5 minute read
Plan B considers a
A message from Plan B
“It is with a mixture of sadness (ours) and relief (yours, probably) that Plan B is considering a period of semi-retirement. The world is now beyond satire, and that’s obviously bad news for a satirist.
“This is a world in which it is perfectly legitimate for a former upholstery workshop, situated between the back of an office and a car park in central Watford, to be converted into 15 flats, seven of which would have no windows. No windows. Satirists have no business in a world where such breathtaking absurdity has become the norm. We can no longer compete with reality.
“We’ve enjoyed our 70-odd interventions in the world of planning and we thank our loyal reader for their forbearance. We’re disappointed that we’ve only actually received two complaints in six years (although one of them was a beauty).
“There have been highlights. To whit, we’ve composed a planning application for Stonehenge, turned Eric Pickles into a pea, invented planning minister Top Trumps, created the ultimate planning rock supergroup, revived Ye Olde Planner’s Almanac, logically determined that Britain’s new capital should be in the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the secret poetry lurking at the heart of planning appeal reports.
n (What do you think - has Plan B run its course? Contact us or visit our social media feeds to add your voice to the debate.)
CALL TO ACTION
Nominate your Women of Infl uence for 2020
Who are the women working in and around planning who you think are having a positive impact – on individual planners, on planning policy and on the broader planning process?
As you receive this print edition, there may yet be time for you to nominate individuals for our Women of Infl uence list 2020. (At the time of gong to press, the closing date for nominations was Friday 31 January.) Now in its fi fth year, the list acknowledges the substantial contribution of women to planning across a range of sectors, technical disciplines and regions.
Th is might include, for example, a public sector planner doing a great job of inspiring colleagues, an elected politician who champions planning in their community, a community activist driving change locally through the planning process, a health researcher infl uencing thinking about place – and so on.
Whatever their impact on planning, we want you to nominate the women whom you feel deserve recognition for their infl uence. Tell us who they are, and what they’ve done in the past two years that merits recognition.
Last year our judges selected 50 Women of Infl uence from your nominations. Th is year we’ll be asking our judges to come up with a shorter fi nal list – and we’d like to acknowledge a new cohort of women who are having an impact.
n Take a look at last year’s list at bit.ly/planner0220-WomenOfInfl uence n Make your nominations at bit.ly/Infl uence2020(note: case sensitive) n We’ll be publishing the 2020 list on Friday 6 March, in time for International Women’s Day on 8 March
THE MONTH IN PLANNING
Th e best and most interesting reads, websites, fi lms and events that we’ve encountered this month
WHAT WE'RE CLICKING ON WHAT WE'RE WATCHING 2...
Scottish planning
Th e Scottish Government has launched a site allowing visitors to follow the progress of, and joining in with, key strands Last year, Agent Plan-It – the superhero created to explain town planning to the
of the continuing transformation of Scotland’s planning system and national policy. It’s structured around the work that will done over the next couple of years on National Planning Framework See the full calendar here: bit.ly/planner0120-calendar
4, planning reform and digital planning. bit.ly/planner0220-Scot
Agent Plan-It: town planning for kids
next generation – was the subject of 10 short educational cartoon videos. Th e idea, originated within the RTPI, is simple; our hero accompanies an inquisitive youngster around town to explain the basics of planning. If your own children are asking you about the day job, this YouTube channel is the place to send them. bit.ly/planner0220-AgentPlan-It
WHERE WE'RE GOING...
Each month the RTPI runs a range of free or low-cost events up and down the UK. Here’s our pick for the next few weeks.
WHAT WE'RE READING..
Landscape Appreciation: Th eories since the cultural turn – David Jacques
A recent blogger in these pages (January 2020, p18), landscape historian David Jacques’s book seeks to explain what makes one landscape scene preferred over another. It critiques the many theories, concluding with an analysis of ‘satisfactions’ from immediate formal qualities, the sublime, meanings, and beauty. Th e fi nal part expands upon ‘environmental aesthetics’. Available through Amazon and other bookstores. g
Dorset Young Planners – The Climate Emergency and Ecosystems 12 Feb, 4.30pm-8.30pm, Savills, Wessex House, Wimborne
Nick Squirrel, conservation and planning adviser with Natural England, presents on nitrate neutrality and explains how measures can be used to mitigate the impact of new development on the ecosystem, while Councillor Ray Bryan, chair for Th e Climate Change Executive Advisory Panel at Dorset Council, explains the council’s response to the issue. bit.ly/planner0220-Ecosystems
WHAT WE’RE PLANNINGWHAT
Our March issue considers gender-sensitive Our M planning, while the success of Walthamstow’s planni nightlife enterprise zone comes under the nightli microscope. In April our interviewee will be Griff micros Rhys Jones, president of Civic Voice, focusing on Rhys Jo the fi rst 10 years of the organisation. And we’ll be the fi rs off ering readers a chance to question speakers in off erin advance of June’s advanc Planner Live conference.
Green Infrastructure, Conservation of Biodiversity & Ecology 18 Mar, 9am-4pm, Sheffield
Biodiversity is rising up the agenda, formalised in the government’s landmark environment bill. Th is conference will consider how the planning system can eff ectively safeguard local habitats and wider ecological networks. bit.ly/planner0220-Biodiversity
Implementing the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 – CPD Masterclass 4 March, 9am-4pm, 16 St Mary’s Street, Edinburgh
Th is RTPI masterclass will walk you through the practical implications of the legislation as it evolves, including the new regulations on performance, the introduction of statutory chief planning offi cers and the implications for development management. (NB: Delegate numbers are restricted to enhance learning outcomes.) bit.ly/planner0220-CPDMasterclass
