The Planner- March 2022 by The Planner

MARCH 2022 HOUSING DELIVERY TEST RESULTS // p.4 • 10 YEARS OF THE WOMEN IN PLANNING NETWORK // p.18 • THE CAPE, TORRES, AND GULF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES PLAN // p.30 • HOW PLANNERS’ USE OF TECH IS CHANGING // p.35

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

*Second homes: A threat to Welsh communities and language?

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CONTENTS

MARCH

8 NEWS 4 51 English councils face obligation to reduce housing backlogs 8 Northern Ireland’s planning regime is 'ineffective and underresourced’ 9 12 national missions underpin levelling-up agenda, says Michael Gove 10 Phosphate problem could still blight North Wales LDPs 11 Newsmakers: 10 top stories appearing now on The Planner online

Join us for our upcoming webinar WEDNESDAY 9 MARCH 2022, 12:00 GMT

20 OPINION

16 Louise BrookeSmith: Enter the planner, mediator extraordinaire

This event, in association with Environment Bank, sees us consider the practical application of biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements under the Environment Act 2021. We'll explore the obligations and legal risks for planners, developers and landowners, providing solutions to problems that may arise as each fulfils their duties under the new act.

Speakers: • Professor David Hill of Environment Bank • Nina Pindham of No.5 Chambers • Richard Blyth of the RTPI Themes: • What’s new about BNG in the Environment Act? • What are planners’ obligations, duties and responsibilities? • Onsite vs offsite which is best?

• Biodiversity net gain credits - what are they and how will they work? • The best BNG solutions for planners To register, visit bit.ly/ Planner0322-BNG

18 Dan Crane: When planning thinks about culture, it improves quality of life

FEATURES

INSIGHT

18 Roisin Willmott: What the audit of NI’s planning system teaches us

20 Simon Wicks tallks to the founders of the Women in Planning about the network’s first ten years

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

19 Stephen Westmore: Is development in ancient woodland always a bad thing?

24 Wales is cracking down on second homes and short-term lets to protect its small communities, reports Huw Morris

19 Jane Healey-Brown: White paper opens door for planners to lead sustainable regeneration

QUOTE UNQUOTE

20 22

“WE SAW A 100 PER CE CENT RISE IN THE NUMBER OF REQUESTS FOR CHARGE POINT INSTALLATIONS BETWEEN DECEMBER AND JANUA JANUARY” CHARLIE COOK OF CHARGING POINT PRODUCER RIGHTCHARGE ON THE SUCCESS OF THE OZEV GRAN GRANT, WHICH PROVIDES UP TO £350 OFF THE COST OF A HOME CHARGING CH POINT FOR AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE, ACCESS TO WHIC WHICH ENDS ON 31 MARCH

30 Case study: The Cape, Torres, and Gulf Economic Opportunities Plan, winner of the International Award for Planning Excellence 35 Tech landscape: Our 2021-22 careers survey gave us some interesting insights into how planners’ use of tech has changed

42 Legal Landscape: Opinions from the legal side of planning

44 RTPI round-up: News and interviews from the institute 50 What to read, what to watch and how to keep in touch

Make the most of The Planner by visiting our links for related content

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NEWS

Report { HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

51 English councils face obligation to reduce housing backlogs By Laura Edgar

To action Twenty-three councils will need to produce an action plan for delivering between 85 and 95 per cent of their housing requirement. This includes Hinckley and Bosworth for the second year after two years of meeting its target; it delivered 86 per cent of its target, compared with 2020 (92 per cent), 2019 (119 per cent) and 2018 (141 per cent). Other councils that need to deliver an action plan include: Bexley (93 per cent), Northampton (90 per cent), Stockport (92 per cent) and Swindon (92 per cent). The local authorities that need to produce an action plan and identify a 20 per cent buﬀer of housing land supply rather than the standard 5 per cent for delivering between 75 per cent and 85 per cent of their housing requirement include Ipswich (82 per cent) and Wealden (82 per cent). Overall, 19 councils need to identify a buﬀer.

Carlisle

Telford & Wrekin

Cannock Chase

Bracknell Forest

118%

Hyndburn

217%

231%

Councils exceeding the target include

233%

The 2021 results show that 51 local authorities face the presumption in favour of sustainable development – four fewer than in 2020. Southend-on-Sea was the worst performer, delivering 218 of a required 786 homes in 2021, which overall equates to 31 per cent. The 2020 results show that the council delivered 36 per cent of its housing requirement, meaning it faces the presumption consequence for a second year. In 2019, it needed to identify a buﬀer. Five other councils delivered less than 40 per cent of their housing requirement: last year's worst-performing council Eastbourne delivered 32 per cent; Epping Forest (35 per cent), Epsom and Ewell (35 per cent), Tandridge (38 per cent), and Worthing (35 per cent). Hastings scraped above 40 per cent, delivering 42 per cent, (86 of 300

this summer, with delivery expected to increase thereafter. The councils just falling into the presumption category include Havant (74 per cent) and Bristol City (74 per cent).

346%

The 2021 results

homes in 2021), down from 55 per cent. Kensington and Chelsea delivered 43 per cent of its target, down from 49 per cent in 2020. Results for St Albans show that in 2018 and 2019 it had to identify a buffer and in 2020 and 2021 it faced the presumption consequence. It delivered 443 homes of its 595-home target last year (69 per cent). The council’s local plan was adopted in 1994 and it is currently working to produce a plan for the period to 2036. Delays arose after an inspector outlined concerns that the council had failed to engage constructively when producing its local plan in April 2020. The council withdrew the plan in November 2020. It is worth noting that St Albans is not the only council with an out-of-date local plan – four in five of the councils named have local plans that are more than five years old, accordingto planning consultancy Lichfields. Calderdale fared the same as St Albans, having delivered 333 homes against a 2021 target of 533 (55 per cent). The council told The Planner that it expects its local plan to be adopted

353%

The results of the 2021 Housing Delivery Test show that 51 councils in England face the presumption in favour of sustainable development. These local authorities failed to deliver 75 per cent of their housing target during 2021. To calculate the Housing Delivery Test, the total net homes delivered over a three-year period is divided by the total number of homes required over a threeyear period. The 2020 test considers 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21. Because of the disruption caused by the March 2020 lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19, the period for measuring the homes required in 2019/20 was reduced by one month. In September 2021, the then housing minister Christopher Pincher said the 2021 results would be calculated using a four-month adjustment to the housing requirement ﬁgures to account for ﬂuctuations in construction output.

Ashford

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PLAN UPFRONT

The improved The test shows that 55 councils straddle the green line of presumption in favour of development, the top 12 principally located in the South and East

Bromsgrove Havering Epping Forest Basildon Watford Southendon-Sea

Kensington and Chelsea Epsom and Ewell

Tandridge

Hastings

Worthing Eastbourne

P Presumption i iin ffavour off sustainable development n Arun n Ashﬁeld n Barking and Dagenham n Basildon n Bournemouth n Bradford n Brentwood n Bristol, City of n Bromsgrove n Broxbourne n Bury n Calderdale n Canterbury n Castle Point n Eastbourne n Elmbridge n Enﬁeld

n Epping Forest n Epsom and Ewell n Fareham n Gravesham n Hastings n Havant n Havering n Isle of Wight n Kensington and Chelsea n Medway n Mole Valley n North Dorset n North Hertfordshire n Portsmouth n Rossendale n Rother n Sandwell

n Sevenoaks n Slough n South Tyneside n Southend-on-Sea n Spelthorne n St Albans n Tandridge n Three Rivers n Thurrock n Tonbridge and Malling n Walsall n Warrington n Watford n Welwyn Hatﬁeld n Windsor and Maidenhead n Worthing n York

Barnet is a local authority that has pulled itself out of the buffer category since 2018, while then having to deliver an action plan in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, it delivered 2,022 homes against a target of 1,574 homes (108 per cent). Chesterfield also over-delivered against its target; the test shows that in 2021 it delivered 304 homes against a 153-home target. This over-delivery came after two years in the buffer category and 2020 in the action plan category (91 per cent). Other councils that improved their test results include Braintree (125 per cent); Hackney (96 per cent) and Tunbridge Wells (97 per cent). The remaining councils (228) met their housing targets, with a great many exceeding the target, including: n Ashford - 118 per cent n Bracknell Forest - 217 per cent n Cannock Chase - 231 per cent n Carlisle - 346 per cent n Hyndburn - 353 per cent n Telford & Wrekin - 233 per cent

Across the regions Looking at the results by RTPI region, the South East has the most councils facing the presumption consequence – up from 17 to 22. All regions include a council facing this consequence, with one in the North East (South Tyneside) and the East Midlands (Ashfield). Three councils in the North West, Yorkshire, the South West and the West Midlands fall into this category; 11 in the East of England; and four in London. Eight South East councils fell into the buffer category in 2020, falling to five in 2021. London also has five councils in this zone. The North East, Yorkshire and the West Midlands have no councils facing the buffer, but the North West has two, East Midlands has one, East of England has two, and the South West has four. No council in the West Midlands needs to produce an action plan. Three councils in the North West must produce an action plan; one in the North East and Yorkshire; four in the East Midlands; two in the East of England, five in the South West and London; and two in the South East.

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NEWS

Report { Council responses St Albans City & District Council (69 per cent)

Although the South East has the most councils facing the presumption, it also contains the most facing no action (35).

A constrained future Last year, The Planner highlighted that many of the councils falling into the presumption category were in the green belt. Little has changed. Basildon, Castle Point, Epping Forest, Epsom and Ewell, North Hertfordshire, St Albans, Three Rivers, Thurrock, Watford and Welwyn are all located in the Metropolitan Green Belt – and, just as last year, these councils fall into the presumption category once more. Stevenage faced the presumption last year, but has this year pulled itself into the buﬀer category by delivering 79 per cent of its target. Wider than this, 73 per cent of the presumption councils are in either the South East, London or the East of England. Edward Clarke, associate director at Lichﬁelds, told The Planner that the impact of being in the presumption category is “moot” because they are either too constrained or already operating under this condition because of an

out-of-date local plan. Of those local authorities that failed, 65 per cent are constrained by the green belt. “Indeed, that so many of the LPAs that have failed the test are constrained by the green belt, and/or have old local plans, shows that these are clear and persistent issues that are contributing to the diﬃculty of eﬀective plan-making that delivers the homes required in these areas.” Clark says the results show there is a “persistence of under-delivery”. “All LPAs that failed the test this year delivered below their requirement last year too, threequarters of those that failed this year also failed last year.” And the future does not look rosy. Clark said some councils will be meeting housing delivery targets on sites that are nitrate-neutral. “Seven of the authorities which face the presumption also face nitrate-neutrality requirements; this accounts for 14 per cent of the LPAs that failed the test, compared with just 9 per cent of LPAs who ‘passed’ the test. “This is likely to further constrain development despite the ‘presumption in favour’ being in place for these areas.”

A spokesperson said that a timetable for the local plan schedule has not yet been approved. Owing to budget implications, the matter has been referred to the policy committee by the Local Plan Advisory Group. As The Planner went to press, the committee was due to consider a fresh report, which “may have options for recruiting extra local plan staﬀ, the budget implications and the impact on an indicative timetable”. The council has also updated its action plan; it sets out a number of measures to help improve housing delivery including reviewing and improving section 106 procedures and engaging with stakeholders on-site and making a note of barriers to development (where development has stalled). The progression of the local plan also features.

Calderdale Council (55 per cent) Richard Seaman, corporate lead – planning, said: “We’re aware that our housing delivery test ﬁgures are below those required and we’re taking a number of steps to address this; these are outlined in the latest Housing Delivery Test Action Plan. “The plan examines the reasons behind our current low scores and suggests ways in which the housing completion rate might be improved. This includes the adoption of the local plan and the increase in allocated housing sites. “It’s anticipated that our local plan will be adopted in summer 2022. Once we have an adopted plan, we would expect delivery to increase substantially.”

Ashford District Council (118 per cent) A spokesperson commented: “In all honesty, we haven’t done anything particularly different to achieve the greater number of completions – it is more just the ebb and flow of development, especially where flatted schemes complete and you get a

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PLAN UPFRONT

“ST ALBANS IS NOT THE ONLY COUNCIL WITH AN OUTOFDATE LOCAL PLAN – FOUR IN FIVE OF THE COUNCILS NAMED HAVE LOCAL PLANS THAT ARE MORE THAN FIVE YEARS OLD”

relatively large chunk of completions in one go. “The action plans we set out previously were about understanding our borough better and the key developers and contacts to ensure we maximise the potential for sustainable housing growth. “We do have a relatively new local plan so it could be that members have been more conﬁdent in allowing schemes that are in compliance with the policies set out in this and that has now fed through into development on the ground but otherwise it is hard to pinpoint anything speciﬁc.”

Chesterfield Borough Council (129 per cent) Alan Morey, strategic planning and key sites manager at Chesterfield Borough Council, said the council has a “clear strategic approach” to delivering housing, as set out in the local plan, which was adopted in 2020. “The detailed plan identified the right mix of sites and supporting policies – helping to build confidence for both developers and our planning committee. “As part of our local plan, we revised our affordable housing policies to reflect the varied housing need and viability geographically across the borough, whilst retaining enough headroom to support ambitious policies around adaptable housing and biodiversity.” He said the council has addressed barriers such as stalled sites and in the medium term is ensuring “continued pace of delivery, through bringing large council-owned sites to the market and working collaboratively with national housebuilders to progress large schemes”. I M AG E S | A L A M Y

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He added that cross-council working had proved to be key.

Hastings Borough Council (42 per cent) Andy Batsford, lead councillor for housing and homelessness, said: “Tackling homelessness and providing affordable homes for our residents is one of the council’s top priorities, as stated in our corporate plan. As part of this we have recently committed to providing 500 affordable homes for our residents. “We have a Housing Delivery Test Action Plan which details the ways we are working to deliver new homes within our town, including developing a new local plan. The Housing Delivery Action Plan is due to be updated in the summer. We continue to work to find appropriate sites for development to provide the new homes required.”

Eastbourne Borough Council (32 per cent) Last year, the council told The Planner that it is contending with “limited and constrained geography” – to the south it borders the English Channel and to the west is the South Downs National Park – and therefore it didn’t see the presumption status being lifted “any time soon”.

This year the council explained: “We have made no secret of the totally unrealistic housing numbers that are calculated for Eastbourne using the government’s formula. Our Core Strategy Local Plan identified 240 homes a year as achievable, yet the number calculated for 2021/22 is 675. It cannot be a surprise to anyone that this figure has not been met. “The constraints on larger residential developments in Eastbourne have not changed and won’t ever change. We will always be limited by our geography, the South Downs to the west, the English Channel to the south and a tightly drawn administrative boundary with Wealden District to the north and east. Current developments are limited to small brownfield sites with marginal viability and because of this developer interest in Eastbourne is low. “What must change is the government’s housing requirement assessment for Eastbourne – it is plainly wrong. However, we are doing all we can to plan for as much housing as can be sustainably accommodated in Eastbourne.” The 2021 Housing Delivery Test can be found on the UK Government website: bit.ly/planner0322HDT2021gov

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NEWS

News { Northern Ireland’s planning regime is 'ineffective and under-resourced’ Northern Ireland is saddled with an ineffective, inefficient and underresourced planning system, according to a highly critical assessment published by the NI Audit Office. In many aspects the two-tier regime is failing to deliver for the economy or communities, or the environment. That is the conclusion of a joint report published by Kieran Donnelly, the comptroller and auditor general, and Colette Kane, the local government auditor. Their report highlights “significant silo working” in the planning system, and the fact that the most important planning applications are still taking too long to process. They also note very slow progress in respect of preparing local development plans (LDPs). It would be “at least” 2028 before all local authority areas have approved LDPs. The report points out that almost three-quarters of regionally significant and major planning applications processed between 2017-18 and 2019-20 weren’t completed within the statutory target of 30 weeks. More than half (56 per cent) had taken more than a year to process, and 19 per cent more than three years. The time taken to process major applications varied substantially between councils, with the median processing time for the slowest council more than three times that of the fastest council. The report highlights other notable variances between councils in their decisionmaking processes. These included the extent to which planning decisions were delegated from elected representatives to professional planning officials, and how councils resolved enforcement

cases where there were potential breaches of policies or planning conditions. It recognises the signiﬁcant pressures that the planning system has faced with about 12,500 planning applications being processed each year since 2015. It also notes that there is a low bar for the quality of planning applications that are allowed to enter the system. The report points out that planning fees, the main source of income for the planning system, have not been

“THE PLANNING SYSTEM HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY ‘FINANCIALLY UNSUSTAINABLE’”

adjusted year-on-year to keep pace with inflation. As a result, the planning system has become increasingly “financially unsustainable”. The gap between the income generated from planning activities by councils and the cost of those activities had increased significantly. During 2019-20 the gap was £8.2 million. Commenting on the report’s conclusions, Donnelly and Kane said: “The planning system in Northern Ireland is not currently operating as one system. Rather, there is a series of organisations that are not interacting well and not delivering an effective service. Addressing the issues identified in this report will be both a cultural and a practical challenge, demanding strong leadership.” Read the full story: bit.ly/planner0322-NiAuditOffice

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PLAN UPFRONT

12 national missions underpin levelling-up agenda Levelling-up secretary Michael Gove has published the government’s plans to close the gap between the rich and the poor across the UK and Northern Ireland, with “12 bold, national missions” to be given legal status through a levelling-up and regeneration bill. This forms part of the government’s long-awaited levelling-up white paper. One mission seeks to grow productivity and narrow the disparities between the best and worst-performing areas, and another will see domestic public research and development (R&D) investment increase by at least 40 per cent outside the Greater South East by 2030. Levelling Up the United Kingdom states that although homeownership numbers are increasing after two decades of decline, “there is much more to do to restore the dream of homeownership, particularly among young people”. Housing, it continues, has a “critical role” in delivering the outcomes that the levelling-up agenda aims to achieve. Housing goes beyond productivity; it is “key to restoring a sense of community, local pride and belonging”. The policy programme for this mission focuses on making homeownership a reality; improving housing quality; and reforming the planning system. Measures include: ● Widening Homes England’s role to support mayors and local government

I M AG E S | S H U T T E RSTO C K / G E T T Y

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in their ambitions for aﬀordable housing and regeneration in their area. ● Launching a task force to look at ways that better choice, quality and security of housing for older people can be provided. This includes addressing regional disparities in supply of appropriate housing. ● An additional 68 local authorities will be supported by the High Streets Task Force, including Rossendale and Dudley. Eighty-four local authorities are already receiving support. On the reforms, the white paper states that a “strong” planning system is vital to level up communities across the country and give them a say in how land is used. “The UK Government will enhance compulsory purchase powers to support town centre regeneration; provide further support for reusing brownﬁeld land for development; set a more positive approach to employment land in national policy to support the provision of jobs; and increase engagement with infrastructure providers in plan-making to bolster productivity,” it says. Planners bridge the gap between ambition and real life The RTPI has welcomed the inclusion of the planning system by the government in the levelling-up white paper. Planners, the institute says, bridge the gap between ambitions to level up and real projects

that provide homes, encourage inward investment and enable community life. Victoria Hills, chief executive, comments: “It is right that planning features prominently in the announcement because it is an essential public service driving health, prosperity and sustainability so that communities can level up. “The white paper outlines positive changes to the information, incentives and institutions that we need to make places that people can be proud of. This approach to join up policymaking at a central and local level is a prime opportunity to involve planners. “We believe that, by working collaboratively, the RTPI can help to iron out the ﬁner details of this white paper to ensure we level up the least wealthy, healthy and sustainable communities.”

Read more: Wolverhampton and Sheffield are first places to receive government levelling-up support: bit.ly/planner0322WolverhamptonSheffield

12 national missions underpin levelling-up agenda: bit.ly/planner0322-12missions

What the levelling-up white paper says on planning and housing: bit.ly/planner0322LUplanning

Industry reaction to the levelling-up white paper: bit.ly/0322-LUWPreaction

MAR C H 2 022 / THE PLA NNER

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NEWS

News { Scotland blueprint proposes masstransit schemes and island links

Mass public transit schemes for Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and new ﬁxed links between islands and the mainland are proposed in the government’s latest draft blueprint for future transport investment. The second Strategic Transport Projects Review, produced by Transport for Scotland, also recommends: continued investment in ports, active travel, rail and waterborne freight facilities; a review of rail freight hubs, strategic bus priority measures; and rail corridor enhancements for the Highlands and between Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen, and between Edinburgh/Glasgow and Perth/Dundee. The blueprint, which doesn’t cost the programme, stresses that the strategy must reﬂect the 20-minute neighbourhood

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principle and the need to decarbonise transport. It notes that Clyde Metro represents a multibillion-pound investment that could better connect more than 1.5 million people to employment, education and health services in the Glasgow city region. Plans for Edinburgh & South East Scotland Mass Transit and Aberdeen Rapid Transit would also be developed. It highlights that ferry routes on the Sound of Harris, Sound of Barra and between Craignure and Oban face a number of issues and challenges. Replacing ferry services with ﬁxed links (bridges or tunnels) could improve reliability, connectivity, capacity and crossing times, says the review.

Phosphate problem could still blight LDPs Two North Wales replacement local development plans (LDP) have progressed after a hiatus following the introduction of new targets imposed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to make sure developments do not increase phosphate pollution in rivers forming part of Special Areas of Conservation. Inspectors examining the draft LDPs for Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council said the phosphate pollution policy issue had raised “considerable uncertainty” over the viability of housing sites in the blueprints. Neighbouring councils have cooperated with NRW and prepared a draft catchment phosphorus reduction strategy covering the at-risk River Dee. This oﬀers a way for some development to come forward irrespective of whether sites are set for development in the LDP or within existing unitary development plan settlement limits, subject to the implementation of mitigation measures. This and other work has persuaded the inspectors that they now have enough information to determine the soundness of the plans. Read the full story: bit.ly/planner0322-Walesphosphate

New bill to protect Irish monuments Irish heritage minister Malcolm Noonan has presented the general scheme of the monuments and archaeological heritage bill to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage in the Oireachtas. The proposals would replace the National

Read the full story: bit.ly/planner0322Scotlandtransport

Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014. The bill would introduce measures to protect archaeological structures and sites, and establish a Register of Monuments – a statutory reporting scheme for newly discovered monuments and provisions to stop illicit importation and possession of stolen cultural property. For the ﬁrst time sunken wrecks would be protected by legislation. If enacted, the bill “will substantially strengthen protection of archaeological heritage”, said Noonan.

I M AG E S : A L A M Y / S H U T T E RSTO C K

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CATCH UP WITH THE PLANNER

N Newsmakers Lords vexed by use of L se secondary legislation to make permanent PDR for marquees The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has S outlined concerns about o instruments laid before Parliament that change building regulations and b planning law. bit.ly/planner0322marqueePDR

Cardiﬀ city centre regeneration proposals promised

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

Cardiff City Council has published a five-year plan to reimagine and revitalise the city centre in a post-pandemic world. It includes regenerating Cardiff Market. bit.ly/planner0322Cardiffregeneration

More than 700,000 plans submitted in 2021

1 2 3 4

6 Cash boost for oﬀshore ﬂoating wind development

Local place plans circular published The Scottish Government has published a circular on the preparation of local place plans, a key part of its wider work on planning reform and building public trust in planning. The circular states that the local place plans “oﬀer the opportunity for a community-led, collaborative approach to creating great local places”. bit.ly/planner0322-circular

The government is proposing to establish a national landscapes partnership that brings together those responsible for managing national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England so they can collaborate to tackle nature recovery and improve public access. bit.ly/planner0322-naturepartnership

The new regional planning IT system has hit more glitches and won’t be up and running until late summer, the Department for Infrastructure told The Planner. The system – set to replace the existing Northern Ireland Planning Portal – was scheduled to be operational by now. bit.ly/planner0322-ITdelay

Planning poses challenge for infrastructure investment

Stuart Andrew named as housing minister in reshuﬄe PM Boris Johnson has appointed Stuart Andrew as the new housing minister in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. He replaces Christopher Pincher, who is now Treasurer of HM Household (and deputy chief whip). bit.ly/planner0322-StuartAndrew

Partnership to tackle nature recovery proposed

Northern Ireland's new planning IT system delayed

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy is to spend £60 million of public and private investment on developing technologies so that turbines can be installed at the windiest parts of the UK’s coastline. Eleven projects will get up to £10 million. bit.ly/planner0322-ﬂoatingwind

The Planning Portal received 723,552 applications from England and Wales during 2021 – 17 per cent more than the 617,867 submitted in 2020. bit.ly/planner0322-700000apps

Planning policy represents a big challenge for Northern Ireland’s infrastructure, according to a new draft investment strategy published by the administration that urges a more eﬃcient and eﬀective regime. bit.ly/planner0322-ni yp

8 9 Oﬀ shore wind auction in Scotland heralds Oﬀshore jobs and major infrastructure developments

An auction of seabed plots for major offshore wind projects around the Scottish coast has netted millions of pounds for the government and opens up the prospect of thousands of new jobs and significant infrastructure development across the country. bit.ly/planer0322-offshoreauction

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NEWS

Report {

Read more about Planner Live North here: http://bit.ly/planner0621-PlannerLiveNorth

PLANNER LIVE NORTH

Northern exposure This year’s Planner Live conference is an exclusively Northern aﬀair, taking as its theme the aspiration to regenerate and unlock the full potential of the North of England. Expect a swathe of presentations and panel discussions on topics ranging from transport to green manufacturing and from urban centres to coastal retreats. Here, event participants share their thoughts on why we need a ‘renaissance’ for the North – and what form that might take.

Why do we need a ‘renaissance’ for the North? “The North of England has the potential to take leadership in tackling climate change. Whether it’s being at the forefront of the development of blue and green hydrogen projects or continuing to cement the UK as a global leader in wind power, the North of England has become a pioneering region. However, there needs to be significant investment – the region cannot continue to lead the UK’s efforts in tackling climate change without appropriate and adequate support, investment and reward.” Bernadette Hillman is partner at Sharpe Pritchard Solicitors and honorary solicitor and climate change champion for the RTPI. Session: Addressing the climate crisis, 24 March, 1pm. “For too long there has been significant underinvestment in the North. We see this in our infrastructure; in the decaying fabric of many of our towns and cities; in stagnating economic activity; and in declining opportunities for our younger people. It even permeates through planning and urban design where there can be a perception that development values in the North do not justify the same levels of investment as the South in terms of development delivery and

achieving the highest possible design outcomes.” Mark Ketley MRTPI is director of BH Planning and Design. Session: Managing distinctive urban environments to address climate change, 24 March, 2.15pm. “2022 marks a key point for the UK as it emerges from the pandemic, whilst coming to terms with Brexit, the climate crisis and increasing inequality within the North-South divide – as highlighted through various studies reporting a consistent pattern of shorter life expectancy, increased child poverty and so many more damning truths. The long-term wellbeing of our communities hinges on this truth being reversed.” Kieran Blaydes MRTPI is a senior planner at Kingswood Homes and chair of RTPI North West. Session: Balancing rural and coastal character and the climate challenge, 24 March, 2.15pm “The North was the back room that fuelled the global position of the UK. Our communities provided the energy, materials and innovation that changed the world. Our renaissance in the North takes this innovation and new forms of energy to catalyse a just transition and redress the structural imbalances that history created.”

Q&A: Pooja Agrawal How can the built environment professions address the issues of inequality that we see in the UK today? “Addressing the lack of diversity in the built environment professions should be the starting point to addressing issues of inequality. It is important that the people who make decisions about how places are used represent the communities who occupy them. “The profession must advocate for the role of design being a necessity and not just a luxury. And the sector should value the value of policy and regulation in ring-fencing a basic quality of life for all members of society. Ultimately, it should be seen as the profession’s responsibility to tackle inequality of place.” Pooja Agrawal is cofounder and chief executive of Public Practice. She is speaking on ‘Inequality and fairness’ on 23 March at 1pm.

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PLAN UPFRONT

Planner Live North: A Northern Renaissance 23 and 24 March 2022

Timothy David Crawshaw MRTPI is chair of the Tees Valley Nature partnership and President of the RTPI. He is chairing Planner Live North from 12.30pm each day.

How will we know when we've achieved such a renaissance? “When there are spades in the ground on projects that deliver tangible beneﬁts for the region. Positive change in the region must come from strengthening public transport links throughout the region, continuing to invest in clean energy generation and creating healthier and stronger communities throughout the North.” Bernadette Hillman “When we can match the South as a place to invest. It will be a place where people want to return to live, work and invest; delivery of development opportunities will become far more certain; and conﬁdence will return to our once-thriving towns and cities.” Mark Ketley

“When the scales start to balance out. The key measurements being our economy, health and sociological factors, which are all intrinsically linked. These factors range from child poverty, education and skills to life expectancy, but also the quality of our environment which plays a key role in all that.” Kieran Blaydes

vision for the region.” Bernadette Hillman “Devolve power and decision-making to those who understand their communities and who can ensure that new investment can make the biggest possible impacts.” Mark Ketley

“In simple terms when healthy life expectancy, economic security and a great environment are the new commons of our people.” Timothy David Crawshaw What's the most impactful thing we can do now to achieve that renaissance? “The North needs meaningful investment, power and long-term strategic and innovative thinking. Alongside this, the North needs to be given more decision-making powers to ensure that the investment goes to the greatest causes. Finally, we need planners at the head of the table, ensuring that there is a long-term

“A programme of change over a 10 or 20-year period committing to the delivery of infrastructure should be detailed with the full political and ﬁnancial support of the government. We should advocate for positive change, but do this collectively across borders to ensure our asks feed into one clear vision.” Kieran Blaydes “Close the gaps between rich and poor, between local communities and regions.” Timothy David Crawshaw Book your place at Planner Live North: www.rtpi.org.uk/ PlannerLiveNorth

Q&A: Jeremy Purseglove How important is the natural world to discussions about regeneration of towns and cities? “Nature is a joy for city dwellers but, what is more, cities are good for nature. Out in the countryside, the prairies of agribusiness are so bereft of natural habitat that even to build a town on them would be an improvement for wildlife. The rich biodiversity of cities inspired the UK urban wildlife movement founded in 1980, leading to

I M AG E | T I M G E O RG E / U N P

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the formation of urban Wildlife Trusts in London, the West Midlands and elsewhere. “Climate change has worsened floods, which have recently devastated many urban areas in the UK. A common problem is the way upstream rivers have been straightened and embanked in the name of agricultural improvement, sending floodwaters to the nearest towns. Upstream remedies such as natural flood management will be an important part of future urban flood relief, together

with interventions on urban rivers. “Studies demonstrate measurable stress relief within a few minutes of escape into natural green surroundings. During the pandemic citizens have rediscovered their local wild places. So often disregarded, nature in cities has truly come into its own.” Jeremy Purseglove is an environmentalist and author. He is speaking on ‘Climate and character’ on 24 March at 12.45pm

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A Northern Renaissance 23 & 24 March 2022 2 (12.30-4pm)

sponsored by:

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

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LEADER COMMENT

Event The diary fills as levelling up, in all its forms, takes hold There’s a distinct sense of positivity in The Planner office just now. Sure, the lighter evenings, longer days and a fair prospect of life opening up within a generally accepted ‘postpandemic’ state is certainly playing a part; but it’s what’s happening in and around the profession that’s causing us to relish what lies ahead. Decisions such as Bristol Airport’s extension are surely set to see the ramifications of net-zero strategy taking centre stage. We’ve (another) new housing minister in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities with Stuart Andrew taking up the role; and of course we also now have that levellingup white paper, a document with such an extraordinary breadth of scope that its impact on planning is something we will need to cover in stages over the months ahead. So that’s the medium to longer-term agenda. But

Martin Read much of what excites us is imminent, so please forgive the ‘listicle’ nature of the following previews. Perhaps most imminent of all is our annual Women of Influence list, which we will be on the cusp of publishing by the time you receive this edition (International Women’s Day, Tuesday 8 March). Now an established fixture in our events calendar, the list will be accompanied by a flurry of social media activity – we’ll see you online for that.

What’s more, this year, as you’ll read in our feature on page 20, we’re celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Women in Planning network and considering its impact. We then move on to the environment act, in particular the ramiﬁcations of biodiversity net gain (BNG) becoming a statutory requirement. On Wednesday 9 March we’re discussing this topic and what it means for planners in a lunchtime webinar. The Environment Bank will make its case, we’ll present the legal perspective, and anyone listening will come away with a next-steps checklist. (You are, of course, most welcome to join us – the registration link is at the end of this column.) Finally there’s The Planner Live North conference, which this year takes place on

“WE'LL NEED TO COVER THE LEVELLING UP WHITE PAPER IN STAGES”

Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 March. It will be an event at which levelling up will surely not be far from the lips of participants. We’ve previewed it on pages 12-13. In a broad sense you can see some form of levelling up applying to each of these various diary entries. We look forward to reporting further on them. Register for A planner's guide to BNG and the Environment Act, in association with Environment Bank bit.ly/planner0322-BNG View The Planner’s 2022 Women of Inﬂuence list. www.theplanner.co.uk

Make the most of The Planner – use the links to ﬁnd out more online

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£120 – UK £175 – Overseas To subscribe, call 01580 883844 or email subs@redactive.co.uk – alternatively, you can subscribe online at subs.theplanner. co.uk/subscribe © The Planner is published on behalf of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) by Redactive Publishing Ltd (RPL), 78 Chamber Street, London E1 8BL This magazine aims to include a broad range of opinion about planning issues and articles do not necessarily reﬂect the views of the RTPI nor should such opinions be relied upon as statements of fact. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any print or electronic format, including but not limited to any online service, any database or any part of the internet, or in any other format in whole or in part in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publisher. While all due care is taken in writing and producing this magazine, neither RTPI nor RPL accept any liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein. Printed by PCP Ltd.

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

O Opinion

Enter the planner, mediator extraordinaire We should all be on the same side when shaping the world around us, shouldn’t we? Surely we all want the best in terms of what is built, where, and the quality of buildings once completed. In reality, of course, what is one person’s ‘bestest, loveliest thing’ is someone else’s nightmare. Getting people to see your point of view is an art. Being able to acknowledge and understand your opponent’s position while explaining and justifying your own is something most, if not all, planners should be able to do. Some would say mediation is fundamental to being a successful professional. To balance the commercial aspirations of investors and developers with the civic pride of a local community and the political interests of elected members is absolutely an art. Enter stage left, the hero or heroine of the hour: the development management planner. They need to weigh up the pros and cons of a development that perhaps doesn’t quite fit the regs and policy but, nevertheless, is a damn good scheme. You know the sort – the officer who doesn’t simply regurgitate adopted policy verbatim and then says “computer says no”. Closely following that officer, standing in the wings with a halo, is the elected member who isn’t just looking to pander to an electorate. He or she has actually read the committee papers and understood the developer’s

commercial arguments, listened to the local community without being swayed by the loudest voices, and been realistic in applying the regulations and guidance. They’ve actually taken up the offer of training and can recognise the rationale behind proposals without getting on their political hobby horse. That all works well if the case presented to them is coherent, logical and realistic, without the smoke and mirrors that some from the private sector like to include. I don’t say that all planning decisions should be compromises; that risks everyone losing and feeling miffed. But if the planning officer is a good mediator and a communicator, all concerned with a new development should be able to understand their counterparts’ position and rationale, and then the

“THERE MUST BE PARAMETERS ON HOW LONG NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD TAKE” sting can be taken out of many planning disputes. When two sides get entrenched not only does development stall – funds and time can ﬂow under the bridge. So there must be parameters on how long negotiations or mediation should take; if all sides are willing to move towards the middle ground, then the determination period’s ticking clock shouldn’t be used to force one side into submission. That’s when a pragmatic oﬃcer can be worth their weight in gold. Think back to some of the most surprising agreements

where staunch opponents agreed to move forward nonconfrontationally. The one closest to home has to be the Good Friday Agreement, now nearly 25 years old. Northern Ireland’s devolved governance is still based on the resolutions that emerged from the roundtable talks chaired by US Senator George J Mitchell. He managed to get agreement over such fundamental issues as sovereignty, civil rights and demilitarisation. Given the entrenched stance of the groups involved, the endorsement given by the communities of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is still rightly cited around the world as incredible. Perhaps the secret was that everyone accepted that they had to respect the views of their opponents while being willing to move positions so the best possible overall result emerged. I met Mitchell once and was taken aback at how reserved, fair and considered he was. He’d have made a fabulous planner. If a good mediator was able to resolve ‘The Troubles’, then compromise, conciliation and a meeting of minds over contentious development proposals shouldn’t be so hard, should it? Enter stage left – the planner.

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 “London’s industrial land has long been unloved, misunderstood and often regarded as a relic of the past. Yet every Londoner needs the services that take place in these spaces, from waste processors to mechanics, bakers to ﬁlm-makers.”

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

LIZ PEACE CBE, CHAIR OF THE INDUSTRIAL LAND COMMISSION, ON WHY SACRIFICING THE CITY’S INDUSTRIAL LAND TO MEET HOUSING DEMAND IS SHORT SIGHTED

“We saw a 100 per cent rise in the number of requests for charge point installations between December and January” CHARLIE COOK OF CHARGING POINT PRODUCER RIGHTCHARGE ON THE SUCCESS OF THE OFFICE FOR ZERO EMISSION VEHICLES OZEV GRANT WHICH PROVIDES UP TO £350 OFF THE COST OF A HOME CHARGING POINT FOR AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE, ACCESS TO WHICH ENDS ON 31 MARCH

“Our members tell us consistently that being resourced appropriately to engage communities and reﬂect their needs in development is the most important factor” VICTORIA HILLS PUTS PROPER FUNDING FRONT AND CENTRE OF THE LEVELLING UP WHITE PAPER DEBATE

“We need to make some challenging decisions about the way we use, manage, and interact with landscapes in the UK” DR BETH COLE,, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW FOR THE LANDSCAPE DECISIONS PR PROGRAMME AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER,, ON THE PROGRAMME’S REPORT AND ITS CALL FOR GREATER HO THE INVESTMENT IN A WIDER GROUP OF EXPERTS TO MAKE DECISIONS ON HOW LANDSCAPE IS MANAGED IF THE UK IS TO REACH CLIMATE TARGETS SUCH AS NET ZERO

“While the planning system has been greatly improved by implementation of the act, ineﬃciencies and resource constraints are still a signiﬁcant barrier to development” DARYL MCINTOSH OF PROPERTYMARK ON HOW THE REVIEW OF NORTHERN IRELAND’S PLANNING ACT NI 2011 REPORT IS TIMELY, GIVEN ONGOING WORK TO DEVELOP A HOUSING STRATEGY AND THE COMMITMENT TO DELIVER 100,000 HOMES BY 2037

“What businesses want and need from their oﬃce has been steadily evolving over the past decade, but the pandemic has kicked the pace of change into overdrive” WYBO WIJNBERGEN OF INFINITSPACE ON HOW MANY TRADITIONAL OFFICES WILL BE CONVERTED INTO FLEXIBLE WORKSPACES IN THE COMING YEARS, FORCING LANDLORDS’ HANDS

“Across the world, cultural heritage assets are seen as barometers of change. They demonstrate the challenges for the historic environment and traditionally constructed buildings in the face of a changing climate.” DR DAVID MITCHELL, DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION AT HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND, ON WORK TO PROTECT HERITAGE ASSETS

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

O Opinion

1 BLOG

Dan Crane is a senior policy planner with Knowsley Council

When planning thinks about culture, it improves quality of life

If you were to ask a random selection of people what the word ‘culture’ means to them, their response would likely include things such as music, books and design. However, these are merely symbols of what deﬁnes culture. In its broader sense, ‘culture’ is a way of life, something that connects individuals, communities and societies. Some places we think of as culturally distinctive or strong. What feeds that understanding? Is it a reputation for the arts? Or somewhere where people and places exist in a harmony that feels distinctive? It’s likely a melting pot of both. Deﬁnitions aside culture is important and there are correlations between culturally distinct places and quality of life. It’s not a coincidence how cities that rank high in quality of life indices are also renowned for their cultural capital. One place where the work of planners has improved culture is Archway in North London. Since the 1960s it has been symbolised by the 17-storey Archway Tower, a meeting place for roads including the major artery of Holloway Road. Historically, it’s been perceived as a transient place, not particularly notable culturally

Roisin Willmott OBE FRTPI is the RTPI director of Wales, Northern Ireland and Planning Aid England

What the audit of NI’s planning system teaches us

(although it appears in a Saint Etienne song). However, returning to the area in 2019, I found change. As I exited the Tube station it felt more connected, pleasant and just better; more ‘cultured’. Gone was the tangle of roads, the old Archway gyratory at the top of the Holloway Road. In its place, a town centre, with places to sit and chat, a dedicated cycle path, trees and even the smell of a bakery. It was no longer a place where people scampered to avoid traﬃc, but one where people sat, talked, observed. Its ‘Navigator Square’ was full of life and more harmonious. Archway was clearly improved economically, environmentally – and, I suggest, culturally. Aside from anything else the square would be a great live event venue. I feel a well-designed place like Archway town centre is indicative of many of the 10 principles of the National Design Guide. It aligns beautifully with the need for all people to be able to access the beneﬁts of having great places as per the 1/15/20-minute city zeitgeist. It shows the power of planning to improve life and demonstrate a future where culture – that sense of a distinctive approach to living – can be at planning’s core.

“ARCHWAY SHOWS THE POWER OF PLANNING TO IMPROVE LIFE AND DEMONSTRATE WHERE CULTURE CAN BE AT PLANNING’S CORE”

2 BLOG

Talk of audits often fills non-audit professionals with dread. What will these ‘outsiders’ find? How can they understand the context? As planners, we are encouraged to embrace reflection; as policymakers we understand the importance of review as part of policy and practice development. In early 2022, Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure (DfI) reported on the implementation of the Planning Act (NI) 2011. Shortly afterwards, the Northern Ireland Audit Office published its report Planning in Northern Ireland. Both reflect on the changes to planning and local government in 2015 which delegated planning powers from central to local government, creating a twotier system more responsive to local need. The DfI report highlights helpful amendments to legislation. The findings of the Audit Office can make for difficult reading – among other criticisms, it highlights “significant silo working”, slow processing of applications and poor progress on local development plans. We must reflect on the findings not as personal slights, but in relation to the

whole system and how we operate within it. Despite the negative findings, both reports offer an opportunity. They provide evidence and reflection on how the planning system is operating and point towards how amendments can be made to build the system’s strength, introduce efficiencies and lead to good outcomes for society; let’s seize this evidence and work collaboratively to make improvements. If we are honest, the findings by the NI Audit Office are known to us already; there were no surprises, but now we have an independent report to back up the thinking we can take action; we’ve a direction to travel in. There is good planning work taking place in Northern Ireland and we must not lose sight of this. As an example, planners have played a huge role in regenerating and reunifying Derry/Londonderry. The design of the planning system did not end with the Planning Act (NI) 2011. The act, along with local government reform, has made a significant difference but the journey to enable planning services to be efficient, effective and deliver positive outcomes across Northern Ireland continues.

“WE MUST REFLECT ON THE FINDINGS NOT AS PERSONAL SLIGHTS BUT IN RELATION TO THE WHOLE SYSTEM AND HOW WE OPERATE WITHIN IT”

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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

3 BLOG

Stephen Westmore is a chartered arboriculturist, director of Tree Frontiers and trustee of the Arboricultural Association

Is development in ancient woodland always a bad thing?

I am not advocating for development in ancient woodland; I’m asking whether all developments in ancient woodland should be considered detrimental to this vitally important habitat. What if it results in significant long-term improvements to the woodland with minimal negative impacts? Should the proposal be rejected purely because of its setting? The NPPF indicates that development that results in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats should be refused. This is generally echoed in local plans. The Forestry Commission and Natural England stress the importance of ancient woodland and the direct and indirect impacts that need to be considered. It also defines that compensation measures and existing condition should not be assessed in conjunction with the merits of the development proposal. This implies development cannot realistically be achieved. In essence I agree, as I suspect it would be practically impossible to achieve development within an ancient woodland without any loss or deterioration. But without quantification of this loss/deterioration, I would argue it needs to be balanced

4 BLOG

Jane Healey-Brown FRTPI is a director of Arup and housing and planning commissioner for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority

White paper opens door for planners to lead sustainable regeneration

against the overall benefits that can be achieved. If an ancient woodland was in particularly poor condition, why can’t planning consent be used as a mechanism to ensure that the overall condition of the woodland is improved? Where standing advice identifies that baseline condition and compensation should not be reasons for justifying development, I am questioning whether these should be a fundamental consideration. If a woodland is in decline and unlikely to offer long-term benefits to ecology, landscape or public, then with no obligation on the landowner to reverse this trend, where is the incentive to instigate management? If it could be sufficiently evidenced that a development proposal would result in a short-term negative impact but positive long-term impact, then the consequence of a more sustainable ancient woodland can be realised. Surely this should receive consideration as part of any planning process? Applications in ancient woodland should be considered more objectively, taking into account existing condition and compensation strategies.

“IF A WOODLAND IS IN DECLINE WITH NO OBLIGATION ON THE LANDOWNER TO REVERSE THIS TREND, WHERE IS THE INCENTIVE TO INSTIGATE MANAGEMENT?”

The great news is the Levelling Up the UK white paper has lots to say about planning. The less good news is that it doesn’t always know it. Ultimately, this gives us a terrific opportunity as planners to grab the agenda. The paper’s ‘five pillars’ set out medium-term missions that include boosting productivity and jobs, improving education, increasing health and wellbeing, and enhancing local leadership. These are all laudable objectives and it’s positive that the pillars and missions will operate across central government departments. Key to its success, though, will be ensuring local determination of how they are delivered: in the longer term more integrated strategies must be the basis for local delivery, rather than just at a national level. Reorientating government thinking is proposed, but the confidence to reduce centralised decision-making genuinely still seems a long way off. The proposed Levelling Up Advisory Council could ensure that the white paper is one step in a longer, more transformational journey. The white paper wants to create “places where people do not have to leave their community to live a good life”. Many people never have the

choice to advance in their community because of hurdles such as the cost (and time) of transport, education, childcare and low incomes, not to mention social barriers to opportunity. Levelling-up initiatives – and our work as planners – must avoid focusing too much on the physical environment and instead address these challenges through a ‘people lens’. The (re)focus of Homes England on regeneration, including town centres, and the removal of the 80/20 funding rule for new homes are exciting prospects. I would welcome more on climate change and net-zero carbon, as well as safe, inclusive places for all. I’ve seen regeneration initiatives come and go. While some have been successful, we clearly need a step change. It feels like the levelling-up white paper acknowledges this. We need ‘sustainable regeneration’ initiatives that reduce the need for continual investment by delivering self-sustaining and successful communities. This needs inclusive economies and inclusive design. It must have locally informed, evidenced proposals, with investments underpinned by long-term, integrated strategic plans. That sounds like a great role for planners.

“WE NEED ‘SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION’: INITIATIVES WHICH REDUCE THE NEED FOR CONTINUAL INVESTMENT”

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10/02/2022 17:13

INTERVIEW: WOMEN IN PLANNING

The friends connection WOMEN IN PLANNING STARTED 10 YEARS AGO AS A NETWORK TO ‘CHAMPION’ WOMEN IN THE PROFESSION. BUT, AS ITS CO FOUNDERS TELL SIMON WICKS, IT’S BECOME SO MUCH MORE IN ITS DECADE OF EXISTENCE

harlotte Morphet and Alison Mackay are both so keen to share their thoughts that they give voluminous answers to every question I ask and quite a few that I don’t. They finish each other’s sentences, pick up where the other left off, turn down new avenues and even occasionally cross-examine each other. But it takes strong-minded, vocal women to do what they’ve done: finding themselves in a profession in which women didn’t seem to have a platform, they created their own. In its decade of existence, Women in Planning has grown from meetings in a conference room at Mackay’s office in London to 14 regional networks run by dozens of volunteers. Though not a network for women only (men are encouraged to attend events, for example), Women in Planning does exist to “champion”, “empower” and “Increase the visibility and profile of women in the

planning sector to make it the norm”. If you wonder why Morphet and Mackay felt the need to do this, read ‘Women in leadership’ at the end of this article. “We were on the young planners’ committee [in London] and we’d have our monthly meeting and then go for some drinks afterwards,” Mackay recalls. “I think that's when we got chatting about actually, isn't there a gap here for a network such as ours? It wasn't something that we felt we could try and steer the young planners towards. We started thinking do we set something up separately, completely independent?” Morphet picks up the tale. “It was born out of frustration with wanting to do more on diversity, about having more agency over what we were doing. Also Alison and I are quite strong personalities and we hit it oﬀ immediately. There weren’t many of us [outspoken women] around, and that’s probably what we bonded

over, just going ‘Why are we the only ones in the meeting? Why are we only speaking to other women on email? This isn’t right. There’s deﬁnitely more women in planning than most other built environment professions but we’re just not seeing them anywhere’.” “We just felt like other women weren't getting opportunities that we were either, from supportive employers and our own informal networks, because we were just a bit louder, and I didn't ﬁnd that right.” So neither came into planning with an equality agenda? “Going through university where it's 50/50, school where it's 50/50 – if anything, up to the point of getting into the job market, it's been women who in all likelihood worked harder, got the better grades,” explains Mackay. “It was a bit of a culture shock then when I got into the working world. My director at the time would set a challenge: ‘Okay, I want you to go to that

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I L L U S T R AT I O N | D AV I D D E S PA U

“IT WAS BORN OUT OF FRUSTRATION WITH WANTING TO DO MORE ON DIVERSITY, ABOUT HAVING AGENCY OVER WHAT WE WERE DOING A BIT MORE”

MAR C H 2 0 22 / THE PLA NNER

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INTERVIEW: WOMEN IN PLANNING

National expansion

Women in Planning launched officially at Christmas 2012. Interest grew. In 2015 it partnered with other women’s built environment networks for ‘Women Paving the Way’ – an event that brought together the three presidents of RTPI, RICS and RIBA who, for the first time, were simultaneously women. Efforts to grow beyond London tended to “fizzle out” until Mary Fortune (now a national co-chair) took a greater share in running the network, allowing Morphet and Mackay to supporting new branches elsewhere. First up was South Wales in 2017, followed by the North West in 2018. The latter was a major launch led by Jill Bell, a London member who moved north with work. Supported by the two founders, she built an organising committee, attracted a sponsor (King’s Chambers) and generated press interest in a launch event that attracted 100 people. It confirmed to that if these fundamentals were in place, then regional networks could take hold. Indeed, the involvement of King’s “acted as a huge advert” that smoothed the path for more regional branches. 2018 also saw new groups in Solent, Yorkshire, Glasgow and Kent. In 2019 Women in Planning popped up in the East, West and South

partnership with the West Midlands. It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Covid because the West Midlands said they'd help because they’d done some events together. The Northern branches work well together, too.”

Working together Morphet insists that central to the network’s modus operandi is a willingness to collaborate with like-minded networks. She’s also conscious that trends in EDI – equality, diversity and inclusion – tend to fluctuate; it’s important, therefore, to be “steadily there along the way helping other groups establish themselves as you go”. Awareness of equality issues has mushroomed within planning since Women in Planning launched. It’s reflected in the RTPI’s appointment of an EDI officer and its reports on various aspects of inequality. It’s there, too, in the emergence of other networks for underrepresented groups, such as Planning Out, BAME in Property, the BAME Planners Network and Neurodiversity in Planning. Morphet says Women in Planning has supported all of them in their first steps. “What we do is partnership. It may not look like we're doing a lot from the front but we’re always in the background [...] We're talking to people, providing advice to make sure things happen. We don't see it as we need to be front and centre.” The “endgame” is to convert Women in Planning into a charity that can be handed on to others to manage, under a board of trustees. Its existence cannot be contingent

I M AG E | I STO C K

Midlands, the North East, Thames Valley, the South West and Northern Ireland. There are now 14, running tens of events each year for thousands of women – and men. The “beauty of it”, says Mackay, is that “each region has its own character”; the national organisation provides an overarching philosophy and supports each branch to develop an approach that suits its particular membership base. “All we say is, our USP eﬀectively, is that they're free events and they're inclusive to all so it's not an all girls’ network,” stresses Mackay. She cites the North West’s mock planning inquiry which attracted 150 attendees, around 30 per cent of them men. “That's when we had one comment from an older chap who said ‘Oh, it’s quite intimidating, being in a room with so many people of the opposite sex…’.” Covid-19 and the emergence of virtual meetings and conferences has, if anything, made the network’s events even more popular and allowed the organisation to be run more eﬃciently by its geographically disparate “WE HAD ONE organisers. COMMENT FROM A “It’s been really interesting CHAP WHO SAID to watch branches working ‘OH, IT’S QUITE together,” Morphet observes. INTIMIDATING, “The mentoring scheme BEING IN A ROOM (launched in 2021) was WITH SO MANY something that we'd always PEOPLE OF THE thought about but felt we OPPOSITE SEX’” needed more time to get ourselves together. But the East Midlands wanted to do it and they did it in

event and you need to get 10 business cards’. That was to push you out of your comfort zone and make sure you chatted with other people. Generally the planning profession is full of – certainly at that time and place [Scotland] – older, middle aged men and it's daunting to just walk into a room where they've got their own cliques and start a conversation. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I wished there had been a less intimidating environment where I could learn networking skills.” Both felt that as women, particularly younger women in the private sector, they were at a disadvantage in a profession in which senior roles tended to be the preserve of men. “We started a LinkedIn group,” says Morphet. “Once we started speaking to women, we found similar experiences. Sometimes you're on your own and you’re like ‘Is it just me?’. Alison and I were ‘It's not just me. It's happening’.”

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INTERVIEW: WOMEN IN PLANNING

on the continued inued commi commitment itm tme of just a handful of characters. cters. As for the profession both women on it iitself, ts see positive change. For Mackay the “gamechanger” is ESG – environmental and social governance, which obliges organisations to attend to issues such as equality and diversity. She sees it already having an impact at her own employer CBRE, which is introducing ESG globally. “I’m fortunate to work at a company at the forefront of change in the property industry – for example, establishing its own Women’s Network in 2005, publishing an influential book on diversity with RICS (Managing Diversity and Inclusion in the Real Estate Sector) and, importantly, having had leading female senior planning directors for years now.” The great benefit, she says, is that ESG policies create chains of accountability from top to bottom of organisation and will push organisations that haven’t previously bought into the EDI agenda. More broadly, “there has been change,” she says. “What we’re really proud of now is that as a profession it's recognised that there is an issue and the RTPI have picked it up. Not necessarily just women and gender, but the whole EDI debate is a long time coming and I think now is actually there.”Morphet concurs. “It [diversity] has become a more mainstream issue. People are understanding they need to do this.” Success, though, is still some way off and it’s not some kind of mathematically perfect 50/50 mix of men and women in every organisation. Rather, says Mackay, “it’s about removing the barriers. It’s not about tokenistic quotas. Ultimately you need to be able to do the job that you're in or applying for effectively and you need to have been given every opportunity to have that skill set to do d that role.” Morphet, real Ultimately, too, says M change will come from “more substantive representation” of women wom in leadership roles and the growth of a culture in which dissolve in the planning gender “norms” disso workplace. “It’s helpful help for men too, because they can say sa ‘Actually, I’d like to leave, I’d like to have all of have paternity leave these things’. “If we’re able to accept more people in the workplace,” she sh concludes, “I do think nk down into the work that that will trickle do we produce.” n Simon mon Wickss is deputy editor of The Planner Plan nnerr

Women in leadership ip 2019 research byWomen in Planning found that in 379 UK planning consultancies, just 17 per cent of the 1,016 planners working at director or above were women. Above director level, just 5 per cent were women. The research persuaded Morphet to apply for a PhD and she is about to take up a role as a planning lecturer at Leeds Beckett University. Charlotte Morphet (CM): “It was a culture shock. When you grow up feeling so equal and my parents both being equal – my mum was the one that moved away for work when we were older and had the more senior position – I was just shocked. I was shocked at the lack of support and it seemed quite bitchy and I didn’t really like that either. I was like ‘This can’t be life. We can’t all be fighting each other. We’ve got to support each other’.” Alison Mackay (AM): “It was a smaller office in Edinburgh [where Mackay started her career] and there were probably only 30 people. Me and the secretaries were the only female presence. All of the directors were male. I wouldn't say there was any bad will in the office or anything like that, but I think what it meant was that unbeknown to me I started to adopt male characteristics to fit in. If reflecting on your career, you realise that you shouldn't have to morph into what is effectively effectively male traits to just survive in an office environment.” CM: “There are a lot of women in planning; it's just they're not necessarily in leadership positions. They're struggling. There is a lot of

unnecessary ary harassment from men, n, nitpicking or whatever, er, but it's all very gendered ed and it's very masculine uline norms. It's usually a male e head of planning, a male e middle management, management, nagement, and then lots of women men principals.” AM: “What I found nd really helpful with Charlotte is her mum, who’s achieved absolutely amazing things. Charlotte would always say, you know, ‘Mum had a family but she still had a phenomenal career’. Because suddenly you're working as a graduate in London and you think, ‘Okay, I'm working eight until nine, until midnight if it’s committee. How does this actually work if you've got a family or you want a family? Where are the role models?’ And Charlotte's there explaining ‘This can happen. You know, there's flexible working, there's job sharing, there’s X Y and Z.’ That’s why our first event series was Proud of Women which looked at the careers of senior leaders in our industry and how they juggled family and work.” CM: “There have been stories that even shocked me over the 10 years of Women in Planning. Things like ‘You’d better hurry up and have your second child’. d . Someone I know was as told she couldn’t be a team leader and work part-time (four days). She’s just had a child, come back from maternity leave and they told her she had to be full-time and in the office to be a team leader. If she wanted to go part time she needed to find a job elsewhere. So she did. Now she's working from home doing what she wants.”

MAR C H 2 0 22 / THE PLA NNER

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SECOND HOMES

wm-yr-Eglwys is a hamlet on the eastern side of the Dinas Island peninsula on the North Pembrokeshire coast between Fishguard and Newport. ‘Picturesque’ and ‘tranquil’ are regular descriptions of this sheltered cove with its own microclimate. However, the holiday hotspot was at the forefront of Wales’s impassioned debate about second homes last year when it emerged that barely a handful of its 27 homes are occupied. Only about 10 people live there all year round. According to property website Rightmove, most sales in the hamlet during the past year were detached properties selling for an average price of £381,806. That’s around 13 times the average annual wage in Pembrokeshire, where gross weekly pay was nearly £569 last year, according to the Oﬃce for National Statistics.

Under Welsh Government proposals, second homes or short-term holiday lets will need planning permission to allow the change of use of a property to one that would not be lived in all year round. The move is part of a three-pronged bid to tackle the nation’s housing crisis – policies are also under way to create a ’Welsh Language Communities Housing Plan’ through which housing policies are used to protect the Welsh language and the people who speak it, as well as local taxes for second homes and self-catering accommodation. The scale of the issue varies across Wales (see infographic pages 28-29) but tends to be more pronounced in smaller communities, particularly on the coast. “If properties are converted into holiday homes, that means fewer people are there all year supporting local businesses, whether they be

“THE MAJORITY OF COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY THIS TEND TO BE WHERE WELSH IS THE FIRST LANGUAGE” shops, banks, post offices, schools,” says RTPI Wales director Roisin Willmott. “But there is a big impact on local services when they are not occupied, leading to a high level of waste for authorities without any income to pay for them. “The majority of communities affected by this tend to be where Welsh is the first language,” continues Willmott. “If you have fewer people speaking Welsh, then it denigrates the everyday language of that community.”

A preponderance of holiday homes equals a loss of income for local businesses

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SECOND HOMES

SECOND TO NONE WALES IS POISED TO CLAMP DOWN ON SECOND HOMES AND SHORTTERM HOLIDAY LETS TO PROTECT ITS SMALL COMMUNITIES, REPORTS HUW MORRIS. MEANWHILE, MANY OTHER PARTS OF THE UK ARE IN CRISIS

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SECOND HOMES

CASE STUDY:

South Hams – a crisis of affordability Affordability has become an acute issue in Devon, particularly South Hams, where the council reports the issue is not only damaging people who are looking to buy a home but also causing a crisis in the privaterented sector and high demand for social housing. A South West regional meeting last year between Homes England, the NHS and local authorities heard health officials complain that their lower-paid staff cannot afford to buy or get a home because of lengthening housing waiting lists. NHS consultants who can afford homes cannot take new jobs in the region as they can’t rent while they find a house to buy. Since 2002, the ratio of median house prices to median earnings in South Hams has gone from 6.8 to more than 10. The amount a bank or building society will lend has not materially changed over that period, leading to the need for greater deposits. The average median salary in South Hams in 2020 was £31,000 and the average house price was £310,000. A typical mortgage requires a deposit of £170,500 – way beyond the means of the vast majority of local people. Yet the joint local plan is exceeding housing delivery targets – 653 more than forecast by 2020. South Hams has 6.1 years of land supply and has delivered 87 more affordable homes than the council’s policy position requires since the start of the plan period. The marketled system for delivering homes is “simply is not working,” it says.

A different class In such areas, jobs tend to be in tourism or agriculture – and are low-paid. An added factor is that owners who had rented out properties for local people realised “they can earn so much more on Airbnb and they don’t have to rent it out for the whole year either – they can get that in during summer”, Willmott adds. Fewer properties are now available in the rented sector, which is reaching crisis levels across the UK (see box, England’s landlords sell up. In Wales, ministers are considering a new planning class for second homes and holiday lets. At first glance, introducing a subsection in the Use Classes Order (UCO) – particularly C3 Dwellinghouses Class – is straightforward. But planners say this is a flawed tool. They point to a significant hurdle: how to prove there has been a change in the intensity of use of the property, for example, from an everyday home to holiday use. This would swallow up considerable resources in beleaguered planning authorities.

There are also considerable doubts over whether a change to the UCO could be applied retrospectively. Proving the date of the change of use is particularly challenging and could open the door to legal challenges by owners. But if the UCO cannot be applied retrospectively, planners contend, what is the point? RTPI Wales insists that any changes must be based on robust evidence that clearly identiﬁes where the problem lies, as well as its impact and the intensity of use. Hotspots will vary across Wales. On the one hand, there is a problem in applying an amended

“THE MARKET LED SYSTEM FOR DELIVERING HOMES IS ‘SIMPLY IS NOT WORKING’”

I M AG E S | G E T T Y / A L A M Y / S H U T T E RSTO C K

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England’s landlords sell up

In Wales, ministers are considering a new planning class for second homes and holiday lets

UCO for the whole of the nation; on the other, UCOs have never been applied in specified areas only. A key factor is the law. The use of a dwelling as a second home or a holiday let does not constitute development under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (which covers England and Wales), making it difficult to introduce planning tools or interventions. Instead, RTPI Wales suggests, the nation should take a leaf out of Scotland’s book. The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 has amended the definition of development, with a new clause allowing a planning authority to designate all or part of their area as a ‘short-term let control area’. In such areas, using a property for short-term lets would involve a material change of use and so require planning permission. A parallel licence scheme covers issues not controlled by planning, such as environmental health and noise. Indeed, RTPI Wales points out that planning permission is likely to be a prerequisite for obtaining a licence, covering properties which are already short-term lets. This means that owners will have to apply for planning permission or establish existing use that meets legislative time limits through a Lawful Development Certificate. This, along with proposed tax and business rate changes that were the subject of a separate consultation in August 2021, could prove a solution to the second home bind in Wales. But whether Welsh lawmakers go down this route remains to be seen. n Huw Morris is consultant editor of The Planner

Three-quarters of England’s district councils reported a rise in landlords selling up properties in 2021, with shortages particularly acute in areas popular with tourists as homes are switched to more profitable short-term lets. In a District Councils Network survey last December 76 per cent of members said this trend has propelled a rise in housing waiting lists, with more people losing their homes and finding it harder to secure permanent accommodation. Some 48 per cent of councils warn that they now face significant pressure on housing services. Property agent Zoopla says rents in the private rented sector reached a 13-year high following a 6 per cent increase in 2021. Councils say this is forcing some long-term tenants to apply for hardship support, with some areas seeing rents rise to more than a third higher than the local average salary. Meanwhile, the Campaign for Rural England (CPRE) reveals a 1,000 per cent increase in the number of homes listed for shortterm holiday rentals in the past six years, which it says is “crippling” the residential market – particularly in staycation hotspots and rural areas. According to its analysis, in September 2021 there were 148,000 homes available on Airbnb-style lets while 176,000 rural families were on social housing waiting lists. The charity is calling for higher council tax on second homes and the requirement for short-term lets to have planning permission. The CPRE also found that demand for social housing in rural areas is growing nearly six times faster than the rate of supply, which means that clearing the backlog of low-income families needing accommodation would take 121 years. Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall declared a “housing emergency” last year after discovering that only 19 long-term rentals were available in the area, compared with more than 900 short-term rentals

advertised on Airbnb. In Cumbria, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron describes the conversion of family homes into holiday lets as the “Lakeland clearances”. Some areas are treading the path ﬁrst beaten by St Ives in Cornwall with its pioneering neighbourhood plan, which insists that all new-build homes are for principal residence only. Mevagissey and Fowey, also in Cornwall, and Lynton, Lynmouth and Salcombe in Devon have followed suit. The RTPI is researching how rural planning across the UK and Ireland might change in the context of Brexit and climate change. Urban to rural migration in the wake of Covid-19 will also be part of this study. “We will also be touching on the longer-standing issues of second homes, where in England we have seen neighbourhood plans include policies to limit new-build to principal private residence,” says policy chief Richard Blyth.

“LONSDALE MP TIM FARRON DESCRIBES THE CONVERSION OF FAMILY HOMES INTO HOLIDAY LETS AS THE ‘LAKELAND CLEARANCES’”

MAR C H 2 0 22 / THE PLA NNER

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I N FO G R A P H I C CYMRY CYMRAEG MEWN NIFEROEDD/ WELSH SPEAKERS IN NUMBERS

FESUL RHANBARTH/ BY REGION

Proportion of people able to speak Welsh, by region, 2011

3.1 MILLION

ANGLESEY

Population of Wales

GWYNEDD 62.5%+ 50-62.5% 37.5-50% 25-37.5% 12.5-25% 0-12.5%+

562,000 Welsh speakers in Wales

CEREDIGION

Number of Welsh speakers the Welsh Government would like to see by 2050

PEMBROKSHIRE

Ail gartrefi A SIDEEFFECT OF SECOND HOMEOWNERSHIP AND THE CONVERSION OF LONGTERM RENTAL PROPERTIES TO SHORTTERM LETS IN WALES IS THE UNDERMINING OF GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE NUMBERS OF EVERYDAY WELSH SPEAKERS IN THE NATION.

CARMARTHENSHIRE

SWANSEA CARDIFF

As our infographic shows, the overlap between areas with a high proportion of Welsh speakers and a high proportion of second homes is considerable. In his foreword to the Welsh Language Communities Housing Plan consultation, Jeremy Miles MS says this can have a “detrimental eﬀect on the use of Welsh in communities which are crucial to the long-term ﬂourishing of our language”.

*Second homes

1 MILLION

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TAI YNG NGHYMRU/ HOUSING IN WALES

24,873 SECOND HOMES

1.4m

23%

9% 1 in 11 of ALL homes in Gwynedd are second homes. The concentration of such homes varies:

Households in Wales

ABERDARON

25%

BEDDGELERT

40%

GWYNEDD LLANENGAN

Y FFLIP MAWR / THE BIG FLIP

Gwynedd has 20% of the second homes in Wales, followed by Pembrokeshire (16%), Anglesey (9%) and Ceredigion (7%). All are areas with higher concentrations of Welsh speakers. (Swansea and Cardiﬀ, the country’s two largest cities, account for 22 per cent of all second homes between them.)

ON GI DI RE CE

GL AN

MB RO

E IR SH

ED YN GW

16%

20%

2,005

more dwellings registered as second homes for council tax purposes in Wales since 2017–2018 – an increase of 9 per cent (though this change may also reﬂect corrections in the categorisation of homes). The largest increases have been in Pembrokeshire (1,267), Cardiﬀ (761) and Anglesey (668).

528 fewer second homes registered in Gwynedd in 2021. This may be owners ‘ﬂipping’ properties and registering them as holiday accommodation, thereby paying non-domestic rates rather than council tax and, in some cases, no tax at all if business rates relief applies.

YMATEB ARFAETHEDIG/ PROPOSED RESPONSE

Cynllunio/Planning New use classes for second homes holiday lets; statutory registration for holiday accommodation; local authorities empowered to require planning permission to move between classes. Consultation on planning legislation and policy for second homes and shortterm holiday lets

Trethiant/Taxation Revised local taxes, council tax and business rates to prevent homeowners exploiting ﬁnancial loopholes. Ensure all property owners “make a fair and eﬀective contribution to the communities in which they live or own property”. Consultation on local taxes for second homes and selfcatering accommodation

528 Iaith/Language Community-led cooperative housing; social enterprise holiday let businesses funding aﬀordable housing; Estate Agents’ Steering Group; ‘fair chance’ for local buyers and renters; commission on Welsh speaking communities. The Welsh Language Communities Housing Plan

Sources: Research to develop an evidence base on second homes; Welsh Language Communities Housing Plan; Consultation on local taxes for second homes and self-catering accommodation; Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers; Consultation on planning legislation and policy for second homes and short-term holiday lets; 2011 census

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CASE STUDY

The Great Barrier Reef (right) is one of the seven wonders of the natural world

GREAT NORTH PLAN HOW DO YOU CREATE A SENSITIVE, SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE PLAN FOR A SPARSELY POPULATED AREA THE SIZE OF ENGLAND? DEAN GURDEN REPORTS ON THE EXTAORDINARY SCOPE OF THIS RTPI AWARDWINNING PROJECT

Award: International Award for Planning Excellence Winner: Cape, Torres, and Gulf Economic Opportunities Plan

Planning projects don’t come much bigger than the Cape, Torres, and Gulf Economic Opportunities Plan. We’re talking about an overall project area in Far North Queensland, Australia of 130,000 square kilometres – almost site. With more than 70 national parks, the size of England – but with a it also has a rich indigenous culture population of just 30,000 people. and heritage, being the only region Projects also don’t come much more in the country that’s home to both successful, as it clinched the coveted Aboriginal Australians and the Torres International Award for Planning Strait Islanders. Excellence 2021 from the Royal Town The area also supports a substantial Planning Institute. agricultural sector, several significant By way of background, Far North mines and is home to Queensland's Queensland’s largest city is Cairns and largest wind farm, the Windy Hill Wind geographically the area is dominated Farm, which provides enough power by the Cape York Peninsula, a vast tract for about 3,500 homes. of unspoiled wilderness – the largest in Past efforts to generate economic northern Australia – stretching north and industry development to the Torres Strait and west to the Gulf opportunities in the region have been Country. hampered by the lack The region contains of an overarching and “LANE BROUGHT no fewer than three regionally led strategy STRONG LOCAL World Heritage Sites, KNOWLEDGE OF THE to guide sustainable namely the Great Barrier development. It was a REGION, COUPLED Reef, the Wet Tropics hurdle recognised by WITH A THOROUGH of Queensland, and UNDERSTANDING OF Arup Australia, which Riversleigh, Australia’s nevertheless saw the THE INDIGENOUS largest fossil mammal huge potential of CULTURE”

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the area to become FIRST STEPS: ONE “WORK HAS BEGUN one of the country’s PLUS ONE ON PRODUCING most sustainable and Initially, a ‘shared AN OVERARCHING economically diverse vision statement’ was TOURISM regions, despite its produced, with the DEVELOPMENT relative isolation input and agreement STRATEGY FOR and socio-economic of all elected THE REGION” challenges. local government The architectural and representatives on planning firm worked what they would like closely with the Torres to see happen in the Cape Indigenous Council next 20 years. This was Alliance (TCICA) and the 14 local reinforced by the generation of five councils that serve the communities in regional development objectives. “To the region to produce the Cape, Torres, form these objectives we met with, and Gulf Economic Opportunities Plan. or spoke on the telephone where Strong community involvement and distances wouldn’t allow, local mayors, a shared consensus between each of CEOs, state government agencies and the 14 councils were essential to the community members to uncover both plan’s success. Arup sought to achieve the challenges and opportunities,” consistency in its economic objectives explains Michelle Cottrell, project across the region and enable the manager with Arup. communities involved to capitalise on “We asked what their needs were. future growth. What were they struggling with? I M AG E | I STO C K

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CAPE OF GOOD HOPES: FIVE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

1 2

To be world-renowned for experiential tourism.

To be known as an Australian leader in the curation and promotion of local arts.

3 4

To be recognised as a resilient region.

To be a leader in grassroots education, learning from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

To be the place of choice for environmental studies, research and management.

MAR C H 2 0 22 / THE PLA NNER

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FA R N O R T H FA C T S A N D F I G U R E S

Much of the Cape York Peninsula’s sparse population is concentrated in small coastal towns

Population of plan region (expected to grow 23% by 2036)

28,500+ The number of local government areas in region

14 65.7%

Percentage of population identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

10,135 People in the labour force

16.7% Percentage of people working in mining industry

68.6% Percentage of households in the region with internet access

25,000km2 Total land under protection

How could we help them get greater access to meaningful employment or education? What types of tourism opportunities might there be that weren’t being capitalised on? And once identified, how might we help them attract investment?” Cottrell continues. According to senior planner Sara Golingi, preparing the five regional development objectives for such a vast area was hugely challenging. “Each local government area varied in size and faced, in some instances, very different economic, social and environmental challenges and priorities,” she says. “But it was important for the plan to reflect or speak to each of the communities to enable all local governments within the region to see what was in it for them, and to achieve full consensus support and buy-in.” According to Arup’s awards submission document to the RTPI, “this was achieved through providing real-life examples of the benefits of providing complementary land uses and economic growth drivers across the region, without the need to duplicate them in each local community. It was a matter of illustrating that one plus one can equal three if it is done right”. Arup’s planners also engaged with Andrew Lane, director of Indij Design, an indigenously owned design firm specialising in consultation activities. “The agency really helped with stakeholder engagement,” says Golingi. “Lane has extensive experience working in regional and remote communities, and brought strong local

knowledge of the region, coupled with a thorough understanding of the indigenous culture. He helped us to plan who we would engage with and how.”

NEXT STEPS: TAKE FIVE Within the five objectives, the Opportunities Plan also outlined 16 more manageable transformation strategies. These were designed to give a series of realisable projects, initiatives and ‘quick wins’. For example, as part of making the region “the place of choice for environmental studies, research and management”, the plan proposed the establishment of partnerships with universities to identify opportunities for practical learning linked to natural systems and ecology. It also suggested working with mining companies to promote cleaner, more efficient mining, as well as the development of carbon abatement and biodiversity offset projects. And as part of being “a leader in grassroots education”, the development of an education and training programme aligned with the social, cultural and economic needs of the region was put forward, as were the formation of partnerships with universities to incorporate

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CASE STUDY

“THE CHALLENGES WERE SO MUCH MORE COMPLEX AT THIS SCALE, BUT THEN THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEANINGFUL CHANGE ARE THAT MUCH GREATER”

cultural competency into tertiary education studies. These are just some of the many and varied ideas and actions, but all were tested with stakeholders and specialists to check that they were realistic and implementable. The entire plan was endorsed by TCICA back in February 2020 with feedback being overwhelmingly positive, according to Golingi. Several actions and opportunities were subsequently approved for immediate implementation with many already now in progress since endorsement of the plan. In furtherance of making the region “renowned for experiential tourism”,

work has begun on producing an overarching tourism development strategy for the region, as well as developing a yearly regional events programme and legacy plan. Within the drive to make the region “recognised as resilient”, progress has also been made on establishing a network of food production hubs, as

Riversleigh, Australia’s largest fossil mammal site

well as the development of a regional digital strategy. As Cottrell points out, with great scale comes greater challenges. “I loved how we created ideas to impact change across a whole region,” she says. “The challenges were so much more complex at this scale, but then the opportunities for meaningful change are that much greater.” As for Golingi, ask her what her vision is for the region in 20 years’ time and her response is both heartfelt and clear. “I would like to see the region be economically independent, its people happy and healthy, and its culture and environment protected and recognised globally.” Ultimately, the Economic Opportunities Plan reveals all the myriad possibilities there are for this diverse and fascinating part of Australia. As Arup states on its website: “It will help boost the economy and guide private sector investment. And its benefits will be felt not just by the local or regional communities but across the entire nation. After all, regions play an important role in the prosperity of Australia as a whole.” Dean Gurden is a freelance journalist specialising in the built environment

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

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T {LANDSCAPE Tech

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

CAREERS SURVEY 202122: TECH AND PLANNING OUR 202122 CAREERS SURVEY GAVE US SOME INTERESTING INSIGHTS INTO HOW PLANNERS’ USE OF TECH HAS CHANGED – OR NOT – IN THE PAST TWO YEARS. AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT, A CERTAIN PLATFORM HAS RISEN TO THE TOP OF THE LIST DURING THE PANDEMIC

Careers Survey 2021-22: The value of planning bit.ly/planner0322-Value Careers Survey 2021-22: Remote working bit.ly/planner0322-Remote

1 Nomad

11 Placechangers

Gmail

12 VU.CITY

Land Registry

3 LinkedIn

Magic Maps

Citrix

Trapeze

Civica

3 EDRMS

of the list today. As survey comments revealed, it has become indispensable, not simply for keeping up with colleagues and clients. Virtual meetings platforms such as Teams and Zoom have also enabled planners to attend conferences and events more easily than hitherto. It’s likely that such platforms are here to stay. Indeed, some 45 per cent of respondents felt that remote working technology had made the traditional oﬃce working model redundant.

42 9

We’d rather be at home, say planners bit.ly/planner0322-Home

7 Google Streetview

Planning Jungle

Mapinfo

6 Apas

1 10 Google – other

7 6 LandInsight

11 7

Skype

Sharepoint

11 8

Google Maps

Google Earth

12 20 Mastergov

Zoom

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Idox

30 Adobe

57 Microsoft Outlook

GIS

Microsoft Oﬃce

Idox Uniform

Microsoft Teams

I M AG E | S H U T T E RSTO C K

(Numbers indicate number of mentions)

202

153

Which software/ apps do you commonly use in the course of your work? Which software do you ﬁnd most useful?

Planning Portal

to attend an event, you travelled to it. It’s no exaggeration to say the past two years have changed the world, particularly the way we work. Guess what single piece of software received the most mentions when we asked the same questions in late 2021? Two years ago planners were beginning to use internet mapping services such as Google Maps to aid them in understanding sites. At the end of 2021, almost two years into a pandemic that had severely restricted site visits for many, online maps have become a new normal in the planners’ toolkit – and they are considered a significant time saver, too. The survey also reinforced the planning profession’s reliance on the Idox suite of software, which itself reflects the public sector bias in the survey: close to three-quarters of our respondents were public sector planners and idox Uniform is specifically aimed at public sector planners. The big winner, however, was Microsoft Teams – nowhere two years ago, top

Two years ago, we asked planners to tell us which software, apps and platforms they commonly used in the course of their work, and which was most useful. In a list dominated by mapping and spatial analysis software such as Google Maps and ArcGIS, virtual meetings platforms got barely a mention. Why would they? If you wanted to see someone you visited them. If you wanted

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TTech { L A N D S C A P E Has remote working technology made the standard oﬃce working model redundant?

Yes

45% No 44% Don’t know 11%

Has digital technology eliminated any aspects of your job or improved your efficiency – and do you feel it will do so in the next five years (eg, use of artificial intelligence to read and assess planning applications)?

Yes

44% No 56%

When we asked the same question in late 2019, just 32 per cent said yes. Comments on this question summed up much of what the survey was telling us. Many focused on the benefits of digital/online mapping saving time on site visits. They also picked up on the utility of platforms such as Microsoft Teams, with almost every comment from the private sector dwelling on the convenience and time-saving benefits of virtual meetings. But views were mixed about how artificial intelligence may influence planning in the near future.

What you said about the impacts of technology on your work “No longer have to travel for meetings unless absolutely necessary, which saves a lot of time, money and the environment.” Private sector planner, South East “It’s an oversimplification to consider artificial intelligence (AI) particularly applicable to planning applications. Complex judgements that require three-dimensional views and human experience are required. AI does not visit a site, assess landscape impact, neighbour impact, heritage impact; it does not make value judgements of social benefits and so on.” Public sector planner, East Mids “Way more of my day is spent in meetings now than before the pandemic. This is exhausting and leaves little time to do the things which are either assigned to me or which I take on during those meetings. I’m working way longer hours now. Work-life balance is a constant challenge.” Public sector planner, Scotland “Ability to attend meetings via Teams or Zoom has saved a lot of travelling time, meaning attending one meeting doesn’t take up my whole working day. And it is easy to listen in to more meetings and webinars.” Public sector planner, South East “If we want artificial intelligence to start reading and assessing planning applications, we need to get people to start applying actual intelligence to filling in the forms.” Public sector planner, South East “Google Earth views and VU.CITY modelling are both extremely helpful in assessing developments.” Public sector planner, East Mids

“It has accelerated a paperless environment. Having worked at home for most of the pandemic and now back in the office five days a week since July, the idea of full-time office working eems oldfashioned and relatively pointless. Collaboration is still possible by phone or video conferencing.” Public sector planner, North West “It's revolutionised contact with customers and residents, as well as internal departmental contact. I suspect (and hope) in the next few years that planning has a technical revolution. I want to see an automated planning application process, tied into an automated policy commentary process (at the basic applicable policy level) with officers adding more complex commentary on top. Planning needs to be bold and let the technology in, not resist it.” Public sector planner, West Mids “It’s much easier to concentrate. For a lot of strategic planning and research work you need to define extended periods where you can avoid being disturbed. In my old workplace you had to go and book a room (which otherwise six or more people could have been using for an actual meeting). Now all I need to do is switch off my phone and Outlook, and I can record it in my calendar so that people know why they can’t contact me.” Public sector planner, South East “There will obviously be some improvements in technology over the next five years but the job will fundamentally be the same as it is now. There is next to no chance that in five years’ time AI will be assessing planning applications.” Public sector planner, South East

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

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ABCted i Aud

U Urrb ban an nD De essig siig ign, n, Pub P lic Pu li Re Realm alm lm an and Mas ast a stte errp erp rplan annin nin ni ning iing

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

Regen Rege Re ene era er ra atio ttiion io ion and n Renew Ren enew wal wal wa He erit rita iitta ag age ge g La Lan nd dsscap d cap pes an nd Resto nd Resto Re sttorat to ora rat attion a on n La Lan nd nds dssc d cap ca ape De ap Desi essign and es a Im Imple plemen eme men enta tat atio tio ion on n Ec Eco olo ol log gic ic ca all C Co on o nssul su ulta t cy and tan nd BR REEA EE EA EAM AM

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C&D { C

CASES &DECISIONS

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

Pincher rules on Lincolnshire holiday accommodation schemes

The first application concerned the change of use of land to create 18 static caravan pitches and a toilet and shower block in Skegness. The second focused on the change of use of 15 touring caravan pitches to 11 twin units in Sutton on Sea. The third application concerned the extension of a water and leisure park to provide 189 static caravans, a fishing lake, an indoor leisure centre, reception building, a covered football and tennis court, playing field and nature trail, also at Skegness. In a decision letter on behalf of levelling-up secretary Michael Gove, then housing minister Chris Pincher agreed with inspector I Jenkins that all three applications, which had been rejected by East Lindsey District Council, fell within the coastal zone’s high-risk area for tidal flooding, thereby failing to meet exemption criteria and an exemption test under a core strategy policy for holiday accommodation. The minister acknowledged that although the caravan park sector makes a significant contribution to

LOCATIONS various in Hogsthorpe, Skegness and Sutton on Sea

AUTHORITY East Lindsey District Council

INSPECTOR I Jenkins PROCEDURE Recovered appeals DECISION Split decision REFERENCE APP/D2510/V/20/3262525; APP/D2510/V/20/3262551; C. APP/D2510/V/20/3262549

the economy in a relatively deprived part of the country,

the jobs directly created by the applications would be limited. The schemes also failed to pass both elements of the exceptions test under paragraph 165 of the National Planning Policy Framework, which the minister described as “a very significant material consideration”. Under this test, applicants must show the development would provide wider sustainability benefits to the community that outweigh the flood risk. Under the second element, the applicant must show that the scheme will be safe for its lifetime, without raising flood risk elsewhere and by reducing such risk overall where possible.

Pincher refused permission for the first and third applications, but added that while he is minded to refuse the second scheme, he “wishes to give the applicant and other parties the opportunity to make representations” before issuing a final decision. This follows directions in the inspector’s report on the need for a full permission application made and granted in 2021 for part of the site, which came after the appeal. Pincher said the decision will be confined to the change of use and condition application which had not been withdrawn by the applicant.

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

Two called-in applications for holiday accommodation on the Lincolnshire coast have been refused by the government after they were found to be in high-risk areas for tidal ﬂooding, although ministers have given a stay of execution to another scheme.

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Inspector panel allows Bristol Airport expansion as special case The outline application to expand Bristol Airport to handle 12 million passengers a year has been allowed at appeal after a panel of inspectors decided that its economic beneﬁts are ‘very special circumstances’ outweighing its harm. The proposal to expand the airport, which is around 11 kilometres south-west of Bristol city centre and mostly located in the green belt, was originally refused by North Somerset Council. The airport handled 8.9 million passengers in 2019, making it the ninth-busiest airport in the UK and the third-largest regional airport in England. The proposal includes raising its operational cap from 10 million passengers a year to 12 million, two extensions to the terminal building, a new east walkway and pier, a service yard, a multistorey car park for 2,150 spaces, extension to another car park to provide about 2,700 spaces as well as a rolling annualised cap of 4,000 night ﬂights between 11pm and 6am.

LOCATION North Side Road, Felton, Bristol BS48 3DY AUTHORITY North Somerset Council INSPECTOR Phillip Ware, Claire Searson, Dominic Young PROCEDURE Inquiry DECISION Allowed REFERENCE APP/ D0121/W/20/3259234

The panel, which noted there is ”no national policy which seeks to limit airport expansion or impose capacity limits – which would be the eﬀect of dismissing this appeal”, found there is a “demonstrable need” for the proposal, with its socioeconomic beneﬁts weighing substantially in its favour. Under Bristol Airport’s forecasts, accepted by the inspectors, the expansion will increase North Somerset’s economy by £70 million with 710 additional jobs, with

the West of England seeing benefits of £220 million and at least 2,460 more jobs. The South West and South Wales economic footprint will be around £430 million larger and support 5,560 more jobs. The development would support national, regional and subregional economic growth and would conform with the government’s levellingup agenda, the inspectors concluded. Expansion would also help in the recovery from Covid-19 and would aid the UK’s global ambitions for increased international connectivity and trade following Brexit. National aviation policy contained within Aviation Policy Framework and the government’s Aviation Strategy: Making Best Use of Existing Runways document, published in 2018, provides “high-level and strong policy support for airport expansion in general”, the panel added. The expansion is largely “in compliance” with development plan policies and documents for positive growth benefits against a range of potential effects, said the panel. Its assessment of such effects as climate change, highways matters, air quality, as well as character, appearance and biodiversity would be “neutral in the balance as no material harm was found, nor conflict with relevant development plan policies or other broader

national policy objectives”. However, the inspectors added “it is self-evident that any increase in CO2 emissions in one location will have consequences elsewhere”, admitting that this could make the duty of the secretary of state (SoS) to meet carbon targets under the Climate Change Act (CCA) more difficult. “But in this case the comparative magnitude of the increase is limited and it has to be assumed that the SoS will comply with the legal duty under the CCA,” the inspectors said. The panel found conflict with the development plan over the expansion’s noise effects, particularly its harm to the amenity and health of some local residents. The proposal would also harm the green belt owing to inappropriateness, loss of openness and conflict with its purposes. Whereas the National Planning Policy Framework requires substantial weight to be given to any harm to the green belt, deciding “very special circumstances exist is a matter of planning judgement based on a consideration of all relevant matters”, said the panel. The proposal’s benefits clearly outweighed the harm to green belt and the noise, amounting to “very special circumstances”. bit.ly/planner0322-bristol

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C&D { C Wiltshire housing scheme allowed on site intended for school

The authority had declined to take control of the twohectare site in line with a unilateral undertaking linked to a housing permission on adjacent land. The council had asked that only 0.3ha be safeguarded for an 80-place nursery; the appellant contended 0.2ha was required. Inspector OS Woodwards said the undertaking allowed for the land to be used for alternative educational purposes. The inspector placed moderate weight on the absence of a ﬁve-year housing

Reporter backs Highland wind farm on landscape impact Planning permission has been granted for a large wind farm on a Highland peak after a reporter ruled that the scheme would not dominate the landscape and would help to meet climate targets. Energiekontor UK had appealed against the refusal by Highland Council of its scheme comprising seven wind turbines with a maximum blade tip height of 149.9 metres, plus access tracks, substation and infrastructure at Torr Leathann, Ardross. Reporter Keith Bray said a “diﬀerence of opinion on the acceptability of landscape and visual impacts” lay at the heart of the appeal, noting that there are no landscape designations in or around the site in local development plans and supplementary

guidance. While the proposal would have an impact within “a fairly discrete area” of up to two kilometres, this would diminish when moving away from the site because

LOCATION Land at Filands Road/ Jenner Lane, Malmesbury SN16 9HZ

AUTHORITY Wiltshire Council INSPECTOR OS Woodwards PROCEDURE Inquiry DECISION Split decisions REFERENCE APP/ Y3940/W/21/3278256; APP/ Y3940/Q/21/3278923; APP/ Y3940/W/21/3282365

land supply., also noting that while the proposed nursery is required to meet future occupier needs, its capacity would be substantially greater than likely demand from future occupiers, beneﬁting the wider community. The inspector allowed the appeal for outline permission for up to 70 homes and a nursery but dismissed the appeal for a residential scheme of 78 houses, refusing to discharge the planning obligation. bit.ly/planner0322wiltshire

of its relatively low-lying and compact siting and the landscape’s character. Bray did not consider that the landscape type would become characterised by wind turbines if the proposal was granted. There was a lack of evidence to suggest the qualities or integrity of the National Scenic Area would be unacceptably aﬀected. The reporter also found the proposal would not conﬂict with the Onshore Wind Energy Supplementary Guidance. The level of impact would not amount to a development which should be considered beyond that expected for a commercial wind farm or unacceptable under the Highland Wide Local Development Plan. The development is predicted to generate 33.6MW over 35 years. “Clear support”

I M AG E S |

Permission for 180 homes and a primary school was granted to Gleeson Strategic Land in 2013 on the site, which was subsequently bought by Bloor Homes South West. The developer had submitted three planning applications, the ﬁrst to discharge the obligation for the primary school, with two others to build 78 houses on the site or 70 houses but also include land for the nursery. Bloor appealed after the applications were not determined in time by Wiltshire Council.

ISTOCK / SHUTTERSTOCK / ALAMY

Planning permission has been granted for housing and a nursery at Malmesbury on a site originally meant for a primary school after an inspector judged it met most obligations and partially served an education purpose.

for renewable energy and emissions reduction policies were key considerations in favour and the reporter thus granted planning permission. bit.ly/planner0322highland

LOCATION Land at Torr Leathann Strathrory, Ardross, Alness, IV17 0YD AUTHORITY Highland Council INSPECTOR Keith Bray PROCEDURE Site inspection and further written submission DECISION Allowed REFERENCE PPA2702250

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DECISIONS DIGEST{

SUBSCRIBE to our appeals digest:

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

Inspector favours Staines tower blocks on townscape grounds

Islington office conversion rejected as market recoverss from Covid

A proposal to demolish a former masonic hall and build 20 206 ﬂats across two tower blocks in Staines town c centre has been approved after an inspector ruled tthe tall buildings would not harm the town townscape. bit.ly/planner0322-staines

A proposal to change mixed-use oﬃces in North London to wholly residential has been dismissed after the inspector rejected the appellant’s claim that demand had fallen as a result of Covid-19. bit.ly/planner0322-islington

Cambridgeshire homes allowed on C sports facilities grounds A housing scheme at the edge of a Cambridgeshire village has been endorsed by an inspector for its contribution to sports provision even con though the proposal conﬂicted with the local plan and the planning authority loca show a ﬁve-year supply of housing could sh land. bit.ly/planner0322-sports

Major mixed use appeals in Newcastle fail on design Two appeals against the major mixeduse redevelopment of a former police station in Newcastle have been dismissed after an inspector lambasted their designs. bit.ly/planner0322-newcastle

do Morgue proposal turned down on highway safety grounds A proposal for a morgue in a West Midlands market town has been rejected after the inspector decided that it would increase risk to highway safety. bit.ly/planner0322-morgue

Essex housing plan would have ‘limited rural impact’ Outline planning permission has been granted for 60 homes on agricultural land outside a market town in Essex after an inspector found that it would not signiﬁcantly impact the countryside owing to recent urban expansion. bit.ly/planner0322-rural

Cambridgeshire village schemes dismissed for rural harm Two alternative schemes for market and affordable homes on greenfield land near a Cambridgeshire village have been rejected after an inspector concluded that they harmed the landscape and street scene and conflicted with the local plan. bit.ly/planner0322-greenfield

West Sussex scheme approved to tackle district housing crisis

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A proposal for a seasonal pitch for a touring caravan in the Lake District has been rejected for its harm to a World Heritage Site (WHS). bit.ly/planner0322-caravan

An outline application for up to 200 homes on a windfall site outside a West Sussex growth village has been granted planning permission following the inspector’s ruling that the district’s housing shortage will not signiﬁcantly improve in the short term. bit.ly/planner0322-crisis

Lake District caravan pitch refused for harm to World Heritage Site

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LLegal landscape OPINION

The First Homes model – straying into policy when delivery is the goal The government has issued model s106 agreements for its new First Homes. However, they raise just as many questions as they answer, say Colette McCormack and Lindsay Garratt First Homes has been on the way for months, but until now the s106 detail has mostly been scant. With the publication of model clauses over Christmas, we now finally have some meat on the bones. They give us a guide to how the government wants its policy to be implemented at a crucial stage in its development. It is live now, but there is still not a high level of understanding of First Homes in parts of our industry. Although the model clauses are not strictly binding, this knowledge gap means we may see them being applied literally as people get up to speed. That throws up uncertainties about what the scheme is intended to do and how it will be put into action, particularly on issues like the design and clustering of affordable housing. This could lead to ramifications beyond just the delivery of First Homes, affecting the wider design and layout of new schemes. The First Homes model is new, but its principles aren’t revolutionary. The proposed s106 drafting will feel familiar to those experienced in structuring affordable

feature of the current Homes agreements. Like other England pilot programme, products, it offers homes at so are untested. But their a discounted rate, it’s sold significance shouldn’t be through the developer or underplayed. They are a landowner, it’s eligibility departure from the current tested, and it requires system, whereby local restrictions on the title. The authorities apply local and model framework reflects national design guidance, national policy guidelines, but take into account and on the surface doesn’t good reasons raise any real to deviate surprises. “ON THE SURFACE IT from this. This However, DOESN’T RAISE ANY framework exists dig deeper REAL SURPRISES. to reinforce and it does HOWEVER, DIG good practice on risk hiding DEEPER AND IT design, layout unexpected DOES RISK HIDING and tenure changes. UNEXPECTED distribution, Notably, CHANGES” while factoring it raises in local questions considerations about scheme by ‘design’ and scheme. ‘clustering’. Decisions are As drafted, made by planning policy it requires that affordable and consultation, with site housing should be delivered specific issues in mind, according to a peppernot led by model s106 potting strategy throughout obligations. a development. It’s also clear As written, the model that design should be strictly agreement threatens that controlled and First Homes principle and goes beyond constructed in line with what is needed to secure national guidelines and local the legal mechanics for requirements. The model delivery of First Homes – clauses also mandate that dealing with wider affordable First Homes are not visually housing issues. There is distinguishable from private understandable concern homes, or inferior in their that these changes have internal specification. been brought in without These provisions are not a

scrutiny or consultation – introducing what are essentially policy reforms by the back door. Design quality and layout are hugely important parts of the planning system and areas where the government has regularly signalled its intent. However, introducing rules on clustering, design and layouts for aﬀordable homes through the means of model s106 clauses for First Homes raises eyebrows. It only threatens to add to uncertainty for those who aren’t across the detail, in turn slowing progress and limiting delivery across the wider aﬀordable and private sale markets. Navigating the new regime will come down to pragmatic interpretation of the model drafting. Developers, local authorities, registered providers and their advisers all need to get to grips with First Homes and its opportunities quickly, but avoid tying their hands with prescriptive design and policy changes that should be a feature of the wider system, not the s106. Colette McCormack and Lindsay Garratt are planning partners at Winckworth Sherwood

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EVENTS

CASES

LEGISLATION

NEWS

ANALYSIS

NEWS

Judicial review secured for development approved on Brick Lane Campaign group Save Brick Lane has secured permission for a judicial review challenge over the decision made by Tower Hamlets Council to grant planning permission for an office building on Brick Lane. The group believes that the plan jeopardises the street’s diversity and character. It also claims that the council did not properly consider the 7,487 letters of objection that were submitted. Tower Hamlets Council granted permission in November 2021 for a scheme that, if built, will comprise a five-storey office, commercial units and an expansion of an adjoining building. Save Brick Lane’s CrowdJustice page says that “despite overwhelming public rejection of the scheme, two councillors approved the application at a planning committee of only three people.”

Environmental group seeks legal action over Net Zero Strategy

LEGAL BRIEFS Key policies ‘misapplied’ in 99home scheme permission Waverley Borough Council is to challenge a decision to grant permission for a 99 homes schemes on a greenﬁeld site oﬀ in Alfold, believing policy was “misapplied” or “misunderstood“ when the permission was determined, says Local Government Lawyer. bit.ly/planner0322-alford

Councillor’s coﬀee shop is a code of conduct ‘serious breach’ A councillor who sits on the Vale of Glamorgan’s local authority planning committee has been found in breach of the local authority’s code of conduct by establishing a café and wine bar without ﬁrst securing planning permission, reports Local Government Lawyer bit.ly/planner0322-vale

Friends of the Earth has ﬁled papers with the High Court to bring forward a judicial review against what it sees as the government’s ‘lacklustre’ strategies to address the climate crisis. The campaign group is challenging the government’s Net Zero Strategy (NZS) and its Heat and Buildings Strategy, which were published in October. Friends of the Earth contends that the Net Zero Strategy does not comply with the Climate Change Act 2008 and that the Heat and Buildings Strategy should have considered “the impacts of its policies on protected groups, as part of ensuring a fair energy transition where climate action aligns with social responsibility”. Factors such age, sex, race and disability can make people more vulnerable to climate impacts, the group maintains, and that therefore political accountability is needed for “unaddressed inequality”. The group also cites its own research that found how people of colour are twice as likely as white people to be living in fuel poverty. It says that the pathways to reach net zero as outlined in the Net Zero Strategy “are theoretical, because they are not supported by government policy which shows how they can be fulﬁlled”. Therefore, it asserts, the Net Zero Strategy is not lawful and does not allow Parliament and members of the public to hold the government accountable for any failures.

Good Law Project seeks to force ‘ﬁt for purpose’ Net Zero strategy

Council set to to reconsider common land re-registration

High speed rail (Crewe Manchester) bill published

North Yorkshire County Council has agreed to reconsider its decision to deregister common land surrounding three historic buildings situated on Low Moor, Richmond. The application is now set to be reconsidered by the authority’s planning committee. The site is a former horse racing track and the buildings were originally erected in connection with the use of the moor as a racecourse. This use came to an end in 1891, with the buildings not in use since. Barristers’ chambers Francis Taylor Building explained that the issue was whether curtilage can include land which has no demarcation on the ground. The Open Spaces Society, a pressure-group set up for the protection of green spaces had said no, but North Yorkshire County Council disagreed. After judicial review proceedings were granted by Mrs Justice Lieven, North Yorkshire County Council agreed to its decision being quashed and said that it would reconsider the matter.

The organisation is presenting a legal challenge against Kwasi Kwarteng, secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, seeking a revised and “ﬁt for purpose” Net Zero strategy by 30 June. (See also Friends of the Earth story, left.) bit.ly/planner0322-climate

Board loses right to ﬁght quashing of permission for 245 Dublin ﬂats Ireland’s High Court has refused to grant leave to An Bord Pleanála to appeal against the quashing of permission for a high-rise development of 245 apartments on part of the former Premier Dairies site in Dublin, says the Irish Examiner. bit.ly/planner0322-daines

A Bill has been introduced to make provision for a railway between a junction with Phase 2a of High Speed 2 south of Crewe in Cheshire and Manchester Piccadilly Station; a railway between Hoo Green in Cheshire and a junction with the West Coast Main Line at Bamfurlong, south of Wigan; and for connected purposes. bit.ly/planner0332-rail

Centre for Cities publishes its Cities Outlook 2022 The report looks at UK high streets to establish the impact of the pandemic on town and city centres and its eﬀect on the levelling-up agenda. bit.ly/planner0322-cic

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NEWS RTPI news pages are edited by Ashley Lampard at the RTPI, 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3R 8DL

PLANNING EXCELLENCE

RTPI Awards: Bigger than ever The RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence 2022 are changing – here’s how you can apply The organisation has refreshed its awards for 2022 following detailed discussions with the RTPI’s awards committees and Board of Trustees. Now, the awards will provide a more seamless and chronological application process for anyone wishing to enter. The annual Awards for Planning Excellence will continue to demonstrate the very best of the planning profession from across the UK and internationally, but will now be run through a single system. This change follows the 2020 and 2021 shift to virtual awards. Now in their 45th year, the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence continue to recognise and reward the brightest talent in the profession; the most outstanding projects, teams and people helping to transform economies, environments, and

communities. Entering the awards oﬀers the opportunity to celebrate your professional achievements and showcase your work. This move helped to usher in a new approach, bringing together the national, international, nation or regions under one umbrella. The goal is to demystify the process to make it simple to enter. Rather than choosing whether to enter for their nation or region or take the direct entry route in the national awards, entrants can now apply through a single point of entry, with top-scoring entries from the nations and regions automatically becoming national ﬁnalists, up against contenders who have gone through the same process. There will also be a new category to enter – the Head Planner of the Year.

This award seeks to celebrate the work undertaken by individuals leading their organisation’s planning service. The Head Planner of the Year category works alongside the Planning Authority of the Year, shining a spotlight on the achievements, ambition and excellence displayed within local authorities. Although there may be some diﬀerences in this year’s awards, what remains is the strong focus on recognising excellent work from across the profession. All entries should be submitted through the RTPI’s online entry platform. Entry is free and the closing date is 11.59pm on 11 March. n To ﬁnd out more about how to enter the awards visit: bit.ly/planner0322excellenceawards

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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

PLANNING CAREERS

New Planning Your World site launched to increase understanding of the profession The RTPI recently launched a new Planning Your World site with the aim of raising awareness of the planning profession within the general public and illustrating the value of planning within the community. The site will host case studies and proﬁles of current planners to help young people to develop careers within the industry. Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI, explained that the site is a user-friendly hub packed with industry knowledge directly from experts. “It is our hope at the RTPI that this new interactive website will be the launch pad for potential new planners, who can see that a career in planning is richly rewarding and has a genuine positive impact on the lives of millions,” said Hills. The initial idea of a site to help grow the understanding of how the industry and the role of planners are perceived within the community was ﬁrst conceived following an RTPI survey to gauge public understanding of the profession. The survey, which spoke to 2,000 people in July 2021, showed that, although the majority (73.2 per cent)

claimed to understand the role of town planners, they did not truly comprehend the scope of the profession, nor the ways that planners can positively impact communities, the economy and the climate. “[We] were shocked by the results [of the survey],” said Hills. “If we are to train the next generation of planners, we need people to understand the importance of the industry today.” The survey results suggested that only 28.5 per cent of participants recognise that planners can influence the economy; 32.7 per cent recognise that planners can influence Covid-19 recovery, and 37.4 per cent realise that planners can influence issues surrounding climate change and the environment. Timothy Crawshaw, the RTPI’s President for 2022 who launched the website during his inauguration speech, explained that the results of the survey showed a concerning lack of understanding of the planning industry. “Planning is about more than just housing and new

development. It is a world-changing profession with positive impacts on the economy, health and wellbeing, as well as holding the ability to tackle the climate crisis. Professional planners take into account the interests of local communities, technical considerations such as transport infrastructure and the environmental impacts of developments to ensure the best outcomes for the local area,” said Crawshaw. Planning Your World will be continually updated with new case studies and proﬁles to ensure that it remains an invaluable source of inspiration and education. Planners are encouraged to share their work on the site following the launch and can contact the RTPI’s communications department at contact@rtpi.org.uk. n The Planning Your World site can be found at: bit.ly/planner0322planningyourworld

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NEWS

RTPI CYMRU

Living Locally: Can the ‘15-minute neighbourhood’ model be applied to rural Wales? Research conducted by RTPI Cymru discusses the concept of ‘living locally’, exploring whether the guiding principles of the ‘15-minute neighbourhood’ model can apply to remote, rural areas, and what the role of planners and the planning system would play within this model. Planners are increasingly asking whether the basic principles of this model could provide a guide for a more sustainable, holistic, place-based focus for rural areas in Wales. In a move heightened by the pandemic, planners and stakeholders are looking at alternative methods for addressing pressures and opportunities in rural areas, as well as tackling key issues such as the climate, the environment, the economy, society and health. The 15-minute neighbourhood model aims to encourage and support communities to access their daily goods

and services locally, by sustainable means. This, of course, becomes more complex in a rural context. The paper therefore considers the concept, without the set measure of a time frame or distance, using ‘local’ as a more fluid term. Although it was originally developed as a model for cities, when applied to rural areas the 15-minute neighbourhood is a useful tool in reinforcing a local focus in planning policy and decision-making. The adaptable nature of the concept of living locally means that it can evolve to suit the individual place, considering the local context and what makes it distinctive. A flexible approach would be essential for different contexts and localities. To establish if this model would work within rural Wales, RTPI Cymru considered the ecology, proximity, and solidarity of the area. Researchers then looked at whether these principles would fit within the

provisions set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the rural policy framework set out in Future Wales and Planning Policy Wales, along with Well-being Indicators, the National Sustainable Placemaking Outcomes and Placemaking Charter Principles. This paper will initiate discussion in Wales on the opportunities and diﬀerent impacts of living more locally in rural Wales and how planning can embrace this. RTPI Cymru would be pleased to receive feedback from members, and looks forward to discussing these issues at the RTPI Cymru Spring Conference in Deganwy on 30 March. n To read the full report, visit: bit.ly/planner0322-ruralwales

RTPI welcomes new President Timothy Crawshaw The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) inaugurated Timothy Crawshaw MRTPI in January 2022, ushering in his presidency at the RTPI for the year. Crawshaw, an international planning and development consultant, brings decades of planning expertise to the role. As RTPI President for 2022, he focuses on wellbeing, climate change and levelling up within the industry. “The impact of these three factors on the ability to change lives is central to why I am a planner. It is my hope that leading such an inﬂuential institution and talking about these

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issues will have an untold impact on the progression of the planning industry,” he said. Crawshaw’s long and impressive resume demonstrates his dedication to these issues, as the chair of the Tees Valley Nature Partnership, interim Steering Group Member for the North East of England Climate Coalition, associate consultant for APSE Energy, and lecturer at Northumbria and

Newcastle Universities. As former RTPI Vice-President, he has shown devotion to the institute and its members, as well as demonstrating the value of interconnectedness for planning, to pull together the perspectives of the built environment disciplines. He explained: “I’ve long shared the RTPI’s belief that planning has the potential to improve lives and create healthier communities.”

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CPD MASTERCLASSES

PLANNER LIVE NORTH

Kick oﬀ 2022 with the RTPI’s CPD Masterclass Programme

The Planner Live North: A Northern Renaissance

Four members of the Royal Town Planning Institute joined the likes of Tom Daley, Daniel Craig, and Joanna Lumley in the Queen's 2022 New Year Honours list on Friday 31 December. Among those named by the Queen were Sue Manns, President of the RTPI in 2020 and Director of Sue Manns Associates, named for services to Planning; Laura Manning Shoaf, Lately Managing Director of Transport for the West Midlands, for services to Economic Regeneration in the West Midlands; Ransford George Stewart, Director of Stewart Management and Planning Solutions, for services to Planning; and Karime Hassan, Chief Executive and Growth Director for Exeter City Council for services to Local Government. Manns, a former RTPI President, said that receiving the MBE was an enormous pleasure and a recognition of the importance and of equality, diversity and inclusivity both within the planning profession and in the way that it engages with communities. “The future is bright and together we will make a diﬀerence,” said Manns.

This year’s Planner Live North event will shine a light on how place-based solutions can help to shape this globally competitive area of England. It will take place online across two days – 23 and 24 March at 12.30-4pm – with a host of planners bringing their ideas to the virtual conference table. Delegates can expect a packed programme, with a political address and keynote, plenary and focus sessions, live interviews, and ample opportunities for audience participation as they dive into how the underfunded North can attract investment and drive sustainable growth; the key challenges facing coastal, rural and urban environments and how to develop eﬀective strategies to tackle climate change. Prices for the two-day event are as follows: RTPI Member: £25+VAT Non-member: £35+VAT.

I M AG E S | RT P I / I S T O C K

Conduct and Discipline Panel Decisions The RTPI Conduct and Discipline Panel has found three members to be in breach of the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct at its recent panel meetings. In each decision where a breach was found the panel agreed that the members should not be named in the published reports. The complaints were: • A consultant member was found to have failed to respond to emails in a timely manner and to properly progress the scheme, and had failed to make clear the extent of the work that they were to undertake or to complete the work expected by the client. The member was warned as to their future conduct.

• A member who was working for a local authority was found to have not fully undertaken necessary checks when signing oﬀ decisions and had not ensured that staﬀ had carried out all steps required by the computer system. As a result, decisions issued

had contained errors. The member was warned as to their future conduct. • A student member had failed to progress the work commissioned by a client and lied to managers about the work undertaken. The panel was informed of a number of mitigating factors, and although the member had lost their job they retained the support of their ex-employer. The member was warned as to their future conduct. If members have any queries concerning the Code of Professional Conduct they should contact Ruth Richards, the Institute’s Complaints Investigator, by email: ruth.richards@rtpi.org.uk.

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Reach out to our audience of membership professionals There’s never been a more important time to reassure the planning community that their skills are in need.

The Plannerr job board board offers offfers you an opportunity it to t attract tt t the th attention tt ti of a guaranteed, dedicated audience of membership professionals, and reassure them that you are still looking to recruit. Whether you have vacancies now, or will be looking to recruit at a later time, remind our readers what sets your organisation apart, and let them know your plans. You might also consider advertising in The Planner magazine, and ensure you are seen by the profession’s top-calibre candidates and kept at the forefront of their minds. Show them that you are here, your brand is strong, and your organisation needs them.

For more information and rates, contact us now on: T: 020 7880 6232 E: jobs@theplanner.co.uk Planner jobs ad graphic update PLN.MAR22.048-049.indd 48 Nov21.indd 1

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Dover F

21 14:08

Principal Planner (Development Management), Senior Planner (Planning Policy) and Planning and S106 Monitoring Of¿cer • • •

Permanent posts - 37 hours per week. Flexible working hours and arrangements (home/oĸce). Generous annual leave, local government pension scheme and beneĮts including private health care. OpportuniƟes to undertake further professional development

Due to internal promotions and a newly restructured and expanding development management section, these three roles are currently vacant in the planning and regeneration department within a forward thinking, innovative council. All are essential to help address a signi¿cant increase in developer and inward investment interest within the district and realise Dover’s ambitions for high quality growth and regeneration through the emerging Local Plan. Dover District is an exciting place to come and work, live and enjoy life. The area is steeped in history, with the iconic White Cliffs, Dover Castle and the historic coastal towns of Dover, Deal and Sandwich. Leisure opportunities abound along our stunning coastline, within our vibrant and growing towns and attractive countryside, part of which includes the Kent Downs AONB. The district is amongst one of the most attractive and diverse in Kent and offers a stimulating and varied range of environments and opportunities within which to develop and advance your planning career. Principal Planning Of¿cer – Development Management (Strategic Sites and Place Team) Salary £42,186 to £47,745 per annum This post will play a key role in the newly established Strategic Sites Team. Having a breadth of experience in processing major planning applications and negotiating S.106 agreements with minimal supervision, you will take responsibility for your own caseload and also contribute to a development team approach focused on processing pre-application enquiries and planning applications for the Council’s strategic (plan allocation/project) sites. The role provides an opportunity to take on line-management responsibility to assist the Team Leader as required. Knowledge/experience of dealing with Urban Design, viability and other specialist issues aligned to this role would be an advantage. For an informal discussion about this post, please contact Luke Blaskett at luke.blaskett@dover.gov. uk or on 01304 872449.

play a key part in preparing the emerging district Local Plan and its evidence base for examination and adoption, and managing its long term delivery. You will also have the opportunity to independently manage key projects related to planning policy and mentor junior staff. For an informal discussion about this post, please contact Carly Pettit at carly.pettit@dover.gov.uk or on 01304 872422.

Planning and S106 Monitoring Of¿cer Salary £23,555 to £26,973 per annum

Senior Planner – Planning Policy and Projects Team Salary £35,276 to £41,154 per annum

This role is an important administrative position within the planning department and requires an experienced and highly organised person to ensure the effective recording and monitoring of Section 106 ¿nancial agreements. You will also take a lead role in Local Plan monitoring and keep accurate records of housing and employment delivery across the district whilst also providing general administration for colleagues within the small and friendly policy and projects team. For an informal discussion about this post, please contact Carly Pettit at carly.pettit@dover.gov.uk or on 01304 872422.

This is an exciting opportunity for a quali¿ed planner to take a Senior position within a positive and dynamic planning policy team and to shape the future of the district. You will

Closing Date: 13th March 2022 Interviews to be held during w/c 21st March

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Activities

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CONTENT THAT'S WORTH CHECKING OUT

A digest of planning-related material. Each month our work takes us around the internet in search of additional detail for our stories, meaning we invariably come across links to items we think you’ll ﬁnd educational, entertaining, useful or simply amusing. Here’s our latest batch.

What’s caught our eye Planning futures NAPE Beginners' Guide to Planning Enforcement – launch event

‘Design Now – what you need to know’ This RTPI Urban Design Network event in December, featured some of the most influential speakers on the design dimension of planning, covering developments in policy and guidance from across the UK. Chaired by Justin Webber (RTPI Urban Design Network Chair), speakers discuss matters including the government's design agenda, design codes, heritage, building performance. bit.ly/planner0322-design

The RTPI ‘NAPE Beginners’ Guide to Planning Enforcement’ is a companion to the NAPE Enforcement Handbook for England, offering guidance to aspiring planning enforcement officers. In the video members of NAPE’s management committee summarise each chapter and share their experiences. bit.ly/planner0322-nape yp p

City of Refuge: Separatists and Utopian Town Planning Ci Michael Lewis shows how utopian town planning over Mi centuries produced settlements characterised by square ce plans, collective ownership of properties and communal pl dormitories. Some were sanctuaries from religious d persecution, others from the Industrial Revolution. p Diﬀ D erences in ideology and theology meant these have usually been viewed separately. Lewis shows how they u are part of an int intellectual tradition stretching from the early Protestant Reformation to modern times. ISBN-10 0691171815/ISBN-13 978-0691171814

The new Planning Your World site aims to raise awareness of the profession among the public and illustrate the value of planning within the community. Launched on the day of new president Timothy Crawshaw’s inauguration, the site will host case studies and proﬁles of planners to help young people to develop careers in the sector. It follows an RTPI survey that found that a general awareness of town planning did not translate into an appreciation of the profession. bit.ly/planner0322-world

Principles of Town Planning in relation to High Streets & Town Centres RTPI fellow Stefano Smith hosts a video by the High Street Task Force that sets out for those outside the profession the principles of town planning for high streets and town centres. Useful to see how planning is explained to those who have planning as part of their role, either as a place leader, manager or stakeholder. bit.ly/planner 0322-highstreet

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LANDSCAPE

Shaping the City to Come: Rethinking Modern Architecture and Town Planning in England, c. 1934-51

reSITE’s Most Inspiring Urbanism, Design and Architecture podcasts Another useful list of in-your-ears entertainment, reSITE, “a global platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment”, has listed here its favourite podcasts showcasing new

Straight Line Crazy Now come on, who wouldn’t want a night out watching Ralph Fiennes playing American Robert Moses, whose urban planning of New York was infamously controversial? Who wouldn’t want to see Jane Jacobs brought to life on stage? This new play by David Hare is directed by Nicholas Hytner and runs from 16 March-18 June 2022. We’re going – see you there? bit.ly/planner0322-crazy

Jock McFadyen RA – Tourist without a Guidebook

ideas “on d designing d more liveable, lovable cities”. The picks here come from reSITE’s global network of more than 500 experts. It’s an electric mix with an architectural steer. bit.ly/planner0322resite

Staying in London, this free photography exhibition at the Royal Academy explores Jock McFadyen’s fascination with London’s changing urban landscape, bringing together 20 works spanning almost 30 years. “Across these paintings, buildings take on human characteristics – broken windows, shuttered doors, painterly scars and a sense of faded grandeur hinting at their past lives and occupants.” The exhibition runs from 5 February to 10 April. bit.ly/planner0322-jock

Author Deborah Lewittes reassesses modern architecture and town planning in mid-20th-century England. The book lays out a visionary architectural culture with an impact that continued postwar. It examines the processes that fed into the development of modernist, urbanminded architectural ideals. Publisher: Liverpool University Press ISBN: 9781800856547

What we’re planning What we’re planning In the wake of February’s levelling-up white paper we are taking aim at the specifics in Michael Gove’s plans for the UK’s future - from further devolved representation to spatial equality – and considering the likely impacts on the work of planners in the years ahead. We’re also talking to and looking at the links between video-gaming and consultation. It’s going to be a busy g y spring. p g

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

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