The Planner April 2016

APRIL 2016 LOCATION OF DEVELOPMENT: EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE? // p.22 • BREXIT: THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCENARIOS // p.26 • NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING: ALLIANCES OF LOVE AND HATE // p.30 • IT’S ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL BUT WE LIKE IT // p.42

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

BIGGER

PICTURE How Louise Brooke-Smith is encouraging planners and developers to achieve a shared vision

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CONTENTS

PLANNER 08 18

THE

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NEWS

6 Eight things we learned from the UK Northern Powerhouse conference

7 NHS chief commits to supporting ‘healthy new towns’

OPINION

8 The perfect storm 9 Scottish minister to ‘call in’ all appeals for 100+ homes 10 Towards a new ‘urban paradigm’ 11 Budget 2016: At a glance

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12 Chris Shepley: Politicians need activity as a substitute for achievement 16 Anna Round: A plan for the powerhouse?

16 Harry Quartermain: Having a ‘fair go’ in Australia 17 Jeff Povlo: Can brands help build spaces for people, not just for profit?

17 Linda M Wheaton: Learning lessons on both sides of the pond

“THE COMMERCIAL PERSON HAS TO RECOGNISE THE NEED FOR A SET OF GUIDANCE OR REGULATIONS, AND THE PEOPLE WHO ADMINISTER THOSE NEED AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF THE INDUSTRY THEY ARE WORKING IN”

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

INSIGHT

FEATURES

34 Decisions in focus: Development decisions, round-up and analysis

18 Former RICS president Louise Brooke-Smith talks to Mark Smulian about going from Congleton to the Congo 22 We know we should be building more houses, but where should we be putting them? asks Simon Wicks 26 What are the implications of Brexit for planning? Huw Morris tries to find out 30 James Derounian considers the pros and cons of communitygenerated plans

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38 Legal landscape: Opinion, blogs, and news from the legal side of planning 40 Career development: How to ethically navigate challenging professional situations 42 Plan Ahead – our pick of upcoming events for the planning profession and beyond 44 RTPI round-up: News and interviews from the institute 50 Plan B: A Northern play for today

QUOTE UNQUOTE

“THE NUMBER OF OVER­65S AND OVER­85S IN ENGLAND WILL DOUBLE IN THE PERIOD 2010­2030” LORD MATTHEW TAYLOR OF GOSS MOOR

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PLAN UPFRONT

Leaderr The far-reaching relevance of ‘relevant’ – How the weight of a particular word or phrase can be interpreted or reinterpreted, often to dramatic effect and with its meaning shifting jarringly from one long-held understanding to something completely different, has always amazed me. You get it in politics all of the time, with entire campaigns often characterised by a loosely used word or two; and you get it in marketing, with our ever-faster moving world of spin and counter-spin chewing up and spitting out new meanings when old ones were perfectly fine, thank you very much.

Then you get it in planning, where the way a phrase is interpreted can, of course, prove critical.

We report this month on the recent Court of Appeal ruling concerning the definition of a single phrase, “relevant policies”, and how it could indeed have

Martin Read far-reaching consequences.

The way in which the phrase is interpreted in paragraph 49 of the National Planning Policy Framework has been adjudged to refer to all policies that go to creating or constraining land for housing development.

The decision by the Court of Appeal’s three justices could mean that any local authority unable to demonstrate an up-to-date five-year housing supply will have its other “relevant policies” also deemed out of

date and not fit for purpose.

With the NPPF’s paragraph 14 ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ thus back in play, and with green belt policy being one of those policies seen as key to creating or constraining housing development, the implications are clear; never has the need to have in place a demonstrable fiveyear housing supply been more important.

The decision has, understandably, been deemed of national significance and with the potential to influence the pace and volume of housing delivery throughout the country. Given this

"THE IMPLICATIONS ARE CLEAR; NEVER HAS THE NEED TO HAVE IN PLACE A DEMONSTRABLE FIVE­YEAR HOUSING SUPPLY BEEN MORE IMPORTANT"

publication’s focus on housing throughout 2016, and the RTPI’s focus on the same topic at the forthcoming annual convention, it’s another component in a fastchanging legal landscape that, ministers surely hope, will lead to faster development across the UK. Perhaps, then, our next print edition is fittingly themed. It’s a ‘Developers’ Special’, within which we’re allowing developers the opportunity to talk to our audience about what they would do to improve the planner/developer relationship; about their perspective on why housing development is so slow; and how we can overcome the problem of planners and developers often speaking in different ‘languages’ Needless to say, your perspective on the planner/ developer relationship would also be gratefully received. Here’s hoping for a decent debate in print and online – it couldn’t be a more relevant discussion.

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Average net circulation 19,072 (January-December 2014) © The Planner is published on behalf of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) by Redactive Publishing Ltd (RPL), 17 Britton St, London EC1M 5TP. This magazine aims to include a broad range of opinion about planning issues and articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the RTPI nor should such opinions be relied upon as statements of fact.

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

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NEWS

Analysis { UK NORTHERN POWERHOUSE CONFERENCE

Eight things we learned from the UK Northern Powerhouse conference The UK Northern Powerhouse conference in Manchester was probably the biggest gathering to date of civic and business leaders to discuss the prospects for the north of England in the wake of devolution deals for its major cities.

One session saw council chief execs from Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle explore the big issues around how to secure economic regeneration for the North.

Here are eight things we learned about ‘The business of devolution’, in quotes:

(1) The North is competing in a global, not a national, marketplace “There’s more of a realisation that we are in this together in the North, partly in order to counterbalance the South and South-East, but particularly the growth coming from Asia and developing economies where we cannot compete by ourselves anymore.”

GED FITZGERALD, chief executive of Liverpool City Council

(2) Better transport connections can drive expansion of employment markets “Transport is absolutely essential. In the absence of better connectivity, the Northern Powerhouse would have all its objectives ended. It wouldn’t exist at all.”

SIR HOWARD BERNSTEIN, chief executive of Manchester City Council

“[In order to attract a business like] Google, they want access to high-skilled, vibrant employees who could live in any bit of the North and work in any other bit. The economy doesn’t necessarily work to local authority boundaries and the job of attracting wealth and jobs

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requires the greater collaboration that you find in other parts of Europe.”

PAT RITCHIE, chief executive of Newcastle City Council

(3) Collaboration between cities

has to be a given for the Northern Powerhouse to be sustainable “There are some things we will use devolution for collectively at a northern level – such as presenting the North as somewhere with international competitiveness that offers long-term careers to its young people in the same way that London does. It’s not just local authorities that need to shape this. It’s fundamentally important that the business community are part of building a Northern Powerhouse.”

PAT RITCHIE, Newcastle

(4) An element of strategic

planning will be necessary “The current system doesn’t integrate thinking about the economy with transport and housing. At that strategic level, you can do that. Make those decisions align with each other and in a democratic way.”

TOM RIORDAN, chief executive of Leeds City Council

(5) Devolution will enable authorities to adapt national policies to local needs “Stop agonising over housing and devolve it. The need for housing growth is supported and the solution designed at a national level, but every housing market is local and it’s proving very difficult to get the rate of house building that we want to… We told the chancellor what we offer you is bigger, better future

growth with devolution than without it.”

JOHN MOTHERSOLE, chief executive of Sheffield City Council

(6) Investment in both education and placemaking will be necessary to drive enterprise “Give us real levers over skills. Shape skills investment to our strengths... We are probably more than likely to get more businesses born from graduates staying in the cities to start businesses. That growth comes from attracting and retaining people in cities, with strong housing offers and environments where you want to stay and start up businesses.”

PAT RITCHIE, Newcastle

(7) A strong North is good for the nation “This is a national requirement and a national priority that we have more than one engine of national growth. We are seeing all the outcomes that are associated with a massive, overheated London economy. Housing authorities in London are acquiring land in Peterborough to provide houses to support the growth of London. That’s not a sustainable proposition over the next decade.”

SIR HOWARD BERNSTEIN, Manchester

(8) This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the North “The project needs to nail itself to the mast and say ‘This simply has to happen’… It’s a massive door that’s been opened to the North. The question isn’t ‘Is this just political?’ Maybe it is. But for once, the political is in our favour. If we don’t do something then we have wasted an opportunity.”

JOHN MOTHERSOLE, Sheffield

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PLAN UPFRONT

NHS chief commits to supporting ‘healthy new towns’ Head of NHS England Simon Stevens has announced plans to create 10 NHS-supported “healthy new towns” across the country.

It is expected that the towns will provide 76,000 homes with the potential capacity for about 170,000 residents.

Working with 10 housing developments, the NHS, supported by Public Health England, aims to shape the way the sites will develop and therefore test “creative solutions” for the health and care challenges of the 21st century, such as obesity, dementia and community cohesion.

The NHS said it is bringing together clinicians, designers and technology experts to reimagine how healthcare can be delivered in these places by joining up the design of the built environment with modern health and care services.

Steven said that the “much-needed push”

Cardiff region signs a city deal Cardiff Capital Region has signed a £1.2 billion city deal to unlock up to 25,000 jobs and £4 billion of private investment across the area.

The 10 leaders of the region’s local authorities, plus Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Greg Hands, and First Minister Carwyn Jones all signed the document.

Jones said: “We have lobbied hard for a city deal for the Cardiff Capital Region and put more than £500 million on the table to support improving transport infrastructure within the region. Central to the success of a deal is the collaboration of all 10 local authorities.”

The city deal includes: c A £1.2 billion investment in the Cardiff Capital Region’s infrastructure through a 20-year investment fund. c The creation of a non-statutory Regional Transport Authority to coordinate transport planning and investment, in partnership with the Welsh Government. c The Welsh Government and the Cardiff Capital Region committing to a new partnership approach to housing development and regeneration, including the delivery of sustainable communities.

Both the UK and Welsh governments are contributing £500 million each to the investment fund while the 10 local authorities will contribute a minimum of £120 million over the duration of the deal. n The deal can be read in full here: tinyurl. com/planner0416-cardiff-city-deal

to kick-start affordable housing across England “creates a golden opportunity” for the NHS to help promote health and keep people independent.

“As these new neighbourhoods and towns are built, we’ll kick ourselves if in 10 years’ time we look back, having missed the opportunity to ‘design out’ the obesogenic environment, and ‘design in’ health and wellbeing.”

Victoria Pinoncely, RTPI research officer, said the programme “rightly” recognises the important role of the built and natural environment in influencing pressing health challenges such as obesity, poor mental health and physical inactivity. n More information about each healthy new town can be found on the NHS website: tinyurl.com/planner0416healthy-new-towns

n Whitehall and Bordon, Hampshire n Cranbrook, Devon n Darlington n Barking Riverside n Whyndyke Farm in Fylde, Lancashire n Halton Lea, Runcorn n Bicester, Oxon n Northstowe, Cambridgeshire n Ebbsfleet Garden City, Kent n Narton Park, Oxford

High Court ruling on BMAP erodes ‘confidence in planning system’

A High Court judge’s decision to block a major planning blueprint for Belfast “undermines confidence in the planning system”, says the RTPI. Roisin Willmott, RTPI director for Northern Ireland, added that the decision undermines certainty for investors.

Mr Justice Treacy ruled that the province’s environment minister Mark H Durkan had no legal power to approve the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 (BMAP) adopted in September 2014.

The decision followed the launch of a judicial review by former enterprise minister Arlene Foster.

Treacy held that Durkan, “having failed to achieve any agreement at the executive sub-group, acted unilaterally and unlawfully” in authorising the BMAP. He agreed that because the significance of the plan I M AG E | A L A M Y

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THE FIRST 10 SITES FOR THE PROGRAMME ARE:

stretched across departmental responsibilities it needed approval from the Stormont cabinet.

Foster’s legal adviser also argued that BMAP is a controversial matter that the whole executive needed to agree on. But Durkan had insisted that efforts should be made to get the issue on the agenda at executive meetings.

A decision on a remedy to the case will be taken at a later date.

Willmott said: “One of the RTPI’s calls to the parties for the forthcoming Northern Ireland Assembly election is to build confidence in the planning system. The block on the BMAP does not support this; it undermines confidence in the planning system at a time which is crucial for bedding in the new planning system in Northern Ireland. It undermines certainty for investors and affects the confidence of communities in Northern Ireland in their new planning system.

“BMAP needs to be adopted so that there is a plan to provide confidence and a framework to make decisions for this important area. The councils in the Belfast Metropolitan area can then focus their attentions on developing the new local development plans within the new system.”

The BMAP identifies zones for retail, residential and commercial development. n RTPI NI’s election asks can be found here (pdf): tinyurl.com/planner0416-rtpi-ni-asks

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NEWS

Analysis { GARDEN COMMUNITIES

The perfect storm

By Laura Edgar “Why is it that we have gotten it into our heads that the field people most care about is the best field to develop?”

That was one of the questions Lord Matthew Taylor of Goss Moor asked the audience at the Town and Country Planning Association’s Spring Conference: Where will our children live?

He asked why homes are being built in the areas, the gaps, “the wedges” people use, that they walk their dogs on, that they value.

Taylor cited two misunderstandings about why it happens.

First, he said, there is the misapprehension that by building housing developments on the edge of towns, people will walk to services and amenities, reducing carbon emissions.

But towns remain congested and, according to Taylor, “we should be worried about building up congestion in historic centres that are simply incapable of letting more vehicles in”.

He cited establishing park-and-rides to help in reducing congestion.

The second misapprehension is that “people have no idea what portion of England is developed”.

“Nine per cent of England is developed: half of that is gardens and parks; a big chunk of that is roads, but a tiny proportion is homes,” said Taylor.

If asked what proportion of the SouthEast outside of London is developed, on average people say 45 per cent, said Taylor.

The actual figure, he said, is 12.2 per cent. “Eighty-three per cent is still green fields.”

“We are operating under the illusion that we can’t find that many places to have

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“People have no idea what portion of England is developed” - Lord Taylor of Goss Moor

homes so we have to squeeze them in.”

As a result, England has the smallest homes in the European Union, except for Italy and Romania, he said. What people say they aspire to is a “little house, a small garden, and a spare room”, in a community with services such as a primary school and a shop.

“We are delivering in this country the wrong thing in the wrong places in the name of sustainability and in the name of a shortage of land, which there isn’t, and also on the basis of environmental priorities that might have been true in the 20th century age of the combustion engine but are certainly not true now.”

Therefore, Taylor advocated places that are more self-contained, that are also commuter places, that don’t cost enormous amounts of money. Creating planned settlements that provide the

homes people want with the services they require can do this, he said, which meant garden cities and small towns – not in places people don’t want development with locked-in land values.

Building homes and places in this way, by creating new settlements, is the answer to “the perfect storm”, said Taylor.

The perfect storm is how he describes the many issues contributing to the housing situation in England when asked: “Where will our children live?” It is the baby boom that will require homes in 20 years; it is the extended life expectancy, housing developments being built in the wrong places without services, congestion, and the misapprehension that England is more developed than it is.

The issues that quantify the perfect storm “lay weight to the case to revive garden communities”, he said.

LORD TAYLOR'S LIST OF MISAPPREHENSIONS: The number of over-85s will broadly double in the period 2010 to 2030.

The number of over-85s will double in the same period to 2050.

There is more green belt land than there is developed land in England.

There are more golf courses in Surrey than there is developed area.

In 2008, 48 per cent of new homes built were apartments. They account for around 40 per cent of new-builds now. Two per cent of the population aspire to live in an apartment.

x2 48% I M AG E S | G E T T Y / I STO C K / S H U T T E RSTO C K

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PLAN UPFRONT

Scottish minister to ‘call-in’ all appeals for 100+ homes Scottish planning minister Alex Neil has decreed that from now on all planning appeals for housing proposals of more than 100 units will be recalled to ensure that housing land supply issues are given ministerial scrutiny.

Neil insisted that the move “underlines the government’s determination to increase the pace and scale of development to deliver more homes across all tenures”.

The announcement came as the administration rolled out a £50 million infrastructure fund designed to help unblock sites.

“To make that happen we will team up with public and private sector bodies to tackle complex development, financing, infrastructure and planning issues impeding housing supply,” said the minister.

Meanwhile, the independent panel set up to review Scottish planning is due to report in May after the election. It is expected to focus many of its recommendations on how the regime can improve the delivery of good-quality housing developments.

Black Country to build ‘biggest’ garden city A new garden city could transform the region, says the Black Country LEP

Britain’s biggest-ever garden city is to be built in the Black Country in a bid to meet the demand for housing.

It will be built, according to the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), across 30 towns near to and within Wolverhampton, from Aldridge to West Bromwich.

The development is being led by the LEP and the Homes and Community Agency, with the support of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The development has been designed to cater for “unprecedented” housing demand as well as to sustain “record levels” of private sector investment coming into the region, said the LEP. It is expected to boost the local economy by £18 billion over 10 years and aims to retain graduates from universities in the West Midlands.

The proposals suggest that 45,000 homes will be built in the Black Country garden city. It will be

“one of Britain’s biggest-ever brownfield site regenerations, covering more than 1,500 hectares”, explained the LEP, and will form a vital part of the region’s plans to win business investment and sustain economic growth, transforming the region as a place to live and work.

The region is seeking £6 billion in investment across 550 sites.

Building work is expected to start this year to be completed by 2026.

Dr Chris Handy OBE, Black Country LEP board member, said: “The garden city is a vital part of the Black Country’s growth plans and future success.

“It will increase the appeal of the region as a place to live and work, and will boost the local construction industry and its supply chain. It is close to skilled jobs and universities, a regional market of five million people, and is served by good-quality transport connections.”

Royal Assent axes DoE in Northern Ireland Legislation cutting the number of Stormont departments from 12 to nine – and in the process dissolving the Department of Environment and reassigning responsibility for key planningrelated functions – has received the Royal Assent.

The new departments with planning and built heritage responsibilities are: c Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA); c Infrastructure; c Justice; and c Communities.

The environmental functions transferring from DoE to DAERA will include regulation,

but will exclude the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s built heritage function.

The Department for Infrastructure will assume the Planning functions are now split between four departments

existing functions of the current Department for Regional Development (DRD) as well as strategic planning from DoE, plus oversight of the

Rivers Agency and inland waterways.

The new Department of Justice will take on responsibility for the Planning Appeals Commission.

Meanwhile, the Department for Communities will cover the existing functions of the Department for Social Development and take on local government from DoE, including Built Heritage from the NI Environment Agency.

The new setup comes into force in May. n Stages of the bill may be viewed here: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-NI-departmentbill

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NEWS

Analysis {

The UN Habitat III conference is being held in Quito, Ecuador

WORLD SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Towards a new ‘urban paradigm’

By Simon Wicks How are planners influencing the next wave of urban development around the world?

Two new documents that will help to guide urban development globally for the next 20 years saw the light of day in late March – and the RTPI was among the organisations feeding into them.

The City We Need is effectively civil society’s manifesto for sustainable urban development, produced by the World Urban Campaign (WUC), of which the RTPI is a member. The institute’s Trudi Elliott was directly involved in its drafting.

Completed immediately before the European Habitat conference in Prague, The City We Need outlines 10 principles for “a new urban paradigm” along with the means by which they can be achieved.

These will be taken to the once-in-a-generation United Nations (UN) Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador, in October, along with the output from the European Habitat conference. This, the Prague Declaration, is an agreement of the 56 member states of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on how best to meet new housing and urban

“THE PRAGUE DECLARATION ITSELF HAS REFERENCES TO PLANNING, TOO. THESE ARE QUITE BIG STEPS FORWARD IN TERMS OF RECOGNITION [OF THE ROLE OF PLANNING] ACROSS THE WORLD” RICHARD BLYTH 10

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10 PRINCIPLES FOR A NEW URBAN PARADIGM

The City We Need: development challenges in Europe.

It will be the continent’s negotiating platform at Habitat III. The aim of this final conference is to agree the New Urban Agenda, a blueprint for worldwide urban development.

According to the RTPI’s head of policy, Richard Blyth, this can be considered “a local plan for the world” that addresses the challenge of sustainable urban development as the world’s city-dwelling population expands to six billion over the next 30 years.

For Blyth, the build-up to Habitat III has so far been a victory for planning. “Across the world planners such as Eugénie Birch (head of the World Urban Campaign) have been using a huge amount of influence to try to get the UN and governments to think about cities,” said Blyth.

Indeed, under pressure from organisations such as the WUC, the UN agreed Sustainable Development Goal 11: “Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.

And Birch is set to be one of the most important people in Quito – the lead civil society negotiator among the member states of the UN. The prominence of planners in the discussion process has, said Blyth, “shaped the way that civil society is related to the process, and the kind of language that planners like to see has had quite a lot of airtime”.

“The Prague Declaration itself has references to planning, too. These are quite big steps forward in terms of recognition [of the role of planning] across the world,” he said.

(1) Is socially inclusive and engaging

(2) Is affordable, accessible and equitable

(3) Is economically vibrant and inclusive

(4) Is collectively managed and democratically governed

(5) Fosters cohesive territorial development

(6) Is regenerative and resilient (7) Has shared identities and sense of place

(8) Is well planned, walkable, and transit-friendly

(9) Is safe, healthy and promotes wellbeing

(10) Learns and innovates n From The City We Need: tinyurl. com/planner0416-city-we-need

The importance of such lengthy and complex steps towards agreement will become apparent in October, when the New Urban Agenda emerges. Its power will be twofold, explained Blyth. Firstly, it gives civil society a means of holding governments to account for their actions.

“Secondly, programmes will be based on it and there will be money attached, and this will be spent according to the agenda,” he said.

The Prague Declaration had yet to be published as The Planner went to press. n Find out more about UN-Habitat III: https://www.habitat3.org/

I M AG E S | G E T T Y

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PLAN UPFRONT

Budget 2016: At a glance Chancellor George Osborne announced a number of planning, housing, infrastructure, and devolution measures in his 2016 Budget.

In the House of Commons on 16 March, Osborne said: “We choose to put stability first”, and that housing and infrastructure are key to that.”

Here, The Planner outlines some of the key measures.

PLANNING c The government intends to move to a “more zonal and ‘red line’ planning approach”, meaning local authorities would use their local plans to signal their development strategy from the beginning.

It advised that councils should make maximum use of permission in principle to give “early certainty and reduce the number of stages developers must go through to get planning permission”. c Measures will be introduced to minimise delays, including laws to ensure that precommencement planning conditions can only be used with the agreement of the developer. c The document will set a statutory threemonth deadline for secretary of state decisions on called-in applications and recovered appeals.

HOUSING c The Starter Homes Land Fund prospectus, will allow local authorities access to £1.2 billion of funding to remediate brownfield land to be used for 30,000 starter homes. c By bringing forward £250 million of capital spending to 2017-18 and 2018-19, the government aims to deliver 13,000 affordable homes two years early. c Homes and Community Agency to work with Network Rail and local authorities to provide land around stations for housing, and commercial development. c The government will legislate to “make it easier” for local authorities to work together to create garden towns. It will also consult on a “second wave” of Compulsory Purchase Order reforms to make the process “clearer, fairer and quicker”.

INFRASTRUCTURE c The government will provide funding worth £300 million to improve transport

connectivity across the North of England. c The green light has been given to HS3 between Leeds and Manchester. c £75 million for the Highways Agency to further develop the case for a TransPennine tunnel between Sheffield and Manchester. c Crossrail 2 has been green-lit. c Launch of second Roads Investment Strategy. c £700 million investment for flood defences, which will be funded through a 0.5 per cent rise in the standard rate of insurance premium tax.

Power interconnector hearing begins in Ireland An oral hearing into the Irish Republic section of the proposed North-South 400 kilovolt (kV) interconnector project started this week and is expected to last 12 weeks.

An Bord Pleanála has convened the hearing into Eirgrid’s controversial proposals, which is being held at the Nuremore Hotel, Carrickmacross.

The interconnector scheme comprises a new 400 kV overhead line, running from Meath, through the east of Cavan and up to the border at Lemgare, County Monaghan. It will link with a proposed interconnection development running through Armagh and Tyrone in Northern Ireland.

The plan is to connect the two power grids north and south of the border using 138 kilometres of overhead lines.

The pylons would vary in height between 26 metres and 51m across Monaghan, Cavan and Meath.

This is the second inquiry organised

by An Bord Pleanála into the project.

Objectors want the proposed new power lines to be buried underground, a move that transmission company Eirgrid has insisted is uneconomic.

A public inquiry into the Northern Ireland section of the link is scheduled to start in June.

DEVOLUTION c City deal discussions will open with Swansea and Edinburgh and the southeast of Scotland. c Devolution deals have been agreed with the West of England Combined Authority, East Anglia Combined Authority, and Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority.

These combined authorities would each vote in a directly elected mayor in exchange for a number of devolved powers, including transport and planning. n Budget 2016 can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/ budget-2016-documents n The RTPI response to the Budget 2016 can be found on the institute’s website: tinyurl.com/planner0416-rtpi-budget

"THE INTERCONNECTOR SCHEME COMPRISES A NEW 400 KILOVOLTS OVERHEAD LINE, RUNNING FROM MEATH, THROUGH THE EAST OF CAVAN AND UP TO THE BORDER AT LEMGARE, COUNTY MONAGHAN" AP R IL 2 0 16 / THE PLA NNER

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CHRIS SHEPLEY

O Opinion Politicians need activity as a substitute for achievement Sir Jeremy Cumulo-Nimbus was a top official in the old Ministry of Housing and Local Government. Though now nearly ninety, he still has most of his marbles, and recently spoke about his experience to a conference in London. (Of course it was in London. They always are).

Here is a beef extract.

Thank you, Mr Chairperson, Madam. Where am I? Thank you.

Now. I’ve been following, with the aid of my carer, the way in which the governance of this great country of ours has been proceeding in my long absence, which is caused by the fact that I was forced to retire against my will some time ago. And, Madam Chair, Sir, I don’t like what I see.

Of course, I am dimly aware that things have changed since my day. Some of you may dismiss the ramblings of a rather old man as the ramblings of a rather old man. But I venture to suggest that some of the principles by which we operated the levers of power back in my day may not be so irrelevant to the modern world as might widely be thought, and that there may peradventure be things we can learn from the lessons of the past, even though they are in the past. I’m getting going now, Mrs Chair.

I notice, now, that it is required of ministers that they are constantly active. Action at the expense of strategy! Every hour a new announcement, every day a new policy, every month a new bill. As the old advertisement had

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“ONE OF THE OTHER QUAINT THINGS WE DID WAS TO EMPLOY A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO KNEW ABOUT THINGS” it, a wheeze a day helps you work, rest and play (pause for laughter). This is in my view neither necessary nor helpful nor indeed necessary.

The frenetic can so easily topple into the frantic, leaving ministers looking ridiculous and the public feeling bemused.

It was the practice, in the olden days, to deliberate. Acts of Parliament, on planning for example, were rare and were carefully composed, not thrown together in the modern scattergun fashion.

Ideas would be test-driven.

People who know what they were talking about, even those outside government, would be consulted and, though it might seem alien today, listened to. I personally would obviously never have made any mistakes anyway, but some of my colleagues did find it helped them to get things right.

One of the other quaint things we did was to employ a lot of people who knew about things. Now, I have been told by someone at my club that this does not happen any more. Advice is given, I understand, either by fanatical free market economists in the Treasury, for whom “blinkered” would be a generous compliment; or by political advisers who have come straight from school. I was, and remain, puzzled by this. It makes sense only if the ideology or

the politics of policies are more important than their effects. Which surely can hardly be the case.

I believe Parliament still exists, though it seems to have little relevance these days, various means of circumventing the Honourable Members and their Honourable Friends having been invented. It was admittedly a bit of a chore to have to sit and listen to them, but we had this democracy thing going and it was quite useful.

Finally in this great sweeping view of current evens, Chair, my carer recently read to me a fine book called The Blunders Of Our Governments¹, none of which had anything to do with me. It referred to “prejudgements, beliefs to which the person who holds them is so wedded that he or she is not likely to be prepared to re-appraise them in the light of new experience or evidence”. In my experience, good ministers learn to suspend their prejudgements for long enough to recognise that they are in fact pre-judgements.

And now, Mr Chairperson Sir or Madam, it’s time for bed.

1 Anthony King and Ivor Crewe, Oneworld, 2014

Chris Shepley is the principal of Chris Shepley Planning and former Chief Planning Inspector

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Quote unquote FROM THE RTPI AND THE WEB

“The number of over-65s and over-85s in England will double in the period 20102030” LORD MATTHEW TAYLOR OF GOSS MOOR

“[By not employing more women] we are just not accessing over 50 per cent of the talent in this city and this country. From a pure business logic perspective, it’s makes no sense” “London’s population grows at a rate of eight people p p p per hour”

MIKE BROWN, COMMISSIONER FOR TRANSPORT FOR LONDON, SPEAKING ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

LONDON BOROUGH PLANNING GUIDE

“Let’s get on with it. If we are really to make it a powerhouse like Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London, we’d better give the North the power and resources that we actually gave to these areas” JOHN PRESCOTT, SPEAKING AT THE UK NORTHERN POWERHOUSE CONFERENCE

“Old Oak HS2 station will be largest station built in nearly a century in the UK, 90 per cent the size of Waterloo”

“Poor housing costs the NHS at least £1.4bn a year”

VICTORIA HILL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICE, OLD OAK & PARK ROYAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

KATE HENDERSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ASSOCIATION

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

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CORRESPONDENCE

I Inbox

YOUR NEWS, VIEWS AND QUESTIONS F E E D B ACK

Jeremy Crossley — It’s hard to see how the loss of a field in the secluded settlement of St Just in Roseland [March issue, p36], nestling amidst the woods besides the River Fal, can have such a damaging impact on the rugged coastline at St Just some 40 miles away to the west near Land’s End. Jeremy Crossley, Kent, near London, west of Java Oops! – duly noted. Clearly, we will, on occasion, struggle to find photography to fit with each location story; this is obviously a case of mistaken identity. Our apologies to both St Justs - Ed.

Steve Pitcher — In February, the secretary of state gave planning permission for a new free school to be built in a remote location in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the north coast of Devon. The permission was granted despite the inspector concluding that the development would have an adverse impact and was contrary to the local plan and NPPF policies. In fact, he concluded that there were no exceptional circumstances justifying the development.

But the secretary of state took the view that the need for a new school overrode all other considerations.

As chair of the North Devon Coast AONB partnership, which opposed the development and gave evidence at the inquiry, I believe there are wider implications regarding the way we value our countryside.

Despite the countryside being originally at the core of town and country planning

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that the transport network is geared towards commuters and business connections, rather than communities. It’s particularly a problem in the outer boroughs.”

Two minutes with… Susie Zuber SUSIE ZUBER is head of design advocacy and enabling at Open City, the architecture education organisation. Susie is working with young Londoners on a built environment ‘manifesto’ to present to mayoral election candidates.

You’re leading Open City’s ‘My City Too’ campaign. What is it?

“It’s a campaign for a betterplanned city for London teenagers. At Open City, we champion architecture education, get it into the classroom, and help people to understand it better. Open City Too is a way of getting to the more political side of architecture education – getting young people engaged in the design of the city and creating a manifesto to put to the mayoral candidates.”

Why focus on young people?

“They’re the future workers and professionals. We are looking particularly at teenagers – they’re not children, but not yet considered to be adults either.

They fall between the gaps.

“We do a lot of work in this age group in other programmes and quite often we hear that they feel they are not listened to, and they don’t have an opportunity to inform decision-making. But under18s want to be involved in design and decision-making.

“We’re looking at what

legislation, the present emphasis on growth and the urban agenda seems to regard the countryside as a mere adjunct to towns and cities. While there is a growing awareness of the services the countryside supplies to our communities, whether it is the retention of rainwater in the uplands,

the mayoral candidates have in their manifestos and where there’s crossover – in housing, transport and the environment. There are some points about young people, but there's not much about engaging them. We hope to put them on the agenda.”

What are you finding out from your work with young people?

“What’s interesting is that their top concerns are about personal safety and good public transport. We found that teenagers feel threatened when there are groups of unknown people around. They want to see better lighting and good clear views around them.

“They’d like to see activities and facilities provided for them to use and feel comfortable with public spaces. They don’t necessarily want to hang out at home anymore, but they’re not earning money so can’t hang out in cafés or go shopping.

The built environment has a responsibility to this age group to provide spaces for them where they can feel safe. There’s also a sense

the provision of carbon capture, the accommodation and protection of wildlife, the supply of food and of recreational opportunities, there is still little that joins these together. Our protected landscapes are expected to accommodate developments that serve a wider ‘national‘ interest. Choice and growth,

Has there been any comment on the enormous amount of development in London?

“Young people we are talking to are very concerned about whether it’s going to be affordable for them. Young Londoners who want to stay near their family and home, their community, are worried that they’re going to be priced out of it. They’re not interested in social housing. They want genuinely affordable housing.”

My City Too is co-sponsored by the RTPI Future Planners programme as part of the institute’s outreach activities.

RTPI’s head of education Andrew Close adds: “We see opportunities to promote planning as a career choice, raise the profile of the profession, and extend our model of engagement outside of the classroom. Our London regional ambassadors are supporting the project, which enables us to promote RTPI policy themes to mayoral candidates, to create volunteer opportunities for RTPI members and to build new relationships with the schools taking part.” n Find out about the My City Too campaign at www.mycitytoo.org.uk/ n Find out more about the RTPI Future Planners programme: www.rtpi.org.uk/ education-and-careers/rtpiambassadors-programme/

the twin mantras of the free market that have dominated the political discourse for 30 years, are increasingly seen as fundamentally unsustainable.

We need to put the country back into town and country planning.

Steve Pitcher BA, Dip TP, MRTPI (Retd), MCIHT (Retd), MIED

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

O Opinion

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Anna Round is senior research fellow at IPPR North

The Great Grea North Plan project was conceiv conceived separately from the government’s Northern Powerhouse agenda, but both projects share roots in a growing body of work that identifies the benefits of treating the north of England as a polycentric but integrated economic region.

This includes the 2012 report of the Northern Economic Futures Commission and the newly formed remit of Transport for the North. Since the first roundtable in Sheffield 10 months ago, the potential of a Great North Plan to define, shape and enhance the Northern Powerhouse has become clearer at every step.

We found huge enthusiasm for a Great North Plan that drives economic growth and social benefits.

Many in these discussions were professional planners. But the emerging vision is not of a ‘Plan’ in the conventional, statutory sense – it is a framework that brings together the elements of professional planning that most usefully apply at a ‘pan-northern’ scale alongside insights from other areas of expertise.

For example, planning will guide the treatment of place, which is crucial for many of those who have given their views on the Great North Plan. This casts the North as a diverse but united region in which cities, towns, rural areas and coasts offer distinctive contributions to its economic and social development, and where genuine collaboration will lead to

Harry Quartermain is a senior planner with JBA in Sydney

Having a ‘fair go’ in Australia

A plan for the powerhouse?

the greatest gains.

A Great North Plan will add value to local plans and strategic economic plans, working spatially and thematically to draw out the potential of connections between places to attract and use investment, and to tackle common concerns (e.g. environmental sustainability and equitable growth).

These documents will inform its first iteration, and in time may be themselves influenced by a Great North Plan. But these documents are not set up to apply to a region extending from the Borders to the Pennines and the North Sea to the Irish Sea, or to address broad social and economic issues.

This demands innovation and learning from best practice in countries that use bold and holistic plans for polycentric regions cutting across established geographies. And as we don’t have a legislative body for the whole of the North that would own the Plan, we also need to find ways to win buy-in and consensus (on the one hand) and to give it traction and ‘teeth’ (on the other).

These may well evolve with more devolution. The potential rewards of a new approach to northern growth are immense. A successful Great North Plan would result in something that could qute legitimately be called a ‘Northern Powerhouse’.

“WE NEED TO FIND INNOVATIVE WAYS TO WIN BUY­IN AND CONSENSUS”

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Read about the Great North Plan at www.greatnorthplan.com/

Working for the past five-and-ahalf yea years as a ‘Pommie planner’ in Sydney has given me an insight into the state of housing sustainability in Australia.

Among the tenets of Australian culture are a connection with the outdoors, having a ‘fair go’, and ‘mateship’. These correlate closely with planning’s principles of environmental, economic and social sustainability. But when I read the Habitat III ‘Issue Paper’ on housing, I was not surprised to see many of issues on housing sustainability ring true, even here.

A consideration of environmental and social sustainability is required during the development assessment process in New South Wales.

The objectives of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 include the encouragement of ‘ecologically sustainable development’ and the provision and maintenance of affordable housing. This resonates with the connection to the outdoors and the idea of ‘mateship’.

The Building Code of Australia sets basic standards for development, including new housing.

Energy-efficiency rating is also common, and assessment of new housing against the Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) is compulsory in New South Wales.

State and federal governments are not afraid to spend on infrastructure, with more than A$8 billion recently invested in the

new Metro Northwest. Increasing the urban density of Sydney around existing and future train stations to create transit-oriented developments is an ongoing but slow process. Most local councils have been slow to respond to new infrastructure, but the state government is making changes to the zoning regimes around these stations to replace the traditional low-density suburbs with viable mixed-use centres.

Economic sustainability, driven by fiscal policy, is largely within the remit of federal government.

Despite 89 per cent of the population residing in towns, the relationship between the federal government and urban issues, like housing, has been patchy. In 2013 the Major Cities Unit was dismantled and in 2015 the federal treasurer said cities were not within federal jurisdiction.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says house prices in Sydney have risen 19.9 per cent in the past year. Australia’s population will double within 50 years and the proportion of people living in the capital cities will grow from 66 per cent to 73 per cent. In this federal election year we await government discussion on equitable access to homes for Sydney’s eight million future inhabitants.

“STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS ARE NOT AFRAID TO SPEND ON INFRASTRUCTURE”

This is the first in a series on sustainability and housing from Commonwealth planners in the run-up to UN-Habitat III

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

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

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Jeff Povlo is managing director of ‘social design’ company Scape

Can brands help build spaces for people, not just for profit?

“It is difficult to design a space that w will not attract people.

What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.” – William H Whyte Today’s city planners are faced with the same challenge William H Whyte and Jane Jacobs set out to overcome in the 1960s: how do we best design public spaces?

In an age of rapid urbanisation, the question is more relevant and complex than ever. Creating more human-scale, inclusive and interactive public spaces could define the future success of our cities. Urban planners, architects, governments, citizens, and an increasing diversity of contemporary ‘city-makers’ are exploring ways to better programme public space.

But can brands be city-makers, too? Can they move beyond their perceptions as profit-driven entities and also positively contribute to people-centred public spaces?

Yes, brands can play an integral role in fostering communities and programming public space.

Not by sticking logos on everything, but in a variety of contributory ways like kick-starting new ideas, identifying and nurturing emerging talent and creating shared experiences.

In a time where everything is getting smarter and faster, people look for more meaningful engagement, whether it comes from a public or private initiative.

And the reality is that brands

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have influence. In a McCann Worldgroup study. The Truth About Global Brands, 81 per cent said global brands have the ability to make greater positive change than governments.

Both cities and brands are seeking new ways to develop deeper relationships with their users – people. The challenges of planning successful public spaces offer an ideal setting to work together.

In Lisbon, for example, Smart Automobile worked with the traffic authority to tackle jaywalking at street crossings by creating a dancing traffic light powered by real people’s movements in a different part of the city. The interactive installation led to 81 per cent more people waiting for the traffic light at a high-volume crosswalk – and enjoying it.

Progressive city-brand partnerships can offer 21st century city-making a new edge.

But there remains an unclear ‘grey area’ when it comes to linking urban planning and brand strategies.

Striking a balance between commercial and social objectives is key for cities, companies and – most importantly – communities to benefit.

Clarifying and acting on this potential is where brands can really offer a contribution to programming public spaces for people.

“BOTH CITIES AND BRANDS ARE SEEKING NEW WAYS TO DEVELOP DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR USERS – PEOPLE”

Linda M Wheaton is assistant director of intergovernmental affairs at the California Department of Housing and Community Development

Learning lessons on both sides of the pond

Strategie Strategies for increasing housing supply, addressing housing affordability and acceptance of infill development, regeneration, and integrating transit and mixed-use development are common to planners in the US and the UK. I had the chance to compare how planners are meeting these challenges in the UK and California in late 2015 via an exchange sponsored by the American Planning Association and the RTPI. I learned about the broad spectrum of stakeholders focused on the need to increase the UK’s housing supply.

Although I heard planning processes being blamed in part for the housing crisis, it was reassuring to see groups like Shelter countering with analysis identifying the influence of multiple factors and illustrating alternative growth options.

The interest in increasing England’s private rental sector is exemplified by new joint ventures such as Argent Related, pairing an English and American company. Both have strong reputations in placemaking through their real estate and investment businesses and work involving planners. There is potential for US firms to learn from the success of developments such as the St Pancras International-Kings Cross Station, while sharing their expertise operating within the multifamily rental

sector of the US in developing areas such as Brent Cross South.

Joint ventures in the public sector are of growing importance.

In 2015, while Transport for London announced plans to build 10,000 homes in London over the next decade, two of California’s transit agencies, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Bay Area Rapid Transit, both adopted policies facilitating housing development on transit agency land.

These plans include provision for affordable homes (‘inclusionary provisions’ – akin to Section 106 requirements, but without the statutory foundation). The less complicated financing structures for affordable housing here would be envied by US developers, especially in California, where multiple subsidy layers are common.

Our exchange experience reinforced that, despite different political and organisational structures, we have many common planning objectives, providing rich opportunity for reaching across the pond.

“JOINT DEVELOPMENT VENTURES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR ARE OF GROWING IMPORTANCE”

Linda was involved in an exchange with Jamie Ratcliff of the Local Government Association. We’ll see Jamie’s thoughts on US planning in a future issue.

Find out about planning exchanges: tinyurl.com/planner0416-planning-exchanges

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I N T E R V I E W LO U I S E B R O O K E 足 S M I T H

HE CROSSING LOUISE BROOKE足SMITH WAS THE FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT OF RICS. BUT BREAKING NEW GROUND IS NOTHING NEW FOR A PLANNER SURVEYOR WHOSE CAREER HAS TAKEN HER FROM CONGLETON TO THE CONGO AND BEYOND, AS MARK SMULIAN DISCOVERS

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AD OF

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IVIDE

Look on Google Maps and, if one is sufficiently expert in the geography of the Democratic Republic of Congo, one can still see the first surveying project that Louise Brooke-Smith led.

Almost 30 years later, that early experience in Africa was the driver of one of her main themes as president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

As president in 2014-15, she helped to drive the wider adoption of professional ethics and land registration reform in Africa. But in 1985, going to work in DR Congo, then known as Zaire, was an unusual experience for a surveying student spending her placement year with Coventry City Council.

“It was right place, right time, right conversation that took me to Zaire – the story of my life,” Brooke-Smith recalls.

She found herself working at an American Baptist mission near Kwilu, helping to build houses for a medical complex that served an area the size of Wales. “I went there to introduce what we now call sustainable development, using fibrous cement construction of houses. I loved it; the houses are still there and you can Google them.”

After some work as a field officer on rural development projects for a Quaker organisation near Bhopal in India, Brooke-Smith secured her first job with Birmingham City Council, a city in which she has stayed for most of her career.

Here, too, Africa intervened, in the form of a Commonwealth scholarship to work in Kenya for

{

PHOTOGRAPHY PETER SEARLE

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UN Habitat assessing land rights under colonial, tribal and current Kenyan laws. She went on to do similar work in Uganda and Tanzania.

“Planners should Years later, these experiences were to know more about viability. It’s a guide much of her work as RICS president, combination of when her duties took her the equivalent of planners becoming eight times round the world. more commercially Back home, she gained her additional minded and planning qualification in 1989. developers having respect and support “My background is very much planning for planning policy” and land use economics,” explains BrookeSmith. “That’s what I studied in my first degree at Sheffield – applied geography, you could call it – and I got interested in viability and the development industry. My role has always been about putting policy into practice.”

Her work at Birmingham was as “a hybrid between planner and estates officer in economic development. Because of my overseas experience I was not treated as a straight graduate.”

But soon after returning from Kenya, she felt it was time for some private sector experience and went to property firm DTZ, now Cushman & Wakefield, as a regional planner.

Even here, the planning surveyor was drawn back to the continent that has drawn her again and again – this time with work on land rights in Botswana. There was further overseas work in 1992-93 when, newly married, she and her husband travelled in the Far East, South Asia, Australasia, and America, where she gave lectures on the British planning system.

Returning from her world tour to a UK just recovering from the early 1990s recession, Brooke-Smith worked for a year for house builder Bryant Homes, a post she enjoyed but in which she found little further scope. In 1994 “I made my mind up I wanted to set up my own consultancy and from day one I have been lucky as we’ve always had work coming through the door”.

C V

HIG HL IG HT S

LOUI S E B R OOKE­ S M IT H F R IC S , M R T P I Education: BSc Urban Land Economics & Real Estate Development, Sheffield Polytechnic (1986); Post Graduate Diploma Town Planning, Birmingham Polytechnic (1989); Congleton Girls Grammar School Timeline:

1984 Estates officer,

1987 Development

1989 Senior planning

Coventry City Council

surveyor, Birmingham City Council

surveyor, DTZ

1988­89 Seconded to UN

Lectured in planning in Far East, Australia and the US

1985 Field officer in India and development surveyor in Zaire

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Habitat land rights programme in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania

1992 1993

Regional planner, Bryant Homes Central

1994

Chief executive, Brooke Smith Planning

2014­15

President, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

After more than two decades in business, the Birmingham-based Brooke Smith Planning practice now employs 10 professional staff.

Building bridges Brooke-Smith’s background puts her at the junction of planning and development, and from her vantage point she concludes neither profession understands the other as well as it might, causing avoidable problems.

Narrowing this divide was among the things she tried to do as RICS president and hopes to continue. But where does the problem lie?

“Planners should know more about viability,” she says. “I think it’s a combination of planners becoming more commercially minded and developers having respect and support for planning policy and guidance.

“There has to be change on both sides,” she continues. “The commercial person has to recognise the need for a set of guidance or regulations, and the people who administer those need an understanding of the commercial aspects of the industry they are working in.

“Planning is badly resourced at the moment, but there is also an unfortunate gap in knowledge between the two sides. If there were more understanding we would have a better system.”

She thinks planners’ training and continuing professional development should include “a much better grasp of the economics of viability and what makes the development industry tick”.

“It is something that has to change and there has to be buy-in from the development industry of the need for planning regulations and policy, and the planning fraternity in the public sector have to want to understand how the development industry works.

“Change is needed both ways or you get inconsistency in the way regulations are followed through in different places, and a lot of consents sitting there because obligations do not make sense any more and they need to be revisited.”

While Brooke-Smith built up her practice, she also rose through the ranks of RICS and was elected vice-president at the outset of the fiveyear run-up to the presidency.

“I did not set out to be the first female president and I was adamant telling people ‘please do not vote for me because I’m wearing a skirt’,” she says.

“Work on diversity grew and grew to the point where we last year launched the inclusive employer quality mark across the built environment professions.

“Any firm involved can get it, and a lot see the benefit of attracting, training and promoting a diverse workforce.”

She says the industry is grasping that its work-

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force “cannot continue to be ‘male, pale and stale’ as so many studies show that is not the best make-up for business.

“The reason that things are going quicker now is down to pure commerce, as there is a clear business case for having a diverse workforce that brings different experiences to their work.”

The case for ethics As president, Brooke-Smith’s African work focused on RICS’s strategy for sub-Saharan Africa to open more offices to serve its members there, and to advise widely on the professionalism and ethics of being a chartered surveyor.

Ghana, Kenya and South Africa were chosen as the main places for this work, along with a second tier of Nigeria and Tanzania.

“Those countries are keen for more RICS presence and there is a real appetite due to the amount of real estate investment and infrastructure going in, which governments want to make work,” she says.

Ethics is critical to her approach to developing the land-based professions. RICS is working with other international bodies on developing ethical standards, something Brooke-Smith says professionals welcome in Africa and elsewhere.

“Professionalism is worth its weight in gold. It’s not colonial Brits coming in and “There is a clear imposing ethical business case for having a diverse behaviour, it’s an workforce that increasing number of brings different professional organisaexperiences to their tions, industry and work” governments wanting bodies to share their experience.”

Ethics is rarely an issue in the UK, she notes, as the prevalence of institutions means “being a professional means you work to certain ethical standards, and that ethical approach is an exportable quality and lots of parts of the world value it”.

Another aspect of international collaboration that started under Brooke-Smith’s presidency concerns the slightly arcane subject of how one measures the size of a building.

“Measurement sounds straightforward, but in the Middle East you would measure the carpet area, in Spain the potential to add another floor, in New York from the nose of a gargoyle to the central pillars, it is so varied and needs to be standardised, as when people are investing millions around the world they need to be sure they are comparing apples with apples,” says Brooke-Smith.

Similar work is in progress on international land registration standards, where a coalition of international, regional, and national land professional bodies seeks to develop these.

“Land registration is one of biggest problems "I made my mind up across sub-Saharan Africa as it does exist but is I wanted to set up not always in an electronic form, and where it is my own consultancy up to date and regulated, then it makes an and from day one I have been lucky incredible difference to investment,” she says. as we’ve always “Kenya is updating its register and that will had work coming make a massive difference. In fact, the work I did through the door." on land rights all those years ago is now coming home to roost.

“It will change the use of international aid, because if you can establish who owns what things will be more visible. Where things are not clear the real estate industry has great difficulty.”

Her presidency over, Brooke-Smith’s main interest outside her business will focus on serving as chair of trustees of the charity All We Can, originally the Methodist church’s overseas aid agency. There, she will pursue a long-standing interest in planning for disaster resilience – “advice on building regulations and planning for disasters where you know something is bound to happen, and then building back better afterwards”.

Never one to do things casually, she is also a keen athlete, competing at masters’ level in the shot-put, hammer and discus for Birchfield Harriers.

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EU REFERENDUM

THE EFFECT? Confusing, messy, riddled with vested interests, bedevilled by claim and counter-claim, beset by playground insults and prejudice.

For a vote that is more important than any general election and the most significant ballot in 40 years, the EU referendum has so far been a poor advertisement for UK political debate. Immigration, business and trade have dominated. Yet, as much of the UK’s planning system is intertwined with European and international law, particularly on the environment, what are some of the wider consequences of Brexit?

Initially not many, according to Bircham Dyson Bell partner Angus Walker. Under the Treaty on the European Union, a withdrawal agreement would be negotiated with the country leaving after two years or when such an agreement would come into force – which could take longer. EU regulations and treaties would no longer apply to the UK from that point. European directives are a different matter.

“Directives are a bit different because they are transposed into national legislation which is then the operative law, so that would not disappear automatically even if the directive no longer applied,” says Walker. “Some provisions of directives have been successfully argued in court that they have ‘direct effect’ though,

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so that plank of applicability would disappear upon exit.

“Most of the secondary legislation implementing directives is made under the European Communities Act 1972, and so if that act was repealed without any saving provisions, it would mean all the UK implementations of directives falling away. This is unlikely to happen because it would cause chaos and so secondary legislation is likely to be saved, at first at least.”

But things get even more complicated further down the line. Like many organisations, the RSPB, WWF, and the Wildlife Trusts are neutral on the referendum, but they asked the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) to analyse the EU’s impact on the environment and what would happen under different scenarios for withdrawal.

“THE UK WOULD HAVE A CHOICE: MIRROR THE EU PROTECTIONS WITHOUT HAVING A SAY IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT, OR FALL BEHIND WITH THE PROTECTION OF PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT”

“We are not endorsing either campaign, but we do want to challenge both sides to think about the implications for the environment and make that part of the public debate,” says RSPB head of sustainable development Simon Marsh. “It’s thinking about the risks to environmental protection generally from leaving the EU.” The IEEP found significant EU plus points have been measures to safeguard birds, protect habitats and deliver cleaner air, rivers and beaches, as well as water and waste management policies. Black marks have been the Common Agricultural Policy and to a lesser extent the Common Fisheries Policy.

On balance, the IEEP concluded that the more stringent environmental standards within the EU single market have had significant environmental and health benefits. Moreover, during the past four decades the UK has considerable form in providing scientific and policy advice to the development of EU legislation on environmental quality.

The report goes on to suggest that many of the initiatives to improve environmental quality in the UK would not have taken place, or would not have been pursued as effectively, without legal pressure from EU legislation, and the benefits to citizens and businesses would not have happened. This finding resounds with many observers of a certain vintage who recall I M AG E | G E T T Y

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June’s referendum on whether the UK stays or leaves the EU is generating more heat than light. So what are the implications for planning? Huw Morris tries to ďŹ nd out

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EU REFERENDUM

IN AND OUT: AN EU CHECKLIST

EU membership

Inside the EEA

Total Brexit

Will the UK retain access to the single market?

Yes

Yes

No, everything must be negotiated

Will the UK pay into the EU budget?

Yes

Yes, but would be less under an access deal

No, unless negotiated

Will EU laws continue to apply to the UK?

Yes

Most, except the Birds, Habitats and Bathing Water Directives

No

Will the UK have a say in EU policy?

Yes

Only consulted during preparation

No

Will the UK face mechanisms for compliance and penalties for non-compliance?

Yes

Yes

No

Will the UK need to negotiate new agreements?

No

Yes, in some areas Yes, across a wide – particularly front agriculture and fisheries

Could a future government lower current environmental standards?

Only at EU level

Not where they Yes, although are covered by EU UK exporters obligations must abide by EU standards and will face tariffs

Economic pressures and temptations could lead the UK to fall behind with the protection of people and the environment, suggest some

Source: Institute for European Environmental Policy

that for the first two decades of the country’s membership of the EU, the UK was dubbed “the dirty man of Europe”.

What if we say ‘No’?

So what about a “no” vote? There are two scenarios. The first is that the UK leaves the EU but stays in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) to retain access to the single market – otherwise known as the Norway or Switzerland options advocated by “leave” campaigners.

As a member of the EEA, many EU environmental laws would be mandatory, with the notable exceptions for environmental protection of the Birds, Habitats and Bathing Water Quality Directives.

Crucially, the UK would no longer have full representation in EU institutions that shape legislation and would be limited to the consultation of national experts.

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It would have no part in formal negotiations, would not be able to vote and would have no MEPs to influence legislation in the European Parliament.

As an EFTA member, the UK would not be required to adapt most EU law except where it is directly related to the single market. Under this model not only would the UK have no representation in shaping legislation, it would not have the opportunity for consultation. Under both models, the UK still pays into the EU budget, although the contributions would be less.

In the second “leave” scenario, the UK becomes an independent state outside the EEA and EFTA and would negotiate separate bilateral agreements with the EU. The UK would no longer be governed

by EU law – except those that apply to the single market – and could choose to strengthen, weaken or scrap current laws.

According to Walker, the main direc-

tives affecting planning are the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive, requiring environmental effects to be assessed and considered in the balance by decision-makers, and four directives that require absolute standards to be maintained in all but exceptional circumstances: the Habitats and Birds Directives; the Ambient Air Quality Directive; and the Water Quality Directive. The revised EIA Directive, due by May 2017, will still have to be implemented, given that this is before the two-year limit of June 2018 for exit.

“While these would stay in place at first, there may well be a tendency over time to weaken them as the superior obligations requiring them to be adhered to would no longer exist, and there would be economic pressures and temptations to do so,” he says.

“The UK would have a choice: mirror

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You have to wonder whether that would continue in the long run.”

Environmental assessment

the EU protections without having a say in their development, or fall behind with the protection of people and the environment.”

Riki Therivel, partner in sustainability consultancy Levett-Therivel, sees other mines beneath the surface. “Strategic environmental assessment, habitats and EIA mean a clear cost to development but you don’t see the harm that is avoided,” she says.

“It’s the same with homelessness services – it’s easy to see their cost but the disbenefits become obvious once they are cut. They might be seen as a regulatory burden, but when things go wrong people will see their value.

“The weakening of environmental legislation would also be dangerous to the UK which has an internationally renowned planning and consultancy sector and many international companies have offices here.

Even before the IEEP’s analysis, the Brexit scenarios had concerned 11 of the UK’s leading green advocates and academics, who fear withdrawal would encourage future governments to rip up environmental protection in the name of shortterm competitive advantage.

In a letter to environment secretary Liz Truss, they argue that far from being red tape, EU regulations have been key to improving the UK’s environment, which people now take for granted. A vote to leave would jeopardise international efforts to tackle climate change and pollution and improve biodiversity, as many EU environmental directives have only been possible because they apply across all 28 member states – and so no-one is put at a competitive disadvantage by not adopting them.

They also say that if the UK were to pull out of the EU the government would be under huge pressure from industry to water down environmental protections in areas like energy efficiency to help the UK to become more competitive against former European partners.

The letter was signed by among others Sir John Lawton, former chair of the Royal Commission on Environment and Pollution, Sir John Harman, former chair of the Environment Agency, Poul Christiensen and Helen Phillips, former chair and chief executive respectively of Natural England and ex-National Trust director general Dame Fiona Reynolds.

But it’s not just leading environmental advocates expressing concern. Caroline Spelman was environment secretary between 2010-12 and has a particular take on life inside Whitehall. “There are vested interests that want to water down the nature directives for getting in the way of ‘essential development’ who then very quickly use them to protect their own communities when they don’t want it,” she says.

“When I was environment secretary, I looked into the impact of the Habitats and Birds Directives on planning applications and found they affect just 0.5 per cent of applications.”

Both Brexit scenarios also raise the thorny issue for planners of recent government policy towards deregulation.

The wide-ranging Enterprise Bill aims to remove “regulatory burdens” on businesses, sets a target of £10 billion savings for the current government and obliges regulators to obtain the views of business on the effect their duties have had and to include these views in annual performance reports.

“Where is planning, certainly in England, without Europe?” says Town and Country Planning Association chief planner Hugh Ellis. “I am not sure it exists anyhow with all the deregulation but the one fundamental thing we do have are European directives. Only Europe has made a difference on whether development has an impact on the environment and if you take that away you set planning back by 30 years.

“Most of the good practice is in Europe, as is most of the technological innovation.

We have not done a Freiburg or a Malmö and we will be cutting ourselves off from that.” n The EU and Our Environment is available at tinyurl.com/planner0416brexit-environment The Planner is inviting readers keen to put the case for how Brexit might benefit planning to contact us for an article next month — email editorial@theplanner.co.uk

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THE CHALLENGE OF HOUSING

We know we should be building more houses, but where should we be putting them?

Simon Wicks considers whether we’re putting new homes in the right place for a growing population and economy

SIMON

It’s virtually a given that we need to build a very large number of houses to accommodate a growing population – far more than we are actually building at present.

Volume is essential, but is not the only consideration. Paragraphs 6-10 of the NPPF spell out the desirability of building homes in the “right places” – these being the most economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.

But are such “right places” within existing settlements or on their edges? Close to existing transport links or built on virgin land around new infrastructure? Are they in regions already thriving, or those that need an economic boost?

“If you’re creating a dormitory 20 miles away from London or any major city, is that going to be a sustainable option?” asks Steven Fidgett, head of planning at

EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE

WICKS

WYG. “Is it better to review green belt on the edge of that conurbation because that’s going to be more sustainable?”

He adds: “The more sustainable the location the better because we have to accept as a fact of life that people will travel.”

Transit, most seem to agree, is a key criteria determining the best location for new housing. People must be able to reach work in particular, but also places to shop and socialise. ‘Interconnectedness’ is the major theme that emerges from discussions of new locations.

For example, the creation of a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ is billed as an opportunity to ‘rebalance’ the UK economy.

Devolution of powers to city regions, and collaboration between these empowered bodies, are seen as necessities to attract the investment, businesses and skilled employees that will fuel growth.

But, as noted by Manchester City Council chief Sir Howard Bernstein at February’s UK Northern Powerhouse conference: “Transport is absolutely essential. In the absence of better connectivity the Powerhouse would have all its objectives ended. It wouldn’t exist at all.”

Northern cities are notoriously poorly connected. This is a problem, as Pat Ritchie, chief executive of Newcastle City Council observed:“[To attract a business

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THE CHALLENGE OF HOUSING

like] Google, they want access to highskilled, vibrant employees who could live in any bit of the North and work in any other bit. The economy doesn’t necessarily work to local authority boundaries.”

FROM A TO B The critical role of commutability in decisions about new housing location is underlined in a fresh study produced by the RTPI and Bilfinger GVA. Location Of Development looks at planned housing development in 12 city regions in England, and scores each against location desirability criteria.

In particular, the report records the proximity of new planning permissions to “significant employment clusters” (locations with 10,000 jobs or more) and to rail stations. It is, the Institute says, the first study to attempt this analysis and is based on the presumption that city regions are where future growth will be incubated because they can “maximise the effects of agglomeration: the benefits to productivity, innovation and economic growth achieved by the clustering and networking of knowledge intensive industries”.

Overall, some 75 per cent of 165,000 planning permissions granted from January 2012 to September 2015, were within 10 kilometres of a major employment cluster. Fewer than half (46 per cent) were within an existing built-up area; and just 13 per cent were within easy walking distance (800m) of a rail station.

Though the report’s writers stress that the study was simply a starting point for analysis – and will be followed with others – they offer some observations on the findings. “The data itself suggests we are not doing too badly, but it’s inevitably variable – in the nature of the built-up area versus the non built-up areas, and the nature of public transport,” says Joanna Averley, a director of planning, development and regeneration at Bilfinger GVA. “For example, [walkable] proximity to railway stations varies from 11-79 per cent.

You can see some of this is a matter of history, but it does beg the question: ‘What might cities want to do to change this?’”

Co-author, the RTPI’s policy and networks manager James Harris, adds: “It’s reassuring that most of the new housing coming through is in relatively good loca-

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Where should we build sustainably?

As a core planning principle, the NPPF places an onus on planmakers to ensure that the location for significant new housing can support sustainable development.

In particular, it expects planmakers to ensure that “sufficient land of the right type is available in the right places at the right time”.

Such locations will, among other things: c support growth and innovation; c provide infrastructure; c support strong, vibrant and healthy communities; c make local services accessible; c protect and enhance the natural, built and historic environment; c minimise waste and pollution; c mitigate climate change; and c encourage public transport use, walking and cycling.

Source: NPPF paragraphs 7, 17

tions regarding jobs. But in most cases there’s a low number of houses coming through in close, close proximity to railways stations. It’s therefore difficult to make commuting journeys in anything but a motor vehicle.”

This in turn appears to conflict with the NPPF’s injunction to promote walking and cycling. We are entering an age in which a greater focus on 'liveability' is influencing investment in public realm and infrastructure discouraging car use.

Yet the figures suggest this is a lesser consideration in practice than 'as the crow flies' closeness. “[Car dependency] increases congestion, and means you may not be using land efficiently,” notes Averley. “You may not be putting development into a framework that’s as environmentally friendly, or being smart on using expensive infrastructure.

“A good plan will link housing, access to jobs and community and social infrastructure and environment. You cannot do that in a piecemeal way.”

VIRGIN LAND VS DENSIFICATION With more than half of permissions being granted outside of what the authors define as a “built-up area”, the study also raises questions about land use, designation and densification.

Fidgett, for example, argues that periodic reviews of green belt should be a requirement within the planning system in order to ensure land is used sustainably.

Such a pragmatic approach attracts broad support within the property industries – and, indeed, Location Of Development’s maps show some green belt development around its 12 city regions.

But there are those who argue that a 'brownfield first policy and densification within existing settlements can meet our housing requirements. Speaking at a recent All Party Parliamentary Group meeting on London’s built environment, for example, architect Richard Hyams of Astudio, said more use should be made of publicly owned land. Riette Ooosthuizen of HTA Design presented the idea that homeowners in suburban areas could be offered incentives to build an additional house on their existing garden plot.

Regeneration expert Professor Anne Power, of the London School of Economics, was most adamantly opposed to green belt development, arguing that the low density in outer London boroughs and most British cities actually mitigated against efficient public transport.

In her view, the solution to the housing shortage was more likely to lie in infill

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Location, location, location

B

Of 165,000 homes with planning permission on sites of 50 or more houses in 12 English city regions:

development and densification of estates, rather than incursion into virgin land. This in turn could create the density required to drive mass transit systems and underpin greater ‘sustainability’ in urban areas.

What Power touched on is the reversal of a historic trend to move out of cities and into suburbia. We are collectively rediscovering cities as places to live. But maintaining a healthy balance of living, social and employment spaces in these changing conurbations is a considerable challenge for planners – not least with the additional element of policies such as permitted development.

Organisations such as Create Streets are laying out blueprints for denser urban development at a ‘human’ scale that encourages street-level activity. Investment in cycling infrastructure is opening access to areas previously off-limits because of poor transport connections.

Developers such as Urban Splash are exploring new forms within environments where space is at a premium.

Source: Location of Development, RTPI and Bilfinger GVA, March 2016

FIT FOR PURPOSE? We are also entering an age of fresh investment in large infrastructure, much of it transport-related. This prompts a 'chicken and egg' question – what comes first, the housing or the infrastructure?

“I think with initiatives [like the Northern Powerhouse], as a country we have realised that we need to put the infrastructure first and the rest will follow,” says WYG’s Fidgett. “This follows the examples in London where we’ve seen investment in public infrastructure now leading to development – Crossrail and the Olympic Park have stimulated major regeneration initiatives. Now with the National Infrastructure Commission and commitments to some big infrastructure projects, the government is investing in future growth and development.”

Debates will go on about where and how best to build new housing, but the dominant themes are taking shape: devo-

lution; transport; densification; regeneration; infrastructure; green belt review.

There is also planning itself. Is it fit for purpose? Fidgett and Averley both argue that the planning system can be slow to respond to changes in demand. “We still have lots of authorities that haven’t delivered on local plans, and a lot of out-ofdate, pre-NPPF data,” notes Fidgett.

He goes on: “The development industry likes certainty. The planning system by definition limits the supply of land because the state has held back the ability to build wherever. That rationing creates a market and the market will go where they can invest their money and get a return. If you have an authoritywith a positive attitude and a viable market, development will probably progress more quickly.”

What’s the solution? A common obser-

75

% within 10 km of a major employment cluster

B

B

50

% on schemes of 450 homes or more

46

% within an existing built-up area

B

13

% within walking distance of a railway, light railway or metro station

vation from across the property industry is that the planning system needs to be more generously resourced. There are also plenty of voices calling for a revival of local authority housebuilding.

The RTPI and GVA conclude: “[…] the spatial dimensions of sustainability are complex, and cannot be neatly captured by any single method of analysis. This research should therefore be viewed as a stepping stone towards a broader and more informed debate on the effectiveness of planning policy, and the spatial dimensions of growth in England.”

Averley herself adds: “There’s a very simple message here, which is the power of a map. This report is full of maps showing what’s come forward in the last two of three years... That’s really important information.”

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N EI G H B O U R H O O D P L A N N I N G

JAMES DEROUNIAN CONSIDERS THE PROS AND CONS OF COMMUNITY­GENERATED PLANS

SET DURING TH E American Civil War, Sergio ica Leone’s The Good, L The Bad And The Ugly features three U men in pursuit of m buried gold coins. It b may m seem a fanciful metaphor for neighm bourhood planning, b but bu is in some ways an appropriate one – not appr least be because gold coins are at the hear heart of it – in the form of CIL (Community IInfrastructure Levy), planning, and the cost of neighbourhood neighbou developers – responding the impact of devel to national planning policy – that seem hell-bent on enabling house building as a means of digging us out of austerity.

Despite misgivings, however, I remain overall of the view that it’s better to have a neighbourhood plan than none. First, the Good.

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The Good

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

The bald statistics point to the popularity of this initiative born out of the 2011 Localism Act. The DCLG-funded My Community website celebrated 100 successful NP referendums last autumn. They mentioned, too, that “1,600 groups are currently writing Neighbourhood Plans”, that eight million people live in a designated NP area, and that “£6.7m in government grants has already been allocated to groups across England”.

Academic research also paints a broadly positive picture: A 2014 University of Reading And Locality report states that, overall, “participants view neighbourhood planning as an initiative with merit and having further potential, although it is not without its challenges”.

Furthermore, most groups reported that

“AREAS ‘OF BELOW AVERAGE AFFLUENCE ARE LESS LIKELY TO ENTER INTO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING PROCESS’ ”

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AND THE

THE

THE

GOOD BAD UGLY

OF NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANS their local planning authority had been supportive. This certainly reflects the positive experience of Heather Heelis, clerk to Rendlesham Town Council in Suffolk.

Heather believes that its adopted NP genuinely constitutes “power to the people…. the whole exercise brought together the community”.

Neighbourhood Planning: Plan And Deliver, from 2014, by Turley, notes that “some plans are openly pro-development, in some cases seeking to extend housing targets and to promote economic growth”. So, for example, Upper Eden established a housing target exceeding that identified by the local authority, raising it from 479 to 545 units. The rationale is the need to provide homes for young people. So there is some hope that NPs

can promote IMBY (In My Back Yard).

Chris Wayman, clerk to Buckingham Town Council, reels off a series of gains from their plan, which has been “vision-changing… it’s changed our outlook on practically everything – dealings with developers; it’s enabled us to secure a new cemetery, self-build houses, OAP bungalows and a brand new park”.

It is also clear that neighbourhood plan preparation constitutes Big Society writ large; in terms of mass mobilisation of volunteers to contribute and influence its content. I have been involved with the Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, NP and estimate that volunteer input to the plan amounts to an equivalent of £50,000+.

Figures from the first 52 referendums published by DCLG showed an average

‘Yes’ vote of 88 per cent, but they also show an average turnout of 32 per cent, slightly above local election turnouts.

Given the strong human impulse to object, the high levels of voter support for draft plans demonstrates that they can elicit ‘ownership’ in the form of residents casting a vote. The Winslow, Bucks, plan elicited a remarkable 98.2 per cent vote in favour on a turnout of 59.5 per cent.

But what of those not turning out? Does no vote correspond to tacit agreement, apathy, failure of communication or no strong opinion?

The key theme of financial reward in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly can be seen in the way that communities with a neighbourhood plan can receive a CIL payment of 25 per cent on new build, whereas those without gain just 15 per cent, capped at £100/existing housing unit, maximum.

The Bad and the Ugly For every silver lining, there is a cloud.

In 2014, Turley observed that areas “of below average affluence are less likely to enter into the neighbourhood planning process”. What’s more, 39 per cent of designated NP areas were located in the “‘least deprived’ local authorities in England”. Turley also point to geographical distortion: “75 per cent of plans have been produced in the south of England… compared with 25 per cent of plans in the North.”

Similarly, Turley found neighbourhood planning was much more of a rural phenomenon (67 per cent of all NPs), than an urban one (33 per cent). My hunch is that parish and town councils (as ‘qualifying bodies’) exist in more country than city locations, giving rural communities an edge since their local councils can levy a tax (precept) to pay for plan preparation. They also operate in historically demarked parishes. By contrast, most urban communities start from scratch in establishing a ‘neighbourhood forum’ and the exact extent of their jurisdiction.

Then, as Reading University’s Professor Gavin Parker and colleagues established, groups “underestimated the scale, complexity and time needed to produce their

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N EI G H B O U R H O O D P L A N N I N G

neighbourhood plans”. In Winchcombe, a small edge-of-Cotswolds town, we are in year five of the process. Pity the volunteers taking on this burden, and pity residents trying to make sense of jargon, rules and regulations.

While policy looks cut and dried on paper, it is anything but when talking with residents about potential development.

It becomes highly personal, drawing out NIMBY, and even venomous, reactions from otherwise reasonable people. These include accusations of neighbourhood planning groups accepting ‘backhanders’ and personalised attacks.

The University of Reading research concluded that “a significant number of emerging plans, especially those in rural locations, have been pre“HOW CAN LOCAL pared with the PLANNING aim of protecting AUTHORITIES n e ighb ou rh o o d SUPPORT THEIR areas from new COMMUNITIES development.”

WITH SHRINKING For an extreme, BUDGETS?” just look at the case of Spratton in Northamptonshire where councillors resigned en masse, citing “a small minority who have, since the early stages of the drafting of the neighbourhood plan, consistently and without let-up made unfounded allegations against the parish council and individuals in it”.

Or what about the human cost of potential and actual legal challenges to the content and procedures adopted? At Tattenhall, Uppingham, and Newick in East Sussex, developers disputed the legality of the NP. Can you imagine the stress and cost – in all sorts of ways – when ‘David’ (community representatives) and ‘Goliath’ (developers) collide over NPs? Returning to Clint Eastwood in pursuit of gold, neighbourhood plans depend almost entirely on the resources that a community can muster. If a place is stuffed full of social capital – in the form of retired professionals – then this must give them a headstart in understanding what is a time-consuming, highly technical sphere of activity.

Academics Bradley and Haigh have termed this a “new patchwork politics of place”. They assert that NPs constitute a “spatial representation of unpaid care work”, with the community serving “as a reservoir of precarious labour”.

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7 ways to increase the effectiveness of English neighbourhood planning

(4) Developers: Alongside qualifying

bodies, developers should commit to constructive negotiation as part of the process.

(5) Central and local government:

Should lift the burden of regulations and streamline systems so that neighbourhood planning can flourish.

(1) Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL): Each principal authority should be required to set a charge so that places with a neighbourhood plan really do receive 25 per cent of the sum generated.

(2) Business rates: A portion of

(6) Enable amendment: There is no

legal framework or guidelines for NP amendment, without starting the entire process over again.

business rates should go to parish/ town councils and neighbourhood forums, to support neighbourhood plans.

(7) Right of appeal: Government

should enable a community right of appeal against planning permissions that run counter to a neighbourhood plan.

(3) The 100+ Club: Representatives

of communities with a NP in force could usefully form a social enterprise, to share knowledge with places at an earlier stage in the process.

Such dependence is – in the words of the Intergenerational Foundation (2012) – effectively “handing more power to older people”, since senior residents are more likely to be local councillors, and have the time, experience and inclination to get stuck in. Such a state of affairs is innately unsustainable.

I really don’t think government and policy wonks have understood the reality of neighbourhood plans built on the considerable efforts and inputs of (hardpressed) volunteers. As the Rural Services Network observes, “embarking on neighbourhood planning is a significant commitment for a typical parish council, with a small budget, a part-time clerk and relying on the goodwill of volunteer councillors”.

And what about the gold? At Thame, Oxfordshire (population about 13,000) local politicians confirm that it cost around £100,000 to complete their NP. There is a further conundrum for residents as amateurs, in terms of writing a plan that is simultaneously intelligible to the citizen; robust and precise enough to withstand legal challenge; practically usable by planners; and all while not becoming so generalised as to be worthless.

While we’re on resources, pity the plan-

ner. In the words of the Planning Advisory Service, principal authorities “have the responsibility to support communities who wish to engage in the neighbourhood planning process”. In principle, fine; in practice this is a vague and variable aspiration. Besides, how can local planning authorities realistically support their communities with shrinking budgets?

Additionally, there is a deeper concern with the whole localism project: that it is running true to Mark’s Gospel, namely “For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath”. Turley conclude that “Neighbourhood planning is popular… But… popularity should not be confused with ‘huge success’, as the government suggests.”

On an ‘up-beat’, User Experience Of Neighbourhood Planning in England by Prof Parker and colleagues “strongly suggests” that, in principle, neighbourhood planning can be undertaken by most communities if effectively supported, and in particular if the relevant local authority is supportive.

James Derounian is a community activist, neighbourhood plan examiner, parish council trainer, long-time community developer and academic

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INSIGHT

DiF { D

DECISIONS IN FOCUS

Decisions in Focus is where we put the spotlight on some of the more significant planning appeals and court cases of the last month – alongside your comments. If you’d like to contribute your insights and analyses to future issues of The Planner, email DiF at editorial@theplanner.co.uk AGRICULTURAL

HOUSING

‘Leper colony’ monument not threatened by poultry farm

Homes and local centre approved in Northampton ( SUMMARY Communities secretary Greg Clark has granted outline planning permission for a Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE) in Northampton, after agreeing with an inspector that the scheme would not seriously harm the local road network or the operation of Brackmills Industrial Estate.

( SUMMARY Permission has been given for the construction of a sevenshed poultry farm in Melton Mowbray after an inspector ruled that the development would not seriously harm the setting of the St Mary and St Lazarus hospital Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM). ( CASE DETAILS The appeal site lies near the SAM, which used to house “the most important leper colony in England”, founded in the 12th century. Inspector Clive Nield noted that while none of the hospital buildings remained, excavations had confirmed that buried remains of the major buildings had survived.

It was agreed that the poultry farm would have a neutral visual impact on the setting of the SAM because of existing and proposed screening measures.

A possible odour dispersion modelling exercise carried out by the appellant revealed the hourly average odour concentration to be of an acceptable level, in line with Environment

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Northampton is to have a Sustainable Urban Extension

Agency guidance. Nield noted that several criticisms had been raised about this assessment’s calculation of odour emission rate for each bird, but this did not alter his conclusion that perceptions of the SAM would not be affected by odour.

He noted the appellant’s argument that there is a market demand for UK sourced “high welfare” poultry, and that the farm’s proposed operator, Moy Park, is one of the UK’s largest poultry producers.

The economic benefits of the scheme were accepted

by Burton and Dalby Parish Council, but were to be balanced with what it feared would be a fall in village hall

activity owing to the smell.

The inspector contended that the hall is some 500 metres from the appeal site, and dismissed this concern. ( CONCLUSION REACHED The reuse of a redundant brownfield site also weighed in the appeal’s favour, as did the appellant’s s.106 agreement, which includes a provision for training opportunities for trade apprentices/students from local education establishments during the construction of the farm.

Appeal ref: APP/ Y2430/W/15/3100597

( CASE DETAILS The Homes and Communities Agency’s appeal sought permission for a scheme of up to 1,000 homes; a local centre with up to 1,320 square metres of retail, professional and financial services; restaurants/ cafés; a primary school; community uses such as a medical centre, a pharmacy, a community centre; and infrastructure improvements and highway access.

Clark agreed with inspector Richard Clegg’s assessment that the development would cause a large-scale change to views from a local footpath and the landscape of the site, which has a limestone valley slopes character type.

But they agreed that given the scheme’s allocation as a SUE by Northampton

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A sustainable community farm and village development in Truro, Cornwall, has won planning permission

Borough Council, these effects should be considered of moderate harm only. Clark said the transport effects of the development could be accommodated by local roads and would be adequately mitigated by planning measures. But several parties had raised concerns about how the scheme’s impact on local roads would affect the operation of the Brackmills Industrial Estate (BIE). ( CONCLUSION REACHED Clegg noted that the BIE is an important employment area, covering 305 hectares, accommodating about 150 businesses, and employing 11,000 people. The BIE argued that the stress the scheme could place on roads would harm the estate, in part because difficulties in travelling to work would lead to issues of staff availability.

But Clark ruled that as the proposal would create a significant pool of labour close by, the scheme would overall benefit the estate’s operation.

As the council was unable to show a five-year supply of deliverable housing land, the scheme’s provision of 240 affordable homes weighed heavily in the appeal’s favour.

Appeal Ref: APP/ V2825/A/14/2228866 The mixed-use ‘Theatre Square’ scheme can go ahead in Swiss Cottage, London

HOUSING

DCLG approves Swiss Cottage residential plan ( SUMMARY The Department for Communities and Local Government has approved a sizeable mixed-use scheme, known as ‘Theatre Square’, for Swiss Cottage, London, after ruling that the benefits of the scheme in relation to housing provision and the potential for London Underground improvements outweighed potential harm to local heritage assets and conservation areas. ( CASE DETAILS The scheme, proposed by developer Essential Living (Swiss Cottage), is set to include 184 residential units, up to 1,041 square metres of flexible retail/ financial, professional or café/restaurant floorspace, potential new access to the Swiss Cottage Tube station, and up to 1,350 sq m for community use.

In his decision letter, communities secretary Greg Clark agreed with planning inspector Graham Dudley’s assessment that no listed building itself would be

physically affected by the proposal, but found that the setting of such buildings needed to be considered.

It was noted that Historic England did not consider the scheme’s likely effects on the historical environment to be of such a level as to warrant its continued involvement.

The scheme was considered to preserve the character and appearance of several conservation areas, though “less than substantial harm” was identified in relation to the view from Belsize Park.

Clark and Dudley agreed that the scale of the building was “appropriate to the town centre location and is a robust modern piece of architecture appropriate to having large buildings around it”. Clark said suitable micro climate mitigation measures had been incorporated to ensure that the potential adverse wind environments arising from the part 24-storey development had been addressed. ( CONCLUSION REACHED The scheme will include 36 affordable housing units and 18 discounted market housing units for 15 years. An agreed s.106 agreement also includes a review mechanism requiring the scheme’s viability for providing affordable housing to be reassessed at the end of the project. Scott Hammond, managing director at

Essential Living, said: “This has been a lengthy process but we are very pleased the secretary of state has backed the independent planning inspector’s recommendation that this important proposal for the regeneration of Swiss Cottage should proceed.

“This is entirely consistent with the original positive recommendation of Camden Council planning officers and the support received from the Greater London Authority and the Design Council.”

Appeal Ref: APP/ X5210/W/14/3001616

HOUSING

Community farm and ‘village’ allowed in Truro ( SUMMARY Living Villages (Newham Farm) Ltd has been granted permission to develop a sustainable new community farm and village for Truro, Cornwall, against the decision of Cornwall Council. ( CASE DETAILS Higher Newham Farm will be run as an educational facility offering land-based accredited agricultural courses, with livestock grazing and horticultural uses and community

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DiF { D allotments, orchards and woodlands. It will include shops, gallery/studio space, holiday let accommodation, a community hub, restaurant, cook school, and a village of up to 155 homes.

Inspector MJ Whitehead noted that the council accepted it could not demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites. A Section 106 agreement would ensure that at least 17.5 per cent of the houses on site would be affordable, with a further financial contribution made for off-site provision. ( CONCLUSION REACHED A main point of refusal for the council was the effect of the scheme on highway and pedestrian safety, with regard to the proposed access on to the A390. After the appellant submitted details of a junction arrangement at this access point, the council considered its reason for refusal to be suitably addressed, in tandem with planned reductions to speed limits near the scheme.

Various contributions towards local primary education and public open space were also deemed to render the scheme acceptable in planning terms.

DECISIONS IN FOCUS the economic, social and environmental roles of sustainable development.

The scheme will include a 60-unit extra care centre, a primary school, a nursery school, a health centre, a community hall, neighbourhood retail use and public open space. ( CASE DETAILS Reporting inspector John Braithwaite noted that the scheme would create jobs in both pre and postconstruction phases and would be in walking or cycling distance of local amenities. He further noted: “In relation to the social role the most important factor is the provision, through the s.106 undertaking, of 30 per cent affordable housing and a 60-unit extra care facility.

There is a significant shortfall in the provision of affordable housing in the district and the provision of extra care units is nationally less than it should be.”

Clark noted that North West Leicestershire District Council’s housing policies only made provision for new homes up to 2006, and that the council accepted that a new local plan would have to identify land outside the existing limits to development to meet present and future housing need.

The appellant did not dispute the council’s assertion that it could demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land. But Clark agreed with Braithwaite that local planning authorities must also plan for housing supply beyond the five-year period, and that there is a national imperative to boost the supply of housing. In recognition of this, the council did not cite its five-year housing land supply as a reason to withhold planning permission. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Clark determined that the scheme posed no threat to highway safety or the Ashby Conservation Area, and would not place an unacceptable burden on local infrastructure, and ruled in favour of the appeal.

Appeal Ref: APP/ G2435/A/14/2228806

HOUSING

Devon carbonneutral home ‘unsustainable’ ( SUMMARY Permission has been refused for a carbon-neutral dwelling

Appeal Ref: APP/ D0840/W/15/3030407

HOUSING

Clark backs 605home scheme ( SUMMARY Communities secretary Greg Clark has approved a major mixed-use scheme for Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, after ruling that the scheme satisfied

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A reporter decided there was no bone of contention in the development of dog boarding kennels in Aberdeenshire

in Ottery St Mary, Devon, after an inspector ruled that the remote location of the appeal site would lead to excessive reliance on a private car, thereby unacceptably increasing emissions. ( CASE DETAILS Inspector Michael Muston argued that the location of the appeal site at the extreme periphery of the village must weigh firmly against the proposal. He accepted that the route into the village was not unattractive or dangerous to recreational users, but found that it would nevertheless discourage walking and cycling to reach key facilities in poor weather.

As the proposal lies outside the defined built-up area of the settlement it was also found to contradict Strategy 27 of the newly adopted East Devon Local Plan, which states that: “If communities wish to promote development other than that which is supported through this strategy and other strategies in the plan”, “they will need to produce a Neighbourhood Plan or promote community led development (for example Community Land Trusts) justifying how and why, in a local context, the development will promote the objectives of sustainable development.” ( CONCLUSION REACHED Muston ultimately ruled that the carbon-neutral design of the proposal was “not so unusual or exceptional that it should be considered an overriding consideration”, and rejected the appeal.

Appeal Ref: APP/ U1105/W/15/3035869

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The communities secretary has overruled an inspector’s refusal to allow a school in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Devon

COMMERCIAL

Kennels suitable for Scottish forest location ( SUMMARY Permission has been granted for the erection of dog boarding kennels and associated works including a static caravan in Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire, after a reporter found that the development would not adversely affect the living conditions of local residents. ( CASE DETAILS Reporter Michael Cunliffe noted that the scheme included two kennel blocks each containing 12 indoor pens. The caravan was for the appellant to live on site while establishing the business, after which planning permission would be sought for a permanent house.

The Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan supports new smallscale development for employment purposes in the countryside in the Rural Housing Market Area (within which the appeal site lies), but supplementary guidance on development in the green belt stipulates that onsite accommodation for workers will be allowed for a worker in a primary industry.

While the dog-kennelling enterprise is more accurately described as a service industry, Cunliffe was satisfied that the business was an appropriate use.

A noise report submitted by the appellant showed that noise levels from the kennel would be well below maximum levels outlined in World Health Organisation guidelines.

Residents expressed concern about the possible cumulative impact of the scheme with existing kennels in the area, suggesting that dogs from the two sites could react to each other’s barking. But Cunliffe was satisfied that the proposed mitigation measures of earth embankments would render the impact on domestic properties acceptable. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Cunliffe noted that the kennels would be erected in an existing forest clearing, would be screened from a public road and residential properties, and would be built of materials that would blend well in their woodland setting.

Appeal Ref: PPA-110-2293

EDUCATION

School given goahead in AONB ( SUMMARY The Route 39 Academy Trust has been granted planning permission and listed building consent for a secondary school development in Bideford, Devon, after the secretary of state found that the benefits of the scheme outweighed any harm to the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The appeal was recovered

by communities secretary Greg Clark as it involved a development of major importance having more than local significance. ( CASE DETAILS Reporting inspector Paul Jackson had originally refused the appeal, finding that an alternative identified site, preferred by Torridge District Council for being outside of the AONB, would constitute a more suitable location for the school.

Clark disagreed with this assessment as the current lack of planning permission for the alternative site led to lack of certainty that any future planning permission would be approved. It was noted that the school was operating out of temporary and public buildings with no other planning applications prepared for alternative accommodation, and so a delay in relocation would substantially harm the school’s operation.

Clark agreed with Jackson’s assessment that despite its resemblance to an agricultural building the school would have an appearance that would be highly unusual in such a building, but found the design to be considered functional, and intended to be sympathetic to its setting. He also agreed with Jackson that the advantages of a school location with an inspirational setting, particularly for a school

that seeks to incorporate the countryside into its curriculum, should not be underplayed. Clark said the proposed location was likely to “encourage children to attend school, enjoy their experience and relate their future studies to careers in, among other matters, conservation and science”.

Although some impact on nearby grade II listed Steart Farmhouse was acknowledged, Clark found that the development would not lead to substantial harm or total loss of the significance of a heritage asset, and so was acceptable.

Various mitigation measures, including works for the protection of bats, meant that the proposal would not significantly harm the Tintagel-Marsland-Clovelly Coast Special Area of Conservation. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Clark found that while there were spaces currently available in existing schools in the area “undisputed estimates of population growth show there is likely to be unmet need sometime in the next decade”, and the school would also help address government aims of safeguarding a sufficient choice of school places to meet community needs.

Appeal Refs: APP/W1145/A/14/22283 and APP/W1145/E/14/2228356

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LLegal landscape IS SHARED LIVING A SOLUTION TO THE HOUSING CRISIS?

Paul Ridge

Could communal living offer a solution to our housing pressures? Paul Ridge of Bindmans LLP, who has represented residents in co-housing units, thinks we should take a serious look at an old idea for modern cities There is a housing crisis. We all know it – house prices that are out of reach; rents are sky-high and increasing. There is almost no security of tenure and retaliatory evictions when you dare to complain about disrepair or that rather nasty rent hike the private landlord is proposing.

The government response?

More and more Right to Buy, larger discounts, and now the promise that you can buy that housing association place. So housing lawyers like me look forward to even less housing stock, more buy-to-let and higher and higher rents in the private sector.

We cannot carry on like this, yet what are the alternatives?

One option long passed over is communal or shared living.

Until recently this would have sounded like hippy nonsense to me, but over these past months I have seen two of the longest and largest housing communes in London.

That said, when I visited I was immediately told: “Don’t call us a commune! And no, we are not hippies.” The communities were of almost 70 people living together in Islington and Kingston, and have been going successfully for more than 40 years.

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One resident, Rupert, was 16 years old when social services dropped him off for the ‘interview’ to join the community. He is now in his fifties. Being unable to read and write has not held him back and communal living has enabled him to flourish, as he takes responsibility for house repairs and maintenance.

Food and bills are paid for collectively and when I visited there was a choice of vegetarian or meat meals.

Most chose the meat. The communal contribution to expenses enables residents to live well – and this was despite the fact that many worked in low-paying or part-time jobs.

Because bills and food are shared costs, they are kept down. The problem was not so much fuel poverty, but that the house was too warm for some.

Communal living is nothing new, yet often breaks down because of splits, factions or arguments. But these

communities have lasted for over three generations, housing several hundred people over the years. How have they achieved this?

The reasons are complex, but partly longevity has been achieved because the communities have been self-governing and not about shared ideology. They have a policy of making sure that new residents are ‘not friends of existing residents’, so as to push against any tendency to become self-selecting.

Although residents have changed frequently over the years, they have generally avoided the cliques that can drive such communities apart. There are mechanisms for regular meetings and resolving disputes. Residents are real about relationship problems. As one said: “Of course we have problems, but when there are 20 of you and are fed up with one or two, it’s easy to get on with the others. If the house just had five people that would be impossible; we would soon go our own way.”

“LIVING COMMUNALLY IS PLAINLY NOT SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE, BUT IT IS FOR MANY WHO DESPERATELY NEED LOW­COST ACCOMMODATION WITH MANAGEABLE EXPENSES”

Living communally is plainly not suitable for everyone, but it is for many who desperately need lowcost accommodation with manageable expenses. Living on the minimum wage in London is all but impossible and yet many in the houses could manage, even thrive, on such an income because of the communal sharing of costs.

Could this be a solution to some of the capital’s housing problems? Could these communities be showing us something of how to tackle poverty, isolation and the housing crisis in an increasingly overcrowded capital city?

I suspect they are and yet after more than 40 years this is all being lost. The housing association that obtained the Kingston and Islington properties from Patchwork Housing for £1 is now gaining possession and evicting the communities. Shackled with the Regulatory Framework 2015 from the Homes and Communities Agency, they say that they cannot find a way to embrace these communities without breach of the HCA framework.

The landlord may gain a building, but in doing so will destroy two longstanding successful communities.

We will lose the chance to see why they could last so long and why so many could prosper despite low incomes.

The housing crisis is serious and getting worse. Radical solutions will need to be found and this may have been one – not a panacea, but certainly a help at this time of crisis. Take a look before they go: http://islingtonparkstreet. org/ Paul Ridge is head of housing at Bindmans LLP and represents residents of the Kingston and Islington communities

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LATEST POSTS FROM THEPLANNER.CO.UK/BLOGS

B LO G S The Court of Appeal last month quashed a reversal of an appeal inspector’s decision to allow a housing development in East Cheshire, clarifying the NPPF’s green belt and ‘green gap’ policies

L E G I S L AT I O N S H O R T S Landmark ruling says ‘mind the gap’ Mike O’Brien

A recent Court of Appeal judgment in the case of Richborough Estates v Cheshire East Council has implications for house builders and councils. It particularly affects green gap policies that restrict location of new housing.

It focuses on the meaning and interpretation of paragraph 49 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF): “Housing applications should be considered in the context of the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Relevant policies for the supply of housing should not be considered up to date if the local planning authority cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites.”

The Court of Appeal judgment is a victory for Richborough Estates in a long battle to build homes in Cheshire. The developer applied to Cheshire East Borough Council in 2013 for outline permission for 170 homes on a site in Willaston in the designated green gap around Crewe.

The council, which failed to determine the plan in the prescribed period, was minded to refuse the application for several reasons, including significant erosion of the green gap.

At the appeal inquiry,

Richborough argued that, as Cheshire East could not demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land, the policy which designates that green gap was out of date, according to para 49 of the NPPF. The inspector agreed with Richborough, and granted permission.

Cheshire East challenged the decision in the High Court, where Mrs Justice Lang quashed the inspector’s ruling. She accepted the council’s argument that the green gap policy was not a relevant policy for the supply of housing because it was also concerned with stopping coalescence of nearby settlements.

Court of Appeal ruling Richborough challenged this in the Court of Appeal. The judgment finds that the words “relevant policies for the supply of housing” in paragraph 49 should have a wider interpretation. They should include not just policies in the development plan that provide positively for the delivery of new housing, but also plan policies that restrict the locations for housing development. These include policies for the green belt, green gap and other policies to protect the countryside.

It said: “This reflects the reality that policies may serve to form the supply of housing land either by creating it or by constraining it – that policies of both kinds make the supply what it is.” The judgment is also clear that it is for

the decision-maker to rule how much weight should then be applied to out-of-date policies.

In allowing the appeal, the court found that the inspector had used correct understanding of policy in para 49 and of relevant development plan policies. He exercised his judgement when resolving which policies were within the scope of para 49, and how much weight he should give them in applying the statutory presumption in favour of the development in s.38(6) of the 2004 Act and the NPPF’s policy “presumption in favour of sustainable development”. He made no error of law.

The main inference of the judgment is that para 49 should be interpreted widely and that it applies to all policies that restrict where housing development can go, including green belt.

Para 47 of the judgment says the weight “will vary according to the circumstances, including… the extent to which relevant policies fall short of providing for the five-year supply of housing land, the action being taken by the planning authority to address it, or the particular purpose of the restrictive policy”.

The judgment is significant in resolving the meaning of para 49 to support a core NPPF principle – to “boost … the supply of housing”.

Mike O’Brien is associate director at WYG

Judge backs council’s objection to homes Forest of Dean District Council has won a High Court appeal against an inspector’s decision to grant a developer permission for 85 dwellings. The move constitutes a critical ruling on the operation of the National Planning Policy Framework.

In August, Gladman Developments won permission on appeal for the scheme on land north of Ross Road in Newent, Gloucestershire. But the council, which turned down the plan in February 2015, appealed under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, citing four grounds. The council said the inspector had: 1. Failed to consider and give reasons as to whether the site was a ‘valued landscape’; 2. Incorrectly applied the NPPF at paragraph 134 and the test on harm to heritage assets; 3. Failed to consider the interaction between paragraph 134 and paragraph 14 [presumption in favour of sustainable development] of the NPPF and therefore applying the wrong test; and 4. Gave inadequate reasoning.

The communities secretary accepted that the third ground had been proved and joined Forest of Dean in asking Mr Justice Coulson to quash the decision.

Scots court backs wind park refusal The Scottish Court of Session has dismissed a challenge by the developers of the 114 MW Glenmorie wind project to the government’s decision to reject the scheme.

In December 2014, AES Wind Generation and Wind Energy filed a petition with the court for a judicial review of the refusal. The companies were denied planning consent for the 34-turbine project in the Scottish Highlands in August 2014 because of its visual impact. The developers say the Scottish energy minister was not given the proper information to enable him to make the assessment. But judge Lady Wise said the petitioner’s challenges failed.

The developers said the wind park would have generated enough energy to supply 61,000 homes.

Quarry firm calls for £18m from council A Portland quarry firm is trying to claim £18 million in compensation from Dorset County Council following changes to access to a site it owns.

Portland Stone Firms bought the rights to quarry on the Jurassic Coast in 2004. But it said a “modification order” in 2009 means there is no longer safe access to the site near Southwell.

The company said it had spent £1 million on legal fees ahead of a tribunal due to take place on 4 June.

The company’ said losing access north of Southwell means the only other route for quarry vehicles to enter the site is through the village.

Portland Stone Firms bought the tract of land in 2004 with planning permission to quarry the area and access the site north of Southwell. The modification order meant the site had to be accessed through Southwell, an option the firm says is unsafe.

Campaigners set up the group Save Our Coastal Strip From Quarrying to lobby the council to block quarrying at the coast, a UNESCO world heritage site.

It fears the area will be lost for generations.

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Career { D E V E L O P M E N T C UPDATES TO RTPI PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND ETHICS ADVICE

The RTPI has updated its Code of Conduct, and for the first time issued guidance notes on how to ethically navigate challenging professional situations.

Martha Harris finds out what’s new and what it means for your day-to-day practice. of Conduct l Code core principles (1)

Competence, honesty and integrity

(2)

Independent professional judgement

(3) (4) (5)

Due care and diligence

l Key changes:

Equality and respect Professional behaviour

The RTPI’s Code of Conduct has been a mainstay requirement of the institute’s byelaws as a means to guide practitioners, but also a tool to reinforce the institute’s purpose of advancing the “science and art of planning” for the benefit of the public.

As the planning environment changes, however, so must the code.

In February, the RTPI published an updated version of the code, following advice from its Membership and Ethics Committee, the Conduct and Discipline Panel and discussion with members.

For the first time, the code will be accompanied by practical advice – to be issued in early April – to all individual members and members working as consultants or managers in organisations.

“A conduct and ethics review carried out last year and feedback received from members confirmed that the Code of Conduct’s key principles remain fit for purpose,” said Andrew Close, the RTPI’s head of careers, education and professional development.

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are strengthened by additional clauses, while the fundamental requirement for members to “exercise fearlessly and impartially their independent professional judgement to the best of their skill and understanding” remains central to the code.

Introduction: A new section explaining the reasons and benefits of a Code of Conduct, and giving greater prominence to the five core principles.

“Some revisions to supporting clauses, format and terminology have been made, and for the first time the code is supported by guidance notes on professional ethics and business practice, which seek to guide members through key ethical dilemmas they may face in their day-to-day practice.”

The aim is for any advice notes to build on lessons learnt from conduct queries raised by RTPI members and members of the public. They can be updated on a periodic basis as other professional issues and good practice come to light.

to the l Changes Code of Conduct The RTPI says the code exists to “protect and guide planning practitioners”, and to serve as a “tool to maintain public trust in the profession”.

The institute’s five key principles that govern professional behaviours, ethics and practice of planners remain. These

Competence, honesty and integrity: New practice includes: responsibility of managers to support the Continued Professional Development of employees; undertaking work within the scope of competence; not offering or accepting inducements to influence decisions or professional views.

Independent professional judgement: New practice includes disclosure of RTPI membership as a mark of professional standing. The expectation to act fearlessly and impartially is retained following support from members.

Professional behaviour: New practice includes upholding the reputation of the institute, reflecting the requirement in RTPI byelaws.

Professional Ethics l Guidance Chartered town planners and RTPI

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+ Acting fearlessly and impartially members serve a range of interests, which can give rise to a number of ethical challenges that must be carefully considered.

As a planner, acting in the public interest involves having regard to the expectations of clients, employers, the local community and politicians as well as future generations.

Tensions can often arise when trying to reconcile these different interests and challenges, and this is what the new guidance seeks to clarify.

The advice covers a number of topics: c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c

Maintaining standards Ethical challenges Ethical decision-making Conflicts of interest Acting fearlessly and impartially Giving evidence at inquiries Confidentiality Gifts and hospitality Diversity and equality Consulting with the public Dealing with discriminatory representations Acting competently Accuracy, referencing and recording of information Errors and mis-statements Acting professionally Use of social media Raising concerns in the workplace Criminal convictions

Guidance for RTPI members working in consultancies or businesses, or members who manage the work of others, includes: c c c c c c c c c c c c

Managing conflicts of interest Inclusive working practices Working overseas Bribery and corruption Maintaining professional competence Supporting staff training Access to training Bidding for commissions Advertising planning services Use of the RTPI’s logo Professional indemnity insurance Terms of engagement and fees

Colin Haylock, former RTPI president and chair of the Membership and Ethics Committee, says a key focus in the creation of the new guidance was the duty of members within the code to “act fearlessly and impartially” in their professional judgement “We are aware that members may find there are circumstances within their practice where they think that a fearless and impartial opinion might not actually be welcome,” says Haylock.

“We wanted to be more specific and give better examples on how to deal with this, so that should a member find themselves in a difficult professional situation, they can justify their decision by the requirements of their professional standing.

“Most planning decisions are rarely black and white – there are shades in them,” explains Haylock.

“It is often about spotting areas of difficulty in advance, and finding ways to navigate these without compromising your position. We wanted to more concretely support and protect members in these

l Examples of ethics Alongside broader guidance on how to navigate common professional dilemmas, the guidance includes relevant case studies to illustrate the RTPI’s position and compliance with the code in specific situations.

Cited examples regarding conflicts of interest include: c “A consultant member had been advising his local community group in a voluntary capacity. The member owned a parcel of land within its plan area, which the group had identified as suitable for residential development. Concerned about the appearance of bias, the member declared an interest and stepped down from his commission. Had the member continued to act and was party to decisions in which he stood

circumstances.

“Our aim with the guidance was to try and make as clear and as tangible as possible things which were quite difficult to grasp in the code. We have tried to craft guidance that is realistic, but still principled.”

to benefit financially, he would have been in breach of the code for failing to take reasonable steps to ensure his personal and professional interests do not conflict. c “A complaint was received about an RTPI member renting office space from former client, a developer, while sitting on a parish council advisory group promoting a site allocation owned by the developer. The member was found in breach of the code for failing to take reasonable precautions to prevent a conflict of duty from arising. The member received a warning for their conduct.” n The new guidance will be available at the beginning of April, and can be viewed here: www.rtpi.org.uk/ethics n The updated code of conduct can be viewed here: www.rtpi.org.uk/professionalstandards

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Plan ahead P Rock ’n’ roll ain’t noise pollution

Send feedback to editorial@theplanner.co.uk Tweet us @The Planner_RTPI

Shain Shapiro: “Music venues are often the ‘jewels in the crown’ of the local economy”

Following last year’s successful inaugural event, the Music Cities Convention is back to further explore the links between planning, music and vibrant cities.

David Blackman talks to founder Shain Shapiro About this time last year, Shain Shapiro’s life changed.

For the previous 15 years, he had worked in the music business, latterly with the government on how to promote its export potential.

But while showing the flag for the UK music industry on trade missions abroad, Shapiro was becoming increasingly concerned that the industry’s seedbed was dying.

Over the past five years, 90 music venues have closed in London alone, representing a third of the places where bands could play in the capital.

“We are losing our incubator spaces, the places where bands go to fail and test themselves.

The big earners in this country all started in these small venues,” says Shapiro.

He realised that much of the blame for loss of venues has arisen from the changing planning and property development landscape.

Shapiro organised a panel debate at The Great Escape music festival in Brighton to

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discuss these issues. It sparked so much interest that he turned the debate into a day-long conference, which he called the Brighton Music City Convention, on the festival’s fringe.

Following the success of the Brighton event, which broke new ground by bringing the music business under the same roof as the planning and development industry, Shapiro took the idea across the Atlantic, holding a second convention in Washington DC. In addition, Shapiro joined a London mayoral task force that drew up a rescue plan for the capital’s live music venues, which focused on three areas: planning policy, licensing and business rates. He also helped to get the loss of music venues debated by the House of Lords.

Music City Convention is back in Brighton on 18 May. The aim, like last year, is to break down what Shapiro describes as the “blind ignorance” planners and the music business have about one another’s activities. The issue is a pressing one because the tide of venue closures hasn’t slowed down since last year’s event.

Up to a dozen venues are under threat of closure in London, ranging from venerable places like the Half Moon in Herne Hill to more cutting-edge clubs like Dalston’s Passing Clouds.

The relaxation of permitted development rules means that it is now much easier to convert music venues into housing.

And the increasingly residential nature of town centres means there is a greater chance that venues will face complaints about noise.

“People often move to places because of culture and entertainment, but if there is noise after 11pm at night they will often be less happy about it,” says Shapiro, who wishes that councils could take a more malleable approach towards licensing. Some will take enforcement action after just one complaint, he claims.

“Obviously we don’t want noise complaints to happen at all but the law is often weighted in favour of enforcement.”

Policy-makers often like to use music to promote their localities, such as by holding festivals. But overall, he argues, councils need to take a more wide-angled view of the

economic benefits that can be delivered by what he feels are often the ‘jewels in the crown’ of the local economy.

“We should look not only at the direct economic output that a venue brings in terms of the number of people it employs or the tax it pays, but also the indirect economic impact of all the people going to and from it, where they are eating, how they are getting there and so on. These places that people go to for recreation are the places we are losing.”

Shapiro hopes to assemble representatives from up to 75 cities in 20 different countries at the convention, providing plenty of opportunities to cross-pollinate ideas about how the planning process can facilitate musical creativity.

British creative cities guru Charles Landry will be one of the speakers. The programme also includes contributions from representatives of music festivals from cities as diverse as Denver, Vladivostok and Sheffield, together with the ‘Busk in London’ project, which has used performance to animate the capital’s public spaces. Another feature of the programme is a presentation of research being carried out by Brighton University to map the city’s musical life.

And Shapiro has no regrets about the turn that his life has taken. “I’ve spent 14 years working with bands and there’s only so much you can do to help them. If we fix the structural issues it will benefit everybody.”

T H A N K Y O U FO R T H E M U S I C What: Music Cities Convention When: Wednesday 18 May 2016, 9.30am-6.30pm Where: Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton Find out more and book: www.musiccitiesconvention.com/

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LISTINGS Talks, conferences, training, masterclasses – everything you need to keep on top of the latest thinking and developments in the planning world.

LONDON 19 April – Persuasion and influencing skills This workshop will show you how to become influential, how to grow your web of influence, and how to persuade people that they should act on your recommendations.

Venue: The Hatton (etc Venues), 51-53 Hatton Garden, London Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-LO-1904 20 April – Local plans: keeping control Helped by speakers who will have up-to-date knowledge as well as valuable experience to share, this event will explore all matters, and participants will leave knowing more than when they started of how best to make progress with plans.

Venue: The Hatton Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-LO-2004

SOUTH EAST 7 April – Surrey Young Planners: minerals and waste event Join the Surrey Young Planners Network at this free evening CPD event on minerals and waste.

Venue: County Hall Rooms – Ashcombe Suite, Penrhyn Road, Surrey, Kingston upon Thames, Greater London KT1 2DW Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-SE-0704 15 April – Transport planning This event will explore how transport planning can deliver economic growth, social inclusion, health and environmental benefits. Speakers include: chair Sue Percy, chief executive of the Chartered Institution of Highway and Transportation (CIHT); Lynda Addison OBE, director of Malcolm Baker Consulting and chair of the Sustainable Transport Panel of CIHT; and Marian

Marsh, senior transport planner, Reading Borough Council.

Venue: Calverley House Business & Conference Centre, 55 Calverley Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2TU Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-SE-1504

SOUTH WEST 28 April – The rural environment: why planning matters This conference will examine the challenges for the rural environment and the organisations who operate in it from the perspectives of a varied range of stakeholders. It will also introduce the findings of the RTPI’s research project into the location of development, an issue of concern in the mainly rural South-West region.

Venue: The Eden Project, Cornwall PL24 2SG Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-SW-2804

EAST OF ENGLAND 14 April – East of England Young Planners seminar: Affordable housing in the East – is it a pipe dream?

The lack of affordable housing is the top issue facing authorities in the Eastern region. This seminar will look at the key issues from the planning and development viability perspective, reviewing RICS guidance, its application, and landmark planning appeal decisions.

Venue: Bidwells, Bidwell House, Trumpington Road, Cambridge CB2 9LD Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-EE-1404

WEST MIDLANDS 22 April – The future of green belts Drawing on the insights

DON’T MISS Oxford Brookes Planning Department Annual Lecture: Planning in Scotland John McNairney, Chief Planner at the Scottish Government, will describe the evolution of the system, key achievements in process and will look forward to challenges facing planning and the system in Scotland.

McNairney was appointed chief planner in July 2012. He leads the government’s planning and architecture division, where priorities include promotion of Scotland’s third National Planning Framework, the associated Scottish Planning Policy performance and improvement of the planning system and the implementation of the Creating Places agenda.

Date: Wednesday 13 April Venue: JHB Lecture Theatre, John Henry Brookes Building, Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane site, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX3 0BP Details: tinyurl.com/planner0416-SE-scotland-1304

of a range of speakers covering public and private sector perspectives, this seminar provides an opportunity to scrutinise how green belt can help deliver sustainable development.

Venue: Pinsent Masons LLP, 3 Colmore Circus, Birmingham, West Midlands B4 6BH Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-WM-2204

YORKSHIRE 14 April – RTPI Yorkshire annual pub quiz RTPI Yorkshire’s annual pub quiz.

Venue: Bierkeller, 1 South Parade, Leeds LS1 5QL Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-YO-1404 20 April – Heritage planning: the application of conservation in practice This conference considers the use, management and maintenance of heritage sites. How can the intrinsic historical, environmental and social value of such places be balanced with harnessing their attributes and assets for other purposes, such as economic growth, tourism and regeneration Venue: The Rose Bowl, Leeds, LS1 3HB Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-YO-2004

NORTH EAST 13 April – Conserving heritage: respecting the past This session will consider key aspects of heritage

and conservation planning including outlining core heritage and conservation matters that should be effectively addressed in the planning process.

Venue: Centre for Life, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE1 4EP Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-NE-1304

NORTH WEST 13 April – Neighbourhood Planning This event will bring together a range of stakeholders engaged in neighbourhood planning to reflect on processes and practice including how to engage with urban communities, how plans are produced and examined through the assessor and consider some legal challenges to date.

Venue: Eversheds, Manchester M1 5ES Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-NW-1304 14 April – RTPI NW Spa Day Network whilst relaxing at the Luxury Spa Hotel at Ribby Hall Village Spa. Venue: Ribby Hall Village, Ribby Rd, Wrea Green, Preston, Lancashire PR4 2NA Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-NW-1404 19 April – An introduction to the planning system (Manchester) This masterclass will provide elected members, administrators and support staff with an understanding of the planning system to enable them to appreciate

the wider context within which they are working.

The day will include an update on the many changes being proposed to the planning system by the government including those in the Treasury’s Fixing The Foundations document, which contains wide-ranging ideas for speeding up and improving the planning system.

Venue: The Studio, 51 Lever Street, Manchester, M1 1FN Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-NW-1904 20 April – Development management update This event will provide an update on the development management issues facing the profession.

Venue: DLA Piper, Manchester M2 3DL Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-NW-2004

WALES 19 April – The Value of Planning for Wales RTPI Cymru’s Spring Conference, chaired by RTPI Cymru chair Pete Lloyd, will explore the value of planning in creating successful places.

The ability to efficiently plan, fund and deliver effective spatial planning is key to the success of our places, communities and our economy. RTPI Cymru will be launching Wales’s Best Places at the conference.

Venue: Venue Cymru, The Promenade, Llandudno, Conwy LL30 1BB Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-WA-1904

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NEWS

RTPI {

RTPI news pages are edited

by Josh Rule at the RTPI, 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3R 8DL

Planning Aid England volunteers are vital to neighbourhood planning JOHN ROMANSKI, SENIOR PLANNING AID ENGLAND PAE ADVISER, TALKS ABOUT THE SUCCESS PAE HAS ACHIEVED THROUGH ITS VOLUNTEERS’ HARD WORK More than 150 neighbourhood plans have now been passed at local referendums, making it a good time to reflect on how PAE has supported local communities to engage with neighbourhood planning and shape their areas. In helping to reach this milestone, PAE has made a considerable contribution to the development of knowledge and capacity within communities, enabling them to play powerful roles in the neighbourhood planning process, a regime designed to empower them to exert greater influence over the shape and function of their neighbourhoods.

The most significant element of this has been the Department of Communities and Local Governmentfunded Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning (SCNP) programme, which saw PAE support more than 270 groups developing neighbourhood plans across England.

Local volunteers worked tirelessly to provide over 900 days of support across a range of activities, drawing on a unique breadth of experience and expertise.

“PLANNING AID WERE EXTREMELY HELPFUL IN PROVIDING GUIDANCE TO OUR COMMUNITY TEAM. THEIR WORKSHOPS WERE WELL PREPARED AND HELPED GET THE TEAM RAPIDLY UP THE LEARNING CURVE ON SOME KEY ASPECTS OF NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING” DAVID GEORGE, WHITCHURCH TOWN COUNCIL

One PAE volunteer has even been nominated for the 2016 Volunteer Planner of the Year, a new category in the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence, for work undertaken with a deprived

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and ears, providing invaluable local knowledge, and we are very much in their debt for their contribution to our work.

“PLANNING AID ENGLAND PROVIDED US WITH INDEPENDENT, FLEXIBLE SUPPORT WHILST FULLY RESPECTING THE NEEDS AND AMBITIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY” SUE JOHN, ROTTINGDEAN PARISH COUNCIL community seeking to develop an inner city neighbourhood plan.

In addition to providing direct support, PAE has produced 39 guidance notes to comprehensively explain how to create a neighbourhood plan – everything from setting up a neighbourhood plan group to commissioning a planning consultant. Volunteers were keen to ensure that these notes were helpful for communities in terms of both language and content. The feedback on this has been fantastic. n PAE tools and templates: www.ourneighbourhoodplanning.org.uk/ resources/documents/

On top of face-to-face work and guidance notes, our core services continue to be well used. The advice line now responds to 3,000 queries a year.

Volunteers have contributed to the service by making themselves available to answer queries and provide specialist knowledge.

Volunteers have also supported our online resource Planning Aid Direct by identifying, writing and reviewing content on our behalf. This has resulted in a resource of more than 100 planning advisory notes that command at least 2,000 views a month. We will continue to build up this one-stop shop in response to the issues that advice line callers raise.

We have set up volunteer PAE task groups with the RTPI English Regions.

They are helping to shape the service regionally by identifying volunteer outreach opportunities and promoting what we do. Our volunteers are our eyes

More recently, our volunteers have supported a number of local plan consultations in areas of deprivation, providing an independent and impartial voice that has helped local planning authorities reach out to people with differing needs and views. Our volunteers have also worked with communities faced with estate regeneration, empowering them to be able to respond to consultations, and providing support for at least 50 pieces of casework across the country. Our volunteers have also assisted fellow volunteers. We have a number of student volunteers who, owing to a lack of experience, do not have the confidence or experience to be able to support communities, so senior volunteers have also mentored them.

It is always important to reflect on and celebrate our work and successes.

PAE has helped many communities across England to take control of their neighbourhood’s future by giving them the tools and skills to have a say. Our regions are in a constant state of flux, continually facing new challenges, so PAE’s work is as critical as ever. We are working on how PAE can best support communities to engage with the planning system and influence policy and decision-making. We’ll revisit this later in the year. In the interim we are always looking for volunteers. n Volunteering is a great way to use your planning knowledge to give something back to the community while learning new skills, building professional networks and gaining continual professional development.

Join us: www.rtpi.org.uk/planning-aid/

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Editorial E: rtpinews@rtpi.org.uk

RTPI (switchboard) T: 020 7929 9494

Registered charity no.

262865 Registered charity in Scotland SCO37841

3 POINT PLAN A planner explains how they would change the English planning system

Fay Eames Senior Regeneration and Development Officer HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Increasing pressure on local authorities from central government to deliver more housing, drive job creation and increase productivity creates an opportunity for planners to work more closely with economic development teams to meet these ambitions. The new housing delivery test could result in local authorities increasing the number of sites allocated for residential development, however, it does not necessary follow that in doing so, house builders will build more homes and jobs will be created.

With the government relying on the private sector to deliver, there remains the question of the industry’s capacity to deliver, especially given the fall in the number of house builders post-recession and the skills shortages, not to mention the over-emphasis on the need for housing but the deafening silence on the need for adequate employment space to drive job creation. By planning departments working alongside their economic development functions, the burden on the delivery of these ambitions can be shared, helping to ensure that both residential and commercial sites are promoted to potential developers and investors early on in the local plan process and ‘warming up’ market interest to attract inward investment.

YOUR INSTITUTE, YOUR QUESTIONS What does the RTPI do to support new graduates to develop in their careers?

SOPHIE LONG, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL CAT GOUMAL, SENIOR EDUCATION, CAREERS & LIFELONG LEARNING OFFICER We arrange for practitioners from the private and public sectors to speak to students at university. Once you graduate you can get involved in your local Young Planners network and attend one of the regular sessions on the Assessment of Professional Competence. We have eight priorities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and provide conferences, regional events and free online modules on the RTPI Learn training hub. Meeting 50 hours of CPD over two years may include work-based learning and volunteering. n See www.rtpi.org.uk/cpdpriorities

1 The merger of planning and economic development functions to ensure that development opportunities are promoted to market early on in the planning process

2 Additional funding, potentially leveraged through flexible planning fees, to provide for a major applications officer in every local authority

3 Promotion of opportunities to builders specialising in Passivhaus construction and modular builds, helping achieve objectives under the Paris Agreement and speed the construction process

POSITION POINTS

GOVERNMENT PROPOSES UK APPRENTICESHIP LEVY LEGISLATION ANDY LEVENE, EDUCATION & CAREERS OFFICER

The government has pledged to create three million apprentices within five years, funded by a levy to be introduced in April 2017. It is set at 0.5 per cent of annual payroll, and every UK employer will be liable for the tax.

To ensure your department is getting a return on that investment, there has never been a better time to recruit.

The RTPI has developed the town planning technical apprenticeship to widen access into the profession and to enable companies to ‘grow their own’ talent. Now at three colleges, the institute is looking to expand the scheme to more employers. For more, email careers@rtpi.org.uk

n Draft law: tinyurl.com/planner0416-levy-legislation

DIGITAL DIVIDENDS MUST FAVOUR ALL JOE KILROY, POLICY OFFICER

The World Bank Group’s Digital Dividends report says that as digital technologies have spread rapidly in much of the world, the digital dividends – the broader development benefits from using these technologies – have lagged behind. Benefits tend to flow to the better off and more educated, and policy interventions are needed to arrest this trend. The report’s main message is that digital development strategies need to be broader than just ICT strategies, which supports the recommendations in the RTPI’s Planning And Tech report. Similarly, the RTPI makes the case for securing social as well as economic benefits from the growth of the tech sector.

n Digital Dividends: tinyurl.com/planner0416-digitaldividends / n RTPI report: tinyurl.com/planner0416-planning-tech

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RTPI { INTERNATIONAL IN FOCUS: RTPI MEMBERS WORKING AROUND THE WORLD

Nour El Nawawi Urban Economic Planner DAR AL HANDASAH, CAIRO, EGYPT My role as an urban economist/ urban planner at Dar Al-Handasah, a multinational engineering consultancy, is a slightly odd one.

With most of my colleagues working as urban designers, my role is to bridge the gap between the physical design and the socioeconomic initiatives of projects.

Depending on the scale this could mean developing social enterprise frameworks, social infrastructure planning, regional development analysis, packaging investment projects or masterplanning.

Development pressure on Cairo is immense; the constant influx of people from the countryside means the built environment has developed rapidly – too rapidly – for the existing infrastructure. Housing has been haphazardly built with little consideration for the design of basic utilities and services. Development is sprawling to the east and west and investment in those areas has led to gated communities and extensive commutes. It has also meant the slow decay of downtown areas.

The planning process, often bureaucratic and inflexible, could be changed to help reduce these pressures. I would like to see a reduction of regulations such as setback distances, strict land uses

and inflexible tenure e systems. Informal developments as a result of landowners bypassing the formal system to avoid costs should be formally integrated into the city, as they are not currently recognised by the public planning bodies. There should also be a formal process that involves the community in planning their neighbourhoods.

Despite these problems, Cairo is packed with hidden gems and neighbourhoods where traditions remain unchanged. Even though I was born and raised in Cairo, I still make discoveries – from forgotten streets and local movies to live music venues and outdoor space for physical exercise. I enjoy living in a city with so much history; it makes the job of an urban planner even more interesting when one is exposed to that kind of environment.

Research helps to make sense of Welsh housing data Calculating housing requirements in order to set policies and allocate land within development plans can be a complex and challenging task for planners. Research published by RTPI Cymru on the use of household projection data in calculating housing requirements sets out some of these challenges facing planners in Wales.

The study found Welsh Government household projections a valuable mechanism for assessing housing requirements in Local Development Plans (LDPs) in Wales, however, some of the data, particularly for migration and household size, can vary over time and lead to widely differing household numbers when short-term trends are projected over longer time scales. The researchers also reported that the skills and expertise needed to interpret and adapt household projection data varies considerably between authorities and results in data not always being applied to local circumstances in an appropriate way. A key challenge for local planning authorities is to keep their evidence up to date.

The report makes a number of recommendations.

•

•

• •

Delivery of further training and skills so that local planning authorities and other stakeholders can interpret, refine and adapt household projections data.

Preparation of a good practice guide on the use of household projections in preparing LDPs. Minor amendments and clarifications to Planning Policy Wales Exploration of the Welsh Government local authority level household projections using longer-term trend data to better reflect the character and purposes of the planning system.

n Read the full report: tinyurl.com/ planner0416-welsh-planning p n Read the blog: tinyurl.com/planner0416housing-numbers n The RTPI Cymru is part of the Homes for Wales coalition http://homesfor.wales/ RTPI Cymru will be responding to the Welsh Government consultation on Statistical Outputs on Population and Household Estimates and projections. More information: tinyurl.com/planner0416-policy-wales

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RTPI Y ACTIVIT E PIPELIN Current RTPI work – what the Institute is doing and how you can help us JOIN US TO DISCUSS THE CHALLENGE OF GROWTH AT 2016’S KEY PLANNING EVENT How will we meet the pressing infrastructure challenge? Is it possible to have a fair deal on land value? Smart cities – hype or happening?

These are just some of the questions that will be discussed at the Planning Convention in London on 28th June.

Book now to make sure you don’t miss out on the opportunity to hear influential policy and decision-makers discuss their innovative solutions to the pressing growth challenge we face.

Other highlights of the conference include: ample networking opportunities, free study tours and and ‘The Future of Planning – Speed Presentations’. n For more information and to book, please visit: http://www.theplanningconvention.co.uk/

RTPI SHORTS

MEMBERS’ VIEWS GO FORWARD IN NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY CONSULTATION RESPONSE The UK Government consulted on a range of aspects of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) including the definition of affordable housing, promoting higher-density housing around commuter hubs, increased flexibility for ‘starter homes applications, and brownfield land in the green belt. Some of the issues raised by the institute included: • • •

•

WHO WILL BE THE WINNER OF THE 2016 INAUGURAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE? Attend the Awards for Planning Excellence at Milton Court, Guildhall School of Music and Drama on 5 May 2016 to find out.

Special sponsorship packages are available to support this new category. Contact Rebecca.hildreth@rtpi.org.uk for more information on sponsorship.

•

Concern about pushing to curb councils’ abilities to secure affordable housing in perpetuity; Tightening the broad definition of ‘commuter hub’; Concern about the risk of losing employment and institutional land, particularly for faith groups; Whether brownfield sites in green belt or elsewhere, starter homes should be in suitable locations; and As well as being tested, local authorities should be incentivised to plan longer term for housing.

n Read the full response: www.rtpi.org.uk/ knowledge/consultations/2016-responses/

n Buy your tickets for the ceremony at: http://rtpi.org.uk/excellence

SAVE THE DATE YOUNG PLANNERS’ CONFERENCE 2016 This year’s Young Planners’ Conference will explore the theme of ‘Planning for Change – Shaping our Future’ and will take place at the Europa Hotel in Belfast on 14-15 October.

The conference programme, which will include plenaries, workshops, an exciting range of free study tours and a conference dinner, will shortly be available on the RTPI website.

Follow us on Twitter @RTPIPlanners, #YPConf2016 and check our website regularly to be the first to know when booking opens. n For more information visit: http://rtpi.org.uk/events/young-planners’-conference-belfast-2016/

LOOKING FOR A CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CPD OPPORTUNITY? We’re looking for Partnership and Accreditation Board members and a vice-chair of the Partnership and Accreditation Panel (PAP).

Would you like to help shape the educational standards of planning education by contributing to the institute’s work with accredited Planning Schools?

We are recruiting for RTPI Dialogue Members, Representatives and Chairs of Partnership and Accreditation Boards.

The roles are open to both practitioners and members working at universities or in other fields. Volunteering can contribute to CPD. The role specification and application form are online and the deadline for all applications is 5pm on Wednesday 20 April. n More information: www.rtpi.org.uk/educationroles

LONG­SERVING RTPI STAFF MEMBER, CHARLES HERD, PASSES AWAY Charles Herd, who worked at the RTPI for 39 years from 1947 and retired in 1986, died in 2015, less than a month before his 90th birthday. He made a profound contribution to the development and growth of the institute as Secretary, Internal Affairs. The institute offered Charles more than just a fulfilling career – it was where he met his wife, Ruby (who died ed in 1996). She had worked at the institute as a secretary. Andrew Taylor, chair of RTPI Board of Trustees, wrote to his son Geoff to express gratitude for the great contribution Charles made and to convey condolences on behalf of the institute. n Read the full obituary at: tinyurl.com/planner0416-charles-herd

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INSIGHT

Plan B WELCOME TO POWERHOUSIA John:

... So, we’ve got HS4, 5 and 6

Plan B was briefly privy to a behind-thescenes discussion among city leaders at February’s UK Northern Powerhouse conference....

John: No, this has to be about all of us in the Northern Powerhouse, Howard – united.

Pat: And 7.

Howard: Manchester United. [Laughter] John: I thought we agreed high-speed rail linking Newcastle and Gateshead was a bit of an ask?

Ged: What about Powerhousia?

John: What?

Pat: I don’t think so.

Ged: Powerhousia. [Pause] John: You might have a case if you weren’t arguing for a train stopping outside your house.

Pat: Yeah, but…

John: No, I’m sorry. No. It would look self-serving.

John: I… er I dunno… [unclear] drawing attention to our assets, is it? Y’know, our inspiring landscape, our quality of life, our seaside towns…

Ged: Powerhousia-on-sea John: … Our refined regional delicacies.

Pat: But… Tom: Powerhousia-sur-la-mer John: No. No, Pat, no.

Howard: Manchester-on-Sea Pat: [Unclear] do the same if it were you.

[Hubbub]

John: No, Howard. Be sensible. What does everyone think of, er, Powerhousia? [Muttering]

John: All right, all right. Now, we’ve got guarantees of £100 million in research funding for Northern universities each year…

Tom: North Anglia?

All: Aye.

Ged: Sounds like the regional branch of a 1970s television company. [Laughter].

John: … devolved planning powers, control over skills, smart motorways [unclear] breaks for Google, and Apple if they relocate around the Mersey.

[Shouting] Merseyworld! Tyneland!

John: Come on, now! Think regionally!

Ged: The Mersey Corridor.

John: Oh yeah, the Mersey Corridor. Aye? All: Aye. Scousers!

Howard: Mancunia.

Pat: Historically, the north of England was the Kingdom of Northumbria. Why don’t we just call it Northumbria?

[Unclear] so unfair [unclear] Ged: What, and have a king as well? You’ll be proposing the bloody Danelaw next!

Ged: You wanna take it outside?

IMAGE | SHUTTERSTOCK

John: Calm down, Ged, calm down. Now, we’re demanding special protection for our inspiring landscapes and historic industries. All we need now is a name – a brand, y’know, so we can market ourselves to the Chinese.

50

Tom: Yorkshire! Let’s just call it bloody Yorkshire and be done with it!

Ged: With Geoffrey Bloody Boycott for Mayor of the North? Do me a favour!

Tom: He’s got a sight more character than that [unclear] Michael [unclear] Atherton.

Tom: What’s wrong with The North?

John: It’s a bit generic, Tom – y’know, every country has a north. We want to stand out. Be more distinctive, like. Like Germany has…

Howard: Greater Mancunia

Howard: Manchester

Pat: I’ve had enough of this.

John: No, Howard, be serious. Like Germany...

John: Where’s she going? Where you going, Pat? Hey! Oi! Who are you? Hey, he’s bloody recording thi [Click]

Howard: Greater Manchester.

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All: Oh shut up!

n Mad for it? Tweet us - @ThePlanner_RTPI 24/03/2016 11:10