The Planner - August 2021

AUGUST 2021 REWILDING BROWNFIELD SITES // p.4 • CARRY ON PLANNER: ‘REINVENTING THE BOURBON’ // p.8 • GETTING ACCUSTOMED TO SELF BUILD // p.22 • USE CLASSES: BATTLE FOR THE HIGH STREET // p.28 • CASE STUDY: A CREATIVE SOLUTION // p.32

PRIME MOVER

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

HOW THAMES ESTUARY ENVOY KATE WILLARD IS GUIDING GROWTH ALONG THE RIVER

CONTENTS

AU GU ST

04 NEWS 4 Biodiversity case studies: The value of restoring nature to brownfield sites 8 Carry on planning 9 Welsh ministers put freeze on road-building pending a review 10 Scottish ministers publish planning advice for short-term lets 11 Newsmakers: 10 top stories from The Planner online

“THAT'S THE DICHOTOMY OF OUR TIME, ISN'T IT? HOW DO YOU BALANCE?”

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OPINION

14 Louise BrookeSmith: Must we dress to impress post-Covid?

16 Norman Garrick: Primitive’ modes of travel in cities indicate social self-confidence 16 George Atzev: The answer to building back better? It’s communityled planning 17 Louise Hutchby: The value of updating Ancient Woodland Inventory and why it matters to planners 17 Chris Atkinson : A giant leap for solar energy requires a small step for UK planning

QUOTE UNQUOTE

20 21

15

“FIRMS CAN EITHER ‘DO A WOOLWORTHS’ AND JUST DIE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY OR THEY CAN PIVOT” GED MCPARTLIN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BUILD-TO-RENT FIRM ASCEND PROPERTIES, WELCOMES THE INTRODUCTION OF JOHN LEWIS INTO THE HOUSEBUILDER MARKET

COV E R I M AG E | P E T E R S E A R L E

FEATURES

INSIGHT

18 Kate Willard is the Thames Estuary Envoy, charged with drawing attention and funding to an ‘underperforming’ location.

Simon Wicks reports

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

22 Mario Wolf and Andy Moger explain how changes to planning guidance could turn custom and self-build into a mainstream model 26 Visual case study: Custom-built homes at Bracon Ash, Norfolk 28 Matt Moody considers the effects of class MA permitted development on our town centres

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42 Legal Landscape: Opinions from the legal side of planning

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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 – mouse over our links for more information

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NEWS

Report { BIODIVERSITY

The value of restoring nature to brownfield sites

By Laura Edgar It has been a kind of mantra for a while now: prioritise brownfield land for development. Protect green spaces, greenfield and the green belt.

Successive Conservative governments have all prioritised brownfield land for development. Back in 2014, under David Cameron, then chancellor George Osborne announced plans to allow developers to build on almost all brownfield sites, with a wider aim to encourage the building of up to 200,000 homes on sites designated as brownfield that are not in use.

In 2016, then communities secretary Greg Clark, launched a pilot for brownfield registers, which was extended to all English councils in 2017.

Such land is deemed an eyesore, but it can offer more biodiversity than some greenfield and green belt sites.

A study published in January this year found that former mining areas in northern England had become a refuge for one of Britain’s fastest-declining resident bird species, the willow tit.

Numbers have plummeted by 92 per cent since the 1970s. The RSPB classifies its conservation status as red, meaning that urgent action is needed to address the decline.

But according to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, willow tits have over the past 50 years retreated to former coal mining areas from Cheshire to Northumberland.

Wilding of a Post-industrial Site Provides a Habitat Refuge for an Endangered Woodland Songbird, the British Willow Tit Poecile montanus kleinschmidti considered why willow tits fare well at these sites.

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Willow tits can now be found at former coal mining areas from Cheshire to Northumberland

marsh and woodland, with shallow Over three years, Dr Richard lakes and pools formed by mining Broughton worked with Marta Maziarz subsidence. Because the area was from the Polish Academy of Sciences worked until the 1990s, the colonising and local citizen scientist Wayne Parry woodland is relatively young. to conduct surveys at former mining Broughton told The Planner this gives sites on the Wigan Flashes (see box) willow tits an edge before it matures and Amberswood Common, which have and becomes more suitable for their been restored to wetlands, woodlands competitors – blue tits and great tits. and green spaces.

Parry monitored more than 30 nests What makes brownfield land a each year to find out the number of suitable home for wildlife pairs and their breeding success. The Broughton highlights that brownfield study found that a pair of willow tits land is often poorly understood, needs seven hectares, a “large” territory meaning it is not always known what for small birds. Broughton says: “They wildlife lives there. The longer a site spend their entire lives there, so it has been left undisturbed, the more needs to provide everything they need.” wildlife it tends to support. “Sites with Although the study focused on subsidence issues, which the Wigan Flashes regularly flood, are best and Amberswood insulated from future Common, the findings "BROWNFIELDS ARE development and do have can be translated OFTEN SOME OF OUR the best prospects for to other areas with LAST REMAINING long-term rewilding.” old coalfields where HAVENS FOR NATURE Each brownfield site willow tits are found.

IN AN INCREASINGLY is different too, says Ben The Wigan Flashes MANAGED LANDSCAPE Kite, managing director and Amberswood - WHETHER URBAN OR at Ecological Planning Common are a mosaic THE COUNTRYSIDE“ – & Research (EPR) Ltd. of wetland, grassland, JAMIE ROBINS

PLAN UPFRONT

Amberswood Common is a terrain of wetland, grassland, marsh and woodland that is home to various types of tit

Canvey Wick, Essex

Abandoned industrial areas contain overgrown developed land with lots of concrete, which is alkaline. This creates the conditions required for wildflowers of calcareous grasslands to flourish. In contrast, bare ground areas will retain the naturally acidic or mesotrophic conditions of the London Basin, favouring plants of these habitats.

This results in a diverse floral assemblage, leading to foraging areas for invertebrates and pollinators, which in turn can support rare birds like the black redstart, an important species in London, says Kite, and spotted in this news editor’s tiny garden in the southeast of the city earlier this year.

“In short, abandonment or dereliction can mean that nature is often given the space needed to thrive in relatively undisturbed conditions, and the combination of built human form and resurgent semi-natural habitats can sometimes lead to the manifestation of unusually diverse assemblages of plants and animals,” explains Kite.

Jamie Robins, projects manager at I M A G E S | WAY N E PA R RY

Canvey Wick in Essex, Mark Nowers explains, was initially a dumping ground for extractions from the River Thames and later prepared for use as an oil refinery in the 1970s, but never used.

Over the past 20 years, it has become recognised as a “hotbed of biodiversity” owing to its history, climate and land use.

It supports nearly 2,000 invertebrate species, many of which are locally or nationally rare (Barkham, 2017), including some believed to be extinct in Britain.

Buglife agrees. “Brownfields are often some of our last remaining havens for nature in an increasingly managed landscape – whether urban or the countryside.”

Many of the habitat features that develop as a result of the longterm cycles of disturbance and abandonment of brownfield land “mimic natural habitats lost in the wider landscape”. He cites the Thames Estuary as an example of this, “as the network of brownfields there and the Open Mosaic Habitat on Previously Developed Land (OMHPDL) that they

This invertebrate variety together with native trees, plants and flowers support a range of animal and bird species. Whitethroat, stonechat, reed warbler and green woodpecker can all be found there. The site was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 2005 after a three-year campaign partly spearheaded by local residents. It is the first brownfield site to be protected specifically for its invertebrates, and as a nature reserve is managed by Buglife and the RSPB.

support provides a surrogate to the Thames Terrace Grasslands that have been lost to agriculture and industry”.

The balance The government’s planning white paper, Planning for the Future, which will be the basis of a planning bill, proposes that local plans should identify three types of land – growth areas suitable for substantial development, renewal areas suitable for development, and areas that are protected.

It isn't clear where brownfield land will fall, most likely under the renewal

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NEWS

Report {

Wigan Flashes According to the Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s website, the ‘flashes’ are lakes formed through mining subsidence. They were partially filled with colliery waste and ash from the former Westwood Power Station, and through natural recolonisation and large-scale reclamation works, the industrial scars began to heal.

The mosaic of open water, reedbed, fen, rough grassland, wet woodland and scrub habitats support an array of plants and animals. They join important reserves like Abram Flash SSSI and Hope Carr Nature Reserve to form a 9km wetland retreat along the LeedsLiverpool Canal.

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and growth categories. What is the balance then between developing such land, some of which is proven to be rich in biodiversity, and protecting greenfield or green belt land?

For RSPB conservation officer Mark Nowers, decision-making must be rooted in evidence for the pros and cons and on a case-by-case basis, of both types of land. There must be a requirement in any planning system for onsite ecological assessment before development consent, or codified zoning, takes place. Before decisions are made on redevelopment or a sites’ future use, “everyone must first understand the full biodiversity value of the individual brownfield site”.

Robins agrees. To achieve a balance, sites need to be judged on their own merits and we must be careful about I M A G E S | WAY N E PA R RY / S I M O N W I C K S / G E T T Y

The Wigan Flashes is formed of a series of shallow ponds created by subsidence caused by mining. Below: A fox dozes in an abandoned tennis court in south west London

the language used – “it is times like this that a ‘brownfield-first policy’ isn’t helpful”.

“As much as we would like sites to fit into neat pigeonholes, they often don’t. If we want to prioritise wildlife, then sites must be assessed on the basis of their wildlife value, not whether or not they fit the ill-defined and outdated criteria of brownfield and greenfield."

He adds that there are many green belt areas which “are simply not delivering a great deal for wildlife, while in stark contrast there are brownfield sites that support some of our most threatened species”.

Likewise, Sue Young, head of planning at The Wildlife Trusts,

PLAN UPFRONT

“guide the direction of a proper public believes that where nature has returned funding settlement for the sector”. to brownfield sites, “it is desperately important to carry out appropriate Prioritising wildlife-rich land environmental assessments to ensure Current policy support for brownfield new development doesn’t disturb or land is “patchy”, according to Kite. damage potentially rare, endangered, or Many species that could be found on protected species”. brownfield sites are listed under Section Decisions, she insists, should be 41 of the NERC Act 2006 as ‘priority’ made on a case-by-case basis. species, which local planning authorities Noting that the criteria for each area should ‘have regard’ to. The National has not been set out, Kite believes Planning Policy Framework it will come down to how the rules (NPPF) is less specific and for each area type are written that considers biodiversity determines how well the policy generally. operates. “If they are badly written, The environment then many biodiverse brownfield sites bill sets out ambitious might be consigned to oblivion without targets for expanding their ecological value ever having been native woodland. adequately recognised, or conversely, Broughton says land that is ideal for development brownfield sites are being assigned to categories that good candidates for unnecessarily constrain development.” this as they will often For example, he says current develop through natural indications suggest that green belt land regeneration, without always will fall in the protected category, “but needing to resort to planting much of the green belt is biodiversitytrees. This, however, as noted before, will poor, intensively managed farmland of come down to recognising sites that are little ecological value”. high in biodiversity.

To be a success, and with decision“Recognising and protecting these making front-loaded, environmental habitats in local planning would be assessment work must also be frontimportant for safeguarding their longloaded. “We cannot allow a situation term progression to natural woodland, to arise whereby decisions about the with potential benefits for nature acceptability ‘in principle’ of developing recovery and carbon capture, and land are made in the absence of any providing green spaces for wildlife and knowledge about that land.” people,” says Broughton.

Of course, if local planning Greenfield and green belt land can authorities are expected to make key also be enhanced to serve wildlife better. decisions earlier on in the process, The government wants new housing and evidence them, resources will be developments to achieve at least a 10 per required. Many, Kite highlights, do not cent net gain in value for biodiversity. even employ an ecologist.

Responding to the planning In agreement, Nowers says the RSPB white paper consultation last year, has previously called for all local the RTPI proposed that principal authorities to have ecologists and authorities prepare arboriculturists on staff ‘Local Environment or available on contract.

Improvement Plans’ to He welcomed the "WE CANNOT ALLOW draw together currently principle of a resources A SITUATION TO disparate streams of and skills strategy for ARISE WHEREBY environmental funding the planning sector as DECISIONS ABOUT and planning to support proposed in the white THE ACCEPTABILITY the delivery of blue and paper, but says it must ‘IN PRINCIPLE’ OF green infrastructure not be a document DEVELOPING LAND IS that merely highlights MADE IN THE ABSENCE strategies.

Richard Blyth, head known needs and makes OF ANY KNOWLEDGE of policy, practice recommendations to ABOUT THAT LAND” – and research at the address them. It must BEN KITE

RTPI, says the Local Nature Recovery Strategy proposed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could be a starting point for this but they would need to go further. Nowers believes these should be given formal weight in the land-use planning system so they are embedded within the local plan preparation process.

Of course, brownfield sites are going to be developed: they might be the best, well-connected spot for new development. If that is the case, Broughton says a portion should be left to develop naturally so it can retain its biodiversity and, Kite adds, they can often be developed without losing ecological interest.

Every space counts The brownfield versus greenfield question is one that cannot be ignored if species' decline is to be prevented and their fortunes changed, but there is a balance to be struck. As Nowers says, striking such a balance is “core to what good planning is about”.

And, as Young maintains, “nature must be at the heart of decision-making for all current and future development, from planning and design through to longterm management and maintenance”.

The Planner’s contributors agree that each site type – brown and green – must be assessed on its own merits.

The way policies, and the planning and environment bills, are worded is important and there must be a complete data set and ecological assessment to get them right.

For those sites that are developed, as Kite says, they must be made to work hard. There are several innovative ways to retrofit biodiversity enhancements into new development, he explains – integrated bat or bird boxes, bee bricks, edible hedgerows, wildflower verges, ponds/SUDs, hedgehog highways, green roofs and green walls – “the list is vast”.

“All of these tools need to be brought to bear through policy, and land needs to be made to work hard – every space can make some contribution toward biodiversity restoration.”

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NEWS

News { Carry on planning

By Laura Edgar Last year, the government published Planning for the Future, a white paper Prime Minister Boris Johnson said would make the planning system “simpler, clearer and quicker to navigate”.

It has received a number of criticisms: MPs have called it a “developer’s charter”, suggesting that it lacks detail and will undermine local democracy.

In a House of Commons debate on the forthcoming planning bill, which was announced in May in the Queen’s Speech, Labour MP Hilary Benn noted: “I cannot think of a system less likely to encourage local communities to take responsibility than one in which the final decision is removed from their hands.”

But that’s not all.At the Minerals Planning Conference in June, delivered jointly by the RTPI and the Mineral Products Association (MPA), Simon Gallagher, director of planning at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) noted that one of the comments the ministry has received is that minerals planning did not feature.

“Any document that is produced by MHCLG is going to major on housing... and they’re not going to apologise for that.

“We very much understand that any reformed planning system will need to work for minerals planning.”

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This was the first of his messages – keep calm, minerals planning has not been forgotten.

Both chief planner Joanna Averly and housing minister Christopher Pincher have previously urged local councils to get local plans in place and to keep them up to date. Gallagher also addressed this issue, saying that proposed reform always raises questions about what it means for continuing work.

Ministers, however, are clear that until any changes are in place, “they want to see decisions on planning applications, including minerals planning applications, made swiftly on the basis of evidence”.

Message number two: “We need to carry on.”

Gallagher also discussed engagement – message number three – which can get rather formal between

the government and those involved, such as consultations and public statements. He noted that while “really valuable”, such engagements are “not real”.

“I want to encourage you at this point to be prepared to have much more meaningful conversations, to be ready to talk in a bit more detail, to be ready to expose the differences of views that you will have, and the people within the industry will have about what needs to be done.”

Reforming bourbon biscuits…

Planning reform was the focus of a panel session too.

Here are the key points: Lonek Wojtulewicz MRTPI, planning and infrastructure division at MHCLG, noted that the digital agenda in the white paper, “should make things simpler, easier to find your way around, and

equally, easier, in theory, for the public to engage”.

This is a “fundamental improvement” that the reforms are trying to achieve – more engagement from the public.

Stephen Redwood, land development and permitting director, Europe, at CEMEX, said it’s in the industry’s best interests to make things work. However, while there are “really good” authorities out there, “it has become increasingly evident that not all authorities are

“ANY DOCUMENT THAT IS PRODUCED

BY MHCLG IS GOING TO MAJOR ON HOUSING... AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO APOLOGISE FOR THAT” – SIMON GALLAGHER

PLAN UPFRONT

able to deal with the applications in a timely fashion – it is the timescales that are a concern”.

“Chronic” underresourcing and a lack of training has led to a loss of quality service that applicants receive. “What we need is experienced, qualified planners.”

Richard Greaves MRTPI, chief planning officer at Essex County Council, reminisced that he used to introduce himself as a biscuit designer for McVities, “seemingly far more engaging than labelling myself a town planner, and everybody knows what a chocolate digestive is”.

“I used to claim my latest work was a long-term project redesigning the bourbon, and people were genuinely intrigued.” The project failed because “the bourbon is a classic ergonomic design and just can’t be made more workable”.

“I used to say, if it isn’t broken then don’t try and fix it. Which leads me on to the topic of planning reform. We all want a system that works.

No unnecessary delays and beautiful development in the right place at the right time, as well as concerns for those special places.

Personally, I’m not sure the reforms will enable these ambitions to be achieved, but we should give it a go and work with whatever is imposed, much like we’ve done since 1947.”

He added that this doesn’t mean the bourbon biscuit is perfect, but that it took time and a lot of reform to get to where it is now.

“Let’s keep the good bits and improve the bad bits, but above all we need to understand the value of planning and perhaps more importantly the legacy planning decisions, notably minerals planning decisions, we take can have on the quality of people’s lives.”

“WHAT WE NEED IS EXPERIENCED, QUALIFIED PLANNERS” – STEPHEN REDWOOD

Welsh ministers put freeze on road-building pending net zero review The deputy minister for climate change, Lee Waters, told the Senedd in June that reaching the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 would require a ‘huge effort’.

“In the next 10 years we are going to need to more than double all the cuts we have managed over the last 30 years if we are going to keep temperature rises within safe limits," said Waters.

“That means changes in all parts of our lives. Transport makes up some 17 per cent of our total emissions and must play its part.”

He added: “We need a shift away from spending money on projects that encourage more people to drive and spend more money on maintaining our roads and investing in real alternatives that give people a meaningful choice.”

New ‘super ministry’ The minister said that an external panel would carry out the nine-month review and report to the new ‘super ministry’. The members of the panel have not yet been named. The panel’s terms of reference will be published in due course.

However, the minister stressed: “The review is expected to consider how we can shift spending towards better maintaining our existing roads, rather than building new ones, and look at all proposed road investments, whether funded directly by the Welsh Government or indirectly by grants.”

He added: “The panel will be asked to consider setting tests for when new roads are the right solutions for transport problems in line with Llwybr Newydd, the recently published Wales transport strategy.”

The freeze will not affect road schemes already under way but will mean that projects like the Llandeilo bypass, the A55 red route and another bridge to Anglesey will be put on hold.

Clydach Gorge Gateway Bridge over A465 Heads of the Valleys Road, Blaenau Gwent

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

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NEWS

News { Scottish ministers publish planning advice for shortterm let control areas A consultation on the details of a licensing scheme for Airbnb-type shortterm lets in Scotland has been published alongside a planning circular setting out how so-called ‘control areas’ should be established by local authorities.

The circular also spells out how planning applications in control areas should be determined, their duration and how the planning regime should link with the licensing scheme. It stresses: “Planning authorities should consider whether there are systemic material planning considerations across one or more areas in the planning authority area as part of deciding whether to designate one or more control areas.

“Systemic here might mean the same consideration repeated many times or that there is a cumulative impact from the use of dwelling houses as short-term lets.”

The circular suggests several indicators when considering establishing control areas, including: changes to the look and feel of a neighbourhood; lack of affordable and appropriate housing for local residents; and detrimental impact on local amenity.

The consultation is set to close on 13 August. It can be found at the following link on the Scottish Government website: Read the full story: bit.ly/planner0821-short-term

Irish regulator warns of ‘seriously overstretched’ planning departments Many local authority planning departments are “seriously overstretched”, says Ireland’s independent planning watchdog.

That assessment by Niall Cussen is highlighted in the regulator’s latest annual report. He says an overall headcount of technical and administrative working in planning authorities “is not yet readily available. As a result, it is difficult to determine the staffing resources dedicated to implementing the government’s planning policy and prevents making a comparison between planning authorities”.

But anecdotal evidence is that many authorities are overstretched.

The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) report also points out that planning application fees, last revised in 2001, represent less than 30 per cent of the cost of running a council’s planning functions. It adds that during the OPR’s first year there were significant increases in the scale of the regulator’s activities and “their impact in enhancing planning”.

Read the full story: bit.ly/planner0821-OPRreport

Data migration issues delay roll-out of planning IT scheme Data migration issues look certain to delay the introduction of Northern Ireland’s new IT planning system, originally expected to be phased in from late 2021 to early 2022. Roll-out will be some months later.

In a recent letter to chief executives of the 10 local authorities involved in the project and seen by The Planner, Julie Thompson, a deputy secretary in the Department for Infrastructure states: “There are still some significant challenges in delivering the new planning IT system.”

She explains: “One of these key challenges is data migration and in particular the extraction and transfer of data from the NI Planning Portal to the new IT system, given the significant bespoke nature of the NIPP and the legacy nature of the data.

“Despite best endeavours, unfortunately this work has not progressed as quickly as planned and will have an impact on the overall timetable for the new IT system.”

She adds that TerraQuest, the company contracted to deliver the new IT system, estimated that these delays would “push out” the time for full implementation of the new IT system until spring 2022.

She also stresses that no decisions had yet been taken over which councils would be in the first and second phases of the roll-out.

One NI council, Mid Ulster, decided not to participate in the joint initiative.

The contract was awarded to TerraQuest in June 2020.

Read the full story: bit.ly/planner0821-IT

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I M AG E | G E T T Y

CATCH UP WITH THE PLANNER

Newsmakers 1

Government approves planning assistant apprenticeship

The government has given the goahead to a new entry-level town planning apprenticeship, which the RTPI says is an “important” step in diversifying the profession. bit.ly/planner0821apprenticeships

2

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has said that the intent of the proposed planning reforms is to give councillors the control over what to build and extending participation in the planning system to everyone from a smartphone. bit.ly/planner0821-reformsJenrick

Building safety bill to include regulator

Go-ahead for net-zero housing development in Scottish capital

Proposals to create Scotland’s largest net-zero housing development in Edinburgh have been approved by city planners. bit.ly/planner0821-Edinburghzero I M AG E S | I STO C K / G E T T Y / S H U T T E RSTO C K

Planning reforms will give councillors power over what and where to build

3 4 5

Coal power to end earlier than planned, says government

Energy and climate minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan has announced that Great Britain will not use coal to generate electricity from 1 October 2024 – a year earlier than originally planned. bit.ly/planner0821-coal

Robert Jenrick has outlined legislation that will introduce a building safety regulator and give residents more power to hold builders and developers to account. bit.ly/planner0821safetybill

6

Cardiff Capital Region signs up to two global carbon initiatives

The Cardiff Capital Region cabinet has agreed to participate in two major international initiatives: the Race to Zero campaign and the Carbon Disclosure Project. bit.ly/planner0821CCRcarbon

Planning laws review under way in earnest New protected areas to be created in England

Natural England has announced that it is considering proposals for new National Nature Reserves and that it will establish new protected areas. bit.ly/planner0821naturereserve

Government environment policies ‘lack teeth’

Government policies and targets to improve the natural environment are “grandiose statements lacking teeth” and its departments too often spend more on practices that exploit the natural environment than conserve it, states the Environmental Audit Committee. bit.ly/planner0821-EAC

Officials have started a comprehensive review of Irish planning law in moves intended to streamline the process in one planning act and speed up delivery of housing and key infrastructure projects. bit.ly/planner0821IrishPlanningLaw

7 8 9 10

More support needed so people can shape local development

RTPI Scotland has called on the Scottish Government to provide more support for planning authorities and communities so that people can help to shape development of their local areas. bit.ly/planner0821shapeplace

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LEADER COMMENT

Event Town centres will struggle to avoid Class MA character assassination This month sees the introduction of the new use class MA (mercantile to abode), which we write about on p.28 of this edition.

Class MA allows the change of use of any building falling within use class E, (commercial, business and service uses) to residential.

The final version of the policy is rather more restrictive than that originally suggested by the government back in April, but it is nevertheless proving to be contentious.

It feels as if we have come a long way in two years with permitted development rights. And it also feels as if each PD policy announcement follows a familiar theme; an initial proposal followed quickly by broad-based concern about its potential unintended consequences and, ultimately, publication of a more restricted version

Martin Read of the original concept being what makes it to policy.

In this case, as our reporter Matt Moody writes, there remains concern about woolly wording surrounding class MA, in particular regarding access to natural light (where there is no apparent obligation to refer to local plan policies) and impact on conservation areas (where a theoretical limitation due to impact on “character and sustainability” is, claim some, open to damagingly broad

interpretation).

Then, of course, there’s the potential impact on the essential character of our high streets and town centres. The problem is the potential development of small archipelagos of retail units in between residential units, or vice versa - a curious and inconsistent combination that threatens to extract the essential meaning of a town’s ‘centre’.

Putting aside the technicalities, the striking visual change to how town centres will come to look as retail-to-residential conversion takes hold is something that will surely capture the attention of residents and consumers people who might otherwise be indifferent to the more incremental development taking place elsewhere in

“WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY WITH PD RIGHTS IN THESE LAST TWO YEARS"

their localities. Perhaps a sense of civic ownership take hold and lead to more rallying against the retail-toresidential revolution.

Finally this month, my routine request for you to keep an eye out for the web and video links we publish alongside relevant content in the pages of this digital edition. Note too that we add new appeals decisions stories online on most weekdays, while every Friday we produce a newsletter detailing developments in planning from across the four countries of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

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AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / THE PLA NNER 13

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

Opinion

Must we dress to impress post-Covid?

For those now used to working in ‘casuals’, the return to daily decisions about suitable workwear presents a challenge, says Louise Brooke-Smith.

Depending on where you are, summer has seen the easing or end of lockdown rules. It means that we are probably planning for a hybrid return to offices, a gradual increase in face-to-face meetings and – for a few – a return to traffic jams and crowded trains.

Some employers are pushing for a complete return to the chains of city-based desks, breakout areas with improved ventilation and more greenery to tick the environmental box. Others are following the ‘whatever works for you’ route and leaving grown-ups to make grown-up decisions.

Whatever the model for you, I know that the most pressing thing on my mind is “What the hell do I wear?”.

A year of lockdown might have brought awareness of the need for exercise, grabbing some fresh air and walking among and talking to the trees. But I can’t be the only one to have found that being home-based has meant a few more inches around my tum.

So, when it comes to getting back into working garb, it is proving difficult.

Garb – ‘Clothing or dress, of a distinctive or special kind’ – always meant different things to different people.

It was drilled into me as a trainee to look smart for client meetings, whether imeeting the public to discuss planning issues in the council house

14 T HE PL AN N E R \ AU G U S T 2 0 2 1

reception, or negotiating with agents and investors in swanky offices.

Site meetings could allow the wearing of smart trousers and a jacket, suitable to complement the ill-fitting PPE. Well, ill-fitting if you happened to have a 38EE chest and normal-sized feet for a woman. Day to day in the office with colleagues it was the useless code of ‘smart casual’ – always a term that was easier for male colleagues to follow: chinos and a blue shirt. For ladies, it was rubbish. Smart is a suit; a wellcut dress and jacket. Casual to me is slobbing around in PJs or trackies. Mixing the two never really worked.

Now we have the added dilemma of trying to fit into our former work attire. We have the decision of whether a return to the office to chat with colleagues requires

“WHAT WE LOOK LIKE SHOULD HAVE LITTLE BEARING ON THE END PRODUCT OF WHAT WE DO, WHAT WE SAY AND THE DECISIONS WE MAKE” formality or whether shorts and a T-shirt will suffice. After all, it’s the quality of the work that matters.

There are those who look dazzling on Zoom with wellcoiffed hair, smart jackets and clean shirts and ties. Some of us, however, get away with a scarf hastily wrapped over pyjama tops for those early calls. What do we do now?

Given the decision, flawed in my opinion, to hold council meetings in person, there has been a re-emergence of the

suited and booted brigade.

Face-to-face meetings are also seeing the return of smart dress. But site visits? There’s a challenge. Recent site visits for me have seen everything from jeans and sweatshirts to Savile Row. There is no right or wrong. It has been interesting to observe the mix-and-match approach, particularly of male colleagues, where the jacket fits but the trousers have been hastily swapped with a pair that can zip up without indicating your religion.

Dressing to impress – does it matter? If there is anything we should have learnt over the past 18 months it’s that where we work, how we work, and what we look like should have little bearing on the end product of what we do, what we say and the decisions we make.

If work is better for you when in a dressing gown, sitting on the settee at home, then great. If you like the routine of office hours, sitting at the hot desk in well lit and ventilated offices, and wearing a uniform that works for you, then great, too – it’s the work that should be impressive, not what we look like.

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

Quote unquote FROM THE RTPI AND THE WEB “The use of the site for individuals wishing to socialise, swim, play board games – albeit without clothing – could conceivably fall within use class D2” HILLINGDON BOROUGH COUNCIL, UPHOLDING ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST A BUILDING BEING USED AS A NATURIST CLUB DURING THE DAY BEING A SWINGERS’ CLUB IN THE EVENING (“THE TWO RATHER NICHE USES CLEARLY DIFFERED IN CHARACTER”)

“Because 64 per cent of the UK’s total carbon emissions come from homes and transport, it will be impossible to reach net-zero without changes to our planning and transport systems” CENTRE FOR CITIES’ CHIEF EXECUTIVE ANDREW CARTER ON THE ORGANISATION’S REPORT SUGGESTING LOW-RISE FLATS AND TERRACES IN CITY CENTRES AND SUBURBS IS THE KEY TO MEETING NET ZERO 2050

“Firms can either ‘do a Woolworths’ and just die in the face of adversity or they can pivot” GED MCPARTLIN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BUILD-TO-RENT FIRM ASCEND PROPERTIES, WELCOMES THE INTRODUCTION OF JOHN LEWIS INTO THE HOUSEBUILDER MARKET

“What you get from the water is a completely different view of the world”

“Although there are countless government policies and targets to ‘leave the environment in a better state than we found it’, too often they are grandiose statements lacking teeth and devoid of effective delivery mechanisms”

KATE WILLARD, THAMES ESTUARY ENVOY AND CHAIR OF THE THAMES ESTUARY GROWTH BOARD ON THE POSSIBILITY AND POTENTIAL OF THE ESTUARY AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. (SEE INTERVIEW, PAGE 18)

“Even the most ambitious councils are being hampered by the lack of strategic long-term funding and national policies that too often hamper rather than help them deliver on their local climate action plans”

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

SANDRA BELL, SENIOR SUSTAINABILITY ANALYST WITH FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, RESPONDING AS PART OF A COALITION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESEARCH ORGANISATIONS CALLING FOR URGENT POWERS AND RESOURCES FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES

PHILIP DUNNE MP, CHAIR OF THE ENVIRONMENT AUDIT COMMITTEE

“DAFNI has a major role to play by providing the highquality data and analytical tools needed to design infrastructure that works with everyone and for everyone” PROFESSOR DAME OTTOLINE LEYSER, CEO OF UK RESEARCH AND INNOVATION (UKRI), WELCOMES A £1.2 MILLION INVESTMENT IN THE DATA & ANALYTICS FACILITY FOR NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE (DAFNI) FACILITY

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / THE PLA NNER 15

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

Opinion

1 BLOG

2 BLOG

Norman Garrick is professor of transportation and urban planning at the University of Connecticut

‘Primitive’ modes of travel in cities indicate social selfconfidence

In Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1960s, the donkey-drawn wagons and human-powered pushcarts that plied the streets were symbols to me of our backwardness as a nation.

I did not see any virtues in these conveyances. I did not place any importance on the fact that they were cheap and energy efficient. Or that they allowed many to be selfemployed. Nor did I understand the extent to which they contributed to a self-sustaining, local economy.

I perceived these vehicles as obstacles in the way of progress, blocking the road for me and my family, and the tiny sliver of the population that could afford a car in Jamaica.

My childhood musings flooded back while reading Pete Jordan’s City of Bikes, a history of the fluctuating fate of bicycles in Amsterdam in which Jordan talks about the struggle waged in the 1960s and 70s, essentially for the soul of the city – a battle between a governing class hellbent on making the city over for the convenience of cars and so-called radical agitators who championed the importance of maintaining the city for bikes.

The passage that triggered my memory of Kingston was where Jordan described how newly elected city councillor,Roel van

The answer to truly building back better?

It’s community-led planning

Duijn, was ostracised by the mayor and other members. His offence? He rejected the offer of a city-owned Mercedes Benz for business, and instead chose to continue riding his bike.

Anyone familiar with the bike-crazed city today might find it baffling that a councillor riding a bike on city business would attract such outrage! But what sparked my interest was the reason given

by Amsterdam’s minister for economic affairs, Cees de Cloe, for this antipathy. “How am I supposed to carry out economic policy if you’re riding a bike and babbling about windmills?” he snapped at Van Duijn. “Imagine I’m showing around some Americans considering opening a factory in Amsterdam, and they see a wethouder (municipal minister) on a bike. They’ll think: We can’t invest here because these people are too primitive.”

But cities like Amsterdam that have managed to escape the worst excesses of auto dominance – Copenhagen, Curitiba, Zurich – have all been able to tap into a well of social self-assurance that allowed them to reject the message that cars were modern and everything else was primitive.

“I DID NOT SEE ANY VIRTUES IN THESE CONVEYANCES. I DID NOT PLACE ANY IMPORTANCE ON THE FACT THAT THEY WERE CHEAP AND ENERGY EFFICIENT”

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George Atzev is a committee member at Arches Chatham Neighbourhood Forum

The planning system suffers from a democratic deficit. For years, citizens have felt that development is done ‘to them’ rather than ‘with them’.

The events surrounding the pandemic illustrated the need for a reset in our approach to development. It created a time in space for us to think ‘Is this really what people want or need?’ Fifteen-minute neighbourhoods, access to green spaces and so on have never been more appreciated.

But is this what we’re creating?

Our neighbourhood forum is one of the few in England progressing a rarely used Neighbourhood Development Order (NDO).

Together with social enterprise Create Streets, we’re striving to produce ambitious community-led proposals over a 1.5-hectare site that represents best practice design and economic regeneration in a post-Covid era; new sustainable homes with flexible community and commercial spaces; and the creation of a fine grain urban layout to encourage healthy and sustainable movement.

The use of an NDO empowers Chatham’s people to positively shape the future of a landmark town centre location. Above all, it ensures that the proposals truly reflect the genuine needs of our community. During the

process, a greater sense of civic pride and stewardship is fostered, enabling local people to champion high-quality development on our doorstep.

Producing an NDO can be time-consuming, and costly.

Uniquely, our neighbourhood forum was formed by Arches Local, a Big Local group, and falls within parts of the top 10 and 5 per cent most deprived areas in England, according to indices of deprivation data. To complicate matters, our neighbourhood encompasses a relatively transient population. But by bringing together regular people to envision the future of a part of our town important to us all – that’s when magic happens.

Reforms to the planning system must convince other local communities of the system’s ability to deliver change to their benefit.

Strengthening the government’s neighbourhood planning scheme is crucial to unlocking the system’s potential to involve more diverse communities in planning processes.

The post-Covid era is our opportunity to reimagine sustainable approaches to development that are popular with the communities they will serve. One of the greatest benefits of community-led planning is that no one knows better than the residents what their community needs.

“NO ONE KNOWS BETTER THAN THE RESIDENTS WHAT THEIR COMMUNITY NEEDS”

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

Louise Hutchby is Natural England’s programme manager for the Ancient Woodland Inventory update

The value of updating Ancient Woodland Inventory and why it matters to planners

‘Ancient woodland’ describes woods with centuries of continuity on relatively undisturbed soils. This continuity of woodland conditions over long time periods has led to the development of complex and valuable ecological communities, a vital resource from which to expand naturerich and resilient landscapes.

Sadly, over time many ancient woods have been lost or damaged – by clearance for development, or establishment of invasive species such as rhododendron.

Protection is provided in the NPPF’s section 175c, which states: “When determining planning applications, local planning authorities should apply the following principles: development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats (such as ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees) should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons…”

However, we can only protect and improve management of ancient woodlands if we know where they are. The Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI) was first developed in the 1980s as a paper-based map. Without the benefits of modern mapping technology, it inevitably

4 BLOG

contained errors and, crucially, did not include the small woods of less than two hectares that are so vital for connecting up our landscape.

The Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI) update project was set up in 2019. A five-year, £2.5 million project, tit is working with local environmental record centres (LERCs) so that this work can be delivered at a county level, incorporating the vast expertise and local knowledge facilitated by LERCs. Significant financial contributions and support are being provided to enable this. County-level local partnerships are also being sought to further facilitate the work and secure funding.

Ancient woodland is an irreplaceable resource. Its protection and enhancement will make a powerful contribution to counter the climate emergency.

When complete, the AWI update project will provide an accurate evidence base which includes small woods.

This will enable local planning authorities to produce and implement policies to protect and enhance this resource.

The AWI update project complements Natural England and the Forestry Commission’s standing advice on ancient woodland, which is currently under review.

“WE CAN ONLY PROTECT AND IMPROVE MANAGEMENT OF ANCIENT WOODLANDS IF WE KNOW WHERE THEY ARE”

Chris Atkinson is a planning associate at Barton Willmore

A giant leap for solar energy requires a small – but important – step for UK planning

In 2020, solar power supported only 4.1 per cent of UK electricity consumption, compared with 24.8 per cent for wind. On our blustery and overcast isle this might appear logical, but one cannot live on wind alone. Solar farms are key to meeting net-zero obligations, and to facilitate a step change in solar power development, we need to address barriers in the planning system.

There are many benefits of solar farms relative to other renewable energy options. It is inherently lowrise and can coexist with agriculture. There is a general understanding that solar is a nonobtrusive method of green local power generation and it is among the cheapest sources of energy available.

Solar Energy UK’s Lighting the Way report predicts that 40GW of solar is needed in the UK by 2030 to meet our sustainability goals – tripling our current installed capacity.

This is a mammoth endeavour, especially as developers and operators of large-scale solar developments are faced with significant barriers.

Solar farms require large portions of land, with access to connection points to the National Grid uninterrupted by road and rail. Local plans often do not allocate specific land for solar, or it does not meet these

requirements. Most obvious locations have now been used, and remaining brownfield sites are frequently too small or inappropriately located.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) classifies renewables as “inappropriate development” in the green belt, for which “very special circumstances” must be proved.

The NPPF qualifies this by saying such circumstances may include “wider environmental benefits associated with increased production of energy from renewable sources”.

In our recent work, this caveat has helped justify development in most cases – but this ‘guilty until proven innocent’ approach prevents solar from moving forward. The NPPF should be amended to classify solar as appropriate development in the green belt.

A test could be introduced to check that there would be no detrimental effect on openness.

The switch to ‘innocent until proven guilty’ for solar development on green belt is vital for our net-zero ambitions.

It should go hand in hand with reviewing how local plans treat solar – and by extension encouraging solar developers and operators to get more engaged with local planning.

This way, planners will know in detail the requirements of sites and adapt plans accordingly.

“LOCAL PLANS OFTEN DO NOT ALLOCATE SPECIFIC LAND FOR SOLAR”

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“ONE OF THE KEY THINGS WHY THE ESTUARY’S FAILED FOR 40 YEARS ARGUABLY IS BECAUSE IT KEPT BREAKING DOWN, IT KEPT NOT BEING A WHOLE”

E H T E R E H W

RIVER MEETS

THE SEA 18 T HE PL AN N E R \ AU G U S T 2 0 2 1

INTERVIEW: KATE WILLARD

KATE WILLARD IS THE THAMES ESTUARY ENVOY, CHARGED WITH DRAWING ATTENTION AND INVESTMENT TO AN ‘UNDERPERFORMING’ LOCATION THAT IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS. SIMON WICKS FINDS OUT WHAT HOW A COMMUNITY THEATRE DIRECTOR BECAME A MOVER AND SHAKER IN INFRASTRUCTURE

R

iver estuaries are rich and abundant places. Points of arrival and departure, they are natural locations for settlements commanding strategic positions for defence, communications, industry and trade. They have phenomenal biodiversity, too; fresh and saltwater species commingling where land gives way to sea and where migrant birds in their hundreds of thousands stop for rest and sustenance.

Nature, human settlement and industry rub uncomfortably against each other along these inlets whose physical and socio-economic boundaries are sensitive to the caprice of weather and climate, politics and trade. They are complex, difficult places to plan for.

This is certainly the case for the Thames Estuary – one that is underperforming economically, socially and environmentally. At least, that was the conclusion in 2019 of the independent Thames Estuary Growth Commission’s ‘vision’ for the Estuary in 2050 (see box ‘A 2050 vision’). The report prompted the government to convene a Thames Estuary Growth Board of public and private sector figures with a remit to develop the vision further and galvanise the actors who could deliver it.

‘Actors’ here is a deliberate choice: appointed chair of the Growth Board, as well as Thames Estuary Envoy, was Kate Willard, whose professional life began in community theatre but whose picaresque career has taken her from the Theatre Royal, Stratford, via Hungarian arts projects into cultural regeneration with the European Commission, then physical regeneration and oversight of large infrastructure projects. Even with her track record she took her time to get to grips with what the Thames Estuary Growth Board is actually for.

“We spent a lot of time talking about what we’re not,” she says. “When I was first appointed people were saying ‘So are you like the Northern Powerhouse?’ No, obviously not, because that itself isn’t a single economic geography.

Clearly, it’s more of a political construct. ‘Are you like the Midlands Engine?’ No, we’re not.’ Are you a development corporation?’ No, perish the thought. ‘LEP?’ No. “I got so bl**dy fed up saying what we weren’t, it became more important to say what we are.”

Willard sees the board’s role as “something that the local authorities working independently couldn’t do; something that arguably, some governments, other agencies, like highways, or Homes England couldn’t do by working in isolation”.

If that sounds a bit opaque, it’s probably because the

I M AG E | PE T E R S E A R L E

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / TH E PLA NNER 19

INTERVIEW: KATE WILLARD

A 2050 vision The independent Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission was established in 2016 to develop “an ambitious vision and delivery plan for north Kent, south Essex and East London up to 2050”.

Its 2050 Vision, published in 2019. argues that the existing 1.3 million jobs, 1.4 million homes and £89 billion GVA could be increased by an additional 1.3m, 1m and £1,89bn respectively by 2050.

The report identifies fragmented governance (two counties, 18 districts, two development corporations and four river bodies) as a barrier to coherent planning. More than 300 separate projects are identified across five “productive places” which, prioritised and viewed as a totality, could fulfil the Estuary’s economic, social and environmental potential. Projects include the CrossRail extension, the Lower Thames Crossing, the Thamesmead housing regeneration, Ebbsfleet garden city, and the creation of 900 hectares of new habitat.

The report argues that south Essex and north Kent should create a joint spatial plan; but also that a thriving economy can be built on freight and logistics and construction; the emerging health sector; creative and industries; strong educational institutions, heritage and wildlife tourism.

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Estuary area itself is, too. ranging in scale from the “I’M GOOD Stretching from East London Crossrail extension to WITH RISK. to the North Sea, north Ebbsfleet garden city to I THINK into Essex and south into community arts projects.

WITHOUT RISK Kent as far as Canterbury, Willard is most YOU’RE NOT it’s disparate and not keen to talk about the GOING TO DO easy to define. Yet unity “hydrogen strategy” that ANYTHING is considered essential to can encompass all of the NEW” helping the Estuary and the activity that takes place communities within it to within the Estuary. This experience the improving envisages a hydrogen effects of sound planning production and/or storage and investment. facility at the Estuary “One of the key things mouth on the Isle of Grain why the Estuary’s failed for 40 years that would provide the energy for the arguably is because it kept breaking down, entire Estuary, from homes to businesses kept not being a whole, kept suddenly to the boats that Willard hopes will bring going ‘Oh sh*t, actually this is too much a significant increase in traffic on the trouble. We’ll just go and be Essex again. I’ll river itself. A commitment to hydrogen just go to Kent again’. If you say to me ‘What is not without risk, but if the barriers are are the key things that you need to hold on overcome, it offers an extremely efficient to?’ one is ‘This is the Thames Estuary’.” form of energy.

In this context, the Growth Board can Willard is sanguine about this risk. She be seen as connective tissue that binds all has argued elsewhere that the Thames the separate elements operating within the Estuary has the “critical mass” required Estuary. But its effectiveness in its role is to create a self-driving, self-sustaining contingent, Willard insists, on its capacity hydrogen economy. Her case is that the to act rather than merely talk. “I wanted our variety and density of potential uses for board to have the character of a board that hydrogen is already present in the Estuary, gets sh*t done. We will do things once we as is the renewable energy infrastructure know what needs to happen.” and the delivery system.

Moreover, there is a requirement to reduce emissions and provide ‘clean’ Risk assessment energy. All of this “de-risks” investment in In 2019, the Growth Commission identified hydrogen.

327 projects across five “productive places”, “There’s always risk in something new isn’t there? It’s clear that hydrogen is a new economy. But I’m good with risk. Without risk you’re not going to do anything new. I accept and sometimes celebrate risk. With hydrogen, we’re de-risking the proposition as much as humanly possible.”

She continues: “We need a hydrogen investment strategy which identifies clearly the strategic opportunity across the Estuary.

We then need to secure the private sector finance to deliver that because these are investable propositions. And then we just need to be able to go to government and say, ‘Okay, here we are. It’s about £2 billion – for the sake of argument – to deliver this first stage. We think the private sector will come in with £1.9 billion, so it’s £0.1 billion and if you pop that in there it releases all this and then it all happens. There you go. Da-daa!”

The board’s approach, she says, is “proactive”. They are “accelerating investment over a coherent economic geography and landscape” in a way that

INTERVIEW: KATE WILLARD

C U R RI CU L U M V I T AE Born: Hertford Education: Presdales School, Hertz 1973-80; Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, Kent (Community Theatre) 1980-81

1982-86

Freelance director and community animateur, Theatre Royal Stratford East

1986-91

Associate director, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse

1990-94

Founder director of Brouhaha and Brouhaha Magyarorszag

1995-2002

Independent expert, European Commission

2002-06

The view from the stage “I was involved in community theatre, because I’m not Mother Teresa, but I do give a s**t about stuff, I do want to make the world a happier, healthier, safer, more beautiful place.

“As the envoy and chair of the Thames Estuary Growth Board I’m hopefully making the Estuary a greener, safer, happier, more beautiful place.

“When I did theatre the listening bit was much more important than the saying bit: listening to

an audience, listening to your fellow performers, being very conscious of spaces and shapes and sounds.

“Now one of the key things I have to do is to engage with people and take them with us on this journey, and make sure that I’m not doing that awful regeneration thing of ‘I’m doing regeneration to you’. It’s making sure we’re listening, being sensitive, and sometimes building relationships with people who it’s quite difficult to build

relationships with.

“I still believe in the power of creativity and culture. But I ended up in mainstream regeneration and then the corporate world because the corporate world said ‘We need to understand more about government’s agenda in regeneration’.

Now I do the Growth Board but another part of my working week is with the Arts Council. That’s a beautiful circle, for me to have gone from being this snotty, punky, scratchy, funny kid performer.”

CEO, Rural Regeneration Cumbria

2009-19

Director of partnership development, Stobart Group (continues as senior adviser)

2014-2019

uses public funds strategically to release private funding. Investment in digital infrastructure, too, is another area where a whole picture approach could reap rewards. The risk here is fragmented ownership and management of infrastructure and the approaching expiration of existing undersea cables.

There is risk attached to other headline projects, often linked to the Estuary’s environmental vulnerability.

Swanscombe Peninsula, proposed site of the London Resort theme park, has recently been designated an SSSI; the mooted Lower Thames Crossing is opposed for its potential environmental impacts the Isle of Grain has a wetland habitat of international importance; sea level rise is projected to claim around 1,200 hectares of Estuary land by 2100.

2017 - present

The art of performance

2013-14

Non executive director, Cumbria Partnership NHS foundation Trust

2012-17

Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership board member

2016-18

Theatre Trust vice-chair, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse

2014-19

Chair, Opportunity South Essex Chair, Atlantic Gateway Chair, Arts Council North; member, Arts Council England National Council

2018-present,

Ambassador, Women on Boards

2019-present

Chair, Thames Estuary Growth Board

2020

Awarded OBE for services to transport and the economy

Willard is inviting the actors in this unfolding production to understand at an imaginative level what the river and its shoreline have to offer. She recalls the board’s second meeting which she insisted take place on a boat in The Thames. “What you get on the water [is] a different view of the world and also of [the river’s] capability and possibility.”

She is vivid and authentic, driven to action rather than merely contemplation. An earthy envoy for the I M AG E |

PETER SEARLE

Estuary, Willard swears liberally, laughing when I suggest our front cover line should be her own “We’re here to get sh*t done.”

More than once she hints at a colourful past with tales of being smuggled across Eastern European borders in the 1980s in the “boot of a Trabant”.

Above all, Willard is a communicator and still on a stage, her role now to mobilise her fellow actors and potential audiences behind a common vision.

“We want our estuary to be the most brilliantly performing in the world. It will be, and I say that with absolute certainty.

But we need to work better with our river... really use its potential to move things and people around effectively and cleanly, [have] a river and a river edge that is capable of playing its role in growth.”

An hour passes quickly. Willard has to go: her board meeting in London is done and she has a train to catch back home, to the Lake District, where she’ll share a glass of wine with her 92-year-old mother before the work begins again. It’s all action. “We’re a grafting board, we’re a hard-working board, we’re a board that’s going to get sh*t done by making sure that we’re approaching things in the right way,” she finishes. Yes, but about that Trabant… n Simon Wicks is deputy editor of The Planner

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / TH E PLA NNER 21

CUSTOM AND SELF-BUILD

CUSTOM

duties

Lowfield Green in York, where buyers have been supported by Custom Build Homes to source and instruct professional teams

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CUSTOM AND SELF-BUILD

CUSTOM-BUILD HOMES OFFER A DEGREE OF FLEXIBILITY AND VARIETY THAT HAS BECOME ULTRA-DESIRABLE DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC, YET THEY REMAIN A NICHE HOUSING PRODUCT. MARIO WOLF MRTPI AND ANDY MOGER MRTPI EXPLAIN HOW CHANGES TO PLANNING GUIDANCE ARE AIMED AT TURNING ‘SELFCOMMISSIONING’ INTO A MAINSTREAM MODEL

A

coming to market through the policy and funding steady increase in housebuilding changes mentioned, with sites designated for since 2010 has meant we were able to custom and self-build housing under the ‘right to build 240,000 new homes in 2020, build’ legislation which – since 2016 – has placed but we continue to fall well short of a duty on English local authorities to keep a local the government’s ambition to build register of those who want to build their own 300,000 homes annually. home and to permit enough plots of land to meet Most homes are built by national builders demand on a rolling three-year cycle. This public who offer limited scope for customers to policy framework is anchored by the Self-build self-commission or customise their homes. and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015, as amended Our personal experience and analysis of by the Housing and Planning Act 2016, national representations made to local planning policies planning policy and related guidance. which support this form of housing highlights that Sites were previously confined to small projects key issues raised are viability, speed of delivery, such as at Long Four Acres in Norfolk (15 homes lack of demand and health and safety. Supply– see page 26). But larger-scale opportunities are chain concerns and managing build-out are now coming forward, including at larger sites such often cited in response as reasons for not offering as at Graven Hill in Bicester (1,900 homes) and serviced plots for self-commissioned housing.

Wynyard Park Garden village in Durham, which Despite these concerns, the government’s 2017 includes more than 100 fully housing white paper and its recently serviced self-build plots alongside announced Self and custom build “IT’S AN homes built by national and local action plan identify custom and selfOPPORTUNITY housebuilders. Innovative projects build as an important part of plans TO DELIVER such as Swan Housing Association’s to scale up and diversify housing SOMETHING custom-build modular houses at delivery, while enabling affordable DIFFERENT, Beechwood in Basildon are also home ownership and greater WHICH CAN proving that custom-builds can consumer choice. The plan includes: HARNESS deliver affordable housing at scale.

STRONG LOCAL As new sites come forward A new help-to-build low deposit DEMAND AND our work with landowners and mortgage scheme supported by more SUPPORT” promoters is demonstrating that than £150 million; there are benefits to promoting Funding for local authorities to custom and self-build as an develop public land for custom and opportunity to secure planning self-build housing; permission and generate good A review into how delivery of returns on sites, with a variety custom and self-build housing can be of delivery models. increased and accelerated; It’s an opportunity to deliver something different A law review to enable more people to access that can harness strong local demand and support. plots in their local areas; and Driven by local planning policies and appeal More support for the national Right to Build precedents, land promoters such as Gladman Task Force.

Developments are including custom build in the housing mix as an additional benefit to win Custom-build housing enabler Custom Build planning permissions on larger housing sites.

Homes’ own market intelligence points to rapid Research by the government-backed Right to sector growth for the next five years. This will be Build Task Force reveals that since the introduction focused on multi-home serviced plot sites where of the 2015 act more than half of English councils homes are built by contractors for their clients to a have identified opportunities involving the creation customisable specification. of serviced sites for between 10 and 50 homes.

We expect this growth to be driven by more land I M AG E | C I T Y O F YO R K CO U N C I L

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / THE PLA NNER 23

10 changes in the NPPG to support custom and self-build In February 2021, the government introduced a number of changes to the National Planning Practice Guidance to support custom and self-build (CSB) housing. Here are 10.

1

Clarification that CSB covers a spectrum of projects, including customised homes built ready for occupation (‘turnkey’)

2

Greater clarity on how ‘suitable development permissions’ can be assessed

3 4

Serviced plots can include converting existing buildings to residential use

Councils should consider CSB demand when carrying out their housing functions; it should be an integral part of a local housing delivery strategy and assessed as part of the standard method to calculate housing need

5

Secondary data sources like local resident surveys and demand assessment tools play a role demonstrating demand

6

Registers are likely to be a material consideration in planning decisions, and there are clear benefits to promoting this form of housing, like housing market diversification and consumer choice

7

Clarity on the use of local eligibility criteria. Registration fees should be justified, proportionate and fair, and not be used to manage demand

8

Register publicity should extend beyond a webpage; councils can work with private sector suppliers to maintain a register

9

For plan-making, that overall demand should include people on part 1 & part 2 of a register

10

Homes England can help to unlock public land for CSB

2 4 THE PL AN N E R \ AU GU S T 2 0 2 1

Opportunities are also identified in many of the planned garden communities. Folkestone and Hythe District Council, for example, says at least 10 per cent of 10,000 homes at Otterpool Park will be custom and self-build. The Right to Build Task Force projects that 20,000 plots will be available by 2023. We believe this is underestimated, as more than 55,000 people are presently on statutory right-to-build registers looking for plots. Indeed, Custom Build Homes has registered more than 22,000 applications since March 2020, with total registrations of people looking for plots now above 100,000.

Challenges to custom build Our analysis suggests that legal obligations will increasingly require builders and landowners to accommodate self and custombuild housing on their sites. But with market knowledge lacking, progress can be expected to be slower than if the market were more mature. There is a gap to be filled in providing that knowledge to the sector and ‘enabling’ custom and self-build developments to come to

Larger-scale self-build opportunities are emerging at sites such as Graven Hill in Bicester

fruition through the preparation and sale of serviced plots.

Although more local authorities are embracing the potential of custom and self-build, some are less enthusiastic, despite their duties under the act and national planning policy. Based on our own experience and research undertaken by the National Custom and Self Build Association, common issues that constrain delivery include high registration fees; restrictive local connection tests sometimes applied retrospectively; and financial tests with burdensome requirements.

Such action is increasingly challenged through planning appeals. The success of the Pear Tree Lane, Euxton, appeal (APP/ D2320/W/20/3247136) for Gladman in August 2020 is one example. The local authority demonstrated that it had met its statutory duty to meet demand on its register, but the appellant showed that secondary data sources illustrated that demand far exceeded numbers on the council’s register. In allowing the appeal, the inspector gave significant weight to the proposal to provide for 10 per cent of all homes as serviced plots.

More recently, in allowing the

CUSTOM AND SELF-BUILD

Bullens Green Lane, Colney Heath, appeal (APP/B1930/W/20/3265925 and APP/C1950/W/20/3265926) for Canton Ltd in June 2021, the inspector cited the provision of 10 serviced plots towards unmet demand as forming part of the demonstration that very special circumstances existed to allow the development in green belt.

As with the Euxton decision, the inspector also recognised the importance of secondary data sources in assessing demand. Such decisions are now setting parameters for how councils should be responding, but there remains a lack of clarity about the implementation of the right-to-build policy framework, particularly the legislation and the application of government policy.

Another important challenge is an understanding in the market about how custom and self-build homes can be successfully delivered at scale in a streamlined way. We are seeing examples of where permitted sites are lost to custom and self-builders because landowners and builders don’t have the experience to bring plots to market and build a site out, or because the products don’t take account of market demand.

The government is alive to these challenges and in February responded

What is custom and self-build housing?

Custom and self-build (CSB) housing comprises a broad spectrum of self-commissioned housing, from DIY self-builds to customisable homes built on a serviced building plot

with changes to the National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) to clarify the application of its policy.

Although it’s welcome, we believe this falls short in key areas, such as how viability considerations affect custom and self-build housing.

The Bacon review

“LEGAL OBLIGATIONS WILL INCREASINGLY REQUIRE BUILDERS AND LANDOWNERS TO ACCOMMODATE SELF AND CUSTOM-BUILD HOUSING ON THEIR SITES”

It is clear, however, from our engagement with ministers that the government is prepared to go further. This is evident from the initiatives introduced by the Self and custom build action plan, as well as proposed planning white paper reforms and the new model design code, both of which bring custom and self-build into sharper focus when planning for and designing new homes and communities.

Crucially, the action plan also includes the commissioning of Richard Bacon MP by the prime minister to develop a plan to scale up self-commissioned new homes – across all tenures – to boost capacity and overall housing supply.

Bacon is expected to report in July.

The action plan shows that the government is serious about diversifying the housing market in England and we can expect demand and supply for this form of housing to rise in the near future.

How growing consumer demand will translate to developments on the ground remains to be seen. We are confident, however, that the custom and self-build market is growing and that customisable homes will emerge as the dominant model – particularly as part of the mix on larger sites, as we see in other I M A G E | G R AV E N H I L L , B I C E S T E R

purchased by homeowners before commissioning construction by professionals. Many forms and tenures of custom-build housing are possible, including apartments and terraced homes.

countries like Germany and the United States.

This is because the model offers the most promise for streamlined delivery at scale, particularly when linked to modern methods of construction and new technologies which enable customers to influence the design from a menu of costed choices without slowing down the production process.

To achieve this, however, we need to continue to build consumer appetite for this form of housing and have suitable exemplar schemes to demonstrate what can be achieved. We also need local authority planners and the development industry to understand and embrace custom build as a serious and scalable housing delivery model and to actively facilitate new projects where opportunities arise.

Consumers want greater housing choice and custom-build housing is well placed to respond.

n Mario Wolf MRTPI is director of planning and strategic engagement at Custom Build Homes, a custom-build housing enabler. Formerly at MHCLG, he was founding director of the Right to Build Task Force. Andy Moger MRTPI is associate director at Tetlow King Planning and a member of the Right to Build Task Force expert panel.

Read the government’s self and custom-build action plan

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / THE PLA NNER 25

CASE STUDY

CLOSER LOOK: LONG FOUR ACRES LONG FOUR ACRES, IN BRACON ASH, NORFOLK, HAS PROVIDED 15 CUSTOM BUILDERS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO DESIGN AND CREATE THEIR OWN DETACHED DESIGNER HOME

1

2

Despite its name, Long Four Acres is actually a five-acre field separated by another field from the Keables’ period home. The couple found themselves enthused by the idea of not just self-building their own home, but also helping other self-builders to realise their own home aspirations.

2 6 T HE PL AN N E R \ AU GU ST 2 0 2 1

I M AG E S | CU STOM BU I L D HOM E S

In 2018, Karen and Kevin Keable, seeking to build a new house for themselves on land at the rear of their country home in Bracon Ash (20 minutes from Norwich, Norfolk), found that they would in fact be in a position to build a further 14.

CASE STUDY

3

Each plot allowed for a large two-storey detached home.

Outline planning permission was granted for each plot, with each also coming with a design code and plot passport in place to help custom builders understand the permitted flexibility in architectural design and building materials.

4

The flat site allowed for large lots to be provided fully serviced with all roads and infrastructure in place. The site was judged ‘Best Custom Build Project, 2019’ by BuildIt magazine.

5

South Norfolk District Council approved a significantly contrasting range of houses for the Four Acres site development. Architects involved include NP Architects, Liv Architects, Chaplin Farrant, Ian Bix Associates, Building Plans Ltd, Anglia Design, Architect Design and Planning.

Check out a full gallery of pictures and videos from the evolving Long Four Acres site.

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / TH E PLA NNER 27

FRONT AND

CENTRE

A NEW RULE ALLOWING CONVERSION OF SHOPS TO HOMES WITHOUT PLANNING PERMISSION HAS SPARKED CONCERN. MATT MOODY CONSIDERS THE EFFECTS OF CLASS MA PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT

I

n April, as the UK began to emerge from lockdown for a third time, housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced a new policy that the government hoped would help deliver on three of its top priorities: providing more homes, revitalising the high street, and slashing red tape.

Building on reforms introduced the previous year that saw numerous

2 8 T HE PL AN N E R \ AU GU S T 2 0 2 1

commercial, business and service uses bundled together under a new category called class E, the government planned to expand permitted development rights to allow the conversion of any class E use to residential. From August 2021, shops, offices, cafés, restaurants, clinics, banks and gyms would all be eligible for conversion to housing. “By diversifying our town and city centres”, said Jenrick, “we can help the high

street to adapt and thrive for the future”.

When the government had consulted on the permitted development plans as originally envisaged in the winter of 2020, however, it was urged to change course.

In February, a group of 27 industry leaders from across the planning, hospitality, property and commercial sectors wrote to the housing secretary warning that the “all-embracing” policy risked “putting the I L L U S T R AT I O N | N E I L S T E V E N S

These were on top of the other restrictions long-term health of our town centres at risk announced the previous year, including for the sake of a short-term stimulus”, all the requirement for all dwellings created while offering “relatively minimal returns through permitted development to meet on additional housing stock”. national minimum space standards and Others voiced concerns about the provide “adequate natural light”. quality of homes that might result from These changes to permitted converting buildings not designed for development rules have likely put a human habitation. The long, deep layout of stop to the very worst ‘rabbit hutch’ the typical glass-fronted shop unit raised housing described by the government’s questions of sunlight, privacy, security and own Building Better, Building Beautiful heat efficiency, and with no operational Commission as “future slums”. Concerns development allowed (see box, ‘Class MA – remain, however, about the new class MA what are the rules?’), it was unclear – both in terms of the quality of homes it what developers would be able to do to will create, and its wider impact on town remedy these issues without seeking full centre vitality. planning permission.

As a result, the final policy unveiled by Jenrick Woolly wording “ONCE THE TEETH in April – named class MA One example is the issue FALL OUT, THEY (mercantile to abode) – had of natural light, says NEVER COME BACK. been reined in somewhat, Sarah Bevan, programme ALL OF A SUDDEN, with new restrictions added, director for planning and THE HIGH STREET including a 1,500-squaredevelopment at London THAT YOU WERE metre floor space limitation First, a not-for-profit and a required vacancy group that represents TRYING TO SAVE IS period of three months.

200 London-based GONE COMPLETELY”

businesses – more clarity is needed. “The wording is very woolly. It isn’t actually set out exactly what tests need to be met, and there’s no obligation to refer to local plan policies,” she observes.

On heritage, it’s a similar story. Although the application of class MA in conservation areas is subject to prior approval of a development’s impact on the “character and sustainability” of the conservation area, this is also not well enough defined, Bevan says, leaving it open to “a broad range of interpretation”.

Bevan is also critical of the fact that permitted development schemes are exempt from both the community infrastructure levy (CIL) and section 106 planning obligations. “Whether it’s physical infrastructure, social infrastructure or affordable housing, all of those needs still need to be met,” she says. The government had indicated in last summer’s planning white paper that permitted development schemes could be subject to a reformed infrastructure levy in future, but that remains uncertain.

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / THE PLA NNER 29

P E R M I T T E D D E V E LO P M E N T

PD reform – key moments July 2019:

Plans for the conversion – under permitted development rules – of an industrial building in Watford into flats with no windows lead to a national outcry.

July 2020:

The government announces that dwellings created through permitted development must provide “adequate natural light”.

September 2020:

Various use classes are merged into a new “commercial, business and service” class E, comprising shops, offices, gyms, restaurants, health centres, and more.

October 2020:

Robert Jenrick announces that national minimum space standards will apply to all residential permitted development schemes from April 2021.

December 2020:

The government launches a consultation on plans for a new permitted development right allowing the conversion of class E to residential use.

March 2021:

Class E to residential permitted development is confirmed under a new class MA (mercantile to abode), albeit with additional restrictions.

August 2021:

Class MA will come into force.

30 T HE PL AN N E R \ AU GU ST 2 0 2 1

Despite the additional requirements added since it was first mooted, conversions under class MA will remain an attractive prospect for developers, says Bevan, simply because of the cost of housing in the UK. “If you’re a landowner with a vacant unit, its value under residential use will generally be higher than most other class E uses,” she stresses. If take-up is high, pressure on the government to require infrastructure contributions – or risk a loss of public trust – may grow.

Gap-toothed smile The biggest area of concern, however, has been class MA’s potential impact on town centres, and the possibility that its aim to revitalise them could backfire.

Richard Blyth, head of policy at the RTPI, warned in response to the government’s consultation in January that “essential local services such as convenience stores, pharmacies, solicitors and post offices could be wiped out for good, impacting those who can least afford to travel and reducing local employment”.

Michael Whitney, head of development at shopping centre operator and retail repurposing specialist Ellandi, describes this as the “gaptoothed smile effect”. If any shop can be converted to residential without strategic planning, he says, the remaining retail uses are left isolated, and are then themselves vulnerable to conversion.

“Once the teeth fall out, they never come back. All of a sudden, the high

One concern about the new class MA is the loss of natural light

If any shop can be converted to residential use without strategic planning, says Michael Whitney, neighbouring shops become vulnerable to conversion

street that you were trying to save is gone completely.” In Whitney’s view, the pandemic has presented us with a “once in a generation opportunity” to rethink the high street. Although there is a place for permitted development, he says, a more coordinated approach is required.

Bevan agrees that permitted development has its place. “PD rights have been a useful tool in planning for a number of years. They’re best used for allowing small-scale work to private homes, which frees up officer time. But I think the increasing use of permitted development rights to facilitate changes of use is a very short-termist reaction to the situation we’re in.”

A compelling argument, she says, is that the commercial landlords London First represents are unanimously opposed

Class MA – what are the rules?

to class MA. “On the face of it, they would benefit from an uplift in land values in the short term, but they really fear the long-term impact.”

The pandemic has inevitably accelerated a lot of the issues that were already affecting high streets, leading to more vacancies, she says, but the government’s proposals risk “irreversible damage”. London First was “strongly supportive” of the introduction of use class E because it “gives landlords a lot more flexibility”, but “we haven’t seen it properly bed in yet”, Bevan adds. “There is a feeling that class MA has been introduced too quickly before we’ve seen the full benefits of class E.”

Fighting back Some councils are fighting back. In July, Martin Tett, leader of Conservative-controlled Buckinghamshire Council, wrote to Robert Jenrick arguing that the government’s plans would “squash local voices” and “threaten the future of our high streets”. The council has reason to fear a local backlash against national rule: a recent by-election for the Buckinghamshire parliamentary seat of Chesham & Amersham saw a historic 25.2 per cent swing away from the Conservatives and a Liberal Democrat victory.

According to Gareth Williams, deputy leader of the council and its cabinet member for planning, one of the main issues raised during the byelection campaign was that “people aren’t being properly consulted, and development is happening to them rather than with them”. Class MA, he I M AG E | I STO C K / A L A M Y

“IF YOU’RE A LANDOWNER WITH A VACANT UNIT, ITS VALUE UNDER RESIDENTIAL USE WILL GENERALLY BE HIGHER THAN MOST OTHER CLASS E USES”

says, is “a national sledgehammer”, whereas local councils are far better placed to protect and revitalise their high streets.

The council is calling for various changes to the policy, including a lower maximum floor space threshold. “Given that the minimum size for a single person’s flat is 37 square metres, a maximum threshold of 1,500 square metres is completely disproportionate”, says Williams, and is already threatening anchor stores Superdrug and Waterstones in Amersham. Councillors also want a longer minimum vacancy period, exemption for conservation areas, and the ability to designate “prime frontages” that would be immune from permitted development.

Without these changes, says Williams, councils are left “between a rock and a hard place”, desperate to revitalise town centres as best they can but with “a key tool in our toolbox taken away”. n Matt Moody is section editor with The Planner

Class MA will allow the change of use of any building falling within use class E, (commercial, business and service uses) to residential.

Listed buildings and buildings within military explosive storage or safety hazard areas, sites of special scientific interest, world heritage sites, AONBs, national parks or the curtilage of a scheduled ancient monument are excluded.

Prior approval must be obtained relating to highway safety, contamination, flood risk, and in situations where a nursery or healthcare centre would be lost. In conservation areas and if the proposal involves the ground floor, the council can also consider the impact on the “character or sustainability” of the conservation area. Crucially, retail impact need not be considered.

Previous amendments to the GPDO will apply, including the requirement for developments to provide “adequate natural light” (introduced in 2020), to adhere to national minimum space standards (from April 2021), and to consider the impact of noise from existing businesses on residents (relative to the ‘agent of change principle’, introduced in 2016).

No operational development is permitted, meaning a developer would not be allowed to install new windows in order to comply with the requirement for natural light, for example. The removal of external security shutters from a shop would also not be allowed without planning permission.

Following a period of consultation, the government added more restrictions, including a cumulative floor space restriction of 1,500 square metres. Units must also have fallen within class E (or the use classes absorbed by it) for at least two years – and have been vacant for at least three months – before the application for prior approval is submitted.

The fee for class MA development will also be significantly higher, rising to £100 per residential unit up to a maximum of £5,000, compared with the flat fee of £96 required for office-to-residential conversions under class O.

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RTPI AWARDS CASE STUDY

The BIS in Hartlepool was conceived as a creative business incubation centre

A CREATIVE SOLUTION A HISTORIC BUILDING REFURBISHMENT, A SPUR FOR CONSERVATION AREA REGENERATION, A PLATFORM FOR A CREATIVE ECONOMY IN A TOWN AT THE CENTRE OF THE LEVELLING-UP DISCUSSION: SIMON WICKS DISCOVERS THE BIS IN HARTLEPOOL Award: Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy The Partners: Hartlepool Borough Council, Northern School of Art, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Hartlepool College of Further Education, Ginger Group (architects)

32 THE PL AN N E R \ AU G U S T 2 0 2 1

PLANNING CONTEXT Fairly or not, the North East town of Hartlepool has been used by the media as a barometer for a certain kind of discontent, rooted in a sense of being ‘left behind’ politically and economically. The raw figures reinforce this portrayal: Hartlepool scores worse than the national average on a range of indicators of social and economic health (see box ‘Hartlepool: The The BIS, a grade II listed former post office in raw statistics’). the Northern Renaissance style As ever, the actual picture is more nuanced. Even the Social Market Founof the Victorian new town. By the 2010s, dation, source of the bleak statistics, conjust a few original buildings remained, cedes that the people of Hartlepool report vacancies were high and bars, clubs and relatively high levels of subjective wellbetakeaways the main economic activity. ing, for example.

But the Church Street Conservation There is also investment coming into the Area was also home to the town’s art town, driven by a regeneration masterplan gallery and two education institutions: plan that creates a platform Hartlepool College of Furfor enterprise and employther Education, which had ment. A supporting pillar of recently undergone a £50 "THE SPACES this plan is an Innovation million campus improveWEREN'T RIGHT and Skills Quarter in the ment; and the Cleveland FOR CREATIVES historic Church Street area, College of Art and Design, WHO NEED TO BE between the modern town which had its own expanMESSY AND NOISY centre and the waterfront.

AND, INDEED, NEED sion plans. Indeed, by 2017, This was once the heart CCAD had become the SPACE"

RTPI AWARDS CASE STUDY

A new zinc-clad extension adds a modern twist to the original building, covering a courtyard to create indoor communal space

Northern School of Art and built an £11 million addition to its own campus on a former council depot at the waterfront end of Church Street, giving it a presence at both ends of the street.

In 2014, a Church Street Creative Industries Strategy identified the conservation area’s potential to become an ‘Innovation and Skills Quarter’. Building on existing facilities, a “creative cluster” would generate business activity and footfall, attract investment and drive regeneration of a strategically important part of town.

The idea was hardened in 2015’s Hartlepool Regeneration Masterplan and the town’s Economic Growth Strategy 2019-21. It also dovetailed with other plans, regional and local: the 2014 Tees Valley Strategic Economic Plan cast Hartlepool as a regional hub for creative industries; and the Church Street Conservation Area Revival Project assigned Heritage Lottery Funding to historic buildings at risk.

An Innovation and Skills Quarter, therefore, would be significant for both regional and local economic growth. One of the projects central to this ambition is I M A G E S | L U K E H AY E S

The BIS, winner of the 2021 RTPI Award for Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy. A business incubation centre for creative start-ups, it opened in 2019 and occupies a refurbished grade II listed former General Post Office building in Whitby Street – off Church Street, midway between the two School of Art campuses, at the centre of the creative quarter.

It owes its existence to the need, identified within the Creative Industries Strategy, for follow-on space for graduates leaving the art school. “Hartlepool has the classic out-of-town business centres,” says Patrick Chapman, vice-principal of the Northern School of Art. “The spaces weren’t right for creatives who need to be messy and noisy and indeed need space.”

This was seen as a “threat to graduate talent retention and to the development of a creative business ecosystem in the town”.

The School of Art has comparatively high rates of graduate retention and self-employment, but much of this happens in bedrooms and kitchens. The Creative Industries Strategy pointed to a need for bespoke space for creative start-ups if the town were to capitalise on the talent

emerging from its educational institutions – “from illustrators to costume designers and everything in between”, stresses Israr Hussain, Hartlepool Council’s economic growth and regeneration manager. That’s not to mention a burgeoning digital economy, seen as a regional priority.

“We knew that there was a gap there, and we would be able to accommodate that.” The idea of a creative business incubation centre was born.

EXECUTING THE PROJECT The selection and development of The BIS was a collaboration between Hartlepool Borough Council departments, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Church Street’s higher education institutions, designers and builders with expertise in working with heritage buildings.

“We played a very strong part in the design,” says Chapman. “We co-wrote the bid for the funding (£3 million provided by Tees Valley Combined Authority), myself and Rob Smith (Hartlepool Council''s regeneration team leader) led on work with the consultants to do the economic assessment and we all worked

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / THE PLA NNER 33

The RTPI Chartered Town Planner Degree Apprenticeship >>

Grow your talent Employ a Chartered Town Planner Apprentice

Find out more at www.rtpi.org.uk/ apprenticeships

Through this apprenticeship your apprentices will:

You may be eligible for a government employer incentive of £3000 per apprentice. More information can be found here.

• Gain practical on the job experience in Town Planning • Gain an RTPI fully accredited degree • Become fully qualified with the RTPI as a Chartered Town Planner • Get free student membership of the RTPI during their apprenticeship The apprenticeship: • Typically takes three to six years (depending on existing qualifications) from start to finish Organisations in England can offer this apprenticeship. Large employers can fund the apprenticeship through the apprenticeship levy, while smaller organisations may be able to receive government funding - speak to your chosen Planning School for further details. You will still pay the apprentice’s salary.

A number of RTPI Planning Schools in England are offering the apprenticeship. They are listed at: www.rtpi.org.uk/apprenticeships

RTPI AWARDS CASE STUDY

The new extension adds events and communal space to encourage collaboration

H A RT L E P O O L : T H E R AW S T A T I S T I C S

Officer as a member of the project team together around the design of the tender from the outset which allowed the design and selection of the building. team to identify, retain and give promi“We looked at sites with architects nence to the key historical features.”

Group Ginger from Leeds, which had The building has been extended with a specific expertise in working with vacant fourth wing, clad in gold zinc (see picture, heritage buildings and providing space for p.33), creating a common social space community and art functions.” that can also host events. An emphasis The site they settled on was the one was placed on sustainability on their doorstep. It was materials and construcowned by the council, its "THE FUNDAMENTAL in tion techniques, as well as location and size were ideal ETHOS WAS TO a procurement process that and it could be converted REUSE AND promotes opportunities with minimal intervention.

RESTORE RATHER local suppliers. In this Plus there was compleTHAN REFURBISH" for case the building work mentary investment: £5 was carried out by Hartlemillion of Heritage Lottery pool-based Gus Robinson Funding for public realm Developments. improvement in Church The BIS now has 28 Street; a further £1.1 million studios of various sizes and two fully to improve historic buildings within the equipped meeting / conference rooms. It Church Street Conservation Area. A suite also provides users with high-speed interof projects was coming together. net, Wi-Fi and is let on flexible ‘easy-in, “The fundamental ethos was to reuse easy-out’ terms. and restore rather than refurbish,” says “Everyone’s really pleased with the way the submission to the RTPI awards. “Interit's been finished,” observes Hussain. “The ventions were kept to a minimum, only provision of things like sinks in certain being introduced to ensure the building units, high-speed internet connectivity, functioned as a whole entity. This brought the atrium space with furniture very a raw freshness to the building’s charmuch designed to allow collaboration… acter. The unique character was created that's really what we intended it to be.” primarily by including the Conservation I M A G E | L U K E H AY E S

8%

Unemployment rate, compared to 4% nationally (and 6% regionally)

38%

Share of economically inactive population with long-term sickness, compared with 25% nationally (29% regionally)

7%

Average earnings in Hartlepool are 7% below the national average

375th

out of 380 Hartlepool scored sixth from bottom on ‘overall social fabric’ measurements in UK local authorities

17%

Hartlepool has the highest share of students going on to higher technical qualifications in all England (3% average).

At 32%, the share of students going on to degree level study is below the England average (42%)

7.63

out of 10 Life satisfaction score, compared with 7.66 UK-wide

Source: The policy wonk’s guide to Hartlepool, Social Market Foundation

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / TH E PLA NNER 35

RTPI AWARDS CASE STUDY

£111.7 billion Contribution of creative industries to UK economy in 2018 – more than the automotive, aerospace, life sciences and oil and gas industries combined. The creative industries employed more than two million people in 2018.

Flexible spaces can be used for meetings, presentations , classes and workshops

IMPACTS SO FAR

Hartlepool: Key plans and strategies Tees Valley Strategic Economic Plan (2014) Church Street Creative Industries Strategy (2014): Hartlepool Regeneration Masterplan (2015) Innovation and Skills Quarter Development programme Church Street Conservation Area Revival Project Hartlepool Economic Growth Strategy 201921

36 T HE PL AN N E R \ AU G U ST 2 0 2 1

The BIS opened in May 2019. Despite the Covid pandemic, it has reached 75 per cent occupancy. Links with the Northern School of Art are strong: the school, which teaches enterprise to students, introduces them to the space, provides support to those who need it and allows businesses to use its own facilities, too.

There are welcome signs of increased investment in the area as well: a historic hotel is becoming student accommodation, new shops are opening and at least one business has now moved on from the BIS into vacant premises nearby.

Most exciting for Chapman, however, is the development on the Northern School of Art’s new campus – the former council depot – of film and television studios that will initiate a new creative industry within the quarter and give another local outlet to graduates from the school and a supply chain for businesses incubated by The BIS. The Bus Sheds Film Studio, occupying a 3,000-square-metre footprint former vehicle depot, will be “the largest film and television studio north of the M62”, he says.

“We don’t want film-making talent and

Source: Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport/The Guardian

associated crafts to go elsewhere. Our intention is very much to have that as an anchor to attract supply chain businesses. There’s already an XR (extended reality) company set up in the BIS in the last 12 months.

“It’s not the traditional ‘build it and they will come’ approach,” he continues. “It’s very much about understanding markets, creating stuff that’s desperately needed by markets and taking the opportunities.”

Since the opening of the BIS, Hartlepool has also received the maximum £25 million from the Towns Fund and bid for £20 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund. Hussain notes that the focus is on taking regeneration out from the town centre, through Church Street and into the marina, creating a corridor of improvement through the town’s historic core.

“We’re working on the regeneration of the waterfront site in partnership with the National Museum of the Royal Navy,” he says. “There are definitely challenges and more opportunities to do a lot more for the town and the local community.” n Simon Wicks is deputy editor of The Planner I M AG E S | B I S

5.5 MILLION SQUARE FEET To put that into context, that equates to the creation of approximately 6,700 new jobs*.

In 2020 we secured planning consents for more sq ft than ever before.

So, to you; the consultants, the local authorities, the landowners and the countless others that gave us their support, helping us secure consents for over 5.5 million sq ft, we would like to say, ‘thank you’. *HCA Employment Density Guide November 2015, 3rd Edition

BO TOGETHER BO CLEVER

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C&D {

CASES &DECISIONS

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

Pincher blocks London Fire Brigade HQ regeneration scheme Plans to redevelop the listed former London Fire Brigade headquarters in Lambeth to provide 443 homes, a 200-room hotel, museum and fire station have been blocked by housing minister Christopher Pincher, who cited harm to heritage and living conditions.

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Kate Olley is a barrister at Landmark Chambers

( “A notable feature in this decision is the giving of ‘very significant’ weight to the major adverse impact on daylight for the rooms identified, despite the precedents afforded by other appeals for accepting lower daylighting standards. ( “The argument run in recent times has been that of ‘context’, which essentially boils down to the argument that someone choosing to live in the dense urban environment should expect that their light may come to be reduced, and that that is to be balanced against access to all the urban amenities which would not be available in the more suburban context.

LOCATION: Lambeth AUTHORITY: Lambeth Borough Council

INSPECTOR: David Richards PROCEDURE: Called-in decision DECISION: Dismissed REFERENCE: APP/ N5660/V/20/3254203

Pincher that determined it on Jenrick’s behalf.

In his letter, Pincher agreed with inspector David Richards’ finding that the scheme would harm the setting of the Albert Embankment conservation

area, the grade I listed Lambeth Palace and its associated conservation area, the Palace of Westminster World Heritage Site, and the former headquarters itself.

Pincher further agreed that the scheme would have a “major adverse impact” on daylight levels reaching some existing properties nearby, resulting in “an unacceptable increase in gloominess”.

In the planning balance, the minister noted the scheme’s benefits, which included the delivery of 443 new dwellings (of which 40 per cent would be affordable), the creation of 1,264 on-site jobs, the reuse of the listed LFB headquarters, the creation of a permanent home for the LFB museum, and new public realm.

( “This has meant, in some cases, particularly for those already living on the lower floors of a development which will fall to be overshadowed and which might be the product of a poor decision in the past about where it is acceptable to accommodate the affordable element of a scheme, that the impacts are effectively treated as so much collateral damage. ( “This decision was therefore a brave response in light of the fact that many of those who would be impacted by the ‘unacceptable increase in gloominess’ were in a vulnerable group.”

Read the full comment on our website bit.ly/planner0821-olley

However, he concluded, the balancing exercise was “not favourable to the proposal”, dismissing the scheme on this basis.

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

The decision concerned the grade II listed former London Fire Brigade (LFB) in Lambeth, built in 1937.

Developer U+I had sought permission for comprehensive regeneration works worth £500 million at the site, including restoration and extension of the listed headquarters to provide 443 residential units, a fire station, a museum for the LFB, and a 200-bedroom hotel and rooftop restaurant, as well as more than 11,000 square metres of commercial floor space and 2,000 square metres of public realm.

The scheme involved two towers of 24 and 26 storeys in height.

It was opposed by SAVE Britain’s Heritage, the nearby grade II listed Garden Museum, Lambeth Village community group, and other campaigners.

A petition against it gathered more than 5,300 signatures.

The application had been called in by housing secretary Robert Jenrick in August 2020, although it was the housing minister Christopher

EXPERT COMMENT

40 or so appeal reports are posted each month on our website: www.theplanner.co.uk/decisions. Our Decisions Digest newsletter, sponsored by Landmark Chambers, is sent out every Monday. Sign up: bit.ly/planner-newsletters

Listed folly conversion blocked in national park Plans to convert a ruined 80ft tower in the South Downs National Park into a home have been rejected by an inspector, who found that the scheme’s ‘extensive areas of glazing’ could affect the area’s nocturnal landscape and dark night skies.

LOCATION: Lordington

Evidence ‘overwhelmingly’ favours Stansted expansion A panel of three inspectors has approved plans to expand Stansted Airport’s annual capacity by eight million passengers and ordered the council to pay costs, commenting that ‘carbon emissions are predominantly a matter for national government’.

The appeal involved plans to expand Stansted Airport’s capacity from 35 million passengers a year to 43 million by installing two new taxiway links and nine aircraft stands.

The council had initially intended to approve the application, but rejected it after the Conservative Party lost overall control of the council in the 2019 local elections.

The subsequent appeal was considered by a panel of three inspectors over a 30-day virtual inquiry in early 2021.

The three main issues at the inquiry were aircraft noise, air quality and climate change. On climate change, the panel stated that “carbon emissions are predominantly a matter for national government”, noting that the effects of expansion had been “considered, tested, and found to be acceptable” in the government’s policy paper Making Best Use of Existing Runways, published in June 2018. In the panel’s view, it was “clear that UK climate change obligations would not be put at risk by the development”.

In the planning balance, LOCATION: Stansted Airport the inspectors ruled that limited harm arising AUTHORITY: Uttlesford District in terms of air quality Council and carbon emissions was “far outweighed” by INSPECTOR: Michael Boniface, G D the scheme’s benefits, Jones, and Nick Palmer and so the balance fell “overwhelmingly PROCEDURE: Virtual inquiry in favour” of granting permission.

DECISION: Allowed In a separate decision, the panel ordered a full REFERENCE: APP/ award of costs against the C1570/W/20/3256619 council, finding that its reasons for refusal were “unquestionably vague and generalised”.

AUTHORITY: South Downs National Park Authority

INSPECTOR: S Edwards PROCEDURE: Written submissions DECISION: Dismissed REFERENCE: APP/ Y9507/W/21/3269531

The appeal concerned Racton Tower, a folly near Funtington, a village in the South Downs. Built in 1772, the structure was grade II listed in 1958 as a ruin. It comprises a triangular base with a small turret at each corner, supporting a 79ft tower. The building is known as “one of the most haunted places in West Sussex” and is said to have attracted occultists, illegal raves, and paranormal investigators.

The appellant sought permission to rebuild and extend it to enable its conversion to a

private home. Inspector S Edwards found that the proposed works, “together with the construction of large, contemporary additions”, would lead to “domestication” of the site, while the “dramatic protrusion” of its glazed elements would result in an “overtly contemporary appearance”.

Given the scale of the building and the absence of a detailed visual impact assessment, she could not be sure that the scheme would conserve the scenic beauty of the national park.

She was also concerned that the plans for “extensive areas of glazing” would lead to potential light spillage.

Apart from a “fairly succinct structural appraisal”, limited information had been presented concerning the building’s capacity to sustain the works proposed, the inspector noted.

Although she acknowledged that permission had previously been granted to convert the building, she also noted that had predated the NPPF and had since expired.

AUGUST 2021 / THE PLANNER 39

LANDSCAPE

C&D { Opening student halls to tourists could affect nitrate neutrality

The appeal centred on a student housing development in Canterbury that was approved in 2016, subject to conditions limiting its occupancy to full-time students and requiring a travel plan to be submitted.

In 2019, the appellant sought permission to let students and non-students use the rooms outside of term time.

But after the appeal was lodged, Natural England intervened, submitting an advice note about the effect of the proposal on Stodmarsh

nature reserve, a protected habitats site. It indicated that new development could lead to a rise in nitrate emissions in wastewater, leading to a process called eutrophication that is harmful to the “nitrate neutrality”of protected sites.

The appellant contended that the existing permission already allowed it to let to students year-round at maximum capacity “in theory and in practice”, and so the proposal would make no material difference.

Inspector M Philpott was

Swingers’ club ‘not leisure use’ An inspector has upheld enforcement action against the use of a building near Heathrow by a naturist club during the day and a swingers’ club in the evening, ruling that the two ‘rather niche’ uses ‘clearly differed in character’.

The appeal concerned a building near Heathrow Airport that had been used as a nightclub, gym and boxing club before it was acquired by the appellant in 2019.

That summer, the council issued an enforcement notice alleging an unauthorised change of use from class D2 to a sui generis “naturist establishment and swingers club”.

At the hearing, the appellant explained that between 11.30am and 6pm, a members-only naturist club occupies the premises. Four evenings a week, however,

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the building is operated by a group that “provides a venue where like-minded adults can meet socially with the potential to engage in intimate relationships”.

LOCATION: Canterbury AUTHORITY: Canterbury City Council INSPECTOR: M Philpott PROCEDURE: Written submissions DECISION: Dismissed REFERENCE: APP/ J2210/W/20/3251948

The appellant asserted that “sexual activity is not actively encouraged”, although breakout rooms and a “dungeon room” are “made available”.

The council argued that while “the use of the site for individuals within to socialise, swim, play board games, albeit without clothing, could conceivably fall into use class D2”, the “remainder of the activities” were more akin to a nightclub and fell under use class sui generis, resulting in an unauthorised mixed use.

Orr agreed, saying that while the building remained a single planning unit, the “party-like atmosphere” of the evening activities “clearly differed in character” from the “low-key daytime naturist use”.

Given the “rather niche nature of the uses” and the fact that a “substantial

not persuaded, however, noting that in practice, most units at the development had been unoccupied in summer – peak tourist season. It was therefore “highly likely” that more people would occupy the accommodation if the proposal was allowed, leading to a rise in emissions.

As no mitigation measures were proposed, the inspector could not be sure that there would be no negative effect on the protected habitat sites.

He dismissed the appeal as a precautionary approach.

proportion” of members lived farther afield, Orr was not convinced that the uses could reasonably be described as “meeting the needs of the local community”. A change of use was therefore not justified, she ruled.

LOCATION: West Drayton AUTHORITY: Hillingdon Borough Council

INSPECTOR: Hilary Orr PROCEDURE: Hearing DECISION: Notice upheld REFERENCE: APP/ R5510/C/19/3234787

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

An inspector has refused the operator of student accommodation in Canterbury permission to let rooms to tourists during the summer months, citing concerns that increased occupancy could lead to nitrate neutrality problems at a nearby nature reserve.

DECISIONS DIGEST{

SUBSCRIBE to our appeals digest:

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

115-room HMO’s windowless rooms would harm residents An inspector has rejected plans to turn a hotel in north-west London into a 115-home HMO, saying that even three months would be “a significant time to be living in a place without adequate natural light”.bit.ly/planner0821-hmo

500sq m home gym would not be ‘incidental’ to house

An inspector has refused to grant a certificate of lawful use for a back-garden gym that would boast a running track, boxing ring and more facilities, ruling that the building would not be “incidental” to the main home and therefore was not permitted development. bit.ly/planner0821-gym

Green belt dementia care home refused amid reduced demand

Plans for a 74-bed specialist dementia care facility near Warrington have been blocked by an inspector, who ruled that “uncertainties concerning demand” brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic needed to be taken into account. bit.ly/planner0821-care

‘Passivhaus Premium’ home would meet highest standards

An inspector has approved “what is likely to be the first home in the country to meet the Passivhaus Premium standard” – which requires a building to generate more energy than it consumes – despite ruling that the site was not “isolated” for the purposes of NPPF paragraph 79. planner0821-passivehaus

Twin schemes approved despite design concerns

A developer’s applications to develop two separate sites in Loughton, Essex, to provide a total of 424 new homes have both been approved by an inspector at a joint inquiry, notwithstanding the council’s view that the schemes were “generic” and “lacked vision”. bit.ly/planner0821-loughton

Logistics scheme allowed on former green belt coal mine

Minister for regional growth Luke Hall has approved plans for a 1.44 million square foot strategic logistics development on the site of a former coal mine in the green belt near Wigan, citing an “evident and compelling planning policy imperative” for logistics floor space. bit.ly/planner0821-logistics

Conversion of greenhouse to residential use allowed under GPDO

Plans to convert a former commercial greenhouse into a home were deemed to comply with permitted development rules by an inspector, who ruled that the “significant amount of work required” was “reasonably necessary”. bit.ly/planner0821-gpdo

Welsh minister blocks couple’s affordable home plans

Bolton deprivation justifies large green belt development

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Luke Hall, minister for regional growth, has given the go-ahead to plans for a major expansion of an industrial estate on green belt land near Bolton, ruling that the provision of employment land necessary to support the town’s economic recovery amounted to “very special circumstances”. bit.ly/planner0621-bolton

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A woman’s application to build an affordable home on land gifted to her near her father’s farm in Ceredigion has been rejected by the Welsh Government, after climate change minister Julie James agreed that the scheme would “significantly undermine the council’s adopted housing strategy”. bit.ly/planner0821ceredigion

AUGUST 2021 / THE PLANNER 41

LANDSCAPE

Legal landscape OPINION

CLEUD up: What planners can learn from Ocado’s judicial review The headline-grabbing attempt by Ocado to have a refusal of a Certificate of Lawful Existing Use or Development overturned by judicial review has significant implications for future CLEUD applications, say Richard Wald QC and Alec Cropper It’s unusual for the first statutory declaration stating sentence of a judgment to that all four units had been declare that the case gives used continuously for storage rise to important issues of since 1992. Islington Council planning law. However, that granted a CLEUD on this basis; is what Mr Justice Holgate n Local residents became said In R (Ocado Retail aware of the CLEUD and Ltd) vs London Borough established a campaign group of Islington & Concerned [NOcado.org] to scrutinise Residents of matters. Knowing Tufnell Park. that units A-D This case focused had not been “IT MAY BE on attempts to continuously in SENSIBLE develop a large use since 1992, FOR LPAS TO distribution they collated VOLUNTARILY centre next to a evidence that UNDERTAKE primary school “carefully PUBLIC using a Certificate CONSULTATION explained” of Lawfulness ON CERTIFICATE how they had of Existing Use been unused to APPLICATION” or Development varying degrees (“CLEUD”). The since at least key facts were: 2006; n A building n The council comprising four revoked the industrial units (A-D) was certificate on the basis that granted planning permission the CLEUD application in 1987, subject to a condition contained false information, that it not be used for and that material information warehousing; had been withheld. This n It was purportedly decision was challenged occupied by BT for storage by judicial review. A key from 1992 for at least 10 years; issue was how the 10-year n In 2019, an application for time limit in the Town and a CLEUD was made seeking Country Planning Act 1990 confirmation that Units A-D ought to be approached in had a lawful B8 use. Evidence the context of breaches of in support of that application condition. Had immunity – described by the court as in this case potentially “minimalist” – included a arisen from 2002 when the

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condition had ostensibly been breached for 10 years, or should the CLEUD only have been issued if the breach of condition had been continuous up to the date of the application in 2019?

The court clarified that once a breach of condition becomes lawful, that right will not normally be lost even if the breach ceases thereafter. It is lost if there is a relevant supervening event, such as abandonment, change of use or creation of a new planning unit. The court concluded that the false and withheld information in this case were nonetheless relevant and upheld the council’s decision to revoke the certificate.

The court also held that the grounds for revoking a certificate in the 1990 act do not require information to be deliberately withheld by the applicant but rather that it is sufficient for material information to have been kept from the authority for any reason, whether by accident or otherwise.

The power to revoke certificates may therefore be more far-reaching than previously understood and this judgment has important consequences.

The decision is a reminder that it may be sensible for LPAs to voluntarily undertake public consultation on certificate applications. Local people are often well placed to verify or contest submitted information. Mr Justice Holgate expressed concern that there is currently no statutory obligation for public consultation on certificate applications particularly, given that consultation is part of the appeal procedure.

The case also shows that anyone who thinks a lawful development certificate may have been granted incorrectly should contact their local planning authority.

Richard Wald QC of 39 Essex Chambers and Alec Cropper of Walton & Co acted for the local resident group (NOcado) in its application for revocation of the CLEUD and subsequently in the judicial review claim.

In brief A distribution centre next to a school was proposed using a “CLEUD” The court upheld the council’s decision to revoke the CLEUD. LPAs should consider undertaking voluntary public consultation on certificate applications.

EVENTS

CASES

LEGISLATION

NEWS

NEWS Legal action sought over Southampton runway extension

Campaigners have announced that they will mount a legal challenge against Eastleigh Borough Council’s decision to approve plans to extend the runway at Southampton Airport.

The costs of the legal challenge are being crowdfunded by AXO (Airport Expansion Opposition Southampton) and two other groups.

Eastleigh Borough Council approved the application to extend the runway in a meeting in April that ran into the early hours of the morning on Saturday 10 April.

Under the plans, the runway would be extended by 164 metres and 470 landside car parking spaces added. A planning officer recommended that the application should be approved subject to completion of a section106 agreement that secures a number of conditions, including: a vehicle cap on traffic movements to the airport to 2.45 million; a noise insulation policy and noise action plan for residential and sensitive non-residential buildings; a carbon strategy to reduce emissions from the airport’s own operations; and a plan to encourage employment of local residents.

Opponents believe that the council’s decision was wrong in the way it was taken and the arguments used to justify it. They say Southampton Airport “has greatly overstated” the economic benefits of expansion and underplayed the environmental impact. “We believe that the decision should undergo independent scrutiny, and urge those who agree with us to contribute to the appeal.”

Law firm Leigh Day and David Wolfe QC, Matrix Chambers, have been asked to pursue the case.

Steve Szalay, operations director at Southampton Airport, said: “We are aware of the potential grounds of challenge from an opposition group against Eastleigh Borough Council’s decision to approve our runway extension application. Following the recent signing of the section 106 agreement and full planning permission being granted to deliver the 164-metre runway extension, we are keen to get started as soon as possible.

“We are extremely disappointed that the challenge from the opposition group may potentially add further delay to not only the project but also the creation of over 250 jobs as part of the construction phase. We are resolutely committed to these runway extension plans and the 2500 jobs it will protect and enable.”

Council begins legal challenge against Stansted appeal approval

Uttlesford District Council has begun a legal challenge against planning permission granted on appeal for an extension at Stansted Airport with capacity for eight million passengers a year.

In 2018, its operator, Manchester Airport Group, had sought permission to increase its capacity from 35 million passengers a year to 43 million by installing two new taxiway links and nine aircraft stands.

The council initially intended to approve the application, but it was rejected after the Conservative Party lost overall control of the council in the 2019 local elections. The subsequent appeal was considered by a panel of three inspectors over a 30-day virtual inquiry in early 2021.

The three main issues at the inquiry were aircraft noise, air quality and climate change. In the planning balance, the panel found that “limited” harm arising in terms of air quality and carbon emissions was “far outweighed” by the scheme’s benefits, and that the balance therefore fell “overwhelmingly in favour” of granting permission.

The Bishop Stortford Independent reports that in light of legal advice it had received, the council said it is asking the High Court for permission to challenge the validity of the panel’s verdict.

ANALYSIS

LEGAL BRIEFS Dublin primary school goes to court over nearby drugs facility

The High Court has heard a bid by a Dublin primary school to overturn An Bord Pleanála’s 2019 decision to allow a supervised heroin injection facility 150 metres from its premises, which around 100 drug users are expected to use each day, Irish Independent reports. bit.ly/planner0821-primary

High Court issues key ruling on Traveller definition

The High Court has ruled that the definition in annex 1 of the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites 2015 of who is a Gypsy or Traveller retains a “functional test of nomadism” and is not discriminatory, reports Local Government Lawyer. bit.ly/planner0821-gypsy

Barnet accused of discrimination over ‘place of worship’ decision

The London Borough of Barnet has been accused of breaching equalities legislation by a Muslim group in a planning case involving the former Golders Green Hippodrome Theatre, reports Local Government Lawyer. bit.ly/3planner0821-worship

Mother Superior fined over hermitage shed planning breach

A Mother Superior has been found guilty of breaching planning laws over a hermitage development at Leap in West Cork, The Irish Times reports. bit.ly/planner0821-leap

Making NPF4 work for Scotland’s diverse regions

An RTPI Highlands and Islands webinar with a keynote from Scottish Government Assistant Chief Planner, Fiona Simpson. bit.ly/planner0821-diverse

What’s so very special about Colney Heath?

Zack Simons analyses an appeal decision to allow housing in the green belt near St Albans and its potential implications. bit.ly/planner0821-colney

Safety & Planning

Simon Ricketts considers the extent to which the safe construction of buildings is a matter for the planning system. bit.ly/planner0821-safe

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / TH E PLA NNER 43

NEWS RTPI news pages are edited

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

Work of planners essential to children’s post-Covid recovery, says RTPI Town planning has a vital role to play in helping children to bounce back from the pandemic.

That’s the message of a new RTPI practice advice note which offers guidance on how planners can work within the current UK planning systems and with other professionals to plan for child-friendly places.

Children and Town Planning: Creating Places to Grow reveals that UK planning systems now contain relatively little policy and guidance specific to children and young people.

This is despite the fact that youngsters face numerous challenges directly related to the built environment, including poor-quality and overcrowded housing, high levels of pollution, limited access to quality green space and opportunities for play, and the impacts of climate change, Children’s lives have been further affected by Covid-19. Although few have experienced significant health impacts from catching the disease, the RTPI believes that the impact of lockdowns, school closures and reduced social interaction has been dire.

RTPI President Wei Yang said: “This is a welcome piece of work which I believe will be of tremendous use to

town planners.

“Providing a quality built and natural environment for children to grow up in can have a significantly positive impact on their health, wellbeing and future life chances, particularly as we begin the slow emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I am particularly pleased to see that one of the aims of this advice is to expand the scope of what is currently understood by most planning professionals as ‘planning for children’ – I completely agree that we should move beyond the provision of playgrounds and schools towards a more ambitious approach that encompasses all aspects of children’s lives.

“Major disruption to education, alongside the limited opportunities to see friends and wider families, to play and enjoy activities and the worry about the impact of Covid on their families, will

have taken a heavy toll on some children – good town planning is essential if we are to help them recover.”

Among its recommendations, the guidance says that planners should explore the use of the Real Play Coalition’s Urban Play Framework as part of their work. The framework provides a structured method for assessing the dimensions critical to ensure a play-friendly environment for optimal child development and learning. n Download the practice advice note at bit.ly/planner0821-placestogrow

Testing the Urban Play Framework in North London Jerome Frost MRTPI, Global Cities Leader at Arup, has spoken at the launch of a report looking at the testing of the Urban Play Framework in Burnt Oak, in the London Borough of Barnet.

The report is a product of a collaboration across the Real Play Coalition.

Key authors included RTPI International Officer Michele Vianello.

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Welcoming the report, RTPI President Wei Yang said: “The ability of cities to respond adequately to the play needs of children – across the household, school, community and city levels – is a litmus test for their ability to be truly childfriendly in all respects. To do this, we must be able to assess what exactly makes a community ‘play-friendly’. The RTPI is delighted to

have collaborated with Arup and the Real Play Coalition to support the creation of the Urban Play Framework.

“I hope the framework can be applied as an international toolkit available to a wide range of communities and cities that want to strengthen their commitment to play and children’s rights so that we can together plan the world we need.” n Read the report in full at bit.ly/planner0821-burntoak

Editorial E: rtpinews@rtpi.org.uk

RTPI (switchboard) T: 020 7929 9494

Registered charity no.

262865 Registered charity in Scotland SCO37841

MY VIEW ON… MAKING AN IMPACT DURING COVID-19 Outgoing Young Planner of the Year Robyn Skerratt MRTPI looks back on an eventful and unexpected 12 months packed full of webinars and virtual meetings During my time as Young Planner of the Year, I prioritised getting out and about virtually – it was 2020 after all – and saying ‘yes’ to as many opportunities as possible to make the most of the year.

As well as creating a platform to champion planners early in their career, I also aimed to amplify the role of the planning profession in supporting the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and to champion non-linear career paths and the benefits of planning to different disciplines.

Planning for me is a passion as well as a profession and it was a particular pleasure to engage with individuals embarking on their planning journey, including running an online skills workshop for the winners of the RTPI World Town Planning Day

student competition.

For the past few months, I have also been working with the RTPI chief executive and president to enhance the role of Young Planner of the Year and increase the potential for impact in support of all planners early in their career. I look forward to seeing how future winners benefit from this work.

Overall, I have been struck by the dynamism within our profession and the vital role we have to play as we build back better with a focus on creating great places, contributing to the delivery of the SDGs and reaching net-zero by 2050. The planning toolbox, that unique blend of experience and skills, is going to be vital.

Among the virtual events that Robyn (top right) attended during her time as Young Planner of the Year was one on sustainable recovery in London

n Read the full version of this article at bit.ly/planner0821-skerrat

POSITION POINTS

REMOTE COUNCIL MEETINGS

VICTORIA HILLS MRTPI, RTPI CHIEF EXECUTIVE The RTPI believes it’s more important than ever before that the government should introduce legislation as a matter of urgency to reinstate the ability for virtual planning committee meetings to be held.

As part of our response to an MHCLG call for evidence, we’ve recommended a hybrid arrangement in the short to medium term, and that the ability to meet remotely should be available to planning committees permanently.

This is not just a public health issue – with an increasing number of members of the public wanting to get involved in planning, virtual committees will ensure that the decisionmaking process will involve a wider, more diverse audience.

In the long term, their use would also lead to a reduction in the overall need to travel, therefore helping play a role in achieving net-zero targets.

Read the RTPI’s response in full at bit.ly/planner0821-virtual

LOCAL PLACE PLANS IN SCOTLAND

BARBARA CUMMINS MRTPI, RTPI SCOTLAND CONVENOR This is an important moment for the planning system in Scotland and the future of community engagement. Local Place Plans provide a golden opportunity to support communities to be more engaged in discussions about the future of the places where they live.

This means that we need to make sure that they have the resources they need to do this, that they can access expertise and that they are able to engage people across their area in the discussion. These resources need to be targeted at communities that need them the most so that we don’t exacerbate existing inequalities in Scotland.

We cautiously welcome the light-touch approach taken by Scottish Government to this legislation, striking the difficult balance between providing a robust framework for development while ensuring that the process to produce Local Place Plans is not overcomplicated for communities and allows for local flexibility.

Read RTPI Scotland’s full response to the government consultation at bit.ly/planner0821-localplace I M AG E S | RT P I

AU G U S T 2 0 2 1 / TH E PLA NNER 45

NEWS

The two professional planning Institutes in Ireland have signed an agreement to enable them to work together more closely in the future.

The memorandum of understanding has been signed by the RTPI and the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) to provide a platform to enable planning and development professionals to share good practice and to promote the value of the planning profession and its ideals.

It means that the institutes will work together to promote the profession as a career, to develop and influence policy, to develop research and to support members to develop their skills.

The agreement will lead to a stronger and united voice for the profession at a time when planners will play a pivotal role in achieving zero-carbon targets and creating sustainable and successful cities, towns, villages and neighbourhoods across Ireland.

RTPI President Dr Wei Yang FRTPI said: “I am delighted to sign the memorandum of understanding and look forward to working more closely with the IPI in the future. I have no doubt that our collaboration will help ensure we provide all of our members with the support they need and give us a strong platform to promote the importance of planning."

IPI President Dr Conor Norton

John McNairney FRTPI Congratulations to John McNairney FRTPI, who has been awarded a CBE for public service in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021.

John has been the Chief Planner in Scotland for nine years, and has 22 years of service in total with the Scottish Government.

Last month, the Scottish Government’s Planning and Architecture Division announced that John would be retiring from his post as Chief Planner later this summer.

RTPI President Wei Yang FRTPI said: “It’s wonderful to see John’s dedication over many years as Scottish Chief Planner recognised in this way.

“His time in the role, and over

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more than two decades with the Scottish Government, has demonstrated the core value of being a Chartered town planner – serving the public. Many congratulations John! You make us proud.”

On Twitter, Head of RTPI Scotland Craig Maclaren wrote: “Warmest congratulations… great to see that John's distinguished planning career and his many achievements have been recognised. A true champion of the profession.”

In October last year, John was elected to Fellowship of the RTPI, a membership grade only awarded to Chartered members who have made a major personal contribution to the profession for the benefit of the public.

I M AG E S | RT P I

MIPI said: “I welcome this combined effort to address future challenges for planning and for planners at a critical time for society in the area of sustainable development and sustainable places. This agreement signifies an important opportunity to deepen the links between professional planners in Ireland with their colleagues in the UK and beyond."

Chair of RTPI Ireland Aidan Culhane MRTPI added: “This will make a real difference to planners across Ireland.

It will allow us to build upon one another’s strengths such as the RTPI’s strong research programme and links to the UK and the rest of the world, and the IPI’s excellent engagement with national and local government.”

The institutes will hold a joint celebration of the agreement later in the year, as soon as practically possible.

Conduct and Discipline Panel May’s Conduct and Discipline Panel found Mr Gareth Rennie of Hafod Planning Consultants has breached the Code of Professional Conduct and it has terminated his membership. The panel found that Mr Rennie had failed to provide his client with a reasonable service, had failed to act with honesty and integrity in his attempt to cover up his lack of action and had continued to use the RTPI logo and his postnominals while he was suspended from membership. That suspension was a result of a similar breach of the code. As a result, Mr Rennie is no longer a Chartered member of the Institute and cannot use the post-nominals MRTPI. n If members have any queries

concerning the Code of Professional Conduct they should contact Ruth Richards, the Institute’s Complaints Investigator ruth.richards@rtpi.org.uk n For more information about the

work of the RTPI’s Conduct and Discipline Panel, visit bit.ly/planner0821-conduct

I M AG E S | RT P I

RTPI and Irish Planning Institute agree to work together

MEMBER NEWS

NEW CHARTERED MEMBERS Congratulations to the following planners who were recently elected to Chartered membership of the RTPI

Elected on 11 May 2021: Alastair Curran

East Midlands Emma Baumber Helen Woodmancy East of England Jake Tubb Alastair Curran Andrew Clarke James Tipping Anik Bennett International Chi Ling Kun Fung Matthew Ng Nicholas Phelps Yiping Chen London Daniel Rosson Jodane Walters Rachel Hough Daniel Harley Lap Pan Chong Benjamin Dakin Pearl Figueira Sukhdeep Jhooti Barney Ray Fidel Miller Louis Wong Abdullah Rashid Rachel Smalley Esterina Bartilomo Kieran McCallum North East Rachel Thompson

North West Zoe Whiteside Sofena Yasmin Rebecca Whitney Jeni Regan Christopher Heffernan South East Matthew Smith Lucy Wenzel Joseph Hickling Barry Curran Hannah Haddad Julia Hawkins Scotland Ruaraidh Thompson South West Claudia Jones Sharmaine Katerere Antony Booth Marcin Kulesza Jozie Bannister Amy Luxton Michael Wilberforce Thomas Westrope Wales/Cymru Thomas Jacob Elkie Lam West Midlands Caroline Featherston Olivia Morris Emily Farmer David Jones Emma Spandley Scotland Susan Bell

Elected on 25 June 2021: East Midlands Honor Whitfield East of England Anas Makda International Lauren Ielden Shiu Man Natalie Yim London Michael Green Reece Harris Arjun Singh Michelle Burns Lucas Zoricak Annabel Prentice North East Rachel Dodd Alannah Healey Caitlin Newby North West Lucy Furber Sally Riley Matthew Shipman Ollie Thomas Selena Gaskarth

Sarah Appleton Michael Glasgow Alexandra Martin Brigid Taylor South West Annie Gingell Jessica Glover Michael Baker Willow Mercer Rachel Schweitzer Christopher Wilkinson Wales/Cymru Ellie Mitchell West Midlands Stefan Stojsavljevic Corin Williams Polly Mathews

Scotland Kathryn Cockburn Omar Islam Polly Mathews

Northern Ireland Sarah McCorry South East Keiran Bartlett Constance Davis

IN MEMORIAM It is with regret that we announce the deaths of the following members. We offer our sincere condolences to their families and colleagues.

Christopher Marlow Yorkshire Christopher Perrett East Midlands David Hinton South West Frank Walmsley West Midlands Frazer MacLeod West of Scotland Ian Haywood London Ian Moncur East Midlands

Yorkshire Nyasha Mapanga Christopher Binns

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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.

board offers the attention The Plannerr job b oard off fers you an opportunity it to t attract tt t th 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

Throughout the pandemic, organisations are still actively and successfully recruiting for planning professionals.

Here is a selection of the most recent opportunities from a few of those organisations working with The Planner to recruit the best quality candidates in the marketplace.

Senior Planning Officer Development Management Salary: £33,782 – £37,890 pa Location: Neath Port Talbot

Planning Officer Salary: £21,028 - £36,123 pa Location: Lymington, Hampshire

Conservation Officer Salary: Up to £39,517 pa + car allowance Location: Rother, East Sussex

Technical Support Manager Salary: Grade H. £29,577 - £32,234 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear

Trainee Planning & Development Manager Salary: Grade: CA3 Location:United Kingdom

Development Management Officer Salary: £35,745 - £39,880 (Grade J) Location: Carmarthenshire

To a d ve r ti s e p l e ase em ai l : t h e p l a n n e r jo b s@ redact ive. co. uk o r c a l l 0 2 0 7 8 8 0 623 2

theplanner.co.uk/jobs

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 – mouse over each item for more.

What’s caught our eye Urban Design London events programme Urban Design London, a not-forprofit group set up “to help built environment professionals and decision-makers create welldesigned spaces and places”, runs a useful events programme for English built environment officers and councillors covering planning, housing, public realm, streets and transport topics.

Worth checking out.. bit.ly/planner0821-urban

Book: The Power of Neighbourhood Planning ISBN-10 1916431542 Peter Edwards, a solicitor specialising in planning and related aspects of law, examines the topic of neighbourhood planning, with Neighbourhood Development Plans being “the key to this brave new world of localism”.

How does a neighbourhood plan get off the ground? How do communities make sure that it gets into force? And, more importantly, what are the essential features of an effective plan?

Book: Planned Urban Development: Learning from Town Expansion Schemes in the UK and Europe Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd/ISBN: 9781788976909 Author Chris Couch uses case studies from the UK and Europe to examine the nature and achievements of the expanded towns programmes that emerged in the mid20th century to take in population growth and overspill from densely populated urban areas.

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Book: Obsession, Aesthetics, and the Iberian City: The Partial Madness of Modern Urban Culture ASIN: B098CHH19X Vanderbilt University Press Professor Benjamin Fraser looks at four cities – Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Lisbon – investigating the “social relationships implied in our urban modernity”, with urban modernity defined as “the triumph of exchange value over use value, and the lived city is eclipsed by the planned city as it is envisioned by capitalists, builders, and speculators”.

Rethink Re:Place In light of post-pandemic strains on placemaking funds due to health priorities, this is a ‘tactical urbanism’ toolkit (tactical urbanism comprising low-cost, temporary changes to a built environment, usually urban, to improve local neighbourhoods).

It’s designed to support local councils to engage with communities at no cost. bit.ly/ planner0821rethink

LANDSCAPE

Book: Public House: A Cultural and Social History of the London Pub ISBN-10 0241396735 Published by Open City London’s pubs have provided the social and architectural infrastructure for civic life to thrive with a remarkably varied mix of spaces for meeting, making up, breaking up and cultural conviviality. This book is conceived as a conversation, with many voices telling tales of pubs across London, and through them teasing out important themes including architecture, craft, music, LGBTQ+ history, comedy, migration and intangible cultural heritage. bit.ly/planner0821pubs

Webinar: How young planners can make the most of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act

Webinar: Delivery mechanisms for social infrastructure, healthcare and local services A discussion with RTPI vice-president Tim Crawshaw and RTPI South West chair Angharad Williams on delivery mechanisms for social infrastructure, healthcare and local services. Crawshaw considers the characteristics that work for a new town and how transportdominated masterplans counter walkable neighbourhoods. bit.ly/planner0821-social

This explains how built environment professionals can use the act. With Paul Maliphant, chair of the Board of Management Constructing Excellence in Wales, and Petranka Malcheva, from the office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. bit.ly/planner0821-generations

What we’re planning Webinar: RTPI Politicians in Planning network launch Zoom queen Jackie Weaver was the guest speaker at the launch of a network to share best practice between planners and politicians at all levels. The event debated the value of local democracy, the impact of Covid-19 and improved technology on community engagement, and housing. bit.ly/planner0821politicians

All eyes are turning towards Glasgow and specifically the COP26 conference taking place there on 31 October-2 November.

You’ll find us covering key climate issues from a planning perspective, including the tensions between climate aspirations and practice on the ground, as well as the ability of planning to mobilise climate finance. And in October, we’ll be taking on the issue of energy-efficient retrofitting of homes and other buildings.

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Training calendar 2021

Boost your CPD with our online masterclasses We provide high-quality training for all professionals in the planning environment. Our online courses offer a fully blended learning experience with sequenced activities before, during and after a half-day live training session. Led by an expert trainer each masterclass is aligned to the RTPI Core CPD Framework to prioritise your learning and to fulfil your annual CPD requirement.

Book today rtpi.org.uk/training training@rtpi.org.uk + 44 (0)20 7929 8400 @RTPIPlanners #RTPICPD

Online masterclasses

Day

Time

21

13:30-16:30

Development viability and finance - an introduction

15

13:30-16:30

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)

22

13:30-16:30

Leadership skills

29

13:30-16:30

06

13:30-16:30

13

13:30-16:30

03

13:30-16:30

Personal wellbeing and resilience for planners

10

13:30-16:30

Writing skills for planners

17

13:30-16:30

NEW for 2021

24

13:30-16:30

NEW for 2021

01

13:30-16:30

Development viability and planmaking advanced

08

13:30-16:30

Planning for non-planners

15

13:30-16:30

July Project management for planners September

October An introduction to planning enforcement - how to succeed in your new job

NEW for 2021

Flooding and sustainable drainage systems November Planning for high streets and town centres

Climate change and how to implement carbon net zero locally

NEW for 2021

December The Enforcement handbook- a practical application