructure funding statement.

These changes are nothing like the total overhaul recommended by the CIL Review Group, but will they help simplify the process?

Probably not to the extent that everyone had hoped.

Kate Ashworth is an associate with Womble Bond Dickinson, specialising in planning and infrastructure

In brief CIL was intended to be fairer and faster than the section 106 system, but more than half of authorities have still not adopted it The CIL Review Group proposed major reforms to the system, but failed to win government support Some restrictions have recently been removed, which should improve transparency but could also cause ‘double counting’ of developer contributions

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EVENTS

CASES

LEGISLATION

NEWS

ANALYSIS

NEWS £400k confiscation order for London landlord A Westminster landlord has been served with a confiscation order of £400,000 after illegally converting his three-bedroom home into eight flats.

Farook Owadally ignored warnings from planning officers at Westminster City Council for more than seven years.

The eight “tiny flats” were created across the basement, ground, first, second and third floors of his Maida Vale property without planning permission. The minimum space requirement of 37 square metres for new one-bedroom flats was not met – one measured 18sq m. Each one was rented out for £1,000 a month.

Enforcement notices were issued to Owadally in January 2012, requesting that the flats be removed and a third-floor extension demolished. They asked that the property be returned to its former condition – a shop with a maisonette above.

The council told Southwark Crown Court that Owadally made no attempt to engage with planning officers and, in particular the notices to stop using the flats.

Owadally was fined £90,000 and ordered to pay £40,000 in costs, as well as the confiscation order. He has three months to pay the order, and six months to pay costs and fines to the courts.

Dad and daughter must repay illegal rent takings Two residents from the Forest of Dean have been prosecuted for illegally renting out a flat that did not have planning permission.

Michelle Hicks, of The Squirrels, Drybrook, and Paul Hicks, of Cinderford, were granted planning permission in 2008 to build a kitchen extension with en suite bedroom upstairs on the side of their house in The Squirrels.

Instead, they constructed the extension as a completely separate unit, which Michelle Hicks then rented out.

The dad-and-daughter duo were served with an enforcement notice

by Forest of Dean District Council’s planning enforcement team in 2010, which required them to connect the annexe to the house in line with their planning permission.

In 2013, the council told the pair that it was satisfied they had done the works to comply, but a visiting enforcement officer in 2017 found that they were still in breach of the notice and were give another chance to comply.

In April this year, the pair pleaded guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates Court and the case was referred to Gloucester Crown Court for sentencing.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Michelle Hicks was ordered to pay £17,508.92 from the income she made from committing the offence and both defendants were ordered to pay the council’s full costs of £9,120.

LEGAL BRIEFS Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill The Scottish Government’s climate change bill, which includes a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, was passed by 113 votes to nil at Holyrood. bit.ly/planner1119-ScotBill

Planning Law Annual Update, 14th November, Leeds This event, organised by RTPI Yorkshire, will provide an update on new legislation, policy and case law from the past 12 months and look forward to anticipated changes. bit.ly/planner1119-LawUpdate

Sevenoaks council prosecutes green belt incursion A Kent resident who built on the green belt without permission has been prosecuted by Sevenoaks District Council and fined and surcharged a total of £1,840, including costs. bit.ly/planner1119-Sevenoaks

West of Scotland Planning Law Update, 21st November, Glasgow RTPI Scotland’s review of 2019 in planning law will consider significant court decisions and other legal changes. bit.ly/planner1119-ScotReview

Beauty & The Beast Planning lawyer Simon Ricketts considers the changes to government policy on design announced recently, and how consistent they are. bit.ly/planner1119-Beauty

Councils panned over traveller and gypsy provision

Dairy farmer fined for breaking planning rules A Whitland dairy farmer has been ordered to pay £4,908 for breaching planning conditions placed on the development of his land.

Evan Davies, of Henllan Farm, will pay two fines of £500, plus costs and a victim surcharge, totalling £4,908, after failing to comply with planning conditions on retrospective permission for a dairy complex at his farm.

After legal arguments, he accepted the breach and pleaded guilty to the offences in a prosecution brought by Carmarthenshire County Council.

Llanelli Magistrates Court heard that Davies was granted retrospective permission for the dairy in February 2018. Evidence showed building work had already been completed some time previously.

Several conditions were attached to the permission, including works to improve the road junction and surface and foul water drainage systems.

Later visits by enforcement officers found the conditions had not been complied with. The case was taken to court after Davies’ failure to act, despite the extra time he was given to comply with the notice.

Planning authorities are failing to allocate sites for gypsies and travellers who have stopped travelling because of old age, ill health, educational needs or disability, according to a study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, reports Local Government Lawyer. bit.ly/planner1119-Travellers

Private, keep out!

Mark Child explores the legal status of the ‘right to roam’ and the 2026 deadline for recording public rights of way. bit.ly/planner1119-Roam

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NEWS

RTPI {

RTPI news pages are edited

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

Results announced of RTPI elections, including Vice-President for 2020 R T P I E L E C T I O N S 2 0 1 9 – R E S U LT S Wei Yang FRTPI has been elected as the RTPI's VicePresident in 2020

Vice-President and President in 2021: Wei Yang FRTPI BOARD OF TRUSTEES Honorary Secretary and Solicitor: Bernadette Hillman LARTPI Nations and Regions Trustee: Rebecca Dewey MRTPI Young Planner’s Trustee: Laura Archer Chartered Trustees: • Janet Askew MRTPI • Lucy Seymour-Bowdery MRTPI • Tom Venables MRTPI

The RTPI has announced the results of its annual elections for Vice-President, as well as a range of positions on its Board of Trustees and General Assembly.

Wei Yang FRTPI, Chair of Wei Yang & Partners, an award-winning masterplanning firm in London, has been elected as the RTPI's Vice-President for 2020 and will become President in 2021.

The roles of President, Vice-President and Immediate Past President are automatically given seats on the RTPI Board.

Wei said: “I am honoured to have been elected by RTPI members as Vice-President for 2020 and President for 2021. Thank you all for giving me the mandate to serve the profession that I am passionate about.

“The RTPI was the first professional planning institute founded in the world. Now it is our generation’s responsibility to carry forth our founders’ spirit and take the lead to set the professional standard for planning to be a ‘global force for good’.

“I look forward to working closely with you all to champion the transformative change the world deserves.”

RTPI Chief Executive Victoria Hills said: “Many congratulations to Wei and all the other members who will now play an active part in shaping the future strategy and activities of not only the RTPI, but also the

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planning profession as a whole.

“It is vital that the governance of the RTPI continues to lead from the front in terms of its diversity, so it was particularly pleasing that so many female planners were successful in this year’s elections. Through our equality, diversity and inclusivity action plan, we’ll continue to strive for broader diversity across our all of our governance.

“2020 will be a busy year for the RTPI as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of our Royal Charter and launch a new corporate strategy. I look forward to working with all the trustees and members of the General Assembly as we take the Institute from strength to strength.”

GENERAL ASSEMBLY Chartered Members • Adam Banham MRTPI • Adele Maher MRTPI • Adrian Brown MRTPI • Alison Blom-Cooper MRTPI • Andrew Coleman MRTPI • Cath Ranson MRTPI • Claire Hepher-Davies MRTPI • Harry Quartermain MRTPI • Joanne Harding MRTPI • Kirsty Macari MRTPI • Liz Wood-Griffiths MRTPI • Mark Hand MRTPI • Nick Smith MRTPI • Peter Geraghty FRTPI Legal Member/Associate • Tola Amodu LARTPI Student/Licentiate • Alexander Oxley • Garry King • Nadeem Ahmed

COMMITTEE APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW We’re seeking applications for membership of key committees: Audit; Membership and Ethics; Education and Lifelong Learning; Policy, Practice and Research; England Policy Panel and International.

With the launch of our 2020-2030 Corporate Strategy early in the New Year, it’s an exciting time to get involved in the RTPI. Committees play a vital role in leading various strands of our work – current priority areas include the impact of Brexit and implementing the international sustainable development agenda.

If you’re already a member of a

committee, you’ll still need to reapply for 2020. We’re keen to encourage as wide and diverse a committee membership as possible so that the views, experience and knowledge of all our members will continue to enrich our work.

Applications must be made before 5pm on 1 December 2019. For more information, email governance@rtpi.org.uk or visit bit.ly/planner1119-Committees  We’re also seeking local representatives for our committees in the Nations and Regions – for more information, email sarah.woodford@rtpi.org.uk

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Editorial E: rtpinews@rtpi.org.uk

RTPI (switchboard) T: 020 7929 9494

Registered charity no.

262865 Registered charity in Scotland SCO37841

M Y V I E W O N … P U B L I C H E A LT H Scientist Ed Huckle believes there is a pressing need to reconnect and harmonise public health and land use planning The modern planning regime originated from the recognised links between poor-quality living conditions, inadequate infrastructure and the adverse impacts on public health.

Over time and for various reasons, these links have unfortunately eroded.

Considerable work by Public Health Wales (PHW) and various health boards in Wales has taken place over recent years to reverse this trend, highlighting the importance of increasing collaboration between spatial planning and health agencies.

A stakeholder survey undertaken in 2018 clearly highlighted a disconnect not only between planners and public health but also inconsistent dialogue within and beyond PHW. More encouragingly, 87 per cent of those surveyed wanted closer collaboration between the two disciplines.

PHW is currently working to formalise a pan-organisation mechanism for coordinating and delivering expert advice and support to better integrate health and wellbeing and a consideration of inequalities. This will include provision of a focal point for obtaining, coordinating and delivering information, direction and guidance to ensure sustainable collaboration.

n Ed is Principal Environmental Public Health Scientist for Public Health England. He is currently seconded one day a week to the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit, Public Health Wales.

n For more information on the RTPI’s work in this area, visit bit.ly/planner1119-Health

POSITION POINTS

INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING JAMES HARRIS, RTPI POLICY AND NETWORKS MANAGER Our new report, A Smarter Approach to Infrastructure Planning, warns of the impossibility of meeting the challenges of climate change, population growth and environmental risks over the coming decades unless the UK adopts a more joined-up approach to urban planning.

The report, launched soon after the chancellor’s announcement of more than £600 million of new infrastructure funding, calls on the government to devolve powers and funding for infrastructure and recommends that local authorities should establish dedicated teams focused solely on infrastructure coordination.

There is an urgent need to upgrade much of the country’s existing infrastructure so we can reach net-zero carbon, respond to growing environment risks such as flooding and overheating, accommodate population and demographic change, and enable sustainable development of residential, commercial and industrial space. The report calls on government and infrastructure providers to look beyond service delivery and tackle strategic, place-based challenges..

To read the report in full, visit bit.ly/planner1119-Infrastructure

LONDON AND THE DEVOLUTION REVOLUTION VICTORIA HILLS, RTPI CHIEF EXECUTIVE I’m one of the few people who can say that they have worked for all three London Mayors, and the golden thread throughout my time at City Hall was strategic planning powers – they have enabled a directly elected mayor to set the framework for housing, transport, investment and economic development, construction and infrastructure.

With that framework comes certainty and a plan that has enabled London to retain its place as the leading global city on so many fronts. As I walk around London today, it gives me great pleasure to see the impact that a strategic plan-led approach can achieve.

In my role at the RTPI, I am in the privileged professional position of being able to help make the case to HM Treasury on why other great cities and regions can benefit from more devolution and the strategic planning powers to direct their own growth.

• This article is adapted from a keynote address given by Victoria to the Worshipful Company of Paviors on 18 September in the City of London.

Read her speech in full at bit.ly/planner1119-HillsSpeech I M AG E S | RT P I

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RTPI { RTPI N E W S

Five new topics in RTPI’s national training programme for 2020

The RTPI has announced its programme of national training events for 2020.

The 60-plus courses, which include a range of new topics, will run from February to December and will be delivered at 11 locations across the UK. Carbon neutrality, mental health and good design are themes running through all 2020 courses. As well as the five new topics (see right), there’ll be a return

of our most popular topics from 2019, including Environmental Impact Assessments, Understanding Development Finance and introductory courses for nonplanning professionals.

RTPI Head of Education Andrew Close said: “The RTPI’s one-day masterclasses for 2020 will offer a mixture of skills and knowledge, theory and practice delivered by industry experts to ensure you have an in-depth, up-to-date and practical understanding to take back to your workplace at the end of the course.

“They’ll also help you to meet the Institute’s Core CPD Framework for members and support your Code of Conduct obligations as well as gain inspiration, learn about key developments and reflect on the impact you can make

in your practice – in fact, everything you need to grow as a planning professional.”

Designed and delivered by industry subject experts, RTPI national training reflects the needs of planners. The course levels range from introductory to intermediate and are intended for anyone in planning or related professions, members and non-members alike.

NEW RTPI TRAINING TOPICS FOR 2020 n Planning for health and inclusivity n PlanTech for planners n Personal wellbeing and resilience for planners n Implementing the 2020 Planning Act in Scotland n Planning and Community Engagement Booking for all 2020 courses opens on 13 November. For more information, visit bit.ly/planner1119Training

2020 SUBSCRIPTIONS: IMPROVING MEMBER SERVICES In 2019, the RTPI has continued to speak up for planning, raising the profile and influence of the Institute and the profession in the local, regional and national media, writes Sue Bridge FRTPI, Chair of RTPI’s Board of Trustees.

Other highlights of the year have included: • meetings with ministers and expert input into government consultations; • green light from government for a Chartered Town Planner apprenticeship; • stepping up of RTPI’s diversity and inclusivity agenda; • launch of Resource Planning for Climate Action campaign;

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• publication of a range of policy, practice and research reports.

Looking forward to 2020, we’ll continue to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our Royal Charter – an important reminder of the recognition and high status of the Institute, and the value and prestige of membership.

We’re also due to launch our new corporate strategy for 2020-30, following a consultation with members, the public and stakeholders, as well as a brand new website – your portal for an improved and more personalised member experience.

In order to maintain our core services, increase our impact, profile and influence,

and to continuously improve and grow our services to members, the Board of Trustees has agreed that in 2020 the annual subscription rate will increase by 2 per cent.

This small increase is equivalent to £6 per year for Chartered Members.

Members will shortly receive details of their RTPI subscription, explaining the changes to rates for 2020. Subscriptions are due for renewal on 1 January annually. n For more information, email subscriptions@rtpi.org.uk or call 020 7929 9463. To make sure you’re getting the most out of your membership visit bit.ly/planner1119-MemberBenefits I M AG E S | RT P I

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G PLANNIN AHEAD MEMBER NEWS

Key dates for 2019

NEW CHARTERED MEMBERS Congratulations to the following planners who have been elected to Chartered Membership following the outcome of the APC round 3 submission assessment period.

Each year on World Town Planning Day, the RTPI joins forces with other planning organisations around the globe to raise the profile of planning and its role in shaping NOV a prosperous world.

This year it is the 70th anniversary of the first World Town Planning Day, and to mark the occasion RTPI President Ian Tant will be dedicating a blue plaque in London to Sir Patrick Abercrombie, best known for his postSecond World War replanning of London.

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n Follow us on Twitter @RTPIPlanners for full coverage on the day, using the hashtag #WTPD2019.

There are just a few tickets remaining for the 2019 edition of the RTPI’s prestigious annual lecture, named after former RTPI President Nathaniel NOV Lichfield. Following in the footsteps of such planning luminaries as Christine Whitehead, Michael Batty and Lord Kerslake, this year’s lecture will be given by Gavin Parker, fellow of the RTPI and Professor of Planning Studies at the University of Reading – he will mark the 50th anniversary of the Skeffington Report by sharing his thoughts on participatory democracy and public participation in planning.

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n For more information and to get your ticket visit bit.ly/planner1119-LichfieldLecture2019 Submissions for the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence remain open until 16 December 2019.

The awards are the longest-running and most prestigious DEC in the industry, with finalists and winners providing the case studies for the RTPI’s work to raise the profile of planning. For 2020, a new category has also been introduced to recognise the achievements of legal teams working in the field of planning, including law firms, barristers’ chambers and in-house planning law teams – the team must include at least one legal associate member of the RTPI.

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n For details on how to make your submission visit bit.ly/planner1119-PlanningExcellence

Hajnalka Biro Scotland Hannah Bridges South East Simon Burditt South West Eleanor Burrough London

Sophia Goodhead South West

Luis Perez Zamora North West

Jessica Hampson South East

Bruce Risk North West

Jessica Hill East of England Madeleine Lane London

Thomas Chapman North West

Jennine Nunns North East

Euan Connolly North West

Rory O'Reilly East of England

Jennifer Samuelson South East Lauren Springfield Scotland Amy Tanner London Louise Wells East Midlands

Marcin Dane Yorkshire

CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINE RTPI’s Conduct and Discipline Panel has found three members to be in breach of the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct.

The first complaint concerned a consultant planner who fabricated an ecology report to accompany a planning application. The panel found that he had not acted with honesty and integrity and therefore had breached clause 4 of the code. As a result, the member received a reprimand for his actions.

The second complaint involved another consultant member who submitted a planning application without informing the owner of part of the land and with the wrong certificates. Despite the site area changing during the course of the application, he failed to check that all the land was in his client’s ownership, and when the issue was raised he failed to use his independent judgement to resolve the issue. Instead, he relied on client instructions to take no action. He therefore breached clauses 11 and 14 and received a warning as to his future conduct. It was agreed that neither of these members would be named in this publicity.

The last complaint concerned Nathan Conway, who failed to respond to monitoring requests for his professional indemnity insurance and CPD details. Mr Conway also failed to pay his membership subscription and so his membership was terminated.

Members with queries about the Code of Professional Conduct should email RTPI Complaints Investigator Ruth Richards ruth.richards@rtpi.org.uk

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If a job role’s worth filling…

Don’t just take our word for it - here’s what our customers are saying about Planner Jobs, the official planning recruitment service of the RTPI “We got a good number of applications for the planning of·cer posts and, having a brief look through the submissions, the candidates are from various necks of the woods.

Placing the advert with you has certainlyy helped us to reach a wider audience.”

MAY 2018 – MATTHEW PARRY DAVIES, DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT MANAGER, WIRRAL COUNCIL

“I have to say that the calibre of planners we have had apply through The Planner has really improved over the last three months.”

“I’m pleased to say we were able to appoint to this role (senior planner) and had a good calibre of applications. an Many of them, including the successful Ma candidate, were from yourselves, so ca thank you.” th AU AUGUST 2018 – ALEXANDRA KELLY, RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT, KINGSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL CO

JULY 2018 – CJ OBI, UK HEAD, TOWN PLANNING AND REAL ESTATE, OSBORNE RICHARDSON

“I am pleased to say that following our advertisement with The Plannerr we have successfully recruited high calibre candidates to each of the three vacant posts. There was also signi·cant response to the advertisement from which we were able to shortlist suitable candidates. This is due in no small way to the quality of the advertisement itself and its circulation. I would like to place on record my thanks for your support and assistance, and the professional manner in which dealt with our requests.”

OCTOBER 2018 ALAN N COLEMAN, HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT PLANNING & ENFORCEMENT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, WORCESTER CITY COUNCIL

“As a start up practice, we had a very limited budget to recruit new graduate level planners. We also wanted to make sure that our job advert was exposed to the greatest amount of RTPI members. After shopping we decided that The Planner offered us the best possible value and reach among the planning community. As a result we were inundated with applications, and have been able to select some very high calibre candidates.”

OCTOBER 2018 – TOM VENABLES, PLANNING DIRECTOR, PRIOR + PARTNERS

“We have had really positive results with the adverts we have placed in The Planner. Our two new principals started with us this week, and we have had a series of interviews off the back of the advert.”

JULY 2018 KEVIN JAMES, SUPPORT TEAM MANAGER, AYLESBURY VALE DISTRICT COUNCIL

“The Planner worked fantastically well for our client’s senior planner role and massively exceeded expected applications! We would heartily recommend them to any client or business for their planning roles.”

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Meet the young planners We’d like to thank the young planners from the RTPI North East Young Planners who have contributed to this issue of The Planner.

The group will be hosting this year's Young Planners' Conference in Newcastle and Gateshead on 1 and 2 November, on the theme of ‘A Sense of Place: Planning and Identity’. We’ll be reporting on the event in December’s issue of The Planner

Dominic Crowley MRTPI

Katherine Simpson MRTPI

Senior planner at Lichfields

Planner at Lichfields

Group planning assistant

Nicola Crowley MRTPI

Alastair Welch MRTPI

Senior planner with DPP Planning

Senior policy adviser with Defra

Kieran Blaydes Graduate development planner and surveyor at Hive Land & Planning

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Patrick Johnston

Oonagh Cranley MRTPI Associate director at Lichfields

Jack Osgerby Graduate planner at Fairhurst

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LANDSCAPE

THE MONTH IN PLANNING The best and most interesting reads, websites, films and events that we’ve encountered this month WHAT WE'RE READING...

Homes & Places – a History of Nottingham’s Council Houses Nottingham City Homes is so proud of the heritage of council housing in Nottingham that it has published this comprehensive and illustrated history of the topic. It calls it a story that connects people through shared experience and “sheer geographic scale”. It’s also a fascinating walk through the political history of the city as well. The Guardian has enthused about this book and we’re happy to agree with it. Available to buy directly from Nottingham City Homes, and available as a free PDF download.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING...

A Brief History of U.S. City Planning Here’s an interesting 14-minute primer on US town planning put together by City Beautiful, a YouTube channel dedicated to educating everyone about cities and city planning. (“Cities are amazing!”) It’s very American, and someone in the comments is disappointed that it’s not the history of a single American town called ‘Planning’ – but worth a go. bit.ly/planner1119-USCity

WHERE WE'RE GOING...

Each month the RTPI runs a range of free or low-cost events up and down the UK. Here’s our pick for the next few weeks.

See the full calendar here: bit.ly/planner1119-Calendar

bit.ly/planner1119-Notts

WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO..

The Planning Game podcast Portsmouth-based John McDermott is the man behind this latest crack at a routinely produced town planning podcast, offering “real world planning solutions to real world planning problems”. Available in typically 30-minute chunks through all podcasting platforms.

National Association of Planning Enforcement (NAPE) Annual Conference 2019 6 November, Allia Future Business Centre, Peterborough United FC

World Town Planning Day 2019 – Improving urban lives in the global South 7 November, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, University of Sheffield

A full day of hot topics at the forefront of planning enforcement including: drones, preparing a notice, permitted development rights, planning law, a Planning Inspectorate and more.

(Please note: this conference is only available to NAPE members.)

Academics from the department talk about the core challenges and opportunities for more inclusive and sustainable urban development pathways in the global South.

Free to attend for RTPI members, young planners, built environment professionals, undergraduate and postgraduate students.

bit.ly/planner1119-NAPE

bit.ly/planner1119-South

WHAT WE’RE PLANNING We en end the calendar year with a discussion on the practical application of viability testing changes to when such tests are and potential p conducted – and an assessment, should it be condu necessary, of what a Halloween Brexit means for neces planning. The West Midlands is the focus of our plann Nations & Regions section. Contact editorial@ Nation thepla p with your ideas for features. theplanner.co.uk

RTPI Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture: Participation 50 years after Skeffington 18 November, London School of Economics 50 years to the day since its release, Professor Gavin Parker of the Henley Business School, University of Reading will reflect on the Skeffington Report’s impact. bit.ly/planner1119-Lichfield

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If undelivered please return to: The Royal Town Planning Institute 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3R 8DL

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