The Planner October 2017 by The Planner

OCTOBER 2017 A MODERN CHARTER FOR TREES, WOODS & PEOPLE // p.8 • RTPI AWARDS FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE 2017 // p.6 • RTPI AWARDS CASE STUDY: THE PLACE STANDARD TOOL // p.32 • NATIONS & REGIONS FOCUS YORKSHIRE // p.36 •

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

LAY OF THE LAND DO WE NEED TO REFORM THE OWNERSHIP, USE AND MANAGEMENT OF OUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE?

01_cover_OCT.indd 1

25/09/2017 11:01

Planning Law Update Conference 23 November 2017 | London This one-day conference will provide a thorough, thought provoking examination of key legal issues and will help delegates to navigate the labyrinth of the current UK planning system. It will address and critically assess major policy changes, new legislation and a number of VLJQLČ´ FDQW PLQLVWHULDO DQG MXGLFLDO GHFLVLRQV Case law

Book Now from

ÂŁ349

Community Infrastructure Levy

Compulsory purchase

The housing white paper

Environmental Impact Assessment Housing Neighbourhood plans

020 3122 0138 | rtpiconferences.co.uk/planninglaw p02_PLN.OCT17.indd 2

20/09/2017 17:05

CONTENTS

PLANNER 09 18

THE

O CTO BER

20 17

NEWS

4 The government’s housing strategy still needs fixing

6 ‘Mega-region’ map tops research awards

7 Sturgeon confirms planning bill in Scottish Government plans 8 Trees for all in 21st century charter 9 Javid announces social housing green paper 10 RTPI Scotland on the planning review 11 NI publishes guidance on historic environment regime

OPINION

“432 PEOPLE OWN HALF THE PRIVATE RURAL LAND IN SCOTLAND”

14 Geoffrey Payne: What do we do about land tenure and property rights? 14 Martin Green: How culture and regeneration go hand in hand in Hull 15 Pooja Agrawal: Can we address poor perception of planning in the public sector? 15 Peter Head: Making planning an agent of global change 16 Chris Shepley: Inherent flaws in government policies won’t just come out in the wash

INSIGHT

FEATURES 18 Ownership and use of land and natural resources lie at the heart of our social, political and economic arrangements. Here we look at the history of land ownership in this country, and at cases for and against reform to our current systems 32 Case study: How the place standard tool was pioneered in Scotland 36 Nations & Regions: Yorkshire

34 Tech landscape: The syntax of cities: the growing impact of digital technology on our ability to understand how cities work

C OV E R I M A G E | H I TA N D RU N M E D I A . C O M

p03_contents.indd 3

40 Decisions in focus: Development decisions, round-up and analysis 44 RTPI round-up: News and interviews from the institute 50 Plan B: Social media trolling and model village mania

22 O CTO B E R 2 01 7 / THE PLA NNER

25/09/2017 14:18

NEWS

Report {

Saville suggests that the sum of assessments across the country is 25 per cent short of true housing need

ASSESSING HOUSING NEED

The government’s housing strategy still needs ﬁxing By Huw Morris

It has become a familiar mantra of communities secretary Sajid Javid. The country’s housing market is broken. For too long, too few homes have been built. And it takes too long for the too few to be built. The system for determining housing demand “simply isn’t good enough, relying on assessments from local authorities according to their own requirements carried out by expensive consultants using their own methodology”, says Javid. Councils spend around £3 million this way, with many then bogged down in lengthy and costly legal disputes. “The result is an opaque mishmash of different figures that are consistent only in their complexity,” he adds. His answer, first mooted in February’s

housing white paper, is a standardised methodology for assessing need and a “statement of common ground” by neighbouring councils (see The housing need proposals). So how will the proposal tackle the problem? Where will its biggest impact be felt? And will it work?

Delivery still falling short An analysis by Savills of the housing white paper earlier this year argues that even a new assessment will not deliver enough homes. England needs about 300,000 new homes a year and a “truly honest assessment” by each local authority would have to add up to this number or more to address the shortfall. It suggests that the sum of assessments across

THE HOUSING NEED PROPOSALS

The standardised methodology sets out three steps for determining housing need: • The baseline would be the annual average from the Office for National Statistics projection of household growth over a 10-year period. • This would be multiplied by a calculation on affordability using the ratio of median house price to median income. In areas where this is more than four points, each one point rise would result in a 0.25 per cent increase in household need. • This would then be capped at 40 per cent above the housing need assessment set in the local plan if it has been adopted within the past five years. It would be set at 40 per cent above the local plan or 40 per cent above the household projections if the plan is out of date. • Under a proposal for a statement of command ground, neighbouring councils will be expected to set out cross-boundary matters, looking at housing need, distribution of homes and plans to meet any shortfalls. The government is prepared to take action if effective cooperation does not take place to ensure that communities and neighbouring councils are not at a disadvantage. • The government is offering two considerable carrots to encourage development. The first is a £25 million capacity fund to support planning departments. It is also consulting on increasing planning fees in areas where authorities are delivering the homes their communities need.

T H E P L AN N E R \ OCTOB E R 20 1 7

p04_05_news.indd 4

the country is 25 per cent short of true housing need. Moreover, contends the company, across the 123 authorities with a post-NPPF plan in place and an up-todate housing needs assessment, housing targets fall 16 per cent below objectively assessed need. The effect of the combined effect of an underestimate of need and target set means that England is planning for 37 per cent fewer homes than needed, says Savills. TLT legal director Fergus Charlton says: “As a general principle, if you don’t know where you’re starting from you’ll have trouble knowing how to get to where you want to go. So it is with the housing market. “The government has repeatedly told us that we need 266,000 new homes in England each year, but the annual new build statistics have shown successive and significant shortfalls against this target. “A major reason for this national shortfall is that when allocating housing sites in their local plans, planning authorities provided for significantly fewer houses than are necessary to satisfy their component of the national need. They have often justified this by using their own particular assessment I M AG E S | G E T T Y

22/09/2017 16:26

PLAN UPFRONT

Five key statistics

£3m The amount councils spend on consultants calculating housing need, according to the DCLG

266,000 The annual number of homes England needs under the new methodology

72,000 The annual number of homes needed in London under the new assessment

300,000 methodology for the housing need for their own area.”

So will the proposals work? More than one commentator privately wonders if the government now regrets scrapping regional spatial strategies and points to a lack of strategic emphasis underpinning the proposals. “As Javid’s proposals currently stand there is not enough of a strategic framework to make a diﬀerence,” says Peter Hogg, city and regeneration director at Arcadis. “The proposals lack audacity and ambition. There is little to show how housing, infrastructure development, economic growth and citizen-focused place-making will be brought together in a strategic planning approach. “Too much is still left for each planning authority to address and

“TOO MUCH IS STILL LEFT FOR EACH PLANNING AUTHORITY TO ADDRESS AND THE FRAMEWORK IS TOO SKETCHY”

the framework is too sketchy. While I agree with the need for decisions and ownership to be local, the new proposals need to set a much clearer strategic framework around which delivery can be accelerated. We cannot miss the opportunity to make planning an enabler of sustainable communities, rather than a control mechanism for housing supply.”

Call for housebuilding renaissance Local Government Association housing spokesman Martin Tett is sceptical, arguing that “a formula drawn up in Whitehall can never fully understand the complexity and unique needs of local housing markets, which vary signiﬁcantly from place to place”. He wants to see new powers for councils to make sure developers build out approved homes in time adequate funding for planning departments to cover the cost of processing applications, and freeing authorities to borrow to build new homes. “Ultimately we need a renaissance in council housebuilding if we’re to deliver the aﬀordable homes this

The real number of homes England needs to build each year, according to Savills

189,000 The number of homes built last year

country needs – national ambitions will not be realised without new freedoms and powers for councils.” The RTPI sees other mines beneath the surface. It is concerned at “the considerable time” it has taken for the government to oﬀer the proposals. “Frequent tinkering around the edges of the planning system are severely disruptive to the day-to-day tasks of planning and delivery,” it says. “In this case, we have serious concerns with the delay the implementation of new objectively assessed housing need could cause to plan delivery. Our main ask is that transitional arrangements will ensure that these changes are as least disruptive as possible.”

O CTO B E R 2 017 / THE PLA NNER

p04_05_news.indd 5

22/09/2017 16:26

NEWS

Analysis { RTPI AWARDS FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

‘Mega-region’ map tops research awards By Laura Edgar The 2017 RTPI Awards for Research Excellence were presented recently at a ceremony held during the UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference. A groundbreaking map of the United States that defines mega-regions by commuting patterns and data took the Sir Peter Hall Award for Wider Engagement. Dr Alasdair Rae, from Sheffield University, and Dr Garrett Nelson from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, conducted the research – An Economic Geography of the United States: From Commutes to Megaregions. In the US, mega-regions are understood in geography as being cities connected by their economies and infrastructure. But this way of conglomerating places is increasingly unable to reflect what is happening on the ground. Over five years, Rae and Nelson analysed the daily work commutes of more than 130 million Americans as they tried to understand the changing economic interdependence between cities and their surrounding areas. Their research suggests that Florida is split into three areas: the (northern) panhandle is actually part of the Alabama mega-region, central Florida is a separate region, while south Florida (centred on Miami) is effectively an entirely different economy.

The value of big data The study demonstrates how valuable big data – such as commuting data – is in developing the understanding of how places work. Such data is vital for policymakers and planners making strategic decisions for investment in infrastructure and transport. Rae told The Planner that planners and geographers often think about the world in relation to boundaries of towns, cities or regions, something that “makes sense” and is necessary for good planning.

“But the world is often more complex and the reality is that patterns of human activity often look very different from the lines we draw on maps.” He said a huge number and variety of people, from transport planners to senior executives at Major League Baseball teams, have contacted him and Nelson. “This kind of interaction just goes to show that academic planning has significant value in the real world, but also that by publishing in easily accessible formats is also critically important if we want to get our message across.” Rae described winning the Sir Peter Hall Award as an honour. “Sir Peter’s work has always been such an inspiration and his engagement with the outside world a constant example of how academic planning can serve the public interest.” Dr Michael Harris, head of research at the RTPI, said: “The winners and highly commended entries demonstrate how academic researchers can positively reach out to practitioners and policymakers with insights and finding to inform and influence their work. I am pleased these awards have been able to celebrate such impactful, high-quality research again this year.”

THE WINNERS OF THE FOUR OTHER AWARDS ARE:

• Academic Award: Cycle BOOM. Design for Lifelong Health and Wellbeing. Summary of Key Findings and Recommendations Researchers: Dr Tim Jones, Dr Ben Spencer and Nick Beale, all of Oxford Brookes University; Dr Emma Street, Dr Carlen Van, Dr Louise-Ann Leyland, all of the University of Reading; Dr Kiron Chatterjee and Dr Heather Jones, both of the University of West of England; and Dr Justin Spinney, Carl Mann and Shaun Williams, all of Cardiff University. • Early Career Researcher Award: Neighbourhood Cohesion under the Influx of Migrants in Shanghai Researchers: Dr Zheng Wang, with Dr Fangzhu Zhang and Professor Fulong Wu, all of the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. • Student Award: Tangible Places for Intangible Products: The Role of Space in the Creative Digital Economy, Tech City, London Researcher: Dr Juliana Martins (Bartlett School of Planning, University College London) • Planning Consultancy Award: Start to Finish: How Quickly Do Large-Scale Housing Sites Deliver Researcher: Rachel Clements (Lichfields)

Student Award winner: Dr Juliana Martins Speaking to The Planner, Juliana Martins, winner of the student award, explained that her research explores the relationship between space and creative digital production in Shoreditch ‘Tech City’ through the spatiality of (digital) work. “This qualitative research explores the relationship between space and creative digital production in Shoreditch ‘Tech City’ through the spatiality of (digital) work. The study shows a network of spaces used for work – what I call the ‘extended workplace’ – expanding our understanding of why and how place matters in the digital economy.”

Martins said the ﬁndings challenge policies that aim to foster creative production by targeting mainly consumption patterns of ‘creatives’ as championed by Richard Florida, an American urban studies theorist, calling for a more in-depth and nuanced understanding of creative industries’ production systems. “By exploring a spatial perspective to examine the urban creative digital economy, predominantly investigated in economic and human geography, this research helped to open new lines of enquiry in urban design and planning.”

TH E P L AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p06_07_news.indd 6

22/09/2017 16:27

PLAN UPFRONT The bill will include a review of Scotland’s National Planning Framework

Sturgeon confirms planning bill in Scottish Government plans Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has launched her Programme for Government for 2017/2018, which verifies that planning, climate change, and Crown Estate bills will be introduced. She confirmed that a new planning bill will be introduced, “to support the efficient delivery of the development our communities need, including vital infrastructure”. The Programme for Government document states that the bill will provide a “simpler, more effective system of development plans, to set a clear view of how areas will develop in future”. The procedure for preparing plans will be improved, it continues, and communities will have better opportunities to influence the future of their areas. According to a section on planning system reform, the Scottish Government’s proposals for the bill include:

• A new approach to Simpliﬁed Planning Zones; • Modernising Compulsory Purchase Orders; • Building on its eDevelopment services with a digital taskforce; • Reviewing the National Planning Framework, strengthening its alignment with wider strategies and programmes; • Using new powers to restrict the number of betting shops and payday lenders on high streets; and • Working with local authorities to support people to live an active lifestyle. Craig McLaren, director of RTPI Scotland, told The Planner: “We are pleased that the Programme for Government conﬁrms the planning bill as part of 2017/18 legislative programme. We look forward to continuing to work with Scottish Government on this. The programme also includes bills on climate change, the Crown Estate, transport, and warm homes. It will be good to see the details of each bill and how they will complement one another. Planning could have important role in all.” The Programme for Government can be found on the Scottish Government website: bit.ly/planner1017-bill

Northern Ireland ‘best places’ nominations declared RTPI Northern Ireland has announced the 10 nominations put forward by the public to ﬁnd the country’s best place. The competition aims to celebrate some of the most attractive and inspiring places, and the role planners have played in helping to protect or shape them for communities across Northern Ireland. The top 10 nominations have been whittled down by the Northern Ireland Best Places judging panel. They are: • Antrim Historic Town Centre, Antrim and Newtownabbey • Merville Garden Village, Antrim and Newtownabbey • Armagh City Historic Town Centre and I M AG E S | I STO C K / G E T T Y

p06_07_news.indd 7

Cathedrals, Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon • Connswater Community Greenway, Belfast • Cathedral Quarter, Belfast • Giants Causeway, Causeway Coast and Glens • Rathlin Island, Causeway Coast and Glens • Walled City, Guildhall, Peace Bridge and Ebrington, Derry/Londonderry, Derry City and Strabane • Lough Erne, Fermanagh and Omagh • Newcastle and the Mourne, Newry, Mourne and Down Beverly Clyde, chair of RTPI Northern Ireland, said: “The competition has

reminded us of the passion we have for places we love. The ﬁnalists, places clearly loved by the public, have been protected, carefully planned or improved by the planning system. “I encourage everyone to get behind their favourite place to ensure that it wins.” Voting is open until Friday 20 October. To vote: • Submit your vote online: bit.ly/planner1017-vote • Email it to northernirelandbestplace@ rtpi.org.uk • Tweet your vote for your chosen place, tagging #RTPINIBestPlaces

O CTO B E R 2 01 7 / THE PLA NNER

22/09/2017 16:27

NEWS

Analysis { TREE CHARTER

Trees for all in 21st century charter By Simon Wicks It was drawn up as a companion to the Magna Carta and dealt with the rights of common people, not landed gentry. But, although the Magna Carta is celebrated, few are familiar with the Charter of the Forest. This may be about to change. On Monday 6 November, the 800th anniversary of the original document’s sealing by Henry III, a modern Charter for Trees, Woods and People will be launched. The medieval charter returned to ‘free men’ traditional rights to draw sustenance from ‘royal forest’. It recognised the importance of woodland, heathland and pasture to the survival of ordinary people. Its modern equivalent recognises the role that woodland can continue to play in our lives. Its 10 principles – distilled from 60,000 public submissions – enshrine the contribution that trees make to species survival, environmental protection, economic activity and human well-being.

Threat to UK’s ancient woodlands Initiated by the Woodland Trust, and supported by at least 70 land-based bodies, the Charter for Trees, Woods and People provides a standard for organisations to adopt. The trust argues that such principles are necessary; with just 2 per cent forest cover, Britain is the least-wooded nation in Europe. According to the trust, 600 ancient woodlands are threatened by development, and the Forestry Commission has missed a target to plant 5,000 hectares of trees annually. “Poor planting rates, plus woodland losses and weak protection of ancient woods mean deforestation is highly likely in England, with some areas of woodland felled or destroyed and not replanted,” said Beccy Speight, chief executive of the Woodland Trust. “Despite repeated requests, there is little eﬀort from the government to accurately quantify the cumulative losses of woodland resulting from planning, infrastructure, tree disease and intensive land use.”

Enhancing new developments The 800th anniversary of the Charter of the Forest is a springboard for action. “There’s a disconnect between people and trees,” said Victoria Bankes Price, planning adviser at the trust. Two of the charter’s principles are directly relevant to planners, she

said – ‘Better protection for important trees and woods’ and ‘Enhancing new developments with trees’. The latter, she said, was associated with improved well-being and active transport choices. The Tree Charter’s supporters are thus pressing for trees to be incorporated into local and neighbourhood plans. “People should live within close proximity to woods and trees and have easy and free access,” said Bankes Price. “Ideally, we would like to see a quantifiable standard for trees in every major new development, such as urban extensions and garden villages.” A revival of planning at a ‘landscape scale’ would enable woodland targets to be focused on river catchment areas rather than local plan areas – alleviating flood risk. Then there is Brexit, which the Woodland Trust sees as an opportunity to replace the “monolithic” Common Agricultural Policy with a system that promotes maintenance of woodland. The charter will be launched at Lincoln Castle, home to a surviving copy of its medieval predecessor. Could it have as profound an impact? With more than 85,000 signatories, the trust’s vow to “influence policy and practice through people power” may bear fruit. Planners, too, can play their part. n bit.ly/planner1017-treecharter

A MODERN CHARTER FOR TREES, WOODS AND PEOPLE: WE BELIEVE IN

Thriving habitats for A thriving forestry sector Understanding and using the diverse species that delivers for the UK natural health benefits of trees

Better protection for important trees and woods

Enhancing new developments with trees

Planting for the future

Strengthening landscapes Access to trees for everyone with woods and trees

Celebrating the cultural impact of trees

Addressing threats to woods and trees through good management

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p08_09_news.indd 8

22/09/2017 16:27

PLAN UPFRONT

Javid announces social housing green paper Communities secretary Sajid Javid has said the government will bring forward a green paper on social housing in England. Speaking at September’s National Housing Federation conference in Birmingham, Javid said it would be a “wide-ranging, top-tobottom review” of the issues facing the social housing sector. The green paper would be the “most substantial report of its kind for a generation”, he said. It would consider what things have gone wrong, and why, and “most importantly – how to ﬁx them”. Following the ﬁre at Grenfell Tower in London, it will appraise safety issues, as well as the overall quality of social housing,

service management and tenants’ rights. “It will cover what can be done to ensure their complaints are taken seriously and dealt with properly, and make sure tenants have clear, timely avenues to seek redress when things do go wrong.” The communities secretary insisted “problems shouldn’t just be ﬁxed, they should be learned from”. The green paper is set to look at wider issues of place, community and the local economy, questioning how social landlords can help to create places that people really want to live in and what role social housing policy can play in building safe and integrated communities.

Tensions rise over Cork City expansion Cork County Council has formally submitted a boundary extension plan to Cork City Council, which will involve a sixmonth consultation process. The offer comes as tensions rise between the city and county councils over a recommendation by an expert group chaired by former Scottish chief planner Jim Mackinnon. It proposed a big expansion of the city into areas now controlled by the county. The county’s offer involves extending the boundary to include Doughcloyne, Ardrostig, Frankfield, Donnybrook Grange, Castletreasure and Rochestown to the south, and Kilbarry, Carhoo, Kilcully and Ballyvolane to the north. But it excludes Ballincollig, Blarney, Glanmire, Little Island and Carrigtwohill, and Cork Airport – areas included in Mackinnon’s report and which the city council is keen to absorb.

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

p08_09_news.indd 9

Indoor ski slope project mooted for Merthyr Tydfil Proposals to build one of Europe’s longest indoor ski slopes as part of an ambitious leisure complex and regeneration project in Merthyr Tydfil have surfaced. Marvel Ltd bought the 233-hectare former coal mining site at Rhydycar West four years ago. As well as a 500-metre long ski-slope, the scheme would involve two hotels, a spa, a water and surfing park and log cabin and yurt accommodation. In addition, the developer has suggested an equestrian centre, an indoor bike and skate park, a survivor adventure park and a residential element.

The company has been working with Snowsport Cymru Wales on the scheme, which has a £450 million price tag. Marvel’s Leigh Large said: “We believe our scheme’s exciting sport and adventure facilities will attract more visitors to Merthyr, and the high-quality accommodation options will help keep them in the area for longer, addressing the current lack of local accommodation. “The site has unfortunately been closed to the public for a very long time due to legacy mining hazards, but our proposals would see large areas of the site opened up, including a series of heritage and nature trails. “It is important to emphasise that the overall plans for the site are still in development. We will be consulting with the local community this autumn so we can deliver the best possible scheme for Merthyr.”

O CTO B ER 2 017 / THE PLA NNER

22/09/2017 16:28

NEWS

Analysis { SCOTTISH PLANNING REVIEW

RTPI Scotland on the planning review By Laura Edgar A review of Scotland’s planning system was launched in 2015, and the Scottish Government is now working on a planning bill. An independent panel reviewed the system and made a number of recommendations, there have been two rounds of consultation – Places, People and Planning – published in January, and an updated position statement in June. Panellists considered proposals that would align community and spatial planning, better coordinate infrastructure planning locally and nationally, and make local development plans stronger, lasting for 10 years. RTPI Scotland, with input from its members, has compiled ﬁve think pieces that aim to develop and advance the Scottish Government’s proposals. One calls for the role of a chief planning oﬃcer (CPO) in each planning authority to be

established in legislation. The CPO would, during decision-making on strategic policy and investment, ensure consideration of the medium and longterm ramiﬁcations from communities, the subsequent infrastructure needs, and the impact beyond the immediate area. The measure would support the Scottish Government’s ambitions laid out in its consultation on stronger leadership and smarter resourcing, as well as the proposal

to align community and spatial planning. RTPI Scotland says a CPO should be professionally qualified. “This would ensure that they had the skills, knowledge and expertise to advise on the planning implications of policy and investment decisions made by local authorities. The obvious benchmark for this would be membership of the RTPI.” Duties would include development consultations and delivery of the community plan, while key local authority officers should consult with the CPO on strategic decisions at an early stage. Kate Houghton MRTPI, planning policy and practice officer at RTPI Scotland, said the statutory CPO role “embodies” the institute’s all-round ambitions for the review. “Like chief education officers and chief social workers, the CPO would be a designated point of contact in a local authority who would be consulted on strategic decision-making. This wouldn’t need to be a new role; the duties could be invested in an existing post in the planning division.” The Scottish Government has suggested that the integration of development plans with other areas of local authority strategic planning could be improved by requiring a chief executive to sign off plans. But RTPI Scotland doesn’t think this goes far enough. “The CPO would create more opportunities for any misalignment

WHAT DO THE THREE OTHER RTPI THINK PIECES RECOMMEND?

A New Development Plan Process The Scottish Government has proposed to extend the local development plan cycle to 10 years and removing supplementary planning notes to strengthen and streamline the plan-making process. The institute supports the commitment to enhance the primacy of development plans and simplify the preparation process. RTPI Scotland thinks a restructured preparation process should be underpinned by project management principles and be aligned with community planning. The think piece proposes a two-tiered ‘gate-check’

process. These gate checks would be a key part of the new project management framework approach to plan preparation and would be discharged by a small panel comprising key stakeholders. Final examination by the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division should be restricted to conﬁrming conformity of the plan with national policy.

Making an Infrastructure-First Approach a Reality RTPI Scotland supports the Scottish Government proposals to establish an infrastructure-ﬁrst approach. Current proposals, says the think piece, do not provide suitable mechanisms to assess

infrastructure needs and address these through the planning system or resolve market failures in the funding of some infrastructure projects. The institute suggests: • Establishment of a national mechanism, including statutory powers and duties, to lead infrastructure planning for Scotland. • Establishment of an infrastructure fund and infrastructure levy to be administered by Scottish ministers and statutory regional planning partnerships respectively.

Making Local Place Plans Work – Collaboration Rather than Conﬂict The think piece states that there should

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p10_11_news.indd 10

22/09/2017 16:29

PLAN UPFRONT

between local authority strategies and investment to be addressed earlier, and therefore more successfully,” explained Houghton.

Belfast Cathedral – one of Northern Ireland’s most revered landmarks

A delivery-focused system The CPO idea links directly to another think piece. Houghton said better alignment of planning and other strategic ambitions would help a proposal laid out in Delivering More Homes. It notes that two-year housing delivery programmes should be introduced to make sure that all sites allocated for local development plans are delivered. “They would provide additional assistance in scenarios where delivery has fallen markedly below annual requirements. The intended outcome is a delivery-focused system for meeting housing requirements. The Housing Delivery Programmes should take the form of project management plans framed by corporate leadership and collaboration,” it states. Houghton noted that, often, homes are planned but the delivery of them is stalled because necessary supportive infrastructure cannot be supplied. The programme “would devote human resources to identifying barriers to delivery on allocated sites, and then working with the relevant stakeholders to try and overcome these barriers”.

NI publishes guidance on historic environment regime Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has issued Development Management Practice Note 5, covering the historic environment. It is designed to guide planning oﬃcers and relevant users through the legislation provisions for the additional controls and considerations related to the regime. Topics covered by the publication are: listed buildings, conservation areas, areas of townscape character, non-designated heritage assets, archaeological sites and monuments, as well as historic parks, gardens and demesne. The note stresses: “This guidance

is not intended to replace the need for judgement by planning officers and those making planning applications. Nor is it intended to be a source of definitive legal advice. Reference should be made to the actual legislation referred to in this document and if any discrepancy or conflict exists between the practice note and legislation the provisions of the legislation will prevail.” Crucially, the note explains which functions are now the responsibilities of the Department for Communities and which fall under the DfI, following the restructuring of government departments.

Sharma launches ‘plot shop’ be a “reciprocal statutory link between community planning and spatial plan, aligning and coordinating the processes so community plans inform local development plans and regional strategies and associated delivery programmes, and vice versa”. In all areas, local place plans would inform and be informed by reviews of local outcome improvement plans, locality plans and local development plans and associated delivery programmes as part of the planning cycle. All ﬁve think pieces can be found on the RTPI Scotland website: bit.ly/planner1017-think

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

p10_11_news.indd 11

Housing and planning minister Alok Sharma has opened the UK’s ﬁrst ‘plot shop’ in Bicester. The shop will sell plots of land on the Graven Hill site in Oxfordshire to people who want to build their own home. Graven Hill is set to deliver up to 1,900 new self and custom-build homes. The development was approved in 2014. The shop aims to make it easier to access land and expert advice, and to help pioneer custom and self-build as a mainstream choice for aspiring homeowners. More than 81 per cent of plots released in phase 1a have been sold. Sharma said: “We need to get creative with how we build our housing in this country, to deliver more of the right homes in the places people want to live… The journey to building your own home can now start on the high street. “As conﬁrmed in our housing white paper, we are committed to doubling the number of custom and self-build homes by 2020 – so that anyone who wishes to design their dream house can do so. Through diversifying the housing market in this way, we can give people greater choice over the homes they live in.” Karen Curtin, managing director of Graven Hill, said: “The shop’s town centre location has proven to be integral to its success since our soft launch this summer, and we invite anyone thinking of building or customising their next home to visit the shop for an informal chat on the options available.”

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

22/09/2017 16:30

ADVERTISEMENTS

Consultants { border

archaeology

Planning our sustainable future

archaeology & built heritage

Birmingham Bristol Derby Exeter Glasgow London Warrington

working throughout the UK

e: ask@borderarchaeology.com

t: 01568 610101

Contact:

Joanne Farrar +44(0) 0203 214 8889 Joanne.farrar@atkinsglobal.com

borderarchaeology.com

http://www.atkinsglobal.com/urban-planning

ISO 9001 | ISO 14001 | OHSAS 18001

THE BUSINESS MONTHLY FOR PLANNING PROFESSIONALS

Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment

}

TO ADVERTISE IN T H I S S EC T I O N :

Townscape Assessment Expert Witness, Public Inquires & Appeals Strategic Land Promotion Local Plan Representations Green Belt Assessment Sensitivity and Capacity Appraisals

SINGLE BOX: 55MM HIGH X 90MM WIDE DOUBLE BOX VERTICAL: 113.5MM HIGH X 90MM WIDE DOUBLE BOX HORIZONTAL: 55MM HIGH X 184.5MM WIDE

Minerals and Waste Development Urban Design, Public Realm and Masterplanning Regeneration and Renewal Heritage Landscapes and Restoration Landscape Design and Implementation Ecological Consultancy and BREEAM

Mark Flatman - mark.flatman@lizlake.com

Contact Daniel Goodwin: Daniel Goodwin@redactive.co.uk 020 7880 6206

Head of Landscape Planning

01279 647 044

www.lizlake.com Stansted | Bristol | Nottingham

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

Liz Lake double box dir.indd 1 PLN Directory OCT17.indd 12

16/02/2017 11:02 20/09/2017 16:58

LEADER COMMENT

Opinionn Objectively, a call for cross-boundary cooperation is a good thing – Seven years on from the government’s introduction of an Objective Assessment of Need (OAN) for housing – a process that allowed councils to use their own ways of working to calculate housing requirements so long as they sat within the framework established by the NPPF – this spring’s housing white paper (HWP) indicated that a standardised formula for calculating OAN would be with us by the autumn. And indeed, last month a standardised formula, using household growth projections as a baseline, duly saw the light of day. There’s no doubt that seeking to eliminate debate over the best form of methodology in an ocean of diﬀerent approaches makes sense. There’s also little doubt that having the government ﬁnally set out its stall will prevent some of the perceived inertia in local

Martin Read plan making brought about in the months between publication of the HWP’s statement of OAN intent and these actual proposals. But Sajid Javid calling the proposals merely a “starting point” for wider reforms to the housing market is hardly likely to convince doubters that the formula is the rocksolid platform upon which to achieve the broadly based eﬀects he hopes for. There is, however, much to ponder about what some might see as the proposals’

inclusion of a new approach to localism through ‘statements of common ground’, by which councils will have to show they are working with neighbouring authorities to “meet housing and other needs across boundaries”. Such statements will have to be drawn up no later than a year after the proposed changes to the NPPF come into place next March. Is there more to this than initially meets the eye? Is a duty to collaborate with neighbouring authorities not also a rather intriguing new way of aﬀecting the overall approach to plan making in a region?

“THERE’S NO DOUBT THAT SEEKING TO ELIMINATE DEBATE OVER THE BEST FORM OF METHODOLOGY IN AN OCEAN OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES MAKES SENSE”

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees spoke at July’s RTPI convention about how it is “what goes on beyond our boundaries that impacts us – we need the power to speak beyond our boundaries as well”. Rees called crossboundary consultation “potentially one of the most exciting and important political changes to western democracy and global politics that we need right now”. Rees was thinking about cross-border collaboration more broadly, but, still, I wonder about the full potential of this proposal. A statement of common ground might not in itself seem revolutionary, but of course each authority typically neighbours more than one other authority, with those authorities neighbouring more than one other, and so on. Both individually and collectively, these statements could make for interesting reading with potentially signiﬁcant regional groupings of speciﬁc interest. It’s certainly one proposal to keep an eye on.

CONTACTS Redactive Publishing Ltd Level 5, 78 Chamber Street, London, E1 8BL, 020 7880 6200

Sub-editor Deborah Shrewsbury

ISSN 2053-7581 SUBSCRIPTIONS

Picture editor Claire Echavarry

£120 – UK £175 – Overseas

Designer Craig Bowyer EDITORIAL

A DV E RT I S I N G & M A R K E T I N G

Tel: 020 7324 2736 editorial@theplanner.co.uk

Display sales 020 7880 6200 sales@theplanner.co.uk

Editor Martin Read martin.read@theplanner.co.uk

Recruitment sales Emma Phillips – 020 7880 7556 Katy Eggleton – 07902 318067

Consultant editor Huw Morris

PRODUCT ION

Features editor Simon Wicks simon.wicks@theplanner.co.uk

Production manager Jane Easterman

Senior news reporter Laura Edgar laura.edgar@theplanner.co.uk Content development executive Matt Moody

Senior production executive Aysha Miah-Edwards PUBLISHING Publishing director Joanna Marsh

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 PCP Ltd.

RT P I C O N TA C T S Membership membership@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9462 Education education@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9451 Planning Aid England advice@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk 41 Botolph Lane London EC3R 8DL Media enquiries Rebecca Hildreth rebecca.hildreth@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9477 The Planner is produced using paper that is elemental chlorine free and is sourced from sustainable managed forest.

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p13_Leader.indd 11

26/09/2017 12:22

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

O Opinion

Geoﬀrey Payne is founder of Geoﬀrey Payne and Associates

What do we do about land tenure and property rights?

For a ho housing market to work well, it is vital that forms of supply reflect the scale and diversity of demand. Sadly, the British obsession with home ownership, and ‘getting on the property ladder’ has resulted in a dysfunctional system in which housing is seen more as a financial asset than as a place to live. The notion of a ‘propertyowning democracy’ stems from the time when only those who owned property could vote and this requirement was only removed in 1918 – possibly to avoid large numbers of returning soldiers following Russia by starting a revolution if they could not get their own homes. I n te r n a t i o n a l experience shows that the nations that suffered most in 2007’s financial crash were those with the highest levels of home ownership. Conversely, Germany, where home ownership was only 41 per cent in 2004 (38 per cent in Switzerland), survived almost unscathed. Despite this, property ownership has been promoted globally as the best means of stimulating economic growth, and many rapidly urbanising nations have expanded home ownership programmes. While the security provided by ownership has certainly increased investment and economic development, the key issue is who benefits and who pays. Those with financial resources can reinforce their economic status and those

with land can watch its value increase by withholding it from the market. As prices rise, those in need of a home find the rungs of the ladder are increasingly out of reach. As the sub-prime scandal of 2007 proves, even the sustainability of economic growth is not guaranteed, and putting so many eggs in one basket poses major threats if the bubble bursts. Should this happen in China, it would be far more devastating than in 2007. The solution is to promote a wide range of innovative forms of land tenure and property rights to meet the needs of a changing world. In parts of Scandinavia, land and buildings can be financed separately to encourage more user control over building design; co-housing enables families to share domestic facilities, while students can live rent-free in care homes if they provide 30 hours of care a month. In many nations, Community Land Trusts and co-operatives provide affordable housing in areas that would otherwise be unaffordable. Finally, and critically, the state has a vital and potentially powerful role. Since land uses massively affect land values, and uses are granted or withheld by governments, the state is morally entitled to claim part of the added value through taxes or charges for distribution in the public interest. Progress depends upon generating political will to address powerful vested interests and requires sustained public pressure.

“THE SOLUTION IS TO PROMOTE A WIDE RANGE OF INNOVATIVE FORMS OF LAND TENURE”

2 BLOG

BLOG

Martin Green is director of Hull UK City of Culture 2017

How culture and regeneration go hand in hand in Hull

Planning in any city is about more th than committees granting applications and applying regulations; it’s about having a vision. The best planners know that to succeed, the vision needs to be shared by the people who will use the space. Hull City Council’s £25 million investment in public realm improvements during the city’s term as the UK’s City of Culture 2017 shows how culture and regeneration can go together. The work, framed around stages to deliver events and spaces where people can come together, is throwing a spotlight on the best of Hull’s built heritage – quite literally at times. For example, Made in Hull threw largescale projections onto buildings and recreated Hollywood movie scenes at Hull landmarks. Other works have included the play Flood at Victoria Dock and Look Up, which commissioned artists to create temporary artworks to challenge people’s perceptions of Hull’s physical fabric and oﬀered diﬀerent ways to enjoy the city. Remoulding of Queen Victoria Square in the city centre has seen the creation of a large piazza in place of what was previously a busy thoroughfare. This has provided a focal point for visitors and a performance space: one Saturday this year, for example, the Duckie Summer Tea Party saw dancers and drag queens interacting with Hull’s population.

Trinity Square has been given a new lease of life. Opened up and with reﬂecting pools installed in front of Hull Minster, it has become a calming space ﬂanked by bars and restaurants. It’s also soon to become home to a new temporary installation, A Hall for Hull – 16 columns erected in the square to challenge the way we think about architecture and the use of public space. Filling redeveloped spaces with culture has breathed fresh life into the city and created a new vibrancy. People are taking ownership of their city spaces and developing an appetite for exploration, which is leading them to discover new favourite places. Communities and groups realise that the spaces around them are theirs to make use of, with new events, festivals and shows popping up with greater regularity. The success of such events has been indivisible from the public realm works. The work has provided us with amazing spaces to deliver cultural events and our programme has inspired people to see their city in a new light. From shipbuilding to Larkin and beyond, Hull is a city of culture. The work being carried out now and the momentum generated by our cultural programme should have a lasting impact on a city rediscovering its heritage and potential.

“PEOPLE ARE TAKING OWNERSHIP OF THEIR CITY SPACES”

T H E P L AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p14_15_blogs.indd 14

22/09/2017 16:30

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

Pooja Agrawal is senior project oﬃcer for the Greater London Authority

Can we address poor perception of planning in the public sector?

“Workin “Working as a planner in the public ssector is underpaid, lacks development opportunities and is stressful.” This is what a senior private sector planner told me recently, a view echoed in similar conversations. So it’s no great surprise that the GLA’s latest planning capacity survey finds that the biggest barrier local authorities face is the ability to attract the right candidates. The long-standing and widening skill gap between the public and private sector must be addressed, as it is affecting the speed and quality of the planning process and the delivery of vital homes. But are the perceptions of the senior planner justified? Benchmarking salaries of senior planners with three years’ experience in the private and public sectors, I found that working in the public sector at this level actually pays better, not to mention benefits and flexibility. Councils have several approaches to staff training and increasingly focus on new skills such as economic development. London has support programmes, including Urban Design London and Future of London. The perception hardest to bat away, however, is that of stress. In the past five years, net local authority spending on planning and development has fallen by 60 per cent, yet the pressure to deliver homes is higher than ever. Local authority resource is understandably concentrated on areas of planning subject to

4 BLOG

BLOG

Professor Peter Head CBE is founder and chief executive of The Ecological Sequestration Trust

Making planning an agent of global change

quantitative targets, like development management, as opposed to qualitative aspects such as policy, urban design, architecture and conservation. The nature of the job is becoming reactive as opposed to proactive. Increased planning fees will no doubt address some of this pressure. But the skills that authorities tell us they need most are in inﬂuencing the quality and vision of a place. What can be done to improve the perception of public sector planning and its resources? Under the Mayor of London’s ‘Good Growth by Design’ scheme, the GLA has developed Public Practice, a social enterprise that brokers oneyear placements for outstanding planning and place-shaping practitioners in local authorities. Practitioners will spend 90 per cent of their time working across planning departments and 10 per cent on collective research and personal development. Public Practice aims to change the perception of planning by attracting a new generation of planners, architects and urban designers who want do work for the public good. The pilot is to be launched this autumn, for the cohort to begin placements in April 2018. Public Practice is one way to change perceptions, harness talent, improve the diversity of the planning sector and build the public sector’s capacity to deliver better places.

“PUBLIC PRACTICE IS ONE WAY TO CHANGE PERCEPTIONS”

Six years ago I saw in the work of my plan planning team in Arup that huma human development needed to make a radical course correction. I called the desired destination the Ecological Age, and felt it could be reached through the process of sustainable development. At that time the Millennium Development Goal of reducing extreme poverty was being approached quickly around the world. But it was clear that we were starting to breach the limits of the Earth’s capacity to support this change. Population growth and climate change threatened resource scarcity; science suggested awful consequences. Land use planning was central to creating a more resilient world. But it was largely ignored. We needed decision-making tools to enable a course correction to be realised by everyone. Ideally, this would be an open-source, free-to-use digital platform that would support a collaborative regional approach to integrated land-use planning, project design and decisions about investments. Such a tool should integrate planning for housing, industry, energy, water, waste, transport, materials, soils, oceans, wetlands, forests and agriculture. It should work at a local, national and global scale and be one that young people could use in a gaming version to learn about their region. I brought together leaders in many disciplines to bring tools into use that combined modelling of

people (their social characteristics and patterns of consumption and mobility) with resource flows of human and ecological activity and a circular economics model with human well-being at its heart. What we created is resilience.io, a downloadable app that blends local information with a library of human, ecological and economic data to build a detailed picture of how a region is functioning. This allows city regions to assess their development path and to model sustainable pathways to inform policy decisions. En route, we created Roadmap 2030 to show how such tools can help to finance and deliver the Global UN Sustainable Development Goals. We tested the tool in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area in Ghana, enabling the community to reach SDG 6 – having water and sanitation available to all by 2030. We have formed the Resilience Brokers Global Programme to slingshot the building, testing and roll out of resilience.io over the next five years. Our aim is to have one demonstrator in each UN country, and to create sufficient funding to match the challenge of mobilising $3 trillion a year for course correction in the whole world by 2030. We are on the way. Peter Head gives the 2017 RTPI Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture on Planning for Sustainable Development at University College London on 8 November: bit.ly/ planner1017-lichfield

“I CALLED THE DESIRED DESTINATION THE ECOLOGICAL AGE”

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p14_15_blogs.indd 15

22/09/2017 16:30

CHRIS SHEPLEY

O Opinion Inherent flaws in government policies won’t just come out in the wash Mr Khan returned from launderette duty to find Mrs Khan in critical mood. She pointed to his shoddy washing skills. Her undies, now a dull shade of grey, had been the purest white; the hole in her cardie must have been created by a careless handling error; and melted tights were no longer acceptable in polite society. This, she said, followed a string of similar errors since about 2010, leading to the loss of several frocks and a number of woollies. His fellow washerpersons, Mrs Braithwaite and Mrs McTavish, were having similar bother. Mr McTavish had been complaining about unravelling socks for years. And Mr Braithwaite was having endless trouble with his trousers. Clearly, the time the trio spent dissecting the government’s planning policies round the dryers had distracted them from their main purpose of washing. Mr Khan issued a statement. “In the period since 2010” he said “over 700 items of intimate apparel have been successfully laundered every year, together with nearly 400 outer garments. This is a 3 per cent improvement compared with the previous 10 years. Fewer than 11 per cent have been severely damaged, and this compares well with the European average. Greater use of Elsie in the back office, and a change in the brand of powder, will lead to further improvements over the next decade, and should eliminate singeing by 2035”. Mrs Khan realised Mr Khan had been reading DCLG statements. “I know the kind

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p16_shepley_.indd 16

“FEWER POLICE ARE SOMEHOW A TRIUMPH. HEALTH TARGETS ARE NEVER MISSED, MERELY REARRANGED” of thing” she said. “Someone points out that nobody can aﬀord a house, that half of the population are living in cardboard boxes in the middle of motorways, and that hardly any social housing is being built. Some press oﬃcer, with majestic complacency, replies that everything is going swimmingly, the New Housing Perquisite Godsend Incentive Capability is working like a dream (more than 12 social houses were built last year, a gazillion per cent improvement), and anyway they’re not much worse than the last lot.

“They all do it. Fewer police are somehow a triumph. Health targets are never missed, merely rearranged. Even if 10 thousand teachers have quit, we’re training even more, and efficiently using people with no qualifications. The private sector does it too.” Mr Khan had to agree. Part of the problem was that there was very little scrutiny of whether policies were working. But Mrs McTavish had pointed out a rare exception. In 2014 the government had adopted a policy, widely derided by planners at the time, to allocate £3.5 million to give to householders living near new housing, in order to reduce opposition to development. A study by the University of Sheffield, somewhat reluctantly released, showed that only 6 per cent of households felt this might work, and

they tended to be those less strongly opposed anyway. Most were opposed to the very principle, 46 per cent associating it with “bribes”. None of the professionals in the survey supported it, feeling inter alia that it could reduce trust in planning, be divisive and reduce community cohesion, and fail to reduce opposition. The money could be better spent in other ways. The survey showed the policy had clearly failed, and it has apparently been quietly dropped. It would be good, Mrs McTavish had suggested, if similar surveys could prove the success or otherwise of other policies, such as the one to ease the conversion of launderettes, such as their own, to swimming pools or tiny homes. “That was the reason why we began to take an interest in the planning system,” said Mr Khan. “And this brings me back to your undies. They have, sadly, become collateral damage in the constant battle for decency and common sense. A small sacriﬁce, I think, for a better Britain”.

Chris Shepley is the principal of Chris Shepley Planning and former Chief Planning Inspector I L L U S T R AT I O N | O I V I N D H O V L A N D

22/09/2017 16:31

CORRESPONDENCE

Inbox YOUR NEWS, VIEWS AND QUESTIONS F E E D B A C K

Andrew Coleman — Thank you for your article ‘Pillars of the Community’ [The Planner, September 2017] about the success of the South Bank skateboarders in fighting redevelopment plans that would have destroyed the Southbank Undercroft. It was an inspiring story of a disparate group of people usually excluded from planners’ and architects’ thoughts coming together to beat the system and hopefully help shape future development. Unfortunately, the normal attitude is that skateboarding is seen as ‘cool’ enough to feature in public art, but is banned! (See picture, bottom right.) Skaters aren’t the only boardriders who have discovered how to influence the planning system. In Brighton, surfers have prevented a development spanning the eastern wall of Brighton Marina that would have severely affected access to one of the South East’s best surfspots. We also engaged with E.on to influence the design of the Rampion offshore wind farm to minimise the impact on the same recreational resource. We were helped by Surfers Against Sewage’s excellent Waves Are Resources report that is aimed at surfers and planners (some of us are both). Andrew Coleman MRTPI and regional representative for Surfers Against Sewage, Brighton

Stuart Maclure — A big thank you for working with Long Live Southbank

Two minutes with Sir Terry Farrell SIR TERRY FARRELL was recently awarded the Royal Town Planning Institute’s Gold Medal in recognition of his outstanding achievements as one of the world’s most influential architects, planners and urban designers. You’re only the 15th recipient of the RTPI’s Gold Medal. What does that mean to you? It’s a great honour, and I think planning is a great way to spend one’s life. There’s an awful lot of proactive planning going on and I think the RPTI should be celebrating it more. My receiving of the Gold Medal is hopefully a return to a restating of planning’s value. Nick Raynsford argued recently that the planning profession is currently ‘in its least effective manifestation’ (TCPA Journal, August 2017). But in truth, architects, doctors, surveyors - plenty of professions are in turmoil over a perceived loss of status. The reality for planning is that we are living in a time of huge city making which qualifies planning as one of the biggest and most important professions in the world at the moment. What’s on your mind now? It’s unfair that a building is seen as solely the work of this or that architect; there tends to be an over-exaggeration of the individual; it would be better

(LLSB) for September’s The Planner. If you meet anyone who is interested in supporting LLSB or who wants to get in touch or work with us in any way, please give them my contact details and extend my oﬀer to meet and discuss the project with them. We are expecting a new costing for the project by

if buildings came with a roll of honour, a sort of scrolling ‘film credits’ showing who was involved and in what capacity. Too few people are really looking to the future. Scientists, I was surprised to learn recently, think only about the here and now. They tend to be thinking about the last great invention and how they can build on it. Town planners, by contrast, think about what things will be like 100 years from now; the buildings and infrastructure that will affect things far more fundamentally. What will drive change in planning? IT will transform the planning profession. We may get to the point where we don’t have planning committees, instead making decisions on planning applications made through the equivalent of game simulators where you can press a button to decide yes or no. I also think automated vehicles will come in, and 10 years from now they will be affecting city making in a huge way. It will mean far fewer car parking places, lanes

for traffic and so on. A new kind of planner is needed, and that could be anyone from a politician or a landscape architect to a member of the public. In politics we’re seeing the emerging figures at city level of, for example, Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan. The Farrell Review called for a fundamental rethink of the planning system. Have we seen what you hoped to see? When the review came out I took the view that it was addressing a long-term issue. I posited that we needed the role of chief architect and the equivalent in planning of a Construction Industry Council, but I also emphasised that it all needed to begin with with education of schoolchildren and adults. That, for me, is the important long-term aim; to increase awareness of architecture, the built environment and planning issues, and for this learning to be folded in to existing courses. Planners need to provide tools so that teachers are better informed, and it’s also important to better inform adults as well. There are teach-ins for people acting on financial committees, but more should be done to teach people on planning committees about how to interpret impacts of decisions on traffic, health, etc. What’s next for you? I’m 80 next year, and when I speak with my clients they remind me that the projects we’re working on will last 10 or 15 years. So it’s time for me to empower our younger people.

Core 5 and the end of 2017 marks a big push in our fundraising eﬀorts. At this crucial stage we need all the help we can get. Thanks for the support and I’m so pleased to be holding a copy y of the magazine with our work on the cover. Stu and the LLSB family

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p17_Q&A_Correspondence.indd 17

22/09/2017 16:31

L A N D R E FO R M

LAY OF THE LAND WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT LAND REFORM IN THIS ISSUE? ASIDE FROM SIMPLY BEING INTERESTING, IT’S TIMELY, SAYS THE PLANNER’S DEPUTY EDITOR SIMON WICKS Ownership and use of land and natural resources is at the heart of our social, political and economic relationships and arrangements. It underpins individual and collective prosperity; it is bound up with power and participation in democracy. Land has defined our class system and shaped our culture in many ways; it’s at the heart of national histories both glorious and shameful – clearances are among the most brutal episodes in our nation’s story. For good or ill, land is a significant determinant of our national sense of self. So intense is the competition for land in Britain that its history is necessarily fraught. On the one hand, over the last millennium, we have seen feudalism, complex systems of tenure, enclosures, clearances, the creation of great estates and the creeping privatisation of public realm. On the other, we’ve seen efforts to democratise land, from the 1217 Charter of the Forest, to the 17th-century Diggers demanding the right to farm dwindling common land, to the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, with its radical separation of ownership and development rights. Anything that alters arrangements in ownership, access, management and use of land can be considered land reform. But typically it’s a term used to describe policies and laws that frame decisions on land in terms of public 18

interest, equality and democracy. This pressure for land reform ebbs and ﬂows. As we reach the end of 2017, it seems particularly pressing for at least four reasons, the most prominent being our impending departure from the European Union and the huge question it throws up. What sort of country do we want to live in? This cannot be answered without a consideration of land – not least what should replace Common Agricultural Policy subsidies.

432 people own half the private rural land in Scotland (Land Reform Review Group, 2014) Then there is the government’s manifesto vow to reform the Land Registry through digitisation, which should make an opaque system more eﬃcient and transparent. This has yet to bear fruit. This autumn should also see the release of data about corporate and commercial ownership of land. November 6th will mark the 800th anniversary of the Charter of the Forest – a sister document to the Magna Carta that established the rights of freemen to use common land

for sustenance. Remarkably, the charter remained on the statute books until 1971; no other piece of legislation has lasted as long. Finally, there is continuing land reform in Scotland, which has just reached another milestone with the publication of the Scottish Land Commission’s first strategy. Scotland, where the concentration of land ownership is considered the most uneven in the world, has more reason than much of the rest of the UK to address inequalities around land – just 432 people own half the nation’s private rural land. Such figures will colour any debate on land ownership and use. Is it right that 0.36 per cent of England’s population should own 70 per cent of the land? Does it even matter when ownership and development rights are separate? Is it OK that 90 per cent of England’s population lives on just 5 per cent of the land? Or is that the result of a ‘false scarcity’ of land that is creating a scenario whereby we have the smallest yet most expensive houses in Europe? Are the majority subsidising a tiny minority through property taxes and land subsidies? How do we feel about the ‘corporatisation’ of land ownership, and offshore ownership? How do we balance private property rights with public interest? Planners are embedded in these debates, as guardians of the land system. But planners can also be shapers, influencers and advocates and have a duty to deliver the best social, environmental and economic outcomes. Can land reform help to fulfil that duty? We’ve asked four organisations – Shared Assets, the Country Land and Business Association, the Scottish Land Commission, and the RTPI – for their thoughts on these complex issues.

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p18 land intro.indd 18

22/09/2017 16:32

HOW HAVE WE ARRIVED AT OUR CURRENT PATTERNS OF LAND OWNERSHIP AND TENURE IN ENGLAND AND WALES? FRANCESCA PERRY OFFERS A POTTED HISTORY’

hen we consider ‘land reform’ we might think ﬁrst about the ownership of land which, across most of Britain, is concentrated in relatively few hands. But land issues land do not necessarily turn on who owns it, but how it is owned – and why. Land reform itself is concerned with questions of access, management, use and development rights, as well as ownership. But to understand why some feel that reform is required, we must indeed start with the who. And in England (and later Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), land ownership originates with the sovereign.

feudal system of tenure

Feudalism, the system of land ownership we consider the starting point of England’s (and, later, the rest of the UK’s) land laws, was formalised under William the Conqueror in the 11th century. But it originated in Anglo-Saxon England, where feudalism was a social structure derived from the holding of land in exchange for loyalty and service or labour.

Broadly, the sovereign held ownership over all land (UK land is still ultimately owned by the Crown). Landholdings were either ‘bookland’ – given by the king and able to be sold at will – or ‘folkland’ – held under ancient law to pass to kin. A complex system of tenures reﬂected social relationships: grantees of royal land grants were tenants (vassals). Important vassals could become overlords and portion land oﬀ to subtenants. Holders of these ‘estates in land’ could further portion land to tenants, who could have tenants of their own (subinfeudation), and so on. Landholdings came with rights and responsibilities. Tenants and lords had obligations of work, military service, and payment of tax to those up the chain, and ultimately to the Crown. Peasants (serfs) could occupy a plot of land in exchange for working for the lord of the manor. With the Norman Conquest, William declared himself absolute owner of all land in England and strengthened the feudal system. Large amounts of land were redistributed to his supporters and the Domesday Book of 1086 recorded all landholdings and their value, using

O CTO B E R 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p19-21 history.indd 19

25/09/2017 12:54

L A N D R E FO R M

The signing of the Magna Carta by King John in 1215

this to set taxes and feudal dues. The Magna Carta (1215) restricted feudal fees and enacted that a tenant should not give or sell so much of his land as to leave an amount insuﬃcient to perform his services to his lord, and the Crown. In spite of this, the rights of the lords were continually diminished by ‘subinfeudation’ until it was abolished in 1290, at which point land could only be granted by substitution of the title-holder, halting creation of further sub-tenants. The transfer of land thus became more commercial and less feudal. With the Black Death in the 14th century, and its ensuing scarcity of labour, the feudal system began to break down. But the formal end of feudal land tenure in England came only after the English Civil War (1642-1651), when the Tenures Abolition Act 1660 replaced landlords’ obligations of service and military provision with monetary payments. Feudalism had lasted for more than half a millennium and its impression can still be seen today in our modern patterns of land ownership and system of tenure.

part of the estate held by the lord of the manor under a feudal grant, but which he had no use for. Commoners – those occupying plots of land on the estate – had rights of access and rights to pasture livestock, ﬁsh and take wood for household needs. The process of enclosure began almost immediately, with the 1235 Statute of Merton. Landlords began enclosing pastures that had been for common use, and destroying people’s houses – sometimes even whole villages – in the process. Previously common land was fenced oﬀ and deeded to one or more owners. The crown opposed the practice with Anti-Enclosure Acts from 1489-1640. But as elite support for enclosure grew, the practice increased in the 17th century – and with it so did popular revolts, including the Diggers, who attempted to farm on common land after the first English Civil War in 1649. Eventually, Parliament shifted stance. Between 1604 and 1914, more than 5,200 Enclosure Acts enclosed 6.8 million acres (2.8m hectares) of land. By the end of the 19th century the process was largely complete, in most areas just leaving a few pasture commons and village greens. But commons do still exist; there are more than 7,000 registered in England. In Wales, 8.4 per cent of the land (175,000 ha) is registered common land. The Law of Property Act 1925 restricted the enclosure of commons. In 1965 a national register of common land and village greens was established for England and Wales. The Commons Act 2006 enabled commons to be managed more sustainably by commoners and landowners working together with powers to regulate agricultural activities

The battle for the commons

Accessible land had become restricted in the 12th century through its designation as ‘royal forest’ (i.e. royal hunting land), making it hard for people to farm enough land to live on. In 1217, The Charter of the Forest re-established common rights of access for freemen. In Medieval England, the common was a

The Charter of the Forest 1217

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p19-21 history.indd 20

25/09/2017 12:55

(though most commons has no such rights). Scotland has its own arrangements for land access and use (see pages 25 to 27). A 1999 proposal to create right of responsible access to land in Northern Ireland was shot down by landowners.

The modern Domesday

In the 19th century, pressure grew to create an up-to-date register of land showing who owned what, as the public felt that too much of it belonged to the wealthy upper classes. The Return of Owners of Land (1873-1876) presented the ﬁrst relatively complete picture of the distribution of landed property in England and the British Isles since the Domesday Book. It conﬁrmed the suspicion that most UK land was held in relatively few hands. Land registry itself began with the Land Registration Act 1925, which required that any dealing with property in England and Wales triggered compulsory registration. Around 20 per cent of land in England and Wales is still unregistered. More is known about land ownership in Scotland, but in Northern Ireland some 50 per cent of land ownership was still unrecorded in 2010. A proposed £1 billion privatisation of the Land Registry did not progress; neither have reforms promised in the 2017 Conservative Party election manifesto that would see greater transparency introduced to the registration system.

I M AG E S | A L A M Y / G E T T Y / B R I D G E M A N I M AG E S

owards a more egalitarian land ownership?

“In cities, big business has been slowly replacing aristocratic families as the biggest private landowners” some purchasing powers to communities, the enclosure story may once again bring clear public interest to the fore. A 2010 Country Life survey laid bare a ‘corporatisation’ of land ownership in Britain. The top three landowners are public or conservation bodies: the Forestry Commission, National Trust and Ministry of Defence. But the top 10 individual landowners comprised traditional aristocracy and landed gentry. In cities, big business has been replacing the aristocracy as the biggest private landowners (though many traditional landowners have converted their ownership into corporate entities, often registered oﬀshore), but it is no longer enough merely to be in the upper echelons of society. You need money; and if the land’s near London, you need a lot of it. Diggers tried to farm on common land after the ﬁrst English Civil War

The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 divorced land ownership from development rights. Some 145 planning authorities were given the power to approve planning proposals, redevelop land themselves, or use compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) to buy land. CPOs grew out of the Enclosure Acts, though their modern use is as a mechanism to acquire land for national infrastructure such as railways, sewerage systems, and even housing. However, a shift has occurred in use of CPObought land – there is less social housing now and more revenue-generating ‘regeneration’ to prop up the public purse, as local authorities have bought land to lease to private developers. Arguably, the practice of enclosure has returned to one that beneﬁts the wealthy few more than the general public. But if England and Wales follow Scotland’s lead and give

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p19-21 history.indd 21

25/09/2017 12:56

PRIVATE ESTATE, PUBLIC BENEFIT 22

T H E P L AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p22_24_status quo.indd 22

I M AG E | G E T T Y

25/09/2017 09:15

L A N D R E FO R M

THE FAMILY ESTATE ACCOUNTS FOR THE GREATER PART OF PRIVATE LAND OWNERSHIP IN THE UK – AND SOME HAVE BEEN IN THE SAME FAMILIES FOR CLOSE TO A MILLENNIUM. CHRISTOPHER PRICE ARGUES FOR THE PRESERVATION OF A TRADITIONAL STATUS QUO

he British countryside may be dominated by privately owned estates for reasons of history, but it is a pattern of ownership that has the capacity to serve rural areas well in economic, social and environmental terms. Traditional estates not only play a major role in creating a unique sense of place, they also underpin significant economic activity and maintain and enhance landscape and wildlife. On one level, a modern estate is simply a portfolio business made up of multiple cost centres – farm, forestry, commercial property, holiday lets and livery, for example. Each requires specialist skills, which perhaps explains why so many estates are now run by chief executives rather than traditional land agents: modern estate management requires highly developed management skills to lead a team of professionals with individual sectoral knowledge. But what makes estates different from many other businesses is the ownership. An estate is owned by, and managed on behalf of, a family. The family may not own it directly – it could be managed through one or more trusts or companies – but it will be a family that benefits from its efficient running. The most distinctive characteristic of any family business is the multi-generational perspective; they are in it for the long term. The overriding consideration will be a desire to hand on to the next generation something at least as valuable in economic, social and environmental terms as was inherited. Succession planning and concerns about the impact of inheritance tax will feature strongly in estate business planning. This has a number of consequences. First, the estate will generally be the family’s principal source of income. They will live off the revenue from the businesses run on it, so being efficient and profitable matters. Second, there will be the desire to preserve the capital value of the estate for future generations. To an extent this acts as a constraint on income generation: few owners will jeopardise long-term prosperity of the estate for short-term benefit. Development will generally be locally sympathetic, and natural resources, such as water and soil, will be maintained.

Homes and community Many estates have the capacity to exercise significant local leadership. They can contribute to local distinctiveness, creating a unique sense of place that brings wider beneﬁts – such as through the creation of a local brand for produce or visitor experiences. Most estates are also signiﬁcant providers of housing, often being the sole private rental landlord in the area. While housing associations and private companies may have begun to build and manage new properties at scale, they have not ventured beyond major urban centres. Recent research by the CLA (Country Land and O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p22_24_status quo.indd 23

25/09/2017 09:16

L A N D R E FO R M

heir bargaining power is strong. If the means th their an n take the lead in, say, purchasing seed estate can or feed itt should be able to take advantages of economies mies of scale for the beneﬁ beneﬁtt of both tenants and other farmers in the area. An estate can also drive up standards. As part of the Crown Estate’s Project Soil, all new farm tenancy agreements require the soil to be tested so that its quality is maintained and, where necessary, improved. New tenants are selected on the basis of their approach to managing soil quality, as well as their commercial abilities.

Improving environments Estates that are not well run, and do not look to the long term or fail to have proper regard to those aﬀected by their activities will not only be undermining the public interest, but also their own

Business Association) suggests that rural estates own just under a quarter of houses in their localities (an average of 27 per estate), and 70 per cent of private rented sector houses. Many are let at below market rate and on tenancies lasting several times longer than the national average. Many estates are also major providers of community infrastructure, such as pubs, shops, schools and playing ﬁelds. More than half of estates provide a village hall or land for it.

Centres for rural business Research into the economic contribution of rural estates in the East Midlands carried out by Smiths Gore in 2009 showed that estates provide on average 7 per cent of the employment in their area. They also provide much of the workspace from which other independent businesses operate; the average per estate was found to be equivalent to four tennis courts. The key constraint on the letting of even more property is the provision of reliable superfast broadband. As a result, many estates have taken the initiative in rolling out their own networks, which other businesses are able to piggyback on. Moreover, estates have an innate ability to innovate. Many were early adopters of renewable energy technologies, particularly anaerobic digestion, wind and solar. This approach to innovation extends to new business structures, with estates shifting away from the traditional landlord-and-tenant model in favour of other approaches in which the interests of the two parties are more closely aligned. A tenancy can be grounded in conﬂict, the landlord wanting to increase rent, the tenant to reduce it; the tenant wanting the landlord to maintain the buildings, the landlord wanting the opposite. Estates now are increasingly looking at joint venture models, such as share farming. The scale at which many estates operate 24

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p22_24_status quo.indd 24

A third of land in Britain is held by traditional aristocracy and landed gentry (Country Life Who Owns Britain? survey 2010)

Estates will inevitably have an impact on the natural environment, particularly the ability to improve it. Since the publication of Sir John Lawton’s report Making Space for Nature in 2010 the mantra – if we are to meet biodiversity targets – has been to do more at the landscape scale. In the words of the report, we need an approach that is “bigger, better and more joined up”. Estates can make a major contribution to this because environmental management needs to be carried out on a landscape scale They can provide wildlife habitats of the type that we must have if we are to create the sort of resilient networks required. But they can also more easily manage species such as deer or grey squirrels than a collection of smaller landwoners because of the need to operate over a wide area. Moreover, most estates have sufficient resources to be able to appoint staff with specialist skills. Few large estates nowadays do not have an ecologist on the payroll. The capacity of estates to experiment applies as much on the environmental front as the commercial. A smaller landowner will inevitably be concerned by the impact of any significant environmental project on the rest of the business. A public sector body or NGO will have rules of governance that can inhibit innovation. That’s why it is left to the likes of Charlie Burrell, owner of the Knepp Estate in East Sussex, to create England’s most high-profile rewilding project. Any well-run business should have as much regard to its social responsibilities as to its bottom line. Well-run rural estates deliver many benefits for the countryside in terms of place shaping, generating business opportunities and improving environmental standards, primarily because they can deliver at scale. We should value them accordingly because without them rural areas would be much the poorer, and it would be hard to see how everything they provide could be readily delivered in any other way.

n Christopher Price is director of policy and advice, Country Land and Business Association I M AG E | G E T T Y

25/09/2017 17:11

L A N D R E FO R M

I M AG E | G E T T Y

SHAPE AND REFORM SCOTLAND OFFERS AN EXAMPLE OF LAND REFORM IN ACTION. AS THE SCOTTISH LAND COMMISSION PUBLISHES ITS FIRST STRATEGIC PLAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE HAMISH TRENCH OUTLINES PROGRESS IN A NATION WITH A CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY OF LAND OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p25-27 Scottish land reform.indd 25

25/09/2017 11:45

n Scotland, land reform is mainstream policy – and has been since 2003 when the Scottish Parliament’s first Land Reform Act introduced the right of responsible access and a community right to buy land. Land, its ownership and use, has long been a topic of debate in Scotland. The question of who owns what and how much has been a potent question since the 19th century. That land reform remains so relevant is in part because the underlying pattern of land ownership has changed little over this time and because it addresses the challenges we face in housing, infrastructure and community development. People in both urban and rural communities can point to a shortage of housing, areas of dereliction, unproductive land and conflicts between different objectives for land use. A decade on from Scotland’s first land reform Act, a 2014 comprehensive review by the Land Reform Review Group led to the 2016 Land Reform (Scotland) Act, introducing further change to elements of land ownership, management and use. This act also established the Scottish Land Commission, a non-departmental public body with five land commissioners and one tenant farming commissioner. Its role is to drive a coherent programme of land reform across both urban and rural land. In practice, this means continually updating the legislative, policy and cultural framework in which land is owned, managed and used, so that it reflects our changing economic, social and cultural needs.

A plan for Scotland In September 2017, we published our first strategic plan, with priorities for 2018-21. Making More of Scotland’s Land establishes three strategic objectives: n Greater productivity: driving increased economic, social and cultural value from our land. n Greater diversity: seeking a more diverse pattern of land ownership with the benefits of land spread more inclusively. n Greater accountability: ensuring that decision-making takes account and involves those affected. These objectives are realised across four areas of work: land for housing and development, land ownership, land use decision-making, and agricultural holdings.

Rights and responsibilities The Scottish Government has simultaneously published its ﬁrst Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement, to ensure that Scotland’s system of land ownership, use and manage26

T H E P L AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p25-27 Scottish land reform.indd 26

REFORMING ACTS Scotland’s 2003 Land Reform Act introduced: n The right of responsible access to all land and inland water n The community right to buy land n The crofting community right to buy land The 2016 Land Reform Act introduced: n The Scottish Land Commission n A register of controlling interests in land n Guidance on engaging communities in decisions relating to land n A community right to buy to further sustainable development n The repeal of exclusion of shootings and deer forests from the valuation roll n Agricultural Holdings reform

ment delivers the public interest and keeps pace with the population’s aspirations. Reciprocal rights and responsibilities are at the heart of land reform in Scotland, and set ﬁrmly in a human rights context. We are used to discussing Article 1, Protocol 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights in relation to property ownership. But the much wider perspective of rights set out in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure requires us to look carefully at the balance of diﬀerent rights and the inherent tensions. In particular, we will be addressing questions about the scale and unusual concentration of land ownership in Scotland (Editor’s note: a 2014 report by the Land Reform Review Group asserted that just 432 people owned half the private land in Scotland). Some suggest there should be a cap on the total area of land any individual should own, others that this is a crude measure. But most recognise that ownership of land at large scale I M AG E | G E T T Y

25/09/2017 11:46

L A N D R E FO R M

A concentrated problem 2014’s Land of Scotland and the Common Good, the final report of the Land Reform Review Group, asserted that half the privately held rural land in Scotland (97 per cent of Scotland is rural) is owned by 432 people. This is considered to be the most concentrated pattern of large-scale land ownership in the world, and has varied little in centuries. The report notes that the extreme concentration started in earnest in the 17th century and ran into the 19th – thus covering the period of the Highland Clearances. Until 2000, most land in Scotland was still owned under feudal tenure arrangements. Although this reduced slightly in the 20th century, there are signs that concentration of ownership is increasing again, with individuals, corporate bodies and conservation organisations buying estates. This is giving rise to some concern about the speed at which reconcentration of ownership can occur.

should meet public interest tests. Our aim is to understand the impacts of the concentration of ownership and identify opportunities for change. Transparency of ownership is a prerequisite of making more of our land, and Scotland is currently putting in place a Register of Controlling Interests in Land to ensure this information is publicly available.

Community ownership Community ownership is a most significant strand of Scotland’s land reform agenda and we now have nearly 500 community bodies holding more than 500,000 acres in community ownership. The government target is a million acres by 2020. The 2015 Community Empowerment Act and 2016 Land Reform Act extended the community right to buy to the whole of Scotland, beyond just rural areas. Communities now also have a right to request the transfer of publicly held assets into community ownership, and a community right to buy vacant and derelict land will be implemented shortly. Going further still, the 2016 Act makes provision for another route to community ownership with a right to buy for the purposes of sustainable development, though this is yet to be implemented. Community ownership is growing too, in urban settings where it is not acreage that matters, but what ownership of a building or plot can release in entrepreneurship and provision of community facilities. Land reform, though, is not just about ownership – it is about land use and, even more fundamentally, our connection to the land. In a system where title to land is held by relatively few people – and land rights carry with them significant responsibilities – systems of accountability are critical. A right to acquire land is one thing, but as important for many is the ability to influence decisions on how land around their community is used.

Land for housing and development Land reform is a necessary complement to planning reform in seeking to address challenges ranging from housing and infrastructure provision to community development and empowerment. The planning system often “MOST bears the brunt of people’s frustration, but creatRECOGNISE THAT ing places that work for people and making the OWNERSHIP most of the limited, contested land supply we OF LAND AT have, needs reforms to land rights and responsiANY LARGE bilities as well as positive planning. SCALE SHOULD Land reform is an integral part of the policy MEET PUBLIC response to improving land supply for housing. INTEREST TESTS”

Ownership constraints, high land values, capture of development value and land banking all influence our ability to deliver affordable housing where it is needed. The Scottish Land Commission will be reviewing these in considering what reforms to land tenure and markets could deliver more productive use of our land. For example, there are more than 12,000 hectares of derelict and urban vacant land in Scotland. Much has remained in this state for more than 20 years – partly because of multiple or fragmented ownership. The Scottish Government has committed to introduce Compulsory Sale Orders, which could require sale of vacant and derelict land by public auction. This could affect the way land markets function by encouraging more rapid price adjustment in regeneration areas. Other options such as Majority Land Assembly could shift the balance of power in land rights away from ‘hold-out’ parcels of land in favour of redevelopment.

The need for culture change Much can be delivered through changes in professional practice, collaboration and new approaches. Scotland’s experience shows land reform means looking at culture change, as well as legislation and policy. The current review of planning in Scotland emphasises a public-interest-led role for planning in making good development happen. Land reform is similarly about adjusting the balance of public and private interests, rights and expectations. This requires us to challenge ourselves and others to look afresh at the assumptions underpinning land use policy and management decisions and learn from elsewhere. Land markets, property rights and land use planning vary widely around the world and we should not hesitate to see what we could learn and adapt to our own systems. n Hamish Trench is chief executive of the Scottish Land Commission

O CTO B E R 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p25-27 Scottish land reform.indd 27

25/09/2017 11:46

L A N D R E FO R M

A COMMON FUTURE WE HAVE A RICH AND OFTEN PAINFUL HERITAGE OF DISCUSSION AND CONFLICT ON LAND OWNERSHIP AND USE IN THE UK, FROM ENCLOSURES TO CLEARANCES, AND FROM DIGGERS TO SQUATTERS. KATE SWADE CONSIDERS WHAT THE FUTURE COULD LOOK LIKE IF WE WERE TO PRIORITISE THE COMMON GOOD IN LAND USE

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p28_30_COMMON FUTURE.indd 28

t Shared Assets we are preoccupied by land and questions about land – but we’re interested in the future of land, not the past. We want to explore the possible answers to the big land questions in a 21st century, diverse, unequal society. What we’re interested in is new models of using land as a multifunctional asset that creates multiple beneﬁts, one that is about reconnecting people to the land and environment around them. We work with pioneering organisations to develop these fresh approaches to what we call Common Good Land Use – woodland-based social enterprises, cooperative agro-ecological farms, community-led parks and open spaces. We also carry out research into what works, and advocate for changes in the system so that these models can thrive. Land and its use is utterly fundamental to the way society operates, yet it is rarely talked about in policy or strategic I M AG E | G E T T Y

25/09/2017 11:47

terms – except by planners. We believe the planning system, and the creative professionals within it, holds one of the keys to creating a viable and resilient modern land system.

Planning for the common good Planning is, of course, all about taking a strategic approach to land and its use. It is embedded in the democratic system, and has its roots in the endeavour to create a better society – one that enhances the common good, rather than private interests. As the TCPA’s Planning for People Manifesto says: “Planning is vital to making great places, but over the last 30 years its reputation has declined. This is partly because it lost sight of any vision that connected with people’s real lives and partly because planning regulation was seen as putting a brake on the free market. We know this is wrong… However, it has become a powerful myth and has led to us losing any collective idea of how to shape the future.” Indeed, the planning system has repeatedly come up in our research as a blocker, rather than an enabler, of innovative mixed-use sustainable developments, particularly those involving agriculture or forestry. In our report Planning for the Common Good, we lay out systemic, long-term ways in which planning system could change to enable true common good land use. Key among these are: n Easier permissions for low-impact develop-

ments Permission to develop landworkers’ dwellings is often crucial to land-based social enterprises.

Often their focus on multiple benefits and outcomes means they don’t make profits – being able to “Planning is vital to live on the land can be the making great places, difference between a viable but over the last 30 and an unviable business. A policy for Low Impact years its reputation Developments in England, has declined” similar to the One Planet Development policy in Wales, could open up viability for many common good woodland and agriculture projects. Expand material considerations to include ecologically sound management and creation of social value n

Diﬀerent land-based activities can have vastly diﬀerent contributions to natural capital and the well-being of the community – but the planning system can fail to distinguish between them.

FOR THE COMMON GOOD

Common Good Land Use meets six broad criteria: n 1. It provides sustainable livelihoods. n 2. It enriches the environment. n 3. It produces the things people need. n 4. It provides shared beneﬁts. n 5. There is some kind of community control. n 6. It puts land is at the centre of a wider system of change: any vision of a more socially just society must start with how land and resources are used, and who has access to them. O CTO B E R 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p28_30_COMMON FUTURE.indd 29

25/09/2017 11:47

THE PUBLIC INTEREST LEASE The Merton Land Policy Group – an informal association of lawyers, surveyors and community landowners – has been developing a new kind of lease that prioritises public interest. The Public Interest Head Lease would enable communities and other publicly interested bodies to prevent hoarding or neglect of land by empowering them to obtain an interest in the land for its better use. Sitting between the freehold or existing long leasehold interest, and a long lease of the land for the existing user, it would allow the landowner to retain all the economic interest in the land until the Public Interest Lease holder can deliver its better use. Upon this, the landowner would receive 50 per cent of any surplus generated from its sustainable development. The Merton LPG is named after the 1235 statute of Merton, which sparked the beginning of land enclosures.

The Public Interest Head Lease would allow communities to guard against land being hoarded or neglected

The NPPF’s environmental policy section, and the current material considerations, neither sufficiently account for the damage to land caused by many mainstream approaches to land management, nor for the benefits of more ecologically friendly forms of land management. Developments aimed at delivering social value – collective benefit for the community – should be able to draw on that benefit in their applications.

Planners could help to reconnect people to the land

n Allow consideration of applicant’s ownership

structure The planning system is blind to applicant type, which disadvantages those trying to create more systemic benefits, and who might willingly bind themselves to a higher standard of environmental management or more stringent planning conditions. We propose that applicants with restrictions on their ability to generate private profits (as demonstrated through their legal form), should be given preferential treatment, such as free pre-application advice. Not-forprivate-profit applicants, such as Community Land Trusts, also offer a mechanism for capturing uplifts in land value caused by planning gain – something that planning policy currently fails to control. n Create new use classes to reflect multiple uses

of land embedded in sustainable development, and to support the creation of natural capital To deliver social value while remaining ﬁnancially sustainable, land-based social enterprises have developed new models of land management. Meanwhile, we now have greater evidence of the environmental costs of some forms of industrial land management. Existing use classes 30

T H E P L AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p28_30_COMMON FUTURE.indd 30

have yet to catch up, making them a barrier for innovative projects that rely on diverse land uses and activities. A new set of land-based use classes, informed by evidence of contributions to and reductions from natural capital, could come with development rights that meet the needs of projects making the largest contributions.

0.36% of the population of England and Wales owns 70% of the land (Kevin Cahill, Who Owns Britain? 2001)

Future planners We see the planners of the future as the creators of common good land use, architects of a system that reconnects people to the land while supporting modern land-based economies. We’re not professional planners at Shared Assets and know that our ideas above need more work. We’d love you to help us think about how planners can lead the creation of a resilient land system for the 21st century. Find us at www.sharedassets.org.uk n Kate Swade is a director of Shared Assets and trustee and chair of estates for Toynbee Hall. Shared Assets supports landowners and communities who want to manage land as a sustainable asset. I M AG E S | A L A M Y

25/09/2017 11:48

L A N D R E FO R M

THE COMMON PURSUIT WHERE DOES THE RTPI STAND ON SOME OF THE THEMES HIGHLIGHTED IN THIS ISSUE? POLICY OFFICER TOM KENNY OUTLINES THE INSTITUTE’S POSITION If land reform is about deﬁning the sort of country we want to live in, then planning – as the process of managing development – must play a key role in this. Indeed, in this issue planners have been referred to as the potential “creators of common good land use” and the “guardians of the land system”. Land reform is a contentious agenda and not necessarily one that most people currently engage with or understand. However, without necessarily framing them in that context, RTPI has long supported some of the ideas proposed in this land reform special.

Intervening in the land market and capturing some of the increase in land value A key part of our policy agenda is ensuring that the public beneﬁts from development. This obviously includes the value of the development itself – for example, new houses or improved infrastructure. However, it also includes capturing more of the uplift in land values that comes from public investment and/or the granting of planning permission. For example, last year we argued

p31_OUTRO.indd 31

that local authorities should be able to intervene in the land market to assemble sites. We’d like to see them do this more even without policy change, but large-scale progress in this area would probably necessitate giving them powers to acquire land at close to existing use value. This would allow them to capture any increases in land value to help fund infrastructure development. In 2015 we also supported land value tax as another way to capture land value uplift and fund infrastructure.

Demanding transparency about who owns and controls land We have repeatedly called for the Land Registry to be opened up so that everyone can find out who owns the land around them. Most recently, we were involved in the successful campaign to stop the privatisation of the Land Registry. This is not just a land reform issue – more accessible and transparent information on land would benefit strategic planning, local and national policymaking, and development in general. As such it enjoys broad support. We’ve also argued for the collection and release of more information on land, in particular of options on land and of beneficial ownership.

Supporting the Scottish Government to develop its land reform agenda RTPI Scotland engaged in the debate during the progress of the Land Reform Bill and has supported or advised on many of the reforms proposed. This included the following statement on why this issue is important to planning: “Planning and planners have a duty to all those involved in, and affected by, planning to meet their needs and aspirations, balanced with meeting social and economic objectives while protecting our built and natural heritage. There are significant links between this work, and that of the future of land reform.”

Planning must guide uide the future of land use e As the above makes akess clear, RTPI and planners will play ay a key role in developing and scru scrutinising utinising proposed changes this es wherever w debate goes. Whether heth her it is assisting the design and implementation mplementation of fundamental legislative gisla ative reform, or making more proactive oac ctive use of existing powers, pla planning anning will be at the heart of implementing lem menting 21st-century land use. du se.

25/09/2017 09:17

C A S E S T U D Y – P L A C E S TA N D A R D

Interest in the Place Standard has already been expressed by the Netherlands and the World Health Organisation

A STRONGER SENSE OF PLACE AWARDS: RTPI AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PLANNING FOR WELL BEING PROJECT NAME:THE PLACE STANDARD KEY PLAYERS: SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, NHS HEALTH SCOTLAND AND ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN SCOTLAND ADS BY M A R K S M U L I A N

Planners often talk about ‘creating places’, ‘placemaking’ and ‘place shaping’. There are even directors of ‘place’ in local authorities. Yet pinning down a place and the public’s view of it is problematic. Without this knowledge, though, planners can be working in the dark. The Place Standard, a new tool devised by the Scottish Government, NHS Health Scotland and Architecture & Design Scotland (ADS), ﬁlls that gap. It breaks ground in its ability to consult the public not only about traditional planning concerns, but also about their perceptions of health and general wellbeing, and it can be used in both largescale consultations and with small groups.

SETTING A STANDARD Etive Currie, a senior planning oﬃcer jointly employed by Glasgow City Council and the NHS, explains that ministers wanted to develop a standard for understanding communities following the success of Glasgow’s Equally Well project to tackle health inequalities. “There was a lot of debate about what to include [in the standard] and we whittled

it down eventually to 14 themes, some of which drew on the Building for Life scheme in England,” she says. The Place Standard works by asking people their view of their area based on 14 criteria such as ‘identity and belonging’, ‘work and local economy’, ‘public transport’ and ‘housing and community’. The software behind the standard takes in quantitative and qualitative data about places and creates a circular diagram of 14 segments that record local sentiment across the standard’s criteria.. John Howie, organisational lead for place and physical activity at NHS Health Scotland, says: “The links between the places in which we live, work, play and learn and our health and wellbeing are widely understood. It’s also well known that some places are better for health than others – that’s one of the reasons that health inequalities persist. ”Many environmental factors that aﬀect health are obvious, like poor housing and air pollution; but there are less obvious ones, too, such as a sense of lack of control over your own life and good transport links to services. What the Place Standard tool

“QUITE A FEW LOCAL AUTHORITIES HAVE USED IT TO COLLECT AND ANALYSE DATA FROM HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE… BUT ALSO TO ENGAGE SMALL GROUPS IN A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE IDEA OF PLACE” does is support communities and local services to have discussions on what would make a healthy place. It records these, oﬀering a comprehensive understanding of community sentiment that can help planners, policymakers and communities develop strategies that improve the health of a place and narrow inequalities.

DEVELOPING A STANDARD Stuart Watson, a senior architect in the Scottish Government’s planning and architecture department, brought an urban planning background to the development team. Along with ADS principal architect Johnny Cadell, he wrote the guide to using

T H E P L AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p32_33_case study.indd 32

22/09/2017 16:35

W H AT T H E J U D G E S S A I D Nick Raynsford, who chaired the awards judging panel said: “The Place Standard tool is innovative and flexible, and can be applied across the planning system, as well as being accessible to communities. “The tool uses a broad definition of well-being which considers everything from buildings and streets to human relationships and social contact. It effectively reveals which aspects of wellbeing need to be targeted to improve people’s lives.”

the Place Standard. Watson also improved its digital functionality. “There was originally no database with it so you got individual answers but could not collect those of a group in one place, so we added that.” The standard’s developers thought they had something workable but were unsure how users would receive it. Glasgow City Council’s Currie says: “I think professionals wrote it oﬀ initially until they were shown how it could be used to engage communities. “Communities got it straight away. I think they were more enthusiastic than some professionals, who perhaps saw it as having to do something extra that

they were not familiar with. Before long, however, they saw great value in it as a tool to design better spaces and places”” But using the standard has, he says, also has the beneﬁt of breaking down barriers between council departments “so they realise what each other does and how they can contribute overall to place-making”.

STANDARD PRACTICE The Place Standard can be obtained free from NHS Health Scotland and has attracted wide attention. Howie says it has been used in 80 places in the UK, with interest also shown by the Netherlands

and the World Health Organisation. Although it gives planners useful data, they still need to apply their professional skills to derive answers. An evaluation of the standard’s use has found that it benefited from having someone with previous analytical experience involved, as well as buy-in across senior management, stakeholders and community. The evaluation also found that it was advisable to align engagement with strategic or financial decisions to maximise its influence on policy-making. Challenges found included the resourceintensive nature of data management when larger groups are involved, ensuring those participating are representative of the place concerned and a lack of clarity over responsibility for acting on findings. But Watson says: “I think it has proven really successful and quite a few local authorities have used it in planning both to collect and analyse data from hundreds, even thousands, of people but also to engage small groups in a conversation about the idea of place. It gives you the graphical answer, but it’s still complex. It doesn’t reduce answers to a single number or anything like that, but I think that is right as places are complex things.”

CASE STUDY: UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY FEELING IN EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE

In the 2011 census only 47 per cent of people in Hillhead and Harestanes in Kirkintilloch considered their health ‘very good’. According to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, Hillhead is the most deprived area in semi-rural East Dunbartonshire, and Harestanes is among the most deprived across a range of criteria including education, employment and health.

East Dunbartonshire Community Planning Partnership, Keep Scotland Beautiful and NHS Health Scotland combined to use the Place Standard at focus groups, public meetings, and online. Assessments of the 14 themes found a strong sense of community in both areas, but a feeling that they were seen negatively by outsiders. There was also concern that the council, NHS and public

agencies ignored local opinion when it came to making decisions. Other grievances included a lack of jobs, diﬃculties in accessing childcare, and the cost and reliability of public transport. The knowledge generated will be used to inform the development of the locality plan, with new actions based on the ﬁndings and ones already in progress mapped against what has been discovered.

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p32_33_case study.indd 33

22/09/2017 16:36

Tech { L A N D S C A P E

Barcelona’s connectivity, mapped by Space Syntax

THE SYNTAX OF CITIES ED PARHAM OF SPACE SYNTAX TELLS SIMON WICKS ABOUT THE GROWING IMPACT OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY ON OUR ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND HOW CITIES WORK “How does a city work? How does it work at the moment? How can it work in the future?” To answer these questions, Ed Parham ﬁrst delves into the recent past. Back in the 1970s, he tells me, researchers at UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture started to ask questions about the failure of cutting-edge post-war architecture to deliver on its promise of a brave new urban world. Critics of modern development tended to focus on design issues – such as a lack of pitched roofs – or even building materials. But the researchers felt that aesthetics alone could hardly account for issues such as social disconnection or unemployment. Perhaps we needed to think harder about how buildings related to the city around them? Which leads us, circuitously, to the present day work of Space Syntax, the urban

planning consultancy that grew out of the UCL eﬀort to develop technologies that could analyse and understand the spatial characteristics of cities. To summarise, Parham – a Space Syntax director – explains that it is not aesthetics that determines the success or failure of a city; it’s connectivity. To understand how a city works, you need to start by looking at the basic street pattern, he explains. “Cities that have grown organically tend to have a small number of long lines, and a large number of short lines. These long lines tend to meet other long lines at an open angle. That’s a very small percentage of the network. The shorter lines then tend to meet these longer lines at 90 degrees.” So far, so simple. With long streets that traverse a city, the city itself becomes a more

Ed Parham

open network with greater possibilities for human connection and activity. “Where these long lines intersect with other long lines you tend to get development – there are more people meeting and interacting from a wider area,” Parham continues. “You get movement across a wider area. Where there are parts that are particularly well connected, there are opportunities for economic activities.” It all seems very obvious. So why do we need technology to say this with certainty? Again, to shortcut, advances in digital tech add several levels of depth, complexity and predictability to city modelling. With the growth of ‘big data’, planners need better tools to gather and analyse a mountain of information that can then be used to model changes to urban environments – in

T H E P L AN N ER \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p34_35_Tech_landscape.indd 34

25/09/2017 15:07

LANDSCAPE P34 TECH P36 REGIONAL P40 DECISIONS P50 PLAN B P51 ACTIVITY

“THE MOST CONNECTED PLACES ARE ALSO, PREDICTABLY, WHERE SOME OF THE HIGHEST LAND VALUES CAN BE FOUND” particular, the impacts of planning, transport and economic decisions. Imagine, for example, what you could begin to do as a planner if you could predict with conﬁdence the relationship between street patterns, employment and the impact of new business investment. Imagine how you could begin to optimise land use, or direct that investment with lower risk and a greater probability of success. For planners and city leaders, this is what burgeoning technology is starting to do. Parham gives a very simple demonstration via a satellite image of a city criss-crossed with red and blue lines. The deeper the red, the greater the connective ‘value’ of the street. Here you will almost certainly ﬁnd shops, business, employment.

Jeddah viewed as multiple layers of information

I M A G E S | S PA C E S Y N TA X

p34_35_Tech_landscape.indd 35

“There’s a certain set of land uses that needs to be close to people,” says Parham. “For example, 90 per cent of retail is in the most accessible spaces.” Just pressing a button can predict where these streets are in actual cities, with a very high degree of accuracy. The most connected places are also, predictably, where some of the highest land values can be found. The least connected are associated with poorer social outcomes. “We did a piece of work in Australia looking at where burglary happens,” Parham recalls. “More was happening in the places that were less well connected, where there was no natural surveillance.” This simple observation is a challenge to the way we have grown settlements for decades. Cul-de-sacs have dreadful connectivity. They almost invite crime, and they increase the distance between home and facilities, thus deepening car use, discouraging active transport and – for nondrivers – increasing social isolation. Planners may have felt this instinctively; the work of the likes of Space Syntax provides an evidence base. It also provides a more refined set of variables for planners to work with. For example, by combining street layout with census and public transport data, analysts can identify areas within settlements where there is most likely to be social isolation among the elderly. This has obvious benefits for service delivery. Such modelling functions at both a micro and macro scale. At the micro scale, you can begin to understand the optimal uses for individual plots of land within a city network; and how important it is to spell this out before embarking on city growth. “You need to define plot typologies early on and link land ownership to governance and finance,” explains Parham. “If you have something quite strategic at the right time you can go towards a better decision earlier.” Space Syntax has also analysed relationships between population growth and physical and social infrastructure at a

macro scale, regionally and nationally. “We analysed UK cities in a way that tells you where you need to increase population in relation to infrastructure provision and where you need to increase infrastructure in relation to population.” Among their conclusions is that Britain has 80 per cent of the infrastructure it needs to support the population growth predicted by the government’s Office for National Statistics. There is clearly enormous potential in what this kind of technology can achieve for planners. But is it also a threat? Digital technology can displace planners; but it can also reward those planners who have the suite of skills that such technology demands – coding, analysis, collaborative working with other professionals and with communities. The job is changing and planners have to change with it. “There’s something happening which is about people coming through with a different skill set,” Parham offers. “People coming out of university are able to code in a way they weren’t before; the professional [planner] developing to enable people to be in control – almost coming up with bespoke tools for one-off projects.” We could talk for hours about Parham’s work and the how technology can both make planning more transparent but also more opaque as the preserve of the expert few. But we still haven’t quite answered those original questions: “How does a city work? How does it work at the moment? How can it work in the future?” Given the sheer complexity of urban systems, it may be impossible to answer these questions fully. But the work of Parham, his colleagues and others in the field is giving us more encyclopedic insights than ever.

n Ed Parham is a chartered architect and associate director of Space Syntax www.spacesyntax.com

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

25/09/2017 15:08

LANDSCAPE

Nations & Regions focus { YORKSHIRE

Strength in diversity Germany, Ireland, Pakistan, Poland and Culture. Leeds is bidding to be European India have helped to shape commerce, Capital of Culture in 2023. culture and cuisine for 150 years. But transport is critical, and central to Yorkshire saw industrial and economic the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ ambition. HS2 decline in the late 20th remains controversial – some century. But a revival is argue that the mooted HS3 “BUT TRANSPORT should take precedence. gathering momentum, IS CRITICAL, particularly in financial The region also faces a AND CENTRAL TO services, cultural industries housing shortfall of 500,000 THE ‘NORTHERN and communications homes, and in places an acute POWERHOUSE’ technology. The RTPIaffordability crisis. Regional AMBITION” supported Great North devolution continues to Plan has identified ‘prime divide opinion too – plans for capabilities’, including the Yorkshire region’s devolution digital industry focused deal are the subject of debate. in Leeds, the renewable There is much to plan for ‘energy estuary’ in the and no shortage of planning Humber, and opportunities for advanced talent – the RTPI’s 2016 Young Planner of manufacturing to flourish. the Year Emma Lancaster is an associate at The national parks and coastline Quod in Leeds, the Local Authority Team of continue to drive tourism, and a focus the Year for 2017 is North East Lincolnshire, on regional culture has earned Hull there are three accredited planning schools the designation of 2017 UK Capital of and leading consultancies in the region.

At over 5,000 square miles, the RTPI’s Yorkshire region covers a swathe of northern England. Encompassing the historic county of Yorkshire and parts of north Lincolnshire, the region is home to 5.3 million people – more than Scotland – and is ethnically and culturally diverse. Geographically, the region ranges from the heavily populated former industrial cities of Leeds, Bradford, and Sheffield through the historic city of York to coastline and the rugged spaces of three national parks – the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors and the Peak District. Economically, it is similarly varied. After the Industrial Revolution, Sheffield became ‘steel city’, and the south of Yorkshire became a coal mining centre. In the west, Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield were textiles centres; to the east, fishing thrived. Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Burton, and Hepworth were founded there, and migrants from

MAJOR PROJECTS

1. Energy Estuary The Humber Estuary has been transformed in recent years and is now the ‘energy estuary’, a hub for renewable energy and manufacturing, while remaining the country’s busiest ports complex by volume handled. As investment ﬂows in, Hull’s reign as 2017 City of Culture has thrust the region into the public eye. n bit.ly/planner1017-humber

2. Sheffield Retail Quarter The extension of Fargate – the city’s main shopping street – into a new Sheffield Retail Quarter will bring more than 217,000 square feet of retail and office

T H E P L AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p36-38 regional focus.indd 36

space to the heart of the city. HSBC has signed on as ‘anchor tenant’ for the scheme, which will knit together existing retail areas and cultural assets. n bit.ly/planner1017-quarter

3. Northern Powerhouse Rail A strong transport network is key to a resilient Northern economy. As well as HS2, plans to improve connectivity

include the Northern Powerhouse Rail (HS2) plan to speed journeys between six Northern cities and the electriﬁcation of the Manchester to Leeds line. Leeds Station is to be redeveloped into a single hub for both high-speed rail projects, and where these connect to the existing network. n bit.ly/planner1017-north

I M AG E S | A L A M Y

25/09/2017 11:49

Yorkshire Interview: Working with business in Leeds Vicki Freestone is business executive at Leeds Business Improvement District and a former planner in both the public and private sectors. The Business Improvement District (BID) in Leeds is the largest in the UK outside of London. Leeds is such a key player in the Northern Powerhouse, and has such a variety of levy payers who contribute to the BID, that our work focuses more widely and strategically [than smaller BIDs]. Planning plays an important role in shaping the built environment, but our role is less about physically changing spaces and more about how people

ever in Leeds and will house 6,000 staff. It’s a pretty big deal! We’ve been looking into the waterfront area nearby – there are some big businesses based there, but there’s not an awful lot going on, so we’re looking at things like rowing clubs. We want to bring businesses together and give people a reason to leave the office on their lunch break. We’ve also worked on a City Less Grey, which enables collaborations between businesses and artists to create public art. The flagship is a new development near Leeds Station where Bruntwood has created a new digital hub in a run-down 1960s

Valuable skills

use them, their overall experience of the city. My job is to engage with the businesses that provide our funding, so it’s almost a client management role. With experience in both sectors [planning and business], I can speak their language, appreciate the pressures they’re under and understand what they might want to get in return for their money. Recently the government announced a big development in Wellington Place to create a new hub for the civil service. It’s the biggest commercial letting

tower block. They were left with this huge blank wall on the site of the building. We connected Bruntwood with East Street Arts, a levy payer. They recommended a street art duo called Nomad Clan, who produced the UK’s biggest mural on the wall this summer. It’s put Leeds on the map as a centre of street art and improved footfall, but it’s also helped to improve the experience of commuters – looking up and seeing this fantastic mural really brightens your day.

The region has a significant focus on planning for new settlements and planners with the vision, experience and skills to deliver large-scale, viable and sustainable development will really come into their own. But it is also undergoing a renewable energy revolution, particularly in offshore wind, and is poised to see major regeneration of its transport network. Beyond this, the tantalising possibility of regional devolution will place a strong emphasis on economic development. Meanwhile, the region’s three national parks and swathes of AONB mean that planners with skills in the areas of rural development, tourism and planning for the impacts of mineral extraction are sought after. n Housing – large-scale residential, buildto-rent, student accommodation n Transport, especially rail n Renewable energy, particularly offshore wind n Economic development n Regeneration n Planning for culture n Planning for rural environments n Minerals n Tourism

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p36-38 regional focus.indd 37

25/09/2017 11:49

LANDSCAPE

Yorkshire RECENT SUCCESSES 1. Stuck Sites, Sheffield Nominated for a national RTPI award and winner of the RTPI Yorkshire Award for Planning Excellence 2017, Stuck Sites has used planning and enforcement powers to redevelop poorly maintained buildings in valuable but challenging city centre locations. 2. Hull City of Culture 2017 As outlined in The Planner in January 2017, planning has been critical to Hull’s success as UK City of Culture. There has been significant remodelling of the city centre, regeneration of historic sites, flexible use of planning policy to bring buildings back into use, and new housing. 3. North East Lincolnshire Council/ Engie Regeneration partnership The RTPI’s Local Authority Team of the Year Award winner is a partnership that provides planning services for the coastal communities of Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Immingham and surrounds. The partnership has improved service quality, provided value for money and been praised for its positive, ideas-driven approach to planning.

Hull — City of Cu

Stuck Sites

lture 2017

Signposts RTPI Yorkshire is governed by an eight-strong regional management board chaired by former Young Planner of the Year Emma Lancaster. It is supported by a larger regional activities committee that includes representatives for young planners, students and Planning Aid. The region also has its own policy forum and international network. n RTPI Yorkshire web page, with policy papers, events, annual report and so on. www.rtpi.org.uk/the-rtpi-near-you/rtpi-yorkshire/ n Young planners in Yorkshire www.rtpi.org.uk/the-rtpi-near-you/rtpiyorkshire/young-planners-in-yorkshire/ n Regional conferences and events: Yorkshire has a long partnership with two planning schools to provide an annual programme of conferences. Among other things, RTPI Yorkshire also hosts a high-profile annual lecture and practice seminars. Forthcoming events include a planning law update and ‘What next for the NPPF?’ www.rtpi.org.uk/the-rtpi-near-you/rtpi-yorkshire/events/ n Courses: Accredited planning and related degrees are available from Leeds Beckett University, Sheffield Hallam University, and the University of Sheffield. n Email: yorkshire@rtpi.org.uk n Twitter: @RTPI_Yorks n Find your RTPI region: www.rtpi.org.uk/the-rtpi-near-you

Next month: N

South-West 38

T H E P L AN N E R \ D O EC CTOE BM MB EBRE R2 02 10716 16

p36-38 regional focus.indd 38

I M AG E | G E T T Y

25/09/2017 11:49

ADVERTISEMENTS

Recruitment { Plan a move to Mid Sussex Mid Sussex is an ambitious authority with one of the most significant programmes of growth in the South East. We are recruiting to key posts to strengthen our teams and ensure that our ambitions are delivered. As well as a competitive salary and an opportunity to enhance your career, we offer free staff parking, subsidised gym membership, a childcare voucher scheme, flexible working arrangements and both a generous pension scheme and annual leave entitlement.

About Us Mid Sussex is a very desirable place to live and work: it is regularly placed in the top 20 places to live. It is strategically located, at the heart of the Sussex counties, with excellent road and rail links to London and Brighton. It is a popular choice for housing developers and those wanting to establish and grow businesses. The area is known for the quality of its natural and built environment. The High Weald AONB, the South Downs National Park, the 36 Conservation Areas, picture book villages and over 1000 listed buildings all help shape the character of Mid Sussex. There is strong leadership supporting our growth agenda. Councillor Garry Wall, Leader of the Council, is clear that, "Mid Sussex is an agile

and ambitious Council. The time is right to recruit to our Team to ensure we continue to deliver”.

Our Vision and Ambitions We embrace the government's 'ask' of local authorities to be as ambitious and innovative as possible to build new homes. The Council’s District Plan will be adopted in the coming months. This commits the Council to deliver nearly 900 new homes a year along with the necessary infrastructure to build communities. Work on our significant growth programme has already started - we are calling for sites and have committed to an accelerated programme to prepare our Sites Allocation DPD. Excellent relationships with the DCLG, the Homes and Communities Agency, West Sussex

Who we need

The Roles:

We already have a strong Planning and Economy Team but recognise that we need to build our capacity. We are embracing a new style of working - in partnership with developers and landowners from early stages of development to completion - to ensure delivery of the highest quality. We want our Planning and Economy Team to be recognised for its high quality fast paced service so that we can offer certainty to the development industry that we are 'Open for Business'.

●

County Council and the Coast to Capital LEP and strong political support ensure that strategic issues are a key priority and funding is secured. Our Town and Parish Councils are very involved in making sure the future of Mid Sussex is successful with over 20 having made Neighbourhood Plans for their area. The delivery of the Burgess Hill Regeneration Programme and other strategic housing allocations are a key priority for the Council and will deliver over 5000 new homes, schools, neighbourhood centres, a centre for sport and recreation and open space enhancements. In addition to this, work on the refresh of the Economic Development Strategy will deliver opportunities for inward investment.

Planning & Economy Programme Manager up to £51,886 pa Strategic Development Project Manager up to £46,655 pa ● Senior Planning Officer (Development Management) up to £39,177 pa ● 2 x Planning Officers (Development Management) up to £30,785 pa ● Trainee Planner up to £24,174 pa ● Conservation Officer (Job Share) up to £34,538 pa (pro rata) ● 2 x Inward Investment Officers up to £26,822 pa ● 2 x Lawyers (1 x Property and Planning; 1 x Litigation) up to £39,177 pa ●

For a confidential discussion about the roles please contact Sally Blomfield, Divisional Leader Planning and Economy, on 01444 477435. We are also holding an OPEN EVENING on Tuesday 24th October which will give you the opportunity to meet some of the Team. Please register your interest to attend by emailing: Lois.Partridge@midsussex.gov.uk

For a recruitment pack and to apply for any of the above roles, please visit: www.midsussex.gov.uk/ and click on ‘Working at Mid Sussex’. You can also write to HR Division, Mid Sussex District Council, Oaklands Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1SS. No CVs or agency applications accepted. Job offers are subject to DBS clearance.

Close date for applications: Tuesday 31st October 2017 Interviews to take place: w/c 13th & w/c 20th November 2017

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

PLN RECR OCT17_p.39.indd 39

25/09/2017 17:16

LANDSCAPE

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 HOUSING

Homes shortfall ‘need not always trigger NPPF tilted balance’ ( SUMMARY An inspector has refused plans for 165 homes on greenﬁeld land near Harrogate, ruling that the ‘tilted balance’ of National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) paragraph 14 should not automatically be engaged when there is a housing supply shortfall because housing need ‘does not always override other material considerations’. ( CASE DETAILS The appeal was lodged by the Duchy of Lancaster, a private estate that manages land and other assets as sources of income for the monarchy.

Plans for 165 homes on a greenﬁeld site in Harrogate have been rejected

T H E P L AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p40_43_dif.indd 40

The proposal sought outline permission to build 165 homes and a sports facility on greenﬁeld land within the Duchy estate, west of central Harrogate. The scheme was blocked by Harrogate Borough Council, which said that despite a housing land supply shortfall of 972 homes, potential harm to the area’s character meant the scheme should not go ahead. The appellant argued that although council had designated the wider area a special landscape area (SLA), this did not necessarily mean it should be considered a ‘valued landscape’ in the sense intended by paragraph 109 of the NPPF. Inspector Keith Manning found that the visual quality of the general area around the site is “evident to even the most casual observer”, adding that SLA designation must be

considered evidence of value, or it would be “wholly pointless”. Notwithstanding his observation that SLA designation can be “prone to a degree of generalisation”, he found that the appeal site should be valued as integral to the wider scene. Following a detailed assessment of the scheme’s proposed design in the context of the appeal site, Manning sided with the council, noting that “despite the very best eﬀorts of the appellant” to mitigate the scheme’s visual impact, these measures would “in themselves erode the qualities of the SLA”, causing serious harm to the character of the landscape, as well as harming the nearby Harrogate conservation area. In the planning balance, Manning noted that the event of a housing supply shortfall “often leads to the application of the tilted balance in paragraph 14 of the NPPF”. Despite this, he noted that although lack of housing supply has “real consequences for quality of life” NPPF policy did not mean housing should override other considerations. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Manning found that the harm he had identiﬁed would outweigh the social

benefits of addressing the housing shortfall, as well as other benefits, such as the provision of a sports facility, and he dismissed the appeal. He said the council was “evidently addressing the housing situation” because it had approved 3,800 homes on land in SLA-designated areas. He considered this to be evidence of the “very real difficulties” the council is facing in trying to balance housing need against “the environmental quality for which Harrogate is renowned”. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal ref: APP/ E2734/W/16/3160792 3160792

HEALTHCARE

Council must pay costs for overestimating housing supply ( SUMMARY Fareham Borough Council has been penalised for acting unreasonably by basing its estimate of ﬁve years of housing land supply on an outdated core strategy (CS) when refusing 120 homes. ( CASE DETAILS The proposal sought

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

22/09/2017 16:49

Sajid Javid has allowed 560 homes and 110 extra care units to be built near Felixstowe

permission for 120 homes near Portchester, near Fareham. The council refused permission on the grounds that, using its CS as a starting point, it could prove a housing land supply of 5.18 years. Inspector S G Baird noted that the CS was adopted several months before the NPPF was published and was based on a no-longerextant regional strategy, and is so not compliant with current national policy. The council said its planned housing sites had been “found sound”, but Baird said that assessing the suitability of housing sites is not a “temporal exercise” and must be “kept under robust review”. After making his own assessment of the deliverability of the council’s planned housing, he found the actual figure to be “marginally over two years”, some three years less than the council’s estimate. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Baird acknowledged that though the council is seeking to address its housing supply through a local plan review, this would not be adopted until mid-2018. The appeal scheme, he said, would not be subject to any constraints delaying its delivery. Ruling that the provision of 120 homes, including 48 affordable, carried most weight, he allowed the appeal. In a separate decision, the appellant challenged the council for a full award of costs for behaving unreasonably in maintaining that it could prove a five-year housing supply during the inquiry. The council countered this by saying the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) states that “local plans should be used as the

starting point” in calculating housing land supply. But Baird noted that the PPG qualiﬁes this statement by adding “...unless signiﬁcant new evidence comes to light”, and so the council’s starting point had been “an unfortunate precis of PPG advice”. He ruled that the council had acted unreasonably and ordered it to pay costs for matters relating to housing supply. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: APP/ A1720/W/16/3156344

HOUSING

Javid approves homes despite plan conflict ( SUMMARY Sajid Javid has allowed 560 homes and 110 extra care and assisted living units near Felixstowe, Suffolk, despite its conflict with the local development plan. A housing supply shortfall of at least 1.5 years was key to the decision. ( CASE DETAILS The plan, submitted in March 2015, was recovered by the communities secretary last year. It was originally refused by Suffolk Coastal District Council because it conflicted with development plan policies that seek to prevent countryside development. To calculate the weight that should be afforded to these policies, inspector Clive Hughes – reporting on behalf of Javid – had assessed the council’s housing land supply. He ruled that the housing requirement figures in the core strategy should

be considered out of date because the council had failed to review them within the appropriate timescale. Javid agreed with him and, in considering the actual level of housing need in the area, found that a recent strategic housing market assessment for the Ipswich area should carry limited weight as it had not yet been tested and held “a number of uncertainties”. It “would not be appropriate”, said Javid, for him to try to resolve these in the appeal process. He accepted Hughes’ finding that the objectively assessed need for housing in the area is 11,000 homes, rather then the 7,900 in the core strategy. Ruling that this requirement should be met within five years (in accordance with the Sedgefield method) and that a 20 per cent buffer should be applied, Javid concluded that the current housing supply is three to 3.5 years. As a result, he noted that paragraph 14 of the NPPF should apply, and the benefits of the scheme should be weighed against potential harm. Javid agreed with his inspector that although the site is large, landscape harm would be limited and “highly localised”, so should be given “moderate”

weight. He also agreed that the provision of market and affordable housing should carry significant weight, particularly in the context of a housing supply shortfall. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Javid ruled that the harm he had identified was outweighed by the benefits of the scheme, and the appeal was allowed. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Apeal Ref: APP/J3530/W/15/3138710

INFRASTRUCTURE

Green light for Isle of Wight ferry terminal redevelopment ( SUMMARY Plans for redevelopment of the Isle of Wight’s Red Funnel ferry terminal, to include 100 homes and a 60-bed hotel, were approved after an inspector said the scheme would be a net gain for the island’s economy. ( CASE DETAILS The proposal sought permission to demolish the existing ferry terminal in East Cowes, along with several industrial commercial buildings, and

O CTO B E R 2017 / THE PLANNER

p40_43_dif.indd 41

22/09/2017 16:50

LANDSCAPE

DiF { D

DECISIONS IN FOCUS

replace them with a new ferry terminal, 100 homes, a 60-bed hotel and up to 1,850 square metres of retail and leisure ﬂoor space. After the original application was refused by Isle of Wight Council, the appellant submitted a pared-back plan, removing the housing in the scheme and sparing some industrial buildings. When this application was also rejected, the appellant brought the full original proposal to appeal. Both parties agreed that the ferry terminal is “in need of improvement”, accepting that its existing layout causes delays in loading and unloading the ferry, leading to traﬃc disruption. Notwithstanding this, the council blocked the proposals, because the loss of industrial space and “deep water access” would harm the Isle of Wight’s economy. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Inspector L Gibbons disagreed with the council and allowed the appeal. Noting that the ferry service

employs 450 staff, 30 per cent of them from the island, he afforded significant weight to improving the terminal. Conversely, he considered that the site itself does not play a significant role in sustaining the local economy in and of itself, and the loss of the buildings to be demolished “would not be significant”. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: APP/P2114/W/16/3157690

COMMERCIAL

Lion enclosure refused near Chipping Norton ( SUMMARY Plans for a lion enclosure and associated home in leafy west Oxfordshire have been refused after an inspector found no evidence for the special circumstances required to permit new isolated development. ( CASE DETAILS The appellant sought

Plans for a lion enclosure and a home in leafy west Oxfordshire were rejected as too remote

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p40_43_dif.indd 42

permission for a new lion enclosure and detached home in open countryside at Heythrop Zoological Gardens near Chipping Norton. But both local and national policy require special circumstances to justify new homes in open countryside, because homes distant from services and facilities lead to an over-reliance on cars. The appellant said the home would have other “non-residential functions”, including acting as a “new business headquarters” for the zoological gardens. It would also add new facilities to the zoo, such as a baby animal room and specialist library. He said a permanent building would be required to supervise the lion enclosure because employing new staﬀ to operate CCTV would be impractical. Inspector G P Jones was not persuaded by the appellant’s statement. He said it was “unclear why the presence of one dwelling next to a quite extensive enclosure would provide better monitoring than CCTV”. He added that no evidence had been presented to explain why the proposed non-residential functions could not be carried out in an existing nearby building. The appellant said the scheme’s design would mimic the appearance of an African hunting lodge. Jones noted the “discordant fenestration” and varied roof forms this would entail. He ruled that although there would be no buildings close enough to provide an immediate architectural context, the design would still be “out of keeping with the elegant character of the general area”.

( CONCLUSION REACHED In the planning balance, Jones noted the scheme’s animal welfare beneﬁts, along with the modest economic and cultural contributions it would make. But he ruled that the isolated location and “conspicuous design” carried more weight, and dismissed the appeal. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: APP/D3125/W/17/3173157

GREEN BELT

53,000 tonne ‘land shelf’ would harm green belt ( SUMMARY An inspector has ruled out a plan to cover a ﬁeld in the metropolitan green belt with 53,000 tonnes of inert waste soil to create a “security land shelf” for a nearby farm as it would harm the landscape. ( CASE DETAILS The soil, waste from local building contracts, would require 11 daily vehicle deliveries over a total of 240 days. It would be spread over 2.73 hectares of grassed ﬁeld on green belt south of Hitchin. The soil would rise to a depth of two metres on the site’s western side, creating a ‘land shelf’ close to nearby farm buildings. The appellant said the shelf would provide extra security for the farm, and act as a damper on noise emanating from it. Inspector Jonathan Price accepted that the proposal could be described as an “engineering operation”, allowed in green belt areas if they preserve openness. The proposed “increased land levels”, however, would fail to achieve this. He added that I M AG E S | S H U T T E RSTO C K / A L A M Y

22/09/2017 16:51

Rauceby Hospital closed in the 1990s and North Kesteven District Council designated its central core as a conservation area

the scheme would interrupt the “gently rolling landscape” with a steep embankment that would harm the character of the area. Price noted the appellant’s assurances that a public right of way across the site would be unaﬀected, but found nothing in the proposal to suggest how users of the footpath would be protected from the works. He also upheld Hertfordshire County Council’s concerns about biodiversity and potential water pollution. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Price found little public beneﬁt arising from the plan and no evidence that the shelf would shield anyone nearby from disturbance by noise the farm. The appeal was dismissed. In a separate application, the council asked for an award of costs against the appellant. This was rejected by the inspector, who described it as “insubstantial and lacking in detail”. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: APP/ M1900/W/17/3173631

HOUSING

Mothballing favoured for historic hospital ( SUMMARY An inspector has blocked plans for redevelopment of an Edwardian hospital that would involve partial demolition of its historic core.

( CASE DETAILS The appeal site has a long history: opened as Kesteven County Asylum in 1902, it was used as a specialist crash and burns facility by the RAF during the Second World War, and was then renamed Rauceby Hospital. As it became redundant in the 1990s, North Kesteven District Council designated its central core as a conservation area. In 2002, the site was acquired by what would become Barratt Homes. Since then, various permissions have seen the construction of 701 homes, along with demolition of 70 per cent of the original outer buildings. The present appeal sought permission to demolish the six remaining ward blocks and build 106 homes and commercial and retail units. The council refused the scheme because its review of the Rauceby Hospital Conservation Area appraisal, not yet adopted but in advanced stages of preparation, found that the core of the hospital retains its special historic interest and should be preserved. In light of the NPPF’s presumption in favour of protecting heritage assets, inspector David M H Rose’s report assessed whether alternative options to preserve the site had been exhausted. Concluding that a proﬁt margin of 17 per cent would be the minimum necessary to ensure viability, Rose decided that the council’s compromise suggestion to preserve up to four of the six ward blocks

from demolition would be unviable. Considering a third option to mothball the site, he referred to a decision on Fulham Town Hall, covered in The Planner earlier this year, in which the inspector stated “mothballing removes the urgency of accepting the first scheme to come along, which could cause significant harm” to save a heritage asset from total loss. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Rose dismissed the appeal, ruling that ‘mothballing’ could “throw the buildings a lifeline in the hope of an alternative solution” arriving. While acknowledging that such a solution may never materialise, he noted “heritage assets are an irreplaceable part of the nation’s legacy”. He said in this instance the developer had not brought “sufficient alacrity and flair” in justifying the proposed loss of heritage assets. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: APP/ R2520/W/16/3163460

HOUSING

Scottish ministers refuse 120 homes despite shortfall ( SUMMARY Scottish ministers upheld a reporter’s ruling to reject 120 homes in West Lothian despite a homes shortfall because the harm of urban intrusion into the countryside carried more weight. ( CASE DETAILS The appeal site lies on the western edge of Livingston, a town midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The appellant argued that

West Lothian Council could not prove a five-year supply of housing, a position supported by recent appeal decisions. As a result, policy 7 of the South East Scotland Plan (SESP) is triggered, which states that appeals can be allowed contrary to local policy to maintain the required level of housing, as long as the scheme will be in keeping with the area’s character, and additional school places can be provided by the developer. Contrary to the appellant’s housing supply calculations based on a 2014 housing land audit, the council’s calculations showed a supply of more than five years. It argued that even if there was a shortfall, the best way to remedy this would be to allocate more sites in the emerging local development plan, not to allow the appeal. The council added that the scheme would harm the area’s character, and that the appellant could not show how to fulfil the school places requirement. Reporter Claire Milne concurred on both counts, and noted that though there is no approved guidance on how to calculate housing supply levels, the appellant’s method is most commonly used. But whereas the appellant’s method was likely to understate supply and the council’s method was likely to overstate it, she concluded that there is in fact a shortfall. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Milne refused the appeal as the harm she had identified would be unacceptable. Scottish ministers concurred with her report. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: PPA-400-2067

O CTO B ER 2017 / THE PLANNER

p40_43_dif.indd 43

22/09/2017 16:54

NEWS

RTPI {

RTPI news pages are edited by Josh Rule at the RTPI, 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3R 8DL

Why we’re all responsible for implementing global development goals TRUDI ELLIOTT CBE, MRTPI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE RTPI A year ago, 170 nations met to agree how they would address critical global urban challenges – from the rapid growth of cities to the threat of climate change. The UN Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador, saw the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA), along with the UN’s International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning. Collectively, these provide a new framework for the way we plan, develop, finance and adapt our cities over the next 20 years. They also align with other international sustainable development commitments like the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030. All these commitments identify planning as crucial to a sustainable urban future – a success for the RTPI and its partners in promoting the role of planning and planners. As I put it following Quito, we are all planners now. It would be easy to be disappointed about the progress since then. Setbacks have included the US withdrawal from the Paris agreement and the anti-regulatory stance of the Trump administration. In the UK, with Brexit, constrained public finances and political uncertainty, issues such as climate change seem to be further down the agenda than before, though social inequality is perhaps more prominent than it has been for a long time. This may be partly about awareness. Many policymakers may not realise that for the first time the development goals include countries such as the UK and Ireland, and that every signatory is obliged to report on progress to the UN every four years beginning in 2018. In the UK, implementation is focused on international aid and helping emerging countries. This is important, but neglects the need for action and

increasing awareness at home. Other countries have made more progress. Norway, for example, has already aligned its national policies with the NUA. The reaction to the US withdrawal from the Paris accord oﬀers some hope, however, and underlines the importance of local action. Many US cities and states have reaﬃrmed their intention to move forward anyway. New York is leading the way with its recently published One City Plan based on the NUA and the SDGs, while German municipalities are seeking to align city refugee action plans with NUA principles.

World Town Planning Day The RTPI is continuing to work with others to raise awareness, promote planning and oﬀer governments access to our members’ skills and expertise. With the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) we are calling on all levels of government to implement the NUA and the SDGs. We’re working with the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community to develop a ‘rapid planning toolkit’ to help secondary cities in Africa and Asia plan for fast-growing urban populations.

Our International Committee is working with the Board on an RTPI-wide action plan for the sustainable development agenda. This requires all committees and business units to identify where they can promote and implement the SDGs. To note just a few examples, we’re mapping how our APC competencies align with the goals, the keynote address at the RTPI Scotland annual conference will focus on planning’s role in implementing the NUA, and our international planning awardwinner from Hong Kong demonstrated how a new masterplan implements the SDGs. Our policy and research reports will also identify how they relate to this agenda, specifically identifying SDGs they support. On World Town Planning Day on 8 November we will also be celebrating the achievements of planners by showcasing local initiatives in implementing this new urban agenda, including the annual Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture on Sustainable Development by Professor Peter Head CBE. The commitments made by national governments are important, but more critical is how local and city government – and civil society organisations – work to make sustainable development a reality in everything we do. What is especially encouraging is that RTPI members are recognising the relevance of this agenda to their day-to-day work. As I reflected after returning from Quito, the future starts now – and it is about all of us. n For more information on the global development goals, see: www.rtpi.org.uk/international

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p44_47_RTPI_news.indd 44

22/09/2017 16:40

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

Victoria Manning MRTPI DIRECTOR, VITAKA CONSULTING Elected politicians, understandably, don’t want to make unpopular or controversial decisions and risk getting voted out. But this means that difficult strategic planning issues don’t get properly considered. Let’s take an obvious example: Green belt was introduced to prevent ribbon development, but has resulted in a stranglehold on existing settlements. Not all green belt designation is green and pleasant land. Some bits are wasteland on the outskirts of town that could be made beneficial. Which leads to example number two: limiting new homebuilding to brownfield land is not going to make up the huge shortfall faced by the country. But what politician wants to confront vocal local opposition groups? My final example: waste infrastructure, especially landfill sites. Like it or not, landfill sites will still be needed for the (mostly inert) waste that can’t be reused, recycled or treated. Name a local politician willing to sign off a new landfill site in the area. Perhaps it’s time for an independent body to look properly at these strategic issues.

COMMITTEE PRIORITIES: SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Stefano Smith MRTPI, this year’s Convenor, gives an update on current priorities: The Scottish Executive Committee (SEC) supervises, promotes, and directs the Institute’s relationships in Scotland. The work of RTPI Scotland is managed through the SEC and implemented by the National Director and the team. It aims to support the interests of all RTPI members in Scotland, as well as the Chapter network in Scotland.

1 Green belt should not be untouchable. There should be an independent national review to identify land suitable for release

2 There needs to be a national plan for housing delivery, including on land which has not previously been developed

3 Strategically important waste infrastructure should be planned for at a national level, in particular suitable locations for landfill sites

POSITION POINTS

THE SOCIO ECONOMIC DUTY KATE HOUGHTON MRTPI, POLICY & PRACTICE OFFICER The Scottish Government is consulting on implementing the ‘socio-economic duty’, which would require strategic decisions by public authorities, including the preparation of Local Development Plans, to take inequalities into account. The duty originated in the UK Government Equality Act 2010 but, following the 2010 change of government, was not implemented. RTPI Scotland welcomes the recognition of the impact that decisions about place have on outcomes for people, but the Scottish Government must clearly state how the duty will ﬁt with planning’s other objectives, particularly for LDPs to contribute to sustainable development.

Inﬂuencing the review of the planning system, including the Planning Bill expected in late 2017

n bit.ly/planner1017-duty

Promoting the value of membership to Scottish planners, and growing membership

URBAN TRANSPORT GROUP: RAIL DEVOLUTION WORKS

Supporting the work of Chapters and members through RTPI Scotland’s various networks The committee reports to the RTPI Board of Trustees. Its quarterly meetings allow discussion of key policy and corporate issues aﬀecting planning in Scotland. Membership includes Chapter convenors, representatives of interest groups such as the Scottish Young Planners Network, and a representative from both the Board of Trustees and the General Assembly. Convenorship is a four-year commitment – progressing from Junior-Vice to Immediate Past Convenor, giving consistency to the committee leadership. Elections to corporate membership are held annually.

JAMES HARRIS, POLICY & NETWORKS MANAGER This Urban Transport Group report provides evidence on the beneﬁts of rail devolution. It shows how performance, reliability and passenger satisfaction have improved on urban and regional services like Merseyrail and Scotrail. RTPI research has shown how good transport planning can support a wider range of economic, social and environmental goals. By devolving powers and funding to strategic bodies like Transport for London and combined authorities, decisions on transport investment can be used to support housing development and urban regeneration.

n Read the RTPI’s Transport Infrastructure Investment policy paper: bit.ly/planner1017-rail

O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7 / THE PLA NNER

p44_47_RTPI_news.indd 45

22/09/2017 16:41

NEWS

RTPI { T HE RT PI AW AR DS FOR P L AN N IN G EXCELLE N C E 2 01 8

Do you know a pupil who w is passionate about their t neighbourhood? RUPA R AHLUWALIA, EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT OFFICER D The RTPI is calling on 7-18 year olds to enter the 2017 World Town Planning Day Schools Competition. Using W up u to ﬁve images, entrants need to show how they would make their local place more: m n Inclusive: Planning for everyone, regardless of age, ability, gender or background. a n Resilient: Planning for a place that strengthens our ability to respond and recover from the impacts of climate a and a demographic change, but also to prepare and plan for them. t n Sustainable: Planning for a place that improves our quality of life without damaging the quality of life of q future generations. f

Have your work recognised by the most prestigious planning awards The RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence 2018 are now open for entries. The Awards for Planning Excellence are the most established and respected in our sector and continue to recognise best practice both in the UK and Internationally. For many years, these high-proﬁle awards have rewarded the brightest talent in the profession, helping to transform economies, environments and communities. In 2018, there are 14 free-to-enter categories focused on projects, teams and individuals. The ﬁnalists will be announced next February and the awards will be presented at a ceremony on 24 May 2018, at Milton Court Concert Hall in central London. n For details on how to enter and showcase your work, please visit rtpi.org.uk/excellence

The images can be hand drawn, a photo, or a computergenerated image but must be the entrant’s own work. g The competition is designed to get a new generation of planners thinking about how to make more sustainable, p resilient and inclusive places in the future. The judges will r be b looking for: n Creative use of materials; n Innovative town planning ideas; n Clear explanations of why and how you would make those changes; n Use of relevant local information and data; and n Awareness of sustainability issues. If you’ve got a child, know a relative with child, or you are a teacher or an RTPI ambassador due to volunteer in a school, spread the word and encourage as many young people as possible to enter today!

One of the winning entries from last year’s competition, submitted by Vaibhav Vinod

n More information: bit.ly/planner1017-competition

T H E PL AN N E R \ O CTO B E R 2 0 1 7

p44_47_RTPI_news.indd 46

22/09/2017 16:41

RTPI Y ACTIVIT E PIPELIN Current RTPI work – what the Institute is doing and how you can help us PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: EVENING LECTURE Professor Peter Head CBE will discuss how planners can play a central role in delivering sustainable development at this year’s RTPI Nathaniel Lichfield Annual Lecture on 8 November at UCL in central London. Peter is a civil and structural engineer and a recognised world leader in major bridges, advanced composite technology and sustainable development in cities and regions. The lecture, given in memory of Nathaniel Lichfield, will be held at UCL and draws an audience of more than 200 professionals from the built environment. Once again, the lecture is generously supported by Dalia Lichfield. Registration is from 6.30pm and the lecture will be followed by a drinks reception. Tickets £15 (including VAT). To book, please visit rtpi.org.uk/nll

BOOK NOW! INDEPENDENT CONSULTANTS’ NETWORK CONFERENCE: ‘ICN MEMBERS AS INNOVATORS’ The inaugural RTPI Independent Consultants’ Conference takes place on 30 November in the spectacular Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford. With a keynote speech from the Chief Executive of the RTPI, Trudi Elliott, alongside presentations and workshops delivered by the Planning Inspectorate and some of the UK’s top planning consultants. A cross-cutting programme will cover topics from neighbourhood planning strategies to maximising appeal success and innovations in housing delivery. With plentiful networking opportunities, this event will provide a unique forum for sole practitioners and small consultancies to scrutinise current issues and share good practice. Book early to avoid disappointment: bit.ly/planner1017-independent

RTPI SEEKS APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP OF KEY COMMITTEES We are seeking applications for membership of some of our key committees including Audit; Membership and Ethics; Education and Life Long Learning; Policy, Practice and Research; England Policy Panel and International. These all play a vital role in leading various strands of the RTPI’s work. Current priority areas include the impact of Brexit; implementing the international sustainable development agenda; the implications of the housing white paper; developing new routes to planning through apprenticeships, and the value of membership. The work produced can only be as good as the makeup of committees. We are keen to encourage as wide and diverse a membership as possible so that all types of members are represented. Applications are open between 13 October-14 November. For further information see: bit.ly/planner1017-applications

REMINDER: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING A reminder that the RTPI’s Annual General meeting will be held at 1.30pm on Wednesday 25 October at etc venues Marble Arch, Garﬁeld House, 86 Edgware Road, London W2 2EA. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend. It is your opportunity to raise issues you consider important to the running and governance of the RTPI. If you plan to attend you will need to formally RSVP to the RTPI’s Governance Manager at governance@rtpi.org.uk

RTPI SHORTS

BOOST YOUR CAREER: REFRESHED PROGRAMME OF EXPERT TRAINING COURSES FOR 2018 The RTPI is launching a refreshed programme of tailored training courses from January 2018 when RTPI Conferences will become RTPI Training. An in-house dedicated team has been working with subject experts to design, improve and deliver a highquality programme of more than 40 masterclasses and briefings for 2018. All courses can contribute towards RTPI members’ individual CPD and will be available in nine locations across the UK: Belfast, Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester and Nottingham. This training will be complementary to the RTPI’s current programme of events available through the RTPI Regions and Nations, which will continue as normal. Led by subject experts, courses have been designed to help planners expand their technical knowledge and skills, and gain inspiration and an understanding of all the latest developments needed to enhance the career prospects of today’s planning professional. Topics include Planning Law updates, Local plans: future direction, and Environmental Impact Assessments. Bringing the training programme in-house means that the RTPI can pass on substantial savings. Prices for 2018 onwards will start from as little as £199 plus VAT. n To find out more and book online visit rtpi.org.uk/ training or speak to the RTPI Training team on +44(0)20 7 929 8400

RTPI CONDUCT & DISCIPLINE PANEL DECISIONS The RTPI Conduct and Discipline Panel has found one Member of the Institute to be in breach of the RTPI Code of Professional Conduct for failing to provide the client with his written terms of engagement prior to commencing work. The Member was also found to be in breach of his duty to act with due care and diligence through his failure to communicate promptly with the client throughout the instruction. The Panel agreed to warn the Member as to his future conduct. Another member of the Institute has recently been found to be in breach of the Code of Professional Conduct by the RTPI Conduct and Discipline Panel. Mr Paul Treadgold was randomly selected by the Institute as part of the CPD monitoring exercise in 2015 and failed to comply. The Panel agreed to terminate his membership following an earlier period of suspension for failing to comply with the necessary regulations. n Members with queries about the Code of Professional Conduct should email Sandra Whitehead, the Institute’s Complaints Investigator: sandra.whitehead@rtpi.org.uk

O CTO B ER 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p44_47_RTPI_news.indd 47

22/09/2017 16:42