The Planner April 2017 by The Planner

APRIL 2017 WHAT NEW EIA REGULATIONS COULD MEAN TO YOU // p.4 • REVVING UP THE MIDLANDS ENGINE FOR UK PLC // p.22 • POLITICS VS PLANNING: CONFRONTING THE LONG TERM CHALLENGES // p.26 • REGIONAL FOCUS SCOTLAND // p.34

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

CAN WE TALK? PLANNING MINISTER GAVIN BARWELL ON WORKING WITH OTHERS TO ADDRESS THE HOUSING CHALLENGE

01_cover_April.indd 1

27/03/2017 12:30

HIGHLIGHTING EXCEPTIONAL EXAMPLES OF PLANNING AND CELEBRATING THE CONTRIBUTION THAT PLANNERS AND PLANNING MAKE TO SOCIETY

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES Young Planner of the @LHY ࠮ 9;70 =VS\U[LLY Planner of the Year

BOOK NOW Awards Ceremony: 15 June 2017 Milton Court Concert Hall, London

TEAMS CATEGORIES

RTPI.ORG.UK/APE2017 #RTPIAWARDS PROJECT CATEGORIES

:THSS 7SHUUPUN *VUZ\S[HUJ` ࠮ 7SHUUPUN *VUZ\S[HUJ` ࠮ 3VJHS (\[OVYP[` ;LHT ࠮ Employer Award for Excellence

7SHUUPUN MVY /LYP[HNL ࠮ 7SHUUPUN MVY [OL 5H[\YHS ,U]PYVUTLU[ ࠮ 7SHUUPUN MVY >LSS ILPUN ࠮ 7SHUUPUN [V *YLH[L ,JVUVTPJHSS` :\JJLZZM\S 7SHJLZ ࠮ 7SHUUPUN [V +LSP]LY /V\ZPUN ࠮ 7SHUUPUN MVY [OL 0UUV]H[P]L +LSP]LY` VM 0UMYHZ[Y\J[\YL ࠮ 7SHU 4HRPUN 7YHJ[PJL ࠮ 0U[LYUH[PVUHS 7SHUUPUN (^HYK

:765:69:

border archaeology archaeology & built heritage

p02_PLN.APR17.indd 2

20/03/2017 12:41

PLANNER 07 18

CONTENTS

THE

APRIL

20 17

“WE’VE GOT TO HAVE A BETTER MECHANISM FOR CAPTURING THAT UPLIFT IN LAND VALUE”

NEWS

4 An ABC of the new EIA regulations

6 Can SMEs and housing associations help supply?

7 Climate change blueprint published in Ireland

OPINION

8 Budget: Key infrastructure and devolution measures

14 Chris Shepley: Welcome to the dollhouse(s)

9 Hammond publishes strategy for Midlands Engine

16 John Downey: A vision for the Irish National Planning Framework

10 Wales pursues ban on Right to Buy

15 11 NI’s best places competition launched

16 Philly Hare: How planning can help people with dementia live independently 17 Sue Bridge: CIL – A frustrating wait for change 17 George Weeks: Solving Auckland’s affordability challenge

FEATURES

INSIGHT

18 Gavin Barwell, minister for housing, planning and London, talks to Martin Read

31 Tech landscape: Q&A with IBM's Dr Mary Keeling on how digitisation can transform planning

22 The Midlands Engine is revving up major development opportunities for investment in UK PLC. Huw Morris reports

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

26 Planning is at a crossroads – but many anticipate its revival, says David Blackman

26 34 Nations & Regions: Scotland

QUOTE UNQUOTE

“THE WAY WE MOVE AROUND AND BETWEEN OUR CITIES WILL CHANGE DRAMATICALLY IN THE NEXT 25 YEARS” WESTON WILLIAMSON + PARTNERS PROPOSES ITS CAR FREE 2.5KM RADIAL CITY HOUSING 350,000 AND BASED AROUND PUBLIC TRANSPORT WITH A HIGH SPEED STATION AT ITS CENTRE

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

p03_contents.indd 3

40 Legal landscape: Opinions, blogs and news from the legal side of planning 42 Career development: Ensure that your CV makes the right impact 44 RTPI round-up: News and interviews from the institute 50 Plan B: Flying cars: Yesterday’s future today

22 AP R IL 2 01 7 / T HE P LANNER

24/03/2017 17:45

NEWS

Report { WEBINAR REPORT

An ABC of the new EIA regulations Replacement Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations are set to come into force on 16th May 2017, introducing a number of changes to the screening, scoping, decision-making and enforcement of EIA developments. A few weeks back, The Planner hosted a webinar explaining the likely eﬀect of these impending changes. You can still listen to that event in full by visiting the link at the end of this report. What follows are highlights from the information and advice presented by those who took part.

Screening The devil in the new EIA regs lies in the detail, argued IEMA policy lead Josh Fothergill. They demand more information at screening stage, the extent of which would depend on how much developers are willing to commit to in terms of early survey and design

Far left: Alison Carroll Second left: Martin Read Far right: Harriet Peacock Second right: Josh Fothergill Third right: Alex Ground

work. Councils will certainly need to give more detailed explanations of their reasons for a screening decision. Where a local planning authority intends to rely on proposed mitigation measures to screen out the need for an EIA, these will now need to be justified in a publicly available screening opinion. Both developer and local planning authority will need to keep track of these ‘mitigation screened’ non-EIA developments, as significant risks will arise if the subsequent development proposal does not include the features (or justifiable equivalents) identified as key to determining that no EIA was required. (Draft Regulations had not established a regulatory process to track this requirement. “It looks likely that it will be down to EIA practitioners and local planning authorities to manage that risk,” said Fothergill.)

Mitigation Consideration of mitigation at screening stage would require careful thought, said Alison Carroll, associate environmental planner at Nicholas Pearson Associates. “It will need to be clearly deﬁned – and there will need to be conﬁdence in the ability for it to be delivered and achieve the stated mitigation.”

CONSIDERATIONS n If an LPA decides that a development does not require an EIA as a result of mitigation, it will have to set out its reasons in a screening opinion as there are likely to be challenges around any failure to give proper reasons for that decision. n Ensuring an environmental statement is up to date at the time of the EIA decision will be more important to avoid potential legal challenges. n LPAs will need to ensure resources are in place for assessing the monitoring results submitted by applicants. n The regulations talk of ‘competent experts’ – but there is little clarity as to what ‘competent’ means. n Fresh training may be required and a demonstration of ongoing experience in EIA could become more important

TH E P L AN N E R \ AP RI L 20 1 7

p4_5_news.indd 4

27/03/2017 12:37

PLAN UPFRONT Josh Fothergill and Alex Ground in discussion

This will be best achieved by embedding mitigation into the design based on a good understanding of the site’s opportunities and constraints – “something that will need to take place early in the process if to be taken into account in screening”. Alex Ground, partner in Russell-Cooke Solicitors, said developers would need to submit design features and mitigation at screening stage to avoid problems further into the process. The process of EIA is going to become more front-loaded and screening will need to be more comprehensive. This would mean both a time and financial cost to applicants as proposed post-permission mitigation measures are better assessed at the outset. Applicants will be trying to use the introduction of the new ability to factor in mitigation before concluding whether or not there are likely significant effects as a way of making sure they get a negative screening opinion and don’t have to prepare an environmental statement. All participants expressed concern that the target of three weeks to obtain a screening opinion would surely be difficult to achieve with so much information to consider, and few developers would appreciate further delays on screening opinions.

In summary According to Josh Fothergill, the UK’s real challenges with the new EIA regime relate to an issue common to the planning system – delivering a proportionate assessment and application. “Over the next 12 months we have a window of opportunity – when there is more focus on EIA than there normally is – to try and do something collectively about this.” Alison Carroll agreed that the EIA Regulations should focus on developments with the most signiﬁcant eﬀects. “There is, however a risk in screening and scoping that someone will challenge the decision. The real value to EIA is when it is viewed as an integral part of the design process, used to address environmental issues and stakeholder concerns in a coordinated and integrated way. Commitments made in the design and assessment stages do, however, need to be followed through and implemented on the ground.” Alex Ground said she believes that once the UK has left the EU there will be an opportunity for more control over how EIA regulations evolve. “It’s incumbent on all those involved with using the new regs to be feed back to DCLG how they work in practice, so that when the opportunity comes for the UK to control how it wants the EIA regime to evolve, then all stakeholders have helped shape that.”

EIA WEBINAR Participants Josh Fothergill Policy lead, Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) Alison Carroll Associate environmental planner, Nicholas Pearson Associates Alex Ground Partner, Russell-Cooke Solicitors

Themes explored n What is the role of an environmental impact assessment and how is it changing? n What will changes to the screening and scoping requirements mean to you? n How can the need for an EIA be avoided, and what are the beneﬁts and risks of doing this? n How is mitigation to be viewed in the new process? n What do local authorities need to consider? n How do planning consultancies need to adapt?

Additional audio n London Borough of Tower

Hamlets EIA oﬃcer Harriet Peacock gives her take on the new regulations. n Panel discussion: What might the impact of Brexit be? n How should human health be taken into consideration in EIA reports? n What happens when a local authority is also the proposer – what safeguards should be put in place? n Readers can listen to the full hour-long webinar or shorter individual snippets by visiting tinyurl.com/planner0417-EIARegs

AP R IL 2 01 7 / THE PLA NNER

p4_5_news.indd 5

27/03/2017 12:38

NEWS

Analysis { H O U S I N G S U P P LY

Can SMEs and housing associations help supply? By Laura Edgar

funded by Peabody’s own funds, cheap debt and particularly the bond market, said Smyth. “Not all, but a number of housing associations are uniquely placed to do that because they are long-term patient investors; they can assess ﬁnance and can be conﬁdent over the long term that they will recoup it.”

SMEs

The recently published housing white paper (HWP) signals a “really important” change, suggests Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) chief executive Kate Henderson. Henderson was one of several speakers discussing the HWP at a recent TCPA seminar. The HWP, believes Henderson, has helped “reframe” the debate. The white paper is “pragmatic”, she added, and “much more balanced in the types of tenures that need delivering”. But while the HWP was refreshing in its admission that planning is in need of more resources, a lack of focus on viability issues was troubling. Henderson spoke about the need to diversify the supply mix. While the private sector and volume house builders are a “very important” part of the supply mix, “they are never going to be the full answer to the question”. There is “always going to be a gap” one that will need ﬁlling by a full range of supply options, including SMEs and housing associations, she said.

Housing associations Alistair Smyth, head of policy at the National Housing Federation, the trade body for housing associations, told the

TH E P L AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p06_07_news.indd 8

Brian Berry, CEO at the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), told the audience that, traditionally, all homes in the country were built by SME builders. “In 1998, two-thirds of all new homes Brian Berry, CEO of were built by SMEs. But over the last the Federation of Master Builders: said decade or so that has dropped.” existing housing stock SME builders are important because needs maintaining they are “good for local growth,” said Berry. Employing local people offers competition and quality. A local builder’s seminar that the sector built 40,000 reputation depends on quality of output, homes in 2015/16. Its plan to build said Berry, with its key personnel often 120,000 homes a year, set out in 2013, living within the communities for which has recently been refreshed to include they’re building. increased housing association The FMB sees the white output over 20 years so that, “IF WE CONTINUE paper as encouraging by 2035, 120,000 homes a FOLLOWING because it talks, “for the first year are being built by the A TREND OF time,” about the importance sector. DECLINE, WE of small builders for delivery. Smyth cited two projects WILL BECOME Builders have said they by way of example to explain AN ENDANGERED are happy to pay more to get how housing associations SPECIES” – their schemes through the are a vital vehicle for BRIAN BERRY ON planning system, said Berry diversification of supply, SME BUILDERS – something proposed in including Peabody’s work at the white paper. Thamesmead. However homes will not Before Peabody took over be built unless there are that project in 2014, the people to build them. Berry buildings were owned by explained how the FMB’s quarterly trade Gallions housing association, the land survey suggests that there is a shortfall by Tilfen Land and community assets across the trades, with 59 per cent of its by Trust Thamesmead. Smyth explained members having problems recruiting how Peabody used its financial capability bricklayers and 41 per cent struggling to to buy all three elements and bring them hire plumbers. together. This, he argued, is an “almost a The FMB, said Berry, is looking at unique example” of a housing association developing “employer-led trailblazing owning the stock, but also the land, the apprenticeships”. utilities and the community assets. “People should be trained in a range of Housing associations “can be patient skills so they can withstand any future investors,” added Smyth. recession.” Most of the Thamesmead site is being I M AG E S | I STO C K / S H U T T E RSTO C K

24/03/2017 14:49

PLAN UPFRONT

9,000

The £1.3 billion Swansea Bay City Region deal is expected to create more than 9,000 jobs

£241

Climate change blueprint published in Ireland

million of UK and Welsh Government funding

PM signs Swansea Bay city deal Prime Minister Theresa May has signed oﬀ the £1.3 billion Swansea Bay City Region deal, which is expected to create more than 9,000 jobs. The deal between the UK Government, the Welsh Government and the region’s local authorities will see major infrastructure investment in the area, ranging from research centre to a new waterfront “digital district”. The prime minister said she wants Wales to be at the “forefront of science and innovation”. Welsh secretary Alun Cairns said: “The city deal will build on the strengths of the region and the opportunities available, helping Swansea compete with some of the world’s best cities through exciting digital technology. “This is a fantastic chance for Swansea to prosper and reap the beneﬁts from close partnerships that are focused on securing genuine wins for a local area.” The region comprises Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, and Pembrokeshire local authorities. The investment package is made up of £241 million of UK and Welsh Government funding, £396 million of public sector funding and £637 million from the private sector. n More information about the deal can be found here: tinyurl.com/ planner0417-swansea

Five years behind deadline, the Irish Government has ﬁnally published a draft National Mitigation Plan designed to deal with climate change. The 91-page blueprint is now out for consultation. The document examines four main areas of economic activity where the government assumes responsibility to reduce emissions. These are: electricity generation, the built environment, transport, and land use (including agriculture and forestry). Climate change and environment minister Denis Naughten acknowledged the problems. “It is clear

that there are no easy options to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions on the scale required in the coming decades.” The plan accepts that Ireland will not meet its 2020 European Union target of a 20 per cent cut in emissions; the likely out-turn is 6 per cent. The plan also says many of the changes that should take place if Ireland is to meet the EU’s 2030 targets of a 30 per cent reduction in emissions are “extremely challenging” – transport and agriculture emissions would increase up to 2020. The draft and its environmental impact assessment acknowledges that the government must consider banning peat and coal for home heating, and hiking the carbon tax on transport fuels. Plans to cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 will also require investment in public transport, incentivising people to retroﬁt their properties to make them more eﬃcient, and a ban on the use of peat for power generation. n The consultation can be found here: tinyurl.com/planner0417-climate

2017 RTPI research awards open for entry The 2017 RTPI Awards for Research Excellence are open for entries from all RTPI-accredited planning schools and planning consultancies in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and internationally. There are ﬁve categories in the awards: n Academic Award n Early Career Researcher Award n Student Award n Planning Consultancy Award n Sir Peter Hall Award for Wider Engagement

Excellence recognise and promote quality, impactful spatial planning research from accredited planning schools and planning consultancies to a wider audience of policymakers and practitioners, as it plays such a critical role in shaping planning policy and practice.”

Dr Michael Harris, head of research at the RTPI, said: “The RTPI Awards for Research

n The deadline for entries is 19 May. Visit: tinyurl.com/planner0417-research

AP R IL 2 01 7 / THE PLA NNER

p06_07_news.indd 9

24/03/2017 14:49

NEWS

Analysis { SPRING BUDGET

Budget: Key infrastructure and devolution measures Better transport links form a key plank in raising the UK’s productivity

By Laura Edgar Last month’s Budget featured investment in transport infrastructure and further devolution measures for London. Speaking to the House of Commons, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said that the only sustainable way to raise living standards is to improve productivity. At present, the UK lies behind both Germany and the G7 average in productivity growth – “and the gap is not closing”. Investment in training and infrastructure would start to close this gap, said Hammond, with the productivity challenge “at the very heart of [the government’s] economic plan”.

Transport A key element in raising productivity is the £23 billion of infrastructure innovation investment announced in the Autumn Statement as part of the National Productivity Investment Fund, states the Budget document. The chancellor allocated “£90 million for the North and £23 million for the Midlands from a £220 million fund that addresses pinch points on the national road network”. (See ‘Budget transport funding’ box.)

announced in November will be spent. Planners “will need to be at the heart of delivering major infrastructure investment, housing and in creating places to ensure that the UK’s productivity gap improves”. “We urge government departments to work together to ensure infrastructure investment, including transport networks, are considered in tandem with location of housing and in the context of the recently announced industrial strategy green paper.”

According to the chancellor, a Memorandum of Understanding will see the government, the Greater London Authority, and London Councils – a think tank representing the capital’s boroughs – working together to explore the benefits of, as well as scope for, locally delivered criminal justice services and action to tackle congestion. There will also be discussions about a task force to explore piloting a new approach to infrastructure funding. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said the pilot, a Development Rights Auction Model, would provide funding for projects, “allowing them to be built quicker and with less reliance on government funding”. The agreement also commits the parties to explore options to devolve greater powers and flexibilities on business rates and greater influence over careers and employment services. Additionally:

£690

The RTPI has welcomed further detail on how the £23 billion infrastructure investment

TH E P L AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p08_09_news.indd 8

The schemes, announced by transport secretary Chris Grayling, aim to cut congestion and journey times for motorists, as well as improve safety, said the government. These are:

£30 million to dual a stretch of the A69 between Hexham and Newcastle;

Devolution

Other infrastructure funding includes: n £690 million to be competitively allocated to local authorities to get transport networks moving, while £490 million will be made available in early autumn. n £270 million to keep the UK at the forefront of disruptive technologies like biotech, robotic systems and driverless vehicles. n £16 million for a new 5G million will be competitively mobile technology hub. allocated to local authorities n £200 million for local to get local transport projects to leverage private networks moving sector investment in full-ﬁbre broadband networks.

Planners at heart of infrastructure delivery

BUDGET TRANSPORT FUNDING

£110

million will be invested on improving roads

£14 million for new junction on the M11 to provide another route into Harlow; and

£110 million will be invested on improving roads. The government said it would announce more details at a later date. Projects for the North and the Midlands, and the rest of England, include:

£6.4 million to improve the A595/A66 junctions at Great Clifton, the Fitz Roundabout, the A585 at Norcross and junction 3 of the M55;

£15 million n The government will

discuss transport funding with Greater Manchester. n The UK Government continues to “make good progress” towards new city deals for Edinburgh and Swansea, working with local partners and both devolved governments.

for A69/A68 junction near Corbridge;

£3.3 million to widen the A5, Old Stratford; and

£3.3 million Nearly £20 million to improve the M5 in the South-West.

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

24/03/2017 12:00

PLAN UPFRONT A global hub for space technology in Leicester will receive funding

STATS

Social housing on the up in Scotland Hammond publishes strategy for Midlands Engine Chancellor Philip Hammond has launched the Midlands Engine Strategy, which sets out a multimillion-pound investment for skills, connectivity and local growth in the region. The Midlands Engine Strategy will see £392 million invested in the region from the Local Growth Fund. The money is expected to support a number of projects, including a global hub for space technology in Leicester. Congestion and improvement in employment sites in the Black County will be tackled through a £25 million investment, while £12 million will be spent on improving road connections around Loughborough. An additional £4 million has been committed to support the operation of the Midlands Engine Partnership – bringing together local enterprise partnerships, local authorities, businesses and academic institutions – over the next two years. Hammond said: “The Midlands has enormous economic potential and it is more important than ever that we now build on its existing strengths to make sure it fulﬁls it.” He said the strategy is an “important milestone,” setting out the concrete actions the government is taking, “where we are not only investing in what it does well, but also tackling some of the long-standing productivity barriers in the region including skills and connectivity”. n Read The Planner’s feature on the Midland’s Engine on page 22

Latest official statistics suggest that in 2016, 8,840 affordable homes were approved in Scotland, an increase of 20 per cent compared with the previous year. Approvals for new-build social rented properties were up by 17 per cent in 2016, to 5,101 properties, according to the statistics. The figures were published as housing minister Kevin Stewart confirmed £70 million funding for 2017/18 for the Scottish Government’s Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) scheme, which aims to help first-time buyers and priority groups to buy a property. This will enable another 1,700 people to buy a home. These quarterly statistics suggest that the total number of new homes being started to address the country’s housing crisis has fallen by 5 per cent to 16,870 over the past year. Private sector starts dropped 14 per cent, down to 11,816. However, social sector housing starts increased by 24 per cent to 5,054.

17% Approvals for new build social rented properties were up by 17 per cent in 2016

20% In 2016, 8,840 affordable homes were approved in Scotland an increase of 20 per cent

£160m Snowdonia pump storage project approved Energy secretary Greg Clark has approved a development consent order (DCO) for a £160 million pumped storage power project earmarked for a site in the Snowdonia National Park. The scheme was proposed by developer Snowdonia Pumped Hydro Ltd (SPH). The 99-megawatt Nationally Signiﬁcant Infrastructure Project is to be developed at the abandoned Glyn-Rhonwy and Chwarel Fawr slate quarries near Llanberis in North Wales.

It is expected to have an operational life of around 125 years and to support up to 30 full-time local jobs, as well as hundreds during construction. It will comprise two 1,300,000 cubic metre reservoirs linked by a 1.6 kilometre underground pipeline via a turbine hall, about 70 metres below ground level. The system uses electricity to pump water from a lower reservoir to a higher reservoir. When required, the water is then released through a hydroturbine to generate electricity to meet sudden spikes in consumer electricity demand. The project is the ﬁrst of a series of schemes that SPH parent company Quarry Battery Company intends to develop throughout the UK. n More information about the project and its supporting documents can be found here: tinyurl.com/planner0417-snowdonia

AP R IL 2 01 7 / THE PLA NNER

p08_09_news.indd 9

24/03/2017 12:01

NEWS

Analysis { RIGHT TO BUY

Wales pursues ban on Right to Buy By Huw Morris To many, the Right to Buy is the sacred cow of the Thatcher era that lifted millions of households into home ownership. To its detractors, the scheme is partly to blame for the housing shortages and affordability crisis engulfing the country, creating a nightmare for planners. The Westminster government still intends to roll out the Right to Buy for housing association tenants, albeit delayed until April 2018. Since the introduction of large discounts five years ago – currently £77,900 nationally and £103,900 in London – 51,351 council homes have been sold, 3,115 of them in the final quarter of last year. But only 794 replacement homes were started or bought in the same three months. Outside of England, the Right to Buy is a sacred cow for slaughter. In Scotland, the scheme ended in 2016

T H E PL AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p10_11_news.indd 10

Several Welsh authorities are already taking action. Cardiff Council is the latest to approve plans to suspend the scheme for five years. Anglesey, Carmarthenshire and Swansea had previously stopped the policy, while Denbighshire and Flintshire have submitted plans to do so. In Wales, nearly 139,000 council homes have been sold since the after nearly half a million social housing introduction of the Right to Buy, a tenants bought their homes since the reduction of 45 per cent. scheme’s introduction in 1980. Scottish Replacing these homes is not the Government statistics suggest that only issue. The original assumption was 102,579 homes were sold between 2001 that homes would remain in owner and 2015. The number of council house occupation. This has not been the case for starts was just 7,100. many of them. Now the Welsh Government has The Welsh Government’s research unveiled a bill scrapping the Right to Buy roughly estimates that 12.5 per cent of for council tenants one year after Royal ex-social housing has transferred to the Assent. Associated schemes for housing private rented sector. However, this is association tenants such as the Preserved only based on data about properties sold Right to Buy and the Right to Acquire since 1997, which represents only 27 per would also be abolished. cent of homes sold since the introduction Welsh Local Government of the legislation in 1980. Association housing The number of homes spokesperson Dyfed Edwards “MANY FAMILIES, transferring to the private INCLUDING THE rented sector is likely to welcomes the move “at a VULNERABLE, time of acute shortages of be much higher, costing DEPEND ON US social rented homes, and the public purse millions TO PROVIDE A with many thousands of in housing benefit and far SAFE, SECURE people currently on housing exceeding any receipts. AND AFFORDABLE Certainly between 2001 waiting lists”. HOME” and 2015, the number of privately rented homes has more than doubled and now accounts for 15 per cent of all stock in Wales, with a knock-on effect on local housing markets and communities. The issue is not confined to Wales. Research for the London Assembly found that up to 40 per cent of homes sold under the Right to Buy have ended up in the hands of private landlords rather than propelling owner occupation. “Not everyone can take advantage of private housing markets and many families, including the vulnerable, depend on us to provide a safe, secure and affordable home,” says communities and children secretary Carl Sargeant. “A significant number of homes bought under the Right to Buy scheme have ended up in the private rented sector, which usually costs local people more to rent and costs the public purse more in terms of higher housing benefit.” I M AG E S | I STO C K / S H U T T E RSTO C K / A L A M Y

24/03/2017 12:02

PLAN UPFRONT

“WE VALUE THE ROLE LOCAL PUBS PLAY FOR OUR RESIDENTS”

NI’s best places competition launched RTPI Northern Ireland has launched a competition to ﬁnd the country’s best place. Members of the public are being asked to take part in the competition, which aims to celebrate attractive and inspiring places. Similar competitions have been held in England, Scotland and Wales. President of the RTPI Stephen Wilkinson said: “Your best place could be a natural landscape, a historic town, perhaps a national park. It might be a vibrant and diverse community you are especially proud of, a special place within a city, a stunning cultural quarter or a neighbourhood. “There is no single deﬁnition of a ‘best place.’ We are leaving that up to you. We want your suggestions.”

Beverly Clyde, chair of RTPI Northern Ireland, added: “We want to recognise those special places which we cherish because they have been protected, carefully planned or improved. I expect competition will be ﬁerce and people will be passionate because they care about the places that mean most to them”. Any member of the public can nominate their Best Place in Northern Ireland. The deadline for nominations is 2 June. A panel of judges will then compile a shortlist of their top 10 and then the public will be invited to vote for its favourite. n For more information about nominations please visit: rtpi.org.uk/nibestplaces

Devolution for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Communities secretary Sajid Javid has announced a devolution plan for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough which will see residents vote for a mayor on 4 May. The deal comprises fresh powers to create new jobs, improve skills levels, build more homes and improve transport. The area will receive new planning and housing powers to manage planning across the region. This includes a £100 million Housing Investment Fund and an additional £70 million ring-fenced speciﬁcally for the city of Cambridge to meet its housing needs. Tthe region will control an investment fund of £320 million a year over the next 30 years, a devolved transport budget and new powers over skills. Wendy Hague, RTPI East of England chair, said that the new mayor, as chair of the combined authority, would have powers to create a non-statutory spatial

framework, supplementary planning documents and mayoral development corporations or similar vehicles in rural areas to enhance delivery. Mayoral elections are also set to take place in the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, West of England, West Midlands and Tees Valley. n More information about the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough devolution deal can be found here: tinyurl.com/planner0417-devolution

Southwark to protect its pubs Southwark Council has issued an Article 4 Direction on all 188 pubs in the borough to protect them from permitted development rights. The Article 4 direction means that any changes to pubs in Southwark will now have to go through the planning process, and the council – as well as the local community – will be able to have a say on any proposed changes. Mark Williams, cabinet member for regeneration and new homes, said: “We value the role local pubs play for our residents, and we know that many of them in the borough are well used and much loved by local people. As well as supporting local businesses and jobs, our pubs play a vital role in the heart of the communities they serve. “This is why we felt it was important to make sure that the council and local community have a say when pubs are put forward for development, to help ensure that changing the use of pubs only happens in the right circumstances and in the right areas.”

AP R IL 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p10_11_news.indd 11

24/03/2017 12:02

ADVERTISEMENTS

Consultants { border

Planning our sustainable future

archaeology

Birmingham Bristol Derby Exeter Glasgow London Warrington

archaeology & built heritage

working throughout the UK Contact:

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

e: ask@borderarchaeology.com

t: 01568 610101

borderarchaeology.com

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

ISO 9001 | ISO 14001 | OHSAS 18001

Savills Planning -

Masterplanning & Urban Design

Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment Townscape Assessment Expert Witness, Public Inquires & Appeals

Specialists in all aspects of Masterplanning and the Urban Design process.

Strategic Land Promotion

Peter Frankum Head of Urban Design pfrankum@savills.com +44 (0) 7870 999 519

Minerals and Waste Development

Local Plan Representations Green Belt Assessment Sensitivity and Capacity Appraisals

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

Masterplanning and Urban Design are one part of our full range of planning consultancy services

Mark Flatman - mark.flatman@lizlake.com Head of Landscape Planning

01279 647 044

www.lizlake.com

savills.co.uk 12

Stansted | Bristol | Nottingham

T H E PL AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

Savills- 2/8 verts.indd 3

PLN Directory Apr17.indd 12

16/11/2015 10:58 box dir.indd 1 Liz Lake double

16/02/2017 11:02 20/03/2017 17:04

LEADER COMMENT

Opinionn The robots? Oh, they’re coming all right. It’s just that they never arrive – Actually, that’s not entirely true. Perhaps what I should say is that we only fully appreciate the arrival of all this automation, with all the benefits and limits to its transformative power, in retrospect. Because here’s the thing about robots, automation and indeed artificial intelligence: the seismic technological revolution they presage will always be shaped in the end by the reality of our human appetite to accept it. Early television viewers in the 1950s marvelled at Pathé News Reel coverage of shiny tin men able to shuffle from kitchen to lounge with a tray of sherries. Today? We’re still resolutely pouring the stuff ourselves. In the 1980s, major car manufacturers boasted about roboticised production lines by showing them dancing to classical music. Today? Production lines have indeed become more

Martin Read and more automated – but the country also supports a vibrant market of both high volume and more specialist automotive manufacturers. These are two examples of robots leading not to fewer aggregate jobs, but to an assessment of what constitutes a genuine bit of labour saving as well as new and better ways of doing things. Where automation occurs, human ingenuity forges new kinds of markets and methodologies to keep us all busy.

Automation, in a word, empowers. And as our new Tech Landscape section will, we hope, regularly point out – planning stands to become particularly empowered by technology in the years ahead. Planning and housing minister Gavin Barwell, interviewed later in this edition, spoke to me brieﬂy about the digital tools mentioned in the housing white paper. That document speaks of increasing the amount of planning data that is available to individuals, groups, entrepreneurs and businesses; of plans made more accessible online; of interactive tools for improved online consultation; and of digital tools to support

“THERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF TECHNOLOGY HELPING TO BRING THE PLANNING DECISION MAKING PROCESS TO LIFE; INFOGRAPHICS AS ENABLERS”

better plan-making and help people identify and develop appropriate land for housing. Barwell spoke about how much he had been impressed in his local constituency by a company demonstrating software that overlaid on an Ordnance Survey map all of the local authority’s planning policies on to the town, highlighting at a glance those sites consistent with the council’s planning policy and thus suitable for building. Now there’s an example of technology helping to bring the planning decisionmaking process to life; infographics as enablers. Finally this month, a bit of housekeeping. Firstly, you’ll note that we’ve moved this leader page into our opinion section as we seek to better present the diﬀering types of material in The Planner. It’s a work in progress, of which more next month. Secondly, we now run a Nations & Regions focus. Get in touch if you would like to participate in comment about your own particular region.

CONTACTS Redactive Publishing Ltd 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP 020 7880 6200

Sub-editor Deborah Shrewsbury Picture editor Claire Echavarry

SUBSCRIPTIONS £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

Senior sales executive James Kelly – 020 7880 7607 james.kelly@theplanner.co.uk

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

Recruitment sales Sabmitar Bal – 020 7880 7665

Consultant editor Huw Morris

PRODUCT ION

Features editor Simon Wicks simon.wicks@theplanner.co.uk Reporter Laura Edgar laura.edgar@theplanner.co.uk Content development executive Matt Moody

Production manager Jane Easterman 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 Southernprint

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.

ISSN 2053-7581

AP R IL 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p13_Leader.indd 13

27/03/2017 12:54

CHRIS SHEPLEY

O Opinion Welcome to the dollhouse(s), we’ve got it all set up for you “I suppose nowadays you’d call it the nanny state. People trying to do the decent thing are demonised for caring.” Wise words from Lord Wardrobe, now 96 but still retaining all his marbles, as he settled into his vast armchair, cradling a sweet sherry. He had been the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in the 1960s. The good fortune of The Planner in obtaining an interview with such a reclusive figure is beyond measure and, indeed, beyond belief. Housing was then, as now, the problem du jour. “I remember talking to Harold Macmillan at our club,” he said. “Fine chap, old Harold. Patriot, you know. Fought in the first kerfuffle with the Germans. “And do you know what he told me? He said he thought that everybody in Britain should have a house! And that it should be a nice house! Big enough to be comfy, have some light and air, and store the vacuum cleaner. “And the fact is of course that he meant it. Really meant it. Cared. So he had hundreds of thousands of houses built every year, and he had rules that they had to be big enough to swing a cat. The old Parker Morris standards. Pretty small by the standards of his own house, mind, what! But bloody gigantic by the side of the stuff they build now, if you’ll pardon the language.” He reached for his pills and, while he recovered, I gave him a few figures. According to the University of Cambridge, the average size of a newly built house in the UK in 2014

T H E P L AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p14_shepley_.indd 14

“HE HAD RULES THAT HOUSES HAD TO BE BIG ENOUGH TO SWING A CAT” was 76 square metres. This compares, for example, with about 82 sq m in Portugal, 88 in Ireland, 113 in France, 116 in the Netherlands, 119 in Belgium, and 137 in Denmark. He roused himself. “Are we a great deal less prosperous than those places now?” he asked in horror. I said that according to the government we were doing swimmingly. But I described some of the units (I forbore from using the word ‘homes’) now being provided. A studio ﬂat in Croydon measuring 14.9 sq m, no bigger than a typical bedroom, and many more. These were

often concocted from the oﬃce-to-residential changes promoted by a government unconscious either of general disapprobation or unintended consequences. “Does nobody care?” asked Lord Wardrobe. I reassured him. For example, the RIBA produced something called ‘Homewise’ in December 2015. It said that more than half the new homes being built were too small to meet the needs of the people who buy them. They wanted an end to “tiny rabbit-hutch new-builds”. “Surely our government is doing something”, he said, inserting his teeth and asking his carer for a Werther’s Original. I mentioned the rules introduced as recently as October 2015 to allow authorities to set space standards, which the RIBA

thought were inadequate. The process was slow, complex, onerous, patchy, and did not apply to office conversions. “I suppose they’ll beef them up,” he said. But sadly, the housing white paper, au contraire, proposes to review this almost new guidance, “to ensure greater local housing choice”. It insists “one-size-fitsall” standards may “rule out new approaches to meeting demand, building on the high-quality compact living model…” New approaches such as, I suppose, the low-quality compact living model. It’s true of course, in our overblown, ‘broken’ housing market that these micro-flats do at least enable some people to acquire a place to live. But in London you have to have a decent salary to afford even an embarrassing hovel. “Harold would not have stood for that,” said Lord Wardrobe. “Even though we were much worse off after the war than we are now, don’t you know. He’d have found the money and made the rules to stop people living in squalor. Give me the nanny state any day.”

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

24/03/2017 12:03

Quote unquote FROM THE RTPI AND THE WEB

“To get people into planning and related disciplines, dis they need to see people pe who look and sound like l them” LISA TAYLO TAYLOR, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, FUTURE OF LONDON

[Skills and the labour force] “is the big elephant in the room” SCOTT BLACK, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT CREST NICHOLSON, TALKING ABOUT FEET ON THE GROUND, THE LABOUR FORCE

“Productivity and prudence as expected” ADRIAN HAMES, UK HEAD OF INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING AT WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF RINCKERHOFF ON N THE BUDGET

“Knowing that this Spring Budget will be the last and that it falls a week or so before the prime minister is expected to trigger Article 50, expectations were not high” JOHN HICKS, DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC AT AECOM

“The way we move around and between our cities will change dramatically in the next 25 years. WESTON WILLIAMSON + PARTNERS PROPOSES ITS CA CAR FREE 2.5KM RADIAL CITY HO HOUSING 350,000 AND BASED AROUND PUBLIC TRANSPORT WITH A HIGH SPEED SPEE STATION AT ITS CENTRE.

Budget dget “focus on increasin increasing infrastructure spend will act as the backbone backbon to t regeneration up and down the country” MELANIE LEECH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE BRITISH PROPERTY FEDERATION

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

p15_quoteunquote.indd 15

O CTO APBREIL R 2 0 16 17 / THE PLA NNER

24/03/2017 17:49

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

O Opinion

John Downey is chair of RTPI Ireland and a member of the European Council of Spatial Planners

A vision for the Irish National Planning Framework

A new N National Planning Framework (NPF) (N is being produced for Ireland. It should be a truly ambitious document that establishes key objectives for ‘all’ Ireland and how these will be delivered spatially. It provides a chance to achieve sustainable development and economic growth, tackle climate change and maybe even address some Brexit issues. Planning has a vital role in supporting the Irish Government’s ambitions on sustainable development, economic growth, engagement, climate change, placemaking and logic-located new development. The NPF can help to provide certainty, clarify ambitions and show how the planning system can work to best effect – and as a more central part of government. It can be a tool to provide certainty for planning authorities, developers, investors and communities. This requires the NPF to have a framework including an action plan that links to resources. It should outline clear policy and geographical priorities that indicate its implications for specific sectors or areas of Ireland. It should also be seen as an investment strategy. It should nurture the growth of the Dublin city region, which competes globally, especially in IT, pharma and finance. But it must also harness the economic benefits for the rest of the country.

The NPF can also provide clarity of ambition by setting out the high-level goals government is aiming to achieve and planning’s role in supporting these. It should also set out spatial priorities and the indicators that will be used to monitor progress. It needs to be precisely and unambiguously worded. The NPF can help to establish a clear hierarchy for decisionmaking. This requires government to clearly set out the policies and strategies to achieve its aspirations. It should also establish the means of delivering these, which should be contained in an action programme. It can be a framework that allows all parts of government and its agencies, planning authorities and those engaging with the planning system to work more smartly. It should provide a context that focuses the work of the government, agencies and planning authorities on those tasks that make best use of limited resources. The government should ensure that the NPF is a corporate document that inﬂuences other key government strategies, policies and investment decisions.

“THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD ENSURE THAT THE NPF IS A CORPORATE DOCUMENT THAT INFLUENCES OTHER KEY GOVERNMENT STRATEGIES”

2 BLOG

BLOG

The plan is being formulated in Ireland and RTPI Ireland is on the consultative panel. To comment on it, please contact John or the branch

Philly Hare is a director of Innovations in Dementia, a community interest company, and an exchange fellow at the University of Edinburgh

How planning can help people with dementia live independently for longer

Dementi Dementia-friendly communities (DFCs) are embedded in dementia policy in the UK, but they are less obvious in general housing and planning policy. The development of such communities in York and Bradford has helped us to understand what may make for successful living places for people with dementia. DFCs have highlighted both barriers and enablers, showing how practical issues such as transport, way-finding, safety, fitness and carers’ needs can all restrict daily life for dementia sufferers. They may struggle to drive or use public transport, understand signs and timetables or negotiate complex street patterns and buildings. They may be sensitive to traffic noise and crowds. Support groups providing activities and services report difficulties getting people to venues. There have been achievements. York taxi company Fleetways is providing dementia awareness training for its drivers. British Transport Police have raised dementia awareness at stations and among providers on the East Coast Main Line. Such measures can rebuild travel confidence. Making places safer could be as easy as providing space in retail outlets for people with dementia to sit while their carer shops. This kind of carer support is an integral part of what makes a DFC. Such a community starts with

the home and spreads into the wider environment. The Stirling Dementia Service Development Centre has tested a variety of eﬀective approaches to housing design, which can be as simple as better lighting and glass-fronted cupboards. But a housing-only approach is little help to people trying to live independently. Building a DFC requires strategic planning crossing departmental and sector boundaries. For example, both Bradford and York have highlighted the importance of health, social care and other partners working together. Creating DFCs in these two cities has enabled many ideas and approaches to be tested in the complexities of the real world. Many have worked; some have struggled. One thing is clear: all developments need to have inclusion as a key aim. Dementiafriendly design is good for everyone and not costly or even obvious if built in from the start. There’s no strict template; each community must develop an approach based on its own cultural, geographical, spiritual and human assets. But the four cornerstones of people, places, networks and resources oﬀer a helpful framework.

“ALL NEW DEVELOPMENTS NEED TO HAVE INCLUSION AMONG THE MAIN AIMS”

Philly Hare co-authored the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report How can we make our cities dementia-friendly? tinyurl. com/planner0417-dementia

T H E PL AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p16_17_blogs.indd 16

24/03/2017 12:03

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

Sue Bridge is director of Sue Bridge Consulting

CIL – A frustrating wait for change

Along w with the housing white paper, the t government released the report of the community infrastructure levy (CIL) review team entitled A New Approach to Developer Contributions. CIL was introduced in 2010 as the preferred means of collecting developer contributions towards infrastructure investment. Although it’s intended to operate alongside a streamlined Section 106 system, annual amendments have seen its regulations become complex and bureaucratic. The report debunks some myths, particularly the impact of CIL on affordable housing provision, which surprised me. It looks at why the take-up of CIL has been patchy and is critical of the number of CIL exemptions and the pooling restrictions. The findings can be summarised as “could do better”. It rejects the ‘do nothing’ or ‘do very little’ options as not being tenable and considers but rejects abolition and returning to the S106 status quo. It opts for more extensive reform, ‘A New Approach to Developer Contributions’. What will developers think? I expect a welcome for the principle of a simplified local infrastructure tariff (LIT) to be applied to all development, combined with S106 for larger sites. This would ensure that all development makes a contribution to local infrastructure provision and would be inherently fairer than

4 BLOG

BLOG

George Weeks is an urban designer at the Auckland Design Oﬃce, New Zealand

Solving Auckland’s aﬀordability challenge

the present system with its growing list of exemptions. But it is important that the LIT is devised to be simple to introduce. The proposed strategic infrastructure levy (SIL) for combined authorities, modelled on the London mayoral CIL, is essential to reﬂect the move to new ways of working in local government. I welcome the proposal to link new CIL to the local plan process. There is now a disturbing disconnect between the purpose of CIL funding essential infrastructure projects and the regulation 123 list (which allows for the pooling of up to ﬁve separate S106 agreements in place of CIL) not having to be connected to the development plan and its infrastructure delivery plan in any way. The review team recommends removing restrictions to the number of S106 obligations that can be pooled to pay for a single piece of infrastructure. Good! This provision showed a deep misunderstanding of the operation of S106, and developers and councils will welcome its removal. Other aspects of CIL are considered, including the top-slicing of the receipt by parish councils and neighbourhoods, which needs a rethink. Although the government wanted the team to recommend improvements to CIL in support of wider housing and growth objectives, it has parked consideration of the report until the Autumn Budget. How frustrating.

“I WELCOME THE PROPOSAL TO LINK NEW CIL TO THE LOCAL PLAN PROCESS”

As a Lond Londoner-in-Brexile, I might have exp expected to have escaped both from political turmoil and never-ending conversations on the cost of living. But 18,000km round the world, Auckland has an even more pronounced lack of affordable housing. A combination of factors including cheap credit, population growth and chronic undersupply has led to the world’s fourth least affordable major housing market. The average house in Auckland now costs over $1 million. It never used to be expensive; take the AirBnB house in gentrifed Ponsonby, where I stayed when I arrived in January. The owner bought it for $40,000 in the 1980s. Despite being a tiny, three-bed bungalow, it would now sell, he assured me, for about $1.6 million. This is familiar to people in London, but there is a big difference in the approach taken to its alleviation here. While ‘greenfield’ in the UK is a shortcut to political oblivion, in Auckland 40 per cent of the city’s housing need is scheduled for delivery on greenfield over the next decade. A more fluid Rural-Urban Boundary (RUB) has replaced the previous Metropolitan Urban Limit (MUL). By allowing the city to grow outwards, housing supply can expand to meet demand while satisfying developer preference for supplying singleunit low-density housing. Planning law here is based on

the Resources Management Act (1991). Local planning authorities are tasked with explaining why a developer/landowner cannot do what they wish – very different to the UK, where a developer (or their planner) must make a case for why a scheme should proceed. Auckland’s recently published Unitary Plan stipulates the aim for a ‘Quality Compact City’, but this is open to interpretation on a site-by-site basis. While the quality of public space in new greenfield suburbs can be good, the underlying land use/transport relationship could be better. The city’s relatively linear geography should in theory lend itself well to alignment along public transport corridors, but such joined-up thinking does not sit easily with the fairly laissez-faire approach to planning. This ties in with Aucklanders’ other favourite topic; traffic jams. While Auckland’s public transport has improved beyond recognition, the delivery of transit-oriented development can still be hit-and-miss. The main spike in residential development is in Auckland’s compact city centre. Its population of 40,000 is 15 years ahead of predictions and is increasing at six times the rate of the Auckland region. Contrary to received wisdom on suburban dreams, adaptive reuse of the existing urban fabric may yet prevail as the long-term solution.

“ADAPTIVE REUSE OF THE EXISTING URBAN FABRIC MAY YET PREVAIL AS THE LONG TERM SOLUTION”

AP R IL 2 0 1 7 / THE PLA NNER

p16_17_blogs.indd 17

24/03/2017 12:04

I N T E R V I E W – G A V I N B A R W E LL

IT'S GOOD TO TALK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN THREE YEARS THAT A SERVING PLANNING MINISTER HAS AGREED TO AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PLANNER. AND WHATEVER YOUR POLITICAL PERSUASION, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO DENY THAT GAVIN BARWELL IS A MAN KEEN TO ENGAGE. MARTIN READ REPORTS “I’m a man badly in need of allies to get the job done.” It’s with these words that Gavin Barwell, minister for housing, planning and London, opened each of his meetings during a recent tour of England to discuss the government’s recently published housing white paper (HWP). It’s a frank call for engagement that fits with an image Barwell is keen to convey of a pragmatist and cross-party-lines communicator, his door open to anyone offering a considered perspective on how best to address the country’s housing shortfall – the RTPI, for one. “I think the RTPI has played a great role over the years in promoting sensible changes to the planning system,” says Barwell. “The more you can work with people who‘ve spent all their life working in this field and understanding the detail – better than I’m ever going to do – the better. You should listen to the advice you get from those people.” My meeting with Barwell comes two weeks after the HWP’s publication. Response has varied, but despite some notable omissions many have characterised its contents as a much-needed reframing of the housing debate that at last brings into discussion a broader mix of tenures and the

growing demographic trends set to influence housing in the years to come. But it’s also clear that much consultation remains ahead. “It’s a huge job that the prime minister has given me,” says Barwell of his housing brief. “It’s something the country has been failing at for 30 or 40 years that we’re trying to turn around.” The minister’s tour in support of the HWP showed his desire to communicate and consult on its proposals – and highlighted to him just how much housing markets vary across the country. “In London the dominant issue is what can be done to get schemes that have been consented built out, while in Gateshead, for example, the focus was on areas where the issue is getting rid of existing stock and replacing it with homes for which there would be greater demand. I also have a long list of specific issues that people want us to look at further or get clarification on. They were incredibly useful meetings.”

PHOTOGRAPHY | PETER SEARLE

T H E PL AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p18_21_interview.indd 18

27/03/2017 11:56

WORKING ‘ACROSS THE AISLE’

“Look, the government can’t solve this problem on its own. All I can do is hopefully get the overall planning policy framework right. But if you want to get this country building more homes I’ve got to build alliances with local authorities of all political complexions, as well as with lenders and housing associations. It’s only going to be through building a broad coalition of people committed to doing this that we’re going to get the problem solved.”

AP R IL 2 0 1 7 / THE PLA NNER

p18_21_interview.indd 19

27/03/2017 12:46

I N T E R V I E W – G A V I N B A R W E LL

A question of resources INTERNATIONAL One welcome aspect of the white paper is its DIMENSION recognition, belatedly perhaps, of a lack of capacity in much-depleted planning “I think we should departments. Is Barwell talking to the Treasury learn lessons from to secure any new resources? Implementing the other countries. The HWP’s suggestions has to come first, he says. secretary of state went “The 20 per cent increase in planning fees is to both Holland and on offer to everybody if they guarantee to spend Germany to look at every penny of additional resource on planning. what they’re doing in And then there’s the offer of a further 20 per cent terms of custom build increase in planning fees for those that are and land assembly, delivering on the ground – and we’re going to be and I think in terms consulting shortly on how we’re going to define of modern methods of construction ‘delivering’. There’s also the capacity fund that we we can learn a lot can now get on and allocate. So there’s a lot there, from how they’re so before we go asking for further money let’s get building homes in all of that implemented and see if it has the other parts of Europe effect we believe it will in terms of capacity.” compared with the Another point on which the HWP was notably very traditional way silent was Sajid Javid’s early 2017 deadline for we tend to do it here. local planning authorities to deliver their I’m open to looking at completed local plans. Is potential government examples from around intervention still on the table? the world and how we can learn from them.” “Yes, definitely,” shoots back Barwell, “and the white paper talks about the criteria we would use to define that intervention. The first thing to do is consult on the new standard methodology for calculating housing need and then get the revised NPPF out as soon as we can. But from that moment on, absolutely it [intervention] is still on the cards.” Barwell accepts that it’s one thing to agree on the principle of a standard methodology but “quite another to agree on what that methodology should be”. Three ‘big picture’ questions need addressing, he says: “Some kind of projection of what likely growth is going to be, and then two issues; market signals, and the extent to which you might want to be building

C A R EER

HIG HL IG HTS

G A V I N B A R WE LL Born: Cuckﬁeld, Sussex Education: Trinity School of John Whitgift; Degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge (1993) Recent timeline:

1993 Conservative Central Oﬃce (various roles)

1998 Croydon councillor for the Woodcote and Coulsdon West ward

2006

ruling Conservative group on Croydon Council

2010 MP for Croydon Central.

2011 PPS to Greg Clark, Minister for Cities and Decentralisation

Chief whip for the

T H E PL AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p18_21_interview.indd 20

2012

2014

Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education

Government whip, Lord Commissioner

2013

Re-elected MP for Croydon Central

Assistant government whip

2015 2016 Minister of State for Housing, Planning and London

more housing in those parts of the country where the market is telling you demand is strongly exceeding supply; and some focus on the government’s plan to rebalance our economy.” The standard methodology consultation paper, due imminently, will address these questions, says Barwell. But it’s clear that ‘early 2017’ is a deadline that’s going to be difficult to meet. What about the need to constantly reinvent local plans? The HWP admits that, even where a plan is in place, ‘they may not be fulfilling their objective to recognise and plan for the homes that are needed’. But isn’t there a danger that constrained resources will make LPAs’ task of maintaining and updating local plans on a five-yearly basis near impossible? Barwell recognises the time it takes to produce a plan every five years and points to measures in the HWP to simplify the plan-making process. But again, much consultation remains ahead. “We’ve got to get the process a lot simpler and streamlined, and it is important that those plans are kept up to date.” But, he adds: “If government is saying that we want everyone to have a plan and keep it up to date every five years, we’ve got to make it easier for people to do it. Standard methodology is a part of that, but there are lots of other ideas in the HWP about how we can make that process simpler; and if your readers have got further thoughts about things that could be done we’d be very keen about that.” This idea of further consultation being welcomed continues when I ask about the absence in the HWP about a mechanism for capturing rising land values I M AG E S | PE T E R S E A R L E

27/03/2017 11:57

LOCAL DIMENSION So marginal is Barwell’s Croydon Central constituency – a mere 165 votes separated him from his Labour challenger in 2015 – that he even wrote a book about his experience, How to Win A Marginal Seat. And as both the Minister for London and a London MP, he’s wary of focusing too much on the capital’s uniquely intense housing affordability issues. “That’s one of the reasons I did the HWP tour, to get as much input as I could from different parts of the country.” Has seeing Croydon’s built environment evolve first-hand influenced his role as planning minister? “As someone who’s lived in Croydon all my life, I’ve seen the power of planning for good and for bad, if you like. You can see examples of great planning and really lousy planning as well.” Barwell has learned much from his experiences in local and national politics. “If you ask people in Croydon politics who are not on the same side as me, they’ll probably say two things: that I’m not shy of having a robust political point where I happen to disagree with someone – but also that I’m very happy to work with people.”

– an omission questioned by NEIGHBOURHOOD the RTPI and others. PLANS Barwell points to the recent report by Liz Peace “If you’re a and the CIL Review team (‘A neighbourhood New Approach to developer planning group contributions’). and your local “The RTPI is absolutely authority doesn’t right that this is a crucial area. have a plan, there’s But what we said in the white nothing to guide paper is that rather than you. That’s what we’re trying to rushing to a view we’re going put right; to make to make a decision on this on sure that in those an Autumn Budget timescale. circumstances Everyone has a chance to the standard read Liz’s review and I’d be methodology gives happy to hear people’s views you a number that on it – but I absolutely accept you’ve got to plan that this is an integral part of by. We want to the plan for how we get more give communities housing built in this country. control but they’ve got to be meeting We’ve got to have a better the level of need in mechanism for capturing that their area.” uplift in land value.” Barwell also wants more joined-up government thinking on infrastructure. “The government’s got to get more savvy when it’s allocating other capital programmes. So when Highways England is thinking about the roads programme, Network Rail about the rail programme or the DfE about new schools, we need to be thinking about the extent to which that is unlocking potential new sites for housing.”

Planning fees Barwell is bullish about how the HWP’s 20 per cent rise in planning fees can boost local authority planning departments and he expects section 151 officers to ensure that the money reaches its destination. “We want to make sure that this is additional money going into local authority planning departments. Permission to have these fee increases is conditional on them giving that guarantee.” Barwell talks of one aspect of the local government lobby seeking 100 per cent cost recovery. “In other words, ‘if at the moment my planning department is costing me £100,000 a year and I’m getting £60,000 a year in planning fee income while I’m putting £40,000 in from council tax, I want to be able to increase my planning fees so I can take that £40,000 and put it somewhere else’. “Now, that’s good if you’re a local government leader facing budget pressures – but it doesn’t get me one extra pound spent on planning. What I wanted was a model that actually increased the spend in planning departments, so that’s why we’ve done it the way we have.” Open to discussion A glance at Gavin Barwell’s social media accounts show that he’s unafraid to engage with his political adversaries online. But while he sees it as inevitable that shadow frontbenchers will criticise whatever the government propose, “I see a clear distinction between what they say and what I hear from Labour politicians running towns and cities across the country. On the HWP tour I’ve met a lot of local Labour leaders. They don’t agree with us on everything, but they’re keen to work with us to get the job done.” Indeed, a final word on his relationship as London minister with mayor Sadiq Khan serves to highlight Barwell’s open-arms approach. “There are things in our manifesto we can’t do without working with him, and things he’s not going to get done without working with us. But my view is that people expect us to sit down together and find a way to make it work. So that’s what we’re going to do.”

AP R IL 2 0 1 7 / THE PLA NNER

p18_21_interview.indd 21

27/03/2017 11:58

22 22

Chap Ch apter apte ap te er 1 / Re Regi gion onall de on ev vol olut utio iio on

With automotive engineering at its heart, the Midlands Engine is revving up major development opportunities for investment in UK PLC. Huw Morris reports ILLUST ILL U TRAT UST RATION RAT ION | IAN AN MO OORE O S

E F Sc S hu h ma mach cher ch e , th he ec econ onom on omis om istt wh is who o ad dvo v ca ate t d sm mal a l is i be beau eau a tifu tifu ti f l, l wou uld d not o mer ee elly tu turn in hi h s gr grav av ve bu butt wh w ir irrr liik ke e a ro r tto or bl b ad de. Th The e ‘Mi M dl dlan ands an ds Eng ngin ine’ in e’,, th e’ the e si sist ster st er gov verrnm nmen ent nt p liicy po c to th he ‘N Nor orth th ther her e n Po Powe w rh we hou ouse se e’ fo forr re eba b la l nc cin ng tth he ec con nom o y, y is ga arg gan antu tuan a . It an I is so big it sp spil illls ls out utsi side si de reg egio iona io nall na b un bo unda da d ari r es es. No ot on nly y are e 77 lo loca ca al au a th thor orit itie it iess frrom acr ie cros osss th os the e We estt and n E stt Mid Ea i la l nd ds in ncl clud ded e , bu ut th her e e ar are e th t re ree e fr from om m the h Eas a t off Engl En gllan and, d, two w fro rom m th t e So S ut uthh-Ea hEast Ea st and n two in Yo York rk ksh hir i e and an nd the th e Hu Humb mb m berr. Th The e in ncl clus ussio ion n off cou unc ncil ilss ou uts tsid ide id e th t e tr trad adit itio it i na io nall i en id nti t ty y of th the e Mi Md dllan ands d is be ds eca c us use e of o the gov over ernm er nm men nt’ t s fo ocu us on n Loc o al a Ent nter errprris i e Pa Part rtne rt ners ne r hiips rs p (LE EPS PS), ), a mix x of pu ubl blic ic c and d prriv p vat a e se s cttor o lea ade ers r , fo or d drriv vin ng ec e on onom omic om ic re ic effor orm. m. Ele eve en of th he em arre w wiith hin n the h Mid idla la an nd ds En Engi g ne gi n witth a co comb mb bin ned p pu po p la l ti tion o of 11 on 11.5 .5 milllliion o peo eopl ple. pl e e. “IIt’ t s a co oallit itio io on of o the e wil illi lli ling ng g,” ,” say a s Le Leic ic ces este t r Ci te City ty y Cou ounc nc cill in nw wa ard rd inv ves estm tm tmen men nt di d re ect co orr Hellen n Don nne elllan an.. “W We re reco c gn co nis ise e tth he p po owe wer o wer off wor o kiing g tog o et ethe he h er in ncr crea e se ea es th he op oppo port po rtun rt unit un itie it ie es fo for or in nwa ward rd inv nvessttm nves men nt fo f r ev ver ery on one ne of of the he par artn artn t er ers. s Our ur dec cissio ions ns ns arre a re from from fr om the e bot otto tto tom m up p ratthe herr th than an to an op p dow own an and d th that at sho at hows ws in n how o we re ressp pe ec ct ea ach h otth her er.” ” The Th e re eg giio on n’s ’s eco cono n my y is w wo ortth £217 £2 21177.77 bil illi lliion, on n, or or 13 p pe er ce ent off th o he e UK’ Ksa an nn nu u ual al out al utp pu utt.. If it i su uc cce cee ed ds, s, pot o en entiial al div i id de en nds nds ds from fr om the e Miid dla land an nd ds En Eng giine e are re irr rre essis isttiib blle. e. It plan pla pl an ns to to gro row th he regi re giio on n’s ’s eco on no omy y to g ge ene nera r te te an ad add diition tiio on na all £34 34 biilllliion n by 2030 20 030 30 an a nd cr crea eate ea ate e 30 00 0,0 000 00 job bs. s. The Th e go gov ve ern rnment men me ntt pre ressed ssed ss d the he acc ccel e er erat ato orr in M Ma arrc ch 20 2017 017 1 wit ith th an an an nn no ou un nc cem me en nt o off Lo oc cal al Gro owt wth hF Fu und d inv nves esttm estm men ent o off £39 392 92 miillliio m on in n pro roject je ec ctts th that hat at suppo up pp po orrtt a Miid dla and ds En E gi gine sttrrat a eg egy. egy. y This Th is grand is rand ra ndes de esst of of dom ome essti tic a allliian nce ces ha has as ﬁve ve th he eme m ss.. Co C onn nec ecttiivi vity y, sk kiillls ls, in nn no ov va attiion on, ﬁna nance nc ce fo for or bu ussiine ness ss – pa p arttiic cul cul ula arrly rly ly sma mall ll and d med diu ium m--si -si size zed e en nte nte terp rpri rise ses – an a nd d,, crru c uc cia allly y,, pro omo moti tion ion on. The Th eM Miidl dlan dlan nds ds Engin ngin ng ne h ha ad a ma majjo or pres or prre essen enc ce e at MI M PI PIM lla ast st

p22-25 MIDLANDS ENGINE.indd 22

m nt mo nth, h, the h worrld ld’s ’s lar arge gest ge st pro ope pert rtty co conf nfferre en nce e in Ca Cann nn n n nes ess, es, w th a del wi eleg egat eg atio at ion io n co omp mpri r si ri sing n the ng h LEP Ps an nd ne n arrly l 50 pu p bl blic ic c and an d pr priv ivat iv atte pa ate part rtne rt ners ne rs to sh how owca ca ase s £14 4 bil i li lion on n of deve deve de v lo opm me en nt prroj ojec ects ec ts.. ts It woo ooed ed int nter erna er nati na tion ti onal on al inv nves e to es tors r and dev rs evel elop el o me op entt p rt pa rtne ners ne rs wit i h the th he prros ospe pect pe ctss fo ct or tth h he e £1 £ bil i liion reg egen en e ner e at atio io on off Nott No ttin tt ingh ingh in ham a ’ss cen entr t e, tr e the e £75 75 mil illi liion on Nat atio iona io na n al Sp S a ac ce P Pa ark k in Leic Le ices esste terr an and d th he £1 £ 75 milli illi il l on n Tu ud dor o Cro ross ss dev evel evel eo op pm me en ntt in Derb De rb bys yshi hire hi re re. The Th e £5 £500 00 0 0 mil illi lion li on Birrm miing gha ham m Cu Curz rzon on sta tati ati tion on o n an nd d rel e at a ed d deve de velo ve l pm lo men nt op oppo po orttun u itties, ie es, the £50 5 0 mi m llio lllio ion re rege ege gene era ratiion rati on of th the he B Biirm min i gham gh ham Smi m th t fi fiel e d ar el area ea e a, an and d th t e£ £2 2 bil illi lion li on UK C Ce enttrra al Hub Hu b de d ve v lo op pm men nt an and d HS S2 In Inte terc te cha hang nge e at at Sol olih ihul u l we were e als lso o on n the tab a le e. Brre B ex xitt is a mo m ti tiva va atiing fac cto or. Wit ith h tth he UK UK set e to llo ose e biilllliion o s in Eur u opea op pea ean n fu und ding, in ng, g the e cou ount n ry y ha ass to at attr trrac ct in nve est stme me m entt fo fr om m som o ew whe ere re. He ere e, the th he Mi Midl d an ndss Eng n in i e’ e’ss ssiize e is a an n adva ad vant nttag a e. It off ffers r a sca cale le of op opport po ort r un unit ity it y co comp mpar mp mpar arab able le e to o otth he er suit su ittor orss frrom big g co on ngl glom om merat erra e attess in C Ch hin ina a an nd th the US SA. A “We “W e no ow ha have ve to lo ve look ok intterrna ok n ti tio on nal ally y as op oppo ose sed d tto o jus ust st Euro Eu rope p ,” pe ” say ys Arrca cadi d s UK hea ead d of of tow own pl pla an nni ning n Louis ou uisse Broo Br oo o oke ke-S -S Smi m th h. “IInd ndiv ivid dua uall plac pllac aces cess are e fan anta ast stic in th heiir ow wn rriigh ght bu butt th he ey y are e muc ch st s ro rong ng gerr tog o e etthe her. rr.. “Th The Th ere re arre e centr en ntr tres tres es of e ex xce elllen e ce c acr cro osss th he re regi gion gi gion n but ut it’ t’s no not a co comp omp mpe ettit tiittio ion be ion betw etw twe ee en di diff ffer erren entt pa part rtts of o th he e UK. K. Th The e Nor orth t e th errn Po P owe erh hou ouse se, Lo se Lon nd do on n an nd d the he Sou o th-E th-E th Eas astt,, an nd d the e Miid dla land an nd ds En ngi g ne ne nee eed tto o wor ork rk to tog ge e eth th he err to se ellll UK PL PLC C..”

Mov Mo viing ng th hrro ou ugh ugh h the he gea ears r rs The Th e Mi Midl dla an nds nds ds En ng gin ne iss exttre remely me ely y kee een n to to pla ay to to itss str t en engt gths hs. hs A tth hirrd o off UK ma manu ufa fact cttur c urin in ng jo jobs bs arre e in th the re egi gion n, wh whic i h is resp re pon onsibl siibl ble fo or 177 pe err cen ent of of the he cou ount ntry try ry’ss expor xp por ortss or £50 £ 50 £5

27/03/2017 11:24

REF R EF FURB RB B £10 £1 10 mi 10 mill llion lli llion on to o re ref e urbish urb u rb bish ish h Brro Bro roa adm dm d ma arr h bus ars us sta stati ttio iion an nd dc carr pa par a k in Nott otttting ingham in ngh ham am m. Th This is wi is will ll prro p pro ov viiide vid de a n ne ew ew ttram ram am a m stop sttop op an and a nd d ret re etail aill a ai arrea ea. e a

AIR A IR RP POR OR O RTS TS The M The Miidl dla lands nd ds En d Eng Engin gin iin ne boas bo oas assts a ts th th thr hrree e in int ntternati ernati ern attiion ona na al airp irrpor ort rts at Lu uto to on, n, Eas Ea ast Midl id and id nd ds and nd Bi Birmin Bir m ngha mi gh ha am m which wh whi ch col collle lec ec e cttiv ively ly y carri ca arri riied ed e d 277 miillio mil m on pass as e as eng ng gers errs in er in 20 015 15 15. 5.

REG GENE ENERAT EN ERAT RA AT TIO ION ION N £6 mil £6 m llio mi ion to spur purr th the reg egene eg ene erat ra attio iion o of o De D rby rb by b y’s ’ c ’s cen ntre tre.. tr

GAR G GA AR RDEN D N CIITY DE DEN T £12 2 mi milli lllion o to dev on d elo op a new wg ga arden rde den city ity in th the e Bla Bl la ack k Cou Cou untr ntry y

SPA PA ACE E PAR PA A K £1 .87 £12 .87mil millio mil lion n forr the he de devel vel e opment opm pm ment of o the th he h e Sp pace Pa ark in n Le Lei e ces cester t r, providi ter roviidi rov d diing a nati tiiona on nal h nal na hub ub b for orr o spa pace pa ce res esear es se ear ac ch h

MAN MAN NUFA UFACTU CT CTU C TUR RIN IIN NG

UPG PGRA RAD A ES E Imp mp prrov ro ov o veme veme em ments me ntss to ro nts r ad, ad rail, rai l, a aiir air ir an and d fre rei eiig e ig ght h htt con co c onn nec ne e ec cti ttio io ons ns inc includ in lud ud de £12 £ 12m to impr 12 mp mprove pro ove ve roa ro o d link in nk ks a arou rro round rou ou o und Lo Lou oughb ghb gh h oro orough roug ugh g .

p22-25 MIDLANDS ENGINE.indd 23

HS HS2 H du HS HS2 ue to to open p in pe 202 20 02 26. 6 Th Thrree e n new ew w stta ssta atio ttio ions io ns wil w l in ncl cllude ud d C zon Cur zon Stati Sttat S ati t on n in Bir irmin ir m g gha gh ham cent en ntre nt re, e, th Bi the Birmi rm ngh rm n am am Int nterc err han hange ha ge g e [S [So [So S li lih iihull lll] and nd th he Ea astt M Miidla d nds dl nds Hub b in To T ton on [s on [sout o th out we t of Notting wes ottting ng gha ham am a m]

CON CO ON O NNE NEC EC ECTIV CTIV VITY TY Y £12 £ 1 m miillli lll on to unl un ock ock k co comme erci cia all and a nd ho n ousi using ng dev ng de d evelo elopme elo pme pment ment n and an nd n d im imp mp m mprov prov o e su ove ov upe up perfa p astt broadb bro oadb dband db nd d iinf n ras nf ra asstru a tructu tructu ctt rre e in nC Cov vent vent entry ry and nd n d Wa wi War Wa wic i ksh k hir ir . ire

Advan Ad dvan an nced ed dm ma anuf anuf ufa ac act ctur ct uri u ri ring ng and ng nd n d eng e n ine ne eeri er n er ng g ep epi pittom pi om o mise ised d by Jagu g ar ar Lan Lan nd Rove o er [[C Cov Co Cov o ent ntry] ry ry] y], Roll y ollllso sRo Roy oyce [De oy [ rby [D by b y] and d JCB JC CB B [R Roceste oce o oc ceste ster, st r r, mid m id dway ay b ay be etwe twe een en Der Derby a and nd n d Sto Stoke] toke] ke . Th The e Mid Mid dlan ands an ds is i als also al oa hub hu h ub of u o m me edic dic cal al an and and d ae eros ro o pac pa p ace ac tec ec ch hno ollog og gy. y

27/03/2017 11:25

24 24

Fig Fi i 1. 1 Brroadmar oad dmar ma ma arsh hB Bus Bu u St Stati a on ati n in in Not No o tin ngha am

Chap Ch apter apte ap te er 1 / Re Regi gion onall de on ev vol olut utio iio on

biillio llio ll ion on a ye yea arr. It Its po popu pu ula lati tion ion of 11 1 .5 5 mil illi lion on o n is pr proj ojjjec o e te ec t d to to grro ow by 10 pe per cent centt ov ce ve er the th he ne next xtt 20 y x ye ear ars. ars. s “IIt iiss vit ital al to ha have ve the he col o le lecttiv ive e si s ze ze and nd bra and ding ing tto in o get e notiic noti no ce ed b ed by y int nter errna ati t on nal a inv nves e to tors rss,” ” say ys So oli lihu hull llll Bor orou ou o ough ugh gh Coun Co unci c l’’s di ci dire rect cttorr of ma c ana nage ged gr g ow wth h Ann nne e Br B er eretto on n. “W We can ch ca c an nne n l th he sp pe ec cifi fic str t en ngtth hss we al all ha hav ve e. W We e arre e no ott in co omp pet etit itio io on with wiith h ea ac ch otthe er be beca ca aus use e we e all ll have av ve d diiff ffer erren e e t ssttre ength ng n gths th hs tto o briin ng g tog og get etthe err..” An not othe h r in ndu duce ce eme ment forr inves nv ve essto orrss is pe eo op ple e. Th The ew wo orrk kforc force fo rrc ce w th wi thin in n the he Mid idla la and ds En Engi g ne gi e is es e tiima mate mate ted ed att 5.3 .36 6 mi m lllio ion, n, an n, nd d iss ex xp pecte ecte ed to ris ise e by mor o e th t an n 250 5 ,0 000 0 in th he ne next xtt dec x e ade. ad de e.. Donn Do nnel nn ella el la an p po oin ints t outt tha ts hatt 26 perr cen entt of of the pop o ullat atio ion io n in in Leic Le ic ce esste terr an and d co oun ntywi ty ywi wide de alo lone ne e is ag aged d 16 6--29 -29 9 ye ea ars rs,, c co omp mpar ared ared d w th the wi e nat atio i na io al av aver e ag er ge of 18 pe perr ce ent nt.. “W We ha h ve e a lot o of youn yo u g pe un eop o le and d it’ t’ss gr g ow o in ing g by y 11 pe p r ce ent n a yea ear, r,” r, ” sh she e sa ays ys. s. “Th Tha Th at’ t’ss a lo lott of to om mor orro ro ow’ w s wo work rkfo fo forc orc r e an and, d tog d, oget ethe et herr wi he w th h ou urr manu ma n fa nu acttur u in ing g sttre reng ngth ng th hs ac acro ross ss the ss h Mid dla l nd dss,, thi h s is i imp mpor orta or t nt nt forr empl fo em mp plloy yer e s an nd su supp pp plier lierss wh w o arre ta taki k ng dec ki ciissio onss now forr th the he ne next xt 20 ye year ars. s.” ” The Th e Mi Midl dlan ands an dss, li like ke the e res e t of the he UK, K, is in n the e gri r p of of a hous ho ussin ing g cr cris isis is is and d one n of th the e ey eyee--ca catc tchi tc hing hi ng g pla lans nss is fo n or a ga gard rden rd den e ciity in th the e Bl Blac ack ac k Co C un untr try, tr y the cou y, o nt n ry ry’s ’ big ’s gge g st com o prrisin issin i g 45,0 45 ,000 00 hom omes ess acros crrosss th the e bo boro roug ro ug ghs of Du Dudl dley dl ey y, Sa and ndwe we w ell ll,, Wa als lsal alll and an d Wo Wolv lver lv erha ha amp mpto t n. to n. Th Thiis iss a mul u ti tibi b ll bi llio ionio n--po n pou un nd op ppo port rtun rt unit un ity it ity forr bu fo buil ilde ers and d inv ves esto tors to rs,, sa rs says ys Acc corrd H Ho oussin ng As Asso so ociia attio ion n chie ch ieff ex ie exec ecut ec utiv ut ive iv e an and d Bl Blac ack ac k Co C un ntr try y LE LEP P bo oarrd m me emb berr Chr hris iss Ha and ndy. y. “Ind “I nd dusstr tria i li ia l st stss li like ke hig ighh-qu qual qu a it al ity y ho hous usin us in ng to att ttra ract act peo eopl op plle and an d bu b si sine ness ne sses ss e to th es the e re regi giion on,, bu butt we w alsso ne need ed affo orrda dabl be ho h ous usin ing in g fo forr lo loca ca cal al pe peop o le op le,” ,” he a ad dds ds.. “In “IIn th he Bl Blac ac ck Co oun u trry tth herre are ar e 30 0 tow owns ns,, 30 ns 3 0 vi v ll l ag ages es and n 550 0 sit ites es tha hatt a arre in nve v sttment ment me nt oppo op port rtun rt un nittie i s. Altho lttho h ug ugh h so some me e inf n ra ast stru r cttur ru ure e ne need need e s im mp prro ov vin ng,, we don n’t nee eed d to sta t rtt fro r m sc scra ra ratc atc t h. h.” ”

Fig F Fi ig 2. 2 HS2 HS2 high HS g -sp peed ee ra rail i il

So wha h t is pla ann n in ing’ g s ro g’ r le e in th he Mi Md dllands an ndss En ng gin ine? A te Af er Ma M y’ y s el elec ecti ec tion ti on ons, ns,, am miid ne new re r sp pon onssiibi ibi bili liittiiess for or tra ran nssport po orrtt, pllan p nni n ng n and hou ousi sing si ng n g, tth he ne new ew ma mayo ayo yorr off th he e Com mbiine ed W st We s Mid dla and ds A Au uth thor o ity or itty w wiillll hav ave ve n no owh her ere re ne ear ar th he e lev vell of sttrra ate t gi g c po powe we ers wie ield lded ld d by Lond Lond Lo don on’ss Sa ad diq i Kha han. n. n. “Th Tha Th at is i an om o is issi so si on n and d nee e dss to ch chan an nge ge,” ,” ” say ays Brro oo oke kekeSmit Sm ith. it h “Th h. The e ma mayo y r sh hou uld d have av ve ssttra tra ate tegi gic gi c pllan nni ning n pow wer e s in n th he same sa ame e way as st stra rra ate ate tegi giic in g nfr fras ras a tr truc ucttu ure e pow owe errs..” Th The e ssm mar art mo m one n y iss on it i onl nly y be ein ng a matt ma att tter tte er of ti t me e befor effor ore e lo obbyi bb byi ying g ge etts un nde d rw wa ay fo for ex xtr t ap po owe w rs rs.. Birrm Bi min ingh gh ham a ’ss Big g Ciitty Pl P an n was as parrtl tlly yd drriv iven n by “w wha h t we we need need ne d to do o as a ci city y an nd d as a re eg giio on n to be b com mpe petiti peti ttiiti t ve ve wit ith ot othe the her coun co untr trie es” s”, sa says ys th he e cou ounc un nc cill’s assssis ista t ntt dir irec ecto tor fo for de deve eve velo ello op pm men ent Riich Ri ch har ard Co Cowe we ell ll,, b be efo fore re pas a ssiing ing th he e ben ne efi fits on fit on to co comm mm m mun nittie ies. s “O One e of th the he b biig th th hin ing in gss we ha ave v to fo focu cus cu us on on is the th he iin ncl clus u iv viitty o off ec con onom mic c gro owt wth an a d he help lp tho ose se who o are re on the th he ma marg rgin ins ns ge get tth he sk kil ills ls the hey ne nee ed d, g d, ge et ac acce cess ssss to jjo obss and d tac ackl kle de kl dep prriiv v vat atiio at on, on, n,” he adds. he dds. dd s. “Th This iss is hi high g ly y rellev van antt wh when en you en o loo ok thro th hrro oug ugh a gl glob ob bal lens le ens ns an nd d jud udge wha hatt y yo ou n ne eed ed to in n the he lon onge g r tte ge erm rm. “P “ Pla lan nn ning iin ng is is rig i ht ht at tth he fron frron ont of ont of tha hatt an nd ho how th he pr prof o es of esssiion on po p osi siti ition tion ti ns it itse se self ellff for or the h cha alllenge enge en es c co omm mmun unit itie i s fa face ce, sh ce sha ap pin ing g pllac p la ac ces es and n how w the h y de deve velo op ra ath ther he err bei eing ng n g a cog g in tth h he e pr po oc ce esss. s.” ”

IMAGES IMAG MAGES S | ALAMY/I ALA LA AMY/I MY/ Y/ISTO Y Y/ STOC TOCK/S TO K/SH K/ /S SHUTTE TE ER RSTO RST ST TO OCK/N K/N /NSP SP/I SP/ S P/IAN N MO OORE OOR ORE RE R ES

A pl p an anne n r in ne in the e wor o ks ks

Fig Fi Fig ig 3. 3 Na Nattio iio onal na al Sp a pace ce Pa P rrk rk, k Un Uniive Unive iv verrsi ve siity y off Le Lei ec ces ce e esste tter e err

p22-25 MIDLANDS ENGINE.indd 24

27/03/2017 11:53

Chap Ch apter te er 1 / Re eg giion onall dev evol olut ol uttion u io on

The Midlands distributor

The Midlands will see the first phase of the new HS2 rail link between London and Birmingham, due to open in 2026. But there is more to regional connectivity than HS2. - An array of motorways and main roads make the region accessible to 92 per cent of the UK’s population within a four-hour drive. - The Midlands has three international airports at Luton, East Midlands and Birmingham, with a combined total of around 27 million passengers in 2015. - The Midlands has the UK’s largest sea container port at Immingham and Grimsby, with a tonnage of more than 59 million tonnes last year. - Midlands Connect has outlined a strategy for £30 billion of potential improvements. Its chairman, Sir John Peace – who also chairs the Midlands Engine – says the strategy aims to create “a positive ripple effect to boost the development of industry, skills and infrastructure” while “bringing the East and West closer together and opening the region’s businesses to the world”. Early priorities include the “Midlands Rail Hub”, which will help release up to 85,000 extra train seats every day; improvements along the A46 corridor from Tewkesbury to the Lincolnshire coast; improvements along the A52 corridor between Derby and Nottingham, including access to the East Midlands HS2 Hub Station at Toton; and schemes to help relieve traffic across the heart of the motorway network.

Region Reg gion nal p power pow er The Mi Midla dla l nds Engin gine i e inco inco ncorpo rporat rpo rates rat es 777 loc local ocal aut author au horiti hor i es iti e acr across os th oss the e East East an and d Wesst Midl dland an s and

Eng En gin ne e num mbe ers rs

111.5 5 mil illi llliio on n

30 00, 0,00 ,00 000 0 The nu numbe b r of of ex xtr tra job tra o s ob tha h t coul uld db be e crea crea e ted ea d un under de der the he h e Mi M dla lands ndss En ngin ne

The c The co ombi mb b ned ed po ula po pop u tio on of the the h M lan Mid ands Eng a E ine En

£3 34 bill biilllliio o on n The ex The extra t va tr value lue lu ue u e to o th he regi regi gion’ gi on on’ o n’s eco onomy nom om my by 2030 0 if if th he Midl id dlland d and ds Eng E En ngine in ne su ne ucce cceeds cc ed ed eds

£2 £ 2117 7.7 7.7 7 bil illliio on n

p22-25 MIDLANDS ENGINE.indd 25

£392 £392 £3 2 miillli lion n

Wha W ha hat the he Mi Midlan Mid la ands d e ec eco cono nom om my is

gov ov ve ern rn nmen men m en e nt su up upp pp port ortt un u vei ve eiiled e led led d lasst mont mo ont n h fo nt orr pro p ojec je jec ec e cts t und ts und derr the the h Lo Local al Gr G owt owth Fund d

wor w ortth h to today day, so ome m me e 13 3 pe er c cen en en ent nt of of th UK th the UK’ss ann an nnual nnual nn all ou a utpu pu p ut

27/03/2017 11:43

P L A N N I N G A N D P O LI T I C S

IN THE FINAL PART OF OUR SERIES LOOKING AT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTEMPORARY PLANNING AND POLITICS, DAVID BLACKMAN FINDS PLANNING AT A CROSSROADS — BUT WITH A SWELL OF VOICES ANTICIPATING ITS RESURGENCE

lanners know how tough the last few years have been for the profession. Just how is confirmed by recent figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The think-tank has calculated that planning and development services across England have suffered average cuts of 59 per cent since 2009, which works out as a real-terms

reduction of more than £1.47 billion. In Scotland, planning has been hit less hard (by 31 per cent). However, in Wales, local authority planning and development departments have been cut nearly as severely as in England – an average of more than 50 per cent. Drilling down to the regional level, the RTPI found that in the North-West, heartland of the so-called Northern Powerhouse, more than a third of planning staﬀ have been cut since 2009-10. The Planner has established in a series of articles over the past several months how a hostile political climate has formed a backdrop for this stripping of resources. The question now is: which way does planning turn from here? As deputy head of policy and research at the RTPI, Mike Harris is well aware of the planning profession’s recent woes. Without wishing to downplay the real challenge

T H E P L AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p26-29 Politics.indd 26

27/03/2017 12:29

P L A N N I N G A N D P O LI T I C S

facing the sector, though, Harris argues that there is a “danger” that planners will turn “diﬃcult” conditions into a “self-perpetuating crisis”. “It has been especially tough if you are at the front line of planning services,” he notes. “However, our view is that there is a danger of creating too many problems.”

“TO HAVE AN INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY THAT IS EXPLICITLY SPATIALLY AWARE GIVES TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PLANNING PROFESSION”

Crisis? What crisis? Harris says planning’s diﬃculties stem from a society-wide “broader lack of conﬁdence about how to confront long-term challenges”. “With the emphasis on market-based solutions over the past 30 years, we have lost the capability and self-belief that we can do things,” he asserts.

“That change and the move to more market-based solutions in the broader environment has affected planning because planning is about the future and designing the society you want. “This is not a crisis in planning, but a crisis in politics which has affected planning.” But planning can’t afford to sit around and wait for a change in the political weather. The good news is that the relationship between planning and politics has improved over the past six months, albeit it from what was probably the most severe low point in recent memory. Harris says the political debate about planning has been a lot more positive in the UK’s devolved nations than it has been at Westminster.

AP R IL 2 0 1 7 / THE PLA NNER

p26-29 Politics.indd 27

27/03/2017 12:29

P L A N N I N G A N D P O LI T I C S

In England, Gavin Barwell has made warmer noises than Brandon Lewis, his predecessor as planning minister. The exit of David Cameron’s housing and planning policy adviser Alex Morton, along with that of his ex-master from Downing Street has ushered in a less planning-bashing tone at a government-wide level. Even the government’s critics acknowledge that the housing white paper takes a wider-angled view of the UK’s under provision of new homes, pointing to wider structural issues in the housing market. Harris says: “If you look at the housing white paper there is a move away from planning as a problem to part of the solution, which is a more public sector-led, proactive planning to help correct those market failures. I hope after 30 years of market solutions we are moving to a more positive political debate.” This more positive approach can also be seen across government with the introduction of an industrial strategy. Ed Cox, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Research North (IPPR North), says: “The fact that we have a secretary of state talking about placebased strategy is signiﬁcant because for too long economic policy has been spatially blind. To have an industrial strategy that is explicitly spatially aware gives tremendous opportunities for the planning profession to make its voice heard.” At the local level too, some see a warmer embrace of planning. Faraz Baber, a director of planning consultancy Terence O’Rourke, says: “Some (councils) really get it. There is some smart thinking

going on about the long-term beneﬁts of development.” This is partly force of circumstance, he acknowledges. By the turn of this decade, local authorities will have to be ﬁnancially self-reliant, albeit with much greater control over their business rate income. As a result, Baber says, the more forward-looking authorities are looking not only at how they can garner extra revenue through the community infrastructure levy and new homes bonus schemes, but also at how they can create additional “WE NEED TO MAKE business-rate-generating THE ARGUMENT development.

A world without planning?

FOR THINKING ABOUT PLANNING AS SOMETHING YOU INVEST IN RATHER THAN A REACTIVE SERVICE”

Equally, though, many authorities remain resistant to new development. Kevin Murray, the Glasgow-based former RTPI president, says: “If anyone bites the bullet and says we have to deal with this, it will still be a risk and they will still probably lose seats, especially if they have to build on green land.” What’s more, the resourcing of the planning remains a headache. While welcoming proposals in the housing white paper to boost fee income, the RTPI’s Harris says this move only answers part of the resourcing conundrum, given how it incentivises authorities to resource development control over other planning activities. “That’s not going to put public sector planning back on a strong footing on its own. We need to make the argument for thinking about planning as something you invest in rather than a reactive service.” Increasing numbers of voices are arguing that to achieve this the profession needs to consciously get back in touch with and stress the values that underpin

planning. Part of this, suggests Harris, involves a thought experiment – imagining a world where planning doesn’t exist. The next step is to work out how the most pressing challenges that society faces, such as climate and demographic change, could be resolved in this free-market, planningfree nirvana. “Let’s not have too much internal angstridden debate about the state of planning. Let’s talk about the things that really matter to people and how we can resolve those without planning,” he says. Nick Raynsford, former planning minister, believes there is a bedrock of support across society for the concept of planning. “Apart from people on the far right, everybody accepts that there must be a planning framework that safeguards what is important; enhancing quality of

T H E PL AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p26-29 Politics.indd 28

27/03/2017 12:29

P L A N N I N G A N D P O LI T I C S

life and the character of diﬀerent areas,” he explains. “Across the great mass of people there is an understanding of the importance of a planning system that works to achieve beneﬁts for society.” Monica Lennon, a chartered town planner and Labour MSP for Central Scotland, says the profession needs to look for inspiration in the planning system’s 19th century roots. “They had big challenges around slum housing and conditions that killed people. Nowadays people don’t think about planning when they think about the big challenges like climate change and reducing reliance on the car,” she insists. In a similar vein, Lennon argues, land use planning needs to be mobilised by contemporary challenges facing society, such as health inequalities and an ageing population. Going back to core principles is the remit of a review being chaired by Raynsford on behalf of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA). “It is essential that we think through the purpose of planning in the 21st century,” he says, noting that the world has moved on since the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act. “We’ve seen a series of incremental changes which individually may not have made fundamental changes but cumulatively have drastically changed the nature of the system. It’s manifestly not the case that we have a plan-led system: more and more decisions are being taken outside of the plan-led system.” Rearticulating its purpose could help

looking planning in the politically charged environments that they work in, says Murray. A drive to emphasise a set of values could throw up challenges to those who see themselves as professionals delivering technical advice. But that change is happening anyway as technological planning to regain its voice in the broader advances erode planners’ technical public conversation, adds Raynsford. expertise, says Murray. “The old idea of planners as specialists in a guild has A bigger aspiration gone because nearly everything we have The RTPI’s Harris says the profession as knowledge is publicly available to should be braver about pointing to everyone else so they are enablers of how links between planning and broader to access and use that information.” sociopolitical debates, such as that sparked Lennon says articulating a more by the fallout from the EU referendum. compelling vision of planning could “We heard a sense of not being listened ultimately help to persuade her fellow to in left-behind communities, which politicians that planning is worth investing in many ways is an outcome from an in. “It is all the more important for unbalanced economy because of a lack of planning to step up because otherwise strategic planning,” he says. planning won’t be heard in Helen Hayes, the Labour competition for resources,” MP for Dulwich and “PLANNING she says. “If people don’t Norwood and a planner, NEEDS TO GET understand that planning agrees that planning needs BETTER AT is key to all of those wider to be more engaged in CAPTURING issues, it will be at the public debates. THE VOICES bottom of the queue.” “Perhaps there is a job THAT AREN’T The danger for the to be done for some of the TYPICALLY planning profession is institutions to speak a little INVOLVED IN to tailor itself too closely bit louder for planning as DEBATES ABOUT to short-term political well as planners and play PLANNING” pressures, warns Murray. a role in articulating the “That kills planning because things that those working in there is no long-term planning know to be true.” dimension and planning This should happen becomes part of the Twitter at a local level, too, she world of 30-second attention spans. There adds: “Planning needs to get better at is a danger of planning being sucked into capturing the voices that aren’t typically rushing headlong to keep a secretary of involved in debates about planning. state happy. Then another is appointed People who get involved in conversations who pulls you in another direction.” about development of new homes are “A lot of rhetoric is about not getting in themselves settled homeowners and not the way of economic growth. However, private renters who may have been there planning also has to deal with issues like for less time.” regeneration and society. We’ve got to have A sharper focus on this sense of purpose a bigger aspiration.” could give planners more conﬁdence about making the case for forward-

AP R IL 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p26-29 Politics.indd 29

27/03/2017 12:30

Planning & Development • Commercial Residential • Rural

p30_PLN.APR17.indd 2

20/03/2017 12:43

LANDSCAPE

INSIGHT

Tech { L A N D S C A P E

P31 TECH P40 LEGAL P42 CAREER P51 EVENTS

Q&A FIVE MINUTES WITH… DR MARY KEELING DR MARY KEELING IS A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE WITH IBM. SHE’LL BE PRESENTING AT THIS YEAR’S RTPI PLANNING CONVENTION ON SMART CITIES AND SUSTAINABILITY

1. What’s IBM got to do with smarter cities? “I formerly worked [at IBM] with cities on transport, water, emergency management, education, health and so on. In a way there’s nothing new under the sun. All a smart city is doing is improving the quality of services. You can say ‘leveraging technology’ – it goes back to when we ﬁrst moved from horses to cars. “How can we improve the ways cities function and work? It’s about the things that make us say ‘This is what makes a good city’. It’s the same thing that we have always

I M AG E | I STO C K

p31_32_Tech_landscape.indd 31

been driving for – improving quality of life, driving economic development.” 2. How is digital inﬂuencing the way businesses operate? “They accept that major technological advances are happening. You’ve got to ﬁgure out how to harness that for your business – improving revenue or customer experience, lowering costs. You can shift the way the business functions. “For example, airlines sell you a ticket, you roll up to the airport and get on the plane. But your ‘journey’ as a customer

starts at home and includes the bus or taxi, shopping at the airport. What they’re trying to do is have the insight to say ‘I really understand Simon. He booked an economy ﬂight but he stays at The Ritz’. “You’ve then got a means to collaborate with other businesses providing other goods and services. We’ve got to share our data here (within the constraints of privacy legislation) so suppliers can develop new services for these customers – for example, ‘Click here to book a taxi’.”

AP R IL 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

27/03/2017 15:06

INSIGHT

Tech T {L A N D S C A P E Nine to share £200,000 for planning innovations 3. What’s the potential for planning here? “It’s about trying to harness technology to transform the service and the way the business itself works. Both of those trends are applicable to planning. “There are two important elements to making this happen: 1. The solutions have to be there and developed; 2. You have to figure out the business model. There are the people making the applications and the people making the decisions. We’ve got to figure out who’s going to own that [technology-driven process], who’s going to pay for it. “Planning has implications for contiguous areas, so it might be Sadiq Khan saying ‘I’m going to work with all the boroughs across London’ or local authorities themselves might say ‘We’re going to improve our planning process through a shared service. There’s such a broad range of stakeholders that you have got to get on board with planning. “One of the things cities talk about is innovative business models and new ways of generating revenues. So you might have a group of cities allowing planners to access their records. And now, instead of research taking two weeks it’s taking a day. “There’s room for really transforming the way this is done, but it requires collaboration.”

for two-bedroom mews houses over 800 square feet’. That’s going to be a game-changer because analysing the decisions can help you get more planning applications accepted first time. From a local authority view, if you make the correct decision first time it reduces the number of appeals. “There are many areas of the planning process that could be improved to the benefit of the people providing the service and the people using the service.” 5. How do you bring about that change? “Cultural and organisational change is the most important part. That’s where leadership comes in. You put in a structured programme to prepare people for what’s coming. For example, labour change: ‘Your job’s not going to go, but it is going to be different’. “This is also about attracting and retaining talent and skills. Young people have got that ease and familiarity and closeness to technology. So you have to ask: How can I make planning an exciting job to do?’”

“THERE ARE MANY AREAS OF PLANNING THAT COULD BE IMPROVED FOR PEOPLE PROVIDING AND USING THE SERVICE”

4. So the key is sharing data? “Unstructured data [i.e. information stored in documents that were not intended to be presented specifically as ‘data’]. So it’s about converging cognitive technology with the digitisation of information. “You need to be able to ask questions in a natural language and get the answers. For example, ‘Show me all the planning applications

6. But won’t artificial intelligence mean there will be fewer jobs? “People tend to over-focus on this. Going back to the permanent trends, economies cope. Certain activities grow – for example, agriculture to manufacturing – and that’s the nature of economic evolution. Within planning the potential for these technologies to create jobs is much greater. There are new services, new insights to be had from thinking more about what private sector businesses are doing. What would that look like if it was applied to planning?” n www.theplanningconvention.co.uk/ page/programme

Nine businesses and local authorities have been awarded a share of £200,000 to develop new tech tools to improve the planning system. The nine have been given the cash by the Future Cities Catapult (FCC), which, as reported in February’s Tech Landscape, had launched an open call for ideas to create a more data-driven and digitally enabled planning system. Nearly 90 entries were received, whittled down to nine winners. Each now has 12 weeks to develop a prototype of their idea. FCC’s planning lead Euan Mills said: “For years we’ve heard how the planning system is broken, and how it hasn’t delivered the number of homes we need or the types of places we want to live in. “Our Future of Planning programme focuses primarily on how we plan, rather than what we plan for, and creates critical space to experiment; allowing those involved in the planning system to think how it could be done differently.” The winners: n HACT/OCSI: neighbourhood insight webtool aggregating government open data and other data within neighbourhood planning boundaries. n PlaceChangers: making it easier for local councils to compile, update, and coordinate their development land portfolio with other stakeholders. n The Behaviouralist: applying machine learning and satellite image recognition to identify opportunities for green infrastructure. n A London local authority: mapping and analytics tool to bring together housing and social infrastructure data on one spatial platform. n Toolz: custom-made 3D interface that would allow planning officers to assess development proposals within a live 3D model of the city. n Wikihouse + Southwark Planning Division: online tool to improve and automate aspects of householder planning applications. n Linknode Ltd: augmented reality to visualise un-built development proposals at public consultation. n Create Streets: online tool permitting users to measure the quality of a place, and analyse correlations between urban form and wellbeing, health, happiness and value. n ODI Leeds: Two projects – 1. Real-time, cloud-based updating of common planning documents; 2. Aggregating open data for planning applications and housing analysis.

T H E P L AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p31_32_Tech_landscape.indd 32

27/03/2017 15:06

Online Masters of Science in Construction Project Management

Build a better future Advance your project management career in construction. The 100% online MSc Construction Project Management course from NTU equips you with skills that can be immediately applied to real working environments in today’s construction industry. To ﬁnd out more contact:

UK: 0800 032 1180 INTL: +44 (0)115 941 8419

online.ntu.ac.uk/planner Nottingham Trent Uni HPH.indd 1

20/01/2017 15:12

RTPI/MPA Conference

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

Minerals Planning - Enabling Growth 24 May 2017 | NEC Birmingham With the Government's focus fixed on enabling economic growth, this year's conference will consider how the proposed agenda will affect the minerals sector. Join us to debate recent case examples and discuss the designation and implementation of the Mineral Safeguarding Areas.

Book now £150+VAT

ABCted i Aud

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

If you want to reach the valuable audience, please contact: james.kelly@redactive.co.uk or call 020 7880 7607

The Planner house_all sizes.indd 4

p33_PLN.APR17.indd 33

20/03/2017 17:09

020 3553 9736 rtpiconferences.co.uk/minerals AP R IL 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

20/03/2017 17:12

INSIGHT

Nations & Regions focus { SCOTLAND

A system in review In planning terms, as politically, Scotland is a nation in ﬂux. Its planning system is undergoing a comprehensive review, with signiﬁcant changes proposed to policy. A reappraisal of the national transport strategy is pending. A draft climate change plan has been published and a draft energy strategy, which together create ambitious targets for renewables, transport and energy delivery. There is a consultation on fracking and considerable debate over the use and ownership of land, embodied within the Community Empowerment Act 2015 and the Land Reform Act 2016. These have the

MAJOR PROJECTS Clyde Gateway regeneration Twenty-year renewal programme east of Glasgow, building on the Commonwealth Games legacy with business space, jobs, homes and community facilities in a historic shipbuilding area. Completed projects include the Clyde Gateway East Business Park and the conversion of the Games athletes’ village into a residential area. www.clydegateway.com

Dundee waterfront A £1 billion regeneration project to revive the city’s relationship with the River Tay waterfront. Over 30 years, an 8km stretch of riverside will be transformed with parkland, business space, retail and leisure developments, a railway station, hotels, parkland, homes and the new V&A Museum. www.dundeewaterfront.com/

potential to reconﬁgure the relationship between Scotland’s citizens and its land. This is famously spectacular. Scotland is home to mountain wilderness, glacial glens and lochs, a rich marine ecosystem and two national parks. Its cities and industrial areas, too, boast a legacy of built heritage that is at risk as traditional industries decline and new ones rise. Large regeneration projects are giving former industrial areas a fresh identity: Dundee waterfront, home to the new V&A Museum, is perhaps the most eyecatching. The Clyde in Glasgow, formerly home to the shipbuilding industry, is

Interview: Reforming zeal Bob Reid is a planner and land reformer who advised the Scottish Government’s independent Land Reform Review Group from 2012-14. Why is land reform such a strong theme in Scottish planning? “We’ve got this very strange proportion of 432 people owning over half of Scotland. So few people own so much. Is that right or wrong? What should we do about it? “In 2014 I was on the team that wrote The Land of Scotland. As an upshot there was a new Land Reform Act in 2016. What it covered was predominantly rural issues, such as farm tenures – not really the bread and butter of planning. But a substantial part of the group were looking at planning faultlines. What can land reform do to help take on other agendas?”

A9 dualling, Perth-Inverness £3 billion project to upgrade 80 miles of single carriageway on Scotland’s longest trunk road between Perth in central Scotland and Inverness, the ‘capital’ of the Highlands. See also: Aberdeen city centre masterplan, River Forth Queensferry Crossing, Central Scotland Green Network. tinyurl.com/planner0417-dualling

T H E PL AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p34-35 regional focus.indd 34

seeing massive urban regeneration. There are more projects across the country as Scotland’s cities – all at various stages of negotiating city deals – discover a new sense of purpose. Even the islands are pondering a devolutionary deal and lobbying for the Crown Estate’s powers. Such activity reﬂects a nation coming to terms with the contemporary challenges of devolution, population growth (at a historic high of 5.2 million), housing shortages, ageing infrastructure, climate change and – above all – the need to sensitively balance new development with a rich built and natural heritage.

Such as? “Is there something we could use under the land reform banner that might make it feasible for us to procure housing and new towns even. That’s roughly where land reform is relevant. Some of the provisions of the early new towns acts don’t necessarily exist [anymore].”

Don’t planners already have these powers? “The Land Reform Act is bedding in. But what there would need to be is a more progressive look at urban land reform that would bring forward new property law measures to assist the delivery of projects. “So often you give something planning permission but you can't make it work. If you look to the places on the lines that we want to create – such as Hammarby or Freiburg – what do they have in common? All of the land in question came into public ownership prior to the development taking place.”

So land reform is about planning authorities assembling land? “Land assembly and procurement. It’s to enable them to act as the master builder. That’s back to the housing crisis. If you really want to do this you need a process by which land comes into public or quasi-public ownership, that has some sort of impetus rather than manipulating house prices. It’s about sleeves rolled up and becoming the builder rather than being the regulator.”

I M AG E | G E T T Y

27/03/2017 12:54

Scotland Valuable skills A growing population puts housing ﬁrmly on the agenda. The Scottish government anticipates a rise of 300,000 households to 2039. A key requirement is for planners with knowledge of the mechanics of housing markets who can marry demand with supply where homes are needed most. Linked to this, infrastructure planners will be highly employable in coming years - particularly in renewable energy, where Scotland leads the UK. Scotland's strong maritime culture means planners who specialise in marine environments and industries are valued. This is not least the case around the Islands, which are hoping to acquire the powers of the Crown Estate, and in the Moray Firth, where planned wind farms will provide power to a million homes. Find planning jobs in Scotland on Planner Jobs: http://jobs. theplanner.co.uk/

RECENT SUCCESSES

Signposts RTPI Scotland is run by a staﬀ of four, including a director (Craig McLaren). Its work is managed through a 25-strong executive committee that covers all regions and includes student and young planner representatives. RTPI Scotland is heavily involved in policymaking and research in Scottish planning, and published 17 papers in 2016.

n RTPI Scotland web page with information on events, governance, policy and research, networks and forums www.rtpi.org.uk/the-rtpinear-you/rtpi-scotland/

Saltcoats Town Hall, North Ayrshire

Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters marine spatial plan

– £3.77 million refurbishment of the grade B listed town hall to restore it to the civic focal point of Saltcoats. The work, part-funded by Historic Scotland, included new shop fronts to provide a uniﬁed aspect, new reception area and detailed restoration of the main hall. Shortlisted for 2017 RTPI Excellence in Planning for Built Heritage award.

– A pilot project to support sustainable management of the seas around Orkney, balancing needs of local communities and marine economy with environmental protection. This plan aims to put in place a policy framework in advance of statutory regional marine planning to support sustainable decision-making on marine use and management. Shortlisted for 2017 RTPI award for Excellence in Plan Making Practice.

Laurieston Transformational Regeneration Area – Return to a more traditional style of Glasgow housing following the demolition of four mid-20th century high-rises in the Gorbals area. Contemporary tenement form, with a wide variety of energy-eﬃcient housing, courtyards and a wide central street emphasising walking. All homes are energy eﬃcient. Shortlisted for 2016 RTPI Excellence in Planning to Deliver Housing award.

Barrhead Waterworks, East Renfrewshire – Transformation of an old sewage works into an industrial wildlife garden on derelict land. Led by the community, it focuses on learning, volunteering, recreation, health and biodiversity. Winner of Scottish Government Quality in Planning award in 2015.

n RTPI Scotland blog https://rtpiscotland.blog/

n Heads of Planning Scotland https://hopscotland.org.uk/

n Planning Aid Scotland http://pas.org.uk/ n Scottish Young Planners’ Network www.rtpi.org.uk/the-rtpi-near-you/rtpi-scotland/ scottish-young-planners-network/

n COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) www.cosla.gov.uk/

n Scotland events: www.rtpi.org.uk/the-rtpinear-you/rtpi-scotland/events/ Annual events include the Scottish Young Planners’ Conference in March, Sir Patrick Geddes Memorial Lecture in June, and the RTPI Scotland conference in October.

n Courses: The Universities of Dundee and Strathclyde run RTPI-accredited undergraduate and postgraduate planning courses; the University of Glasgow and Heriot-Watt University run postgraduate courses only.

n Email: scotland@rtpi.org.uk n Twitter: @RTPIScotland n Find your RTPI region: www.rtpi.org.uk/the-rtpi-near-you/

Next month:

North East p34-35 regional focus.indd 35

27/03/2017 12:55

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

420 homes approved with no affordable housing ( SUMMARY A large development south of Gloucester will go ahead with no affordable housing provision after the developer successfully demonstrated that it would make the plans unviable. ( CASE DETAILS The proposal, on land to the north of the M5 motorway, is unusual in that the decision went to appeal despite both parties agreeing that permission should be approved. The case’s primary issue is the question of whether (and to what extent) the development should include affordable housing. Gloucester City Council’s position – that the development should only go ahead if 10 per cent of it was affordable – was opposed by the appellant, who countered that such a provision would make the development unviable. The council believed its position to be in line both with national directives – the NPPF and the government’s white paper on housing – and the emerging Joint Core

T H E P L AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p36_39_dif.indd 36

Strategy for the local area, each of which emphasise the need for affordable housing. Therefore, it stated that without such provision the development should not go ahead, despite the regrettable delay in housing delivery that would result. The appellant, arguing that this provision would make the proposal unviable, requested that it be struck out from the case’s UPO by way of a ‘blue pencil clause’. The appeal was examined by inspector J G Ware, who found the appellant’s argument regarding the viability of affordable housing provision to be based on “clear and unchallenged evidence” whereas the council’s argument suffered from a number of errors and contradictions. For example, a typographical error giving the size of the proposed four-bed unit as 2,131 square feet rather than 3,131 sq ft resulted in a £2.98 million discrepancy in the council’s projected revenue model for the development. ( CONCLUSION REACHED As a result, the appellant’s position prevailed and the provision required by the council was found to be unviable. Ware also ruled on two other disagreements between the parties. He

The London Russian Ballet School was not barred from adding an extension

found that an increased contribution of about £150,000 to the local police force for additional demands on its services resulting from the development could not be justiﬁed, but a £6,000 monitoring fee for the council was. Both parties applied for an award of costs because of the “protracted and diﬃcult” nature of the negotiations, but neither was successful.

V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: APP/ U1620/W/16/3149412

LISTED BUILDING

Ballet school’s controversial expansion is granted ( SUMMARY An inspector has allowed plans to add a large rear extension and basement to the listed London Russian Ballet School in Clapham, overturning a controversial council decision. ( CASE DETAILS The school, operated as a I M AG E S | G E T T Y

24/03/2017 14:50

Communities secretary Sajid Javid has approved a scheme for 450 homes on a greenﬁeld site at Medway in Kent

charity, uses its fee receipts to cross-fund subsidies to underprivileged children and runs a successful outreach programme. Founded in 2004, it has a working relationship with the famous Bolshoi Ballet and has been described as “worldclass”. It submitted plans to enhance its facilities with a rear extension, basement excavation and interior alterations. The building is listed and is of historical interest. It also plays a key role in the setting of the surrounding Rectory Grove Conservation Area. The original application to the council drew more than 85 objections before its dismissal. The subsequent appeal was assessed by inspector CJ Ball, who noted the building’s historical interest. Despite its current use as a school, the building is one of the earliest and oldest surviving medicine dispensaries in Britain, architecturally significant as an example of noted 19th century architect James Thomas Knowles Sr and his Italianate style. But a survey by Historic England said the building’s interior and rear had been significantly altered, both by numerous redevelopments and a large fire in 1989, leaving only its imposing façade of continuing historical importance. The proposed rear extension and basement would leave this façade unaltered, and the building’s historical and architectural interest would be preserved. Although it “makes no attempt to mimic the existing building”, instead favouring a distinct and clearly modern style, Ball ruled that the development would deliver design excellence and would be entirely sympathetic to

its surroundings. He also noted an amendment to the application that successfully mitigated his concerns about the loss of outlook to neighbouring properties. Ball dismissed concerns that a residential area is not a good location for a worldclass ballet school, noting the building’s well-established use, and the government’s promotion of mixed-use developments. On trafficrelated concerns, he pointed to the appellant’s transport study, which found that the school’s impact on parking and congestion would not be unacceptable even if all 70 pupils arrived and left the school at the same time. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Noting the school’s “remarkable success” and contribution to the wider community as well as its excellent design, Ball allowed the appeal. In a separate decision, costs were awarded to the school against the council, which was deemed to have rejected the proposal for unjustifiable reasons despite five years of exhaustive pre-application negotiations.

V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Refs: APP/N5660/W/16/3151091 / APP/N5660/Y/16/3151092

HOUSING

Javid approves 450 homes to combat shortage ( SUMMARY Communities secretary Sajid Javid has approved the construction of 450 homes on a greenﬁeld site in Kent, ruling that severe pressure on the local council’s

housing supply means such development is unavoidable.

its provision of 25 per cent aﬀordable homes.

( CASE DETAILS The appeal was recovered for Javid’s consideration because it proposes more than 150 homes, which the government considers to have a significant impact on its objective to balance housing supply and demand. His decision is almost wholly in accord with the report submitted by inspector Zoe Hill, who held the local inquiry. Javid’s ruling notes a number of policies in the Medway Local Plan that in his view, “clearly seek to restrict housing growth”. But he agreed with the inspector’s view that this and other factors are outweighed by the council’s housing land supply position. Hill had noted that all main parties agree on the council’s failure to prove a five-year land supply: the council puts the supply at between 2.21 and 2.79 years, but the appellant believes this estimate is optimistic. Hill’s conclusion – that development on greenfield land in contradiction of local policy is inevitable because of the severity of the shortfall – was corroborated by Javid. Hill also observed other benefits of the development, including its contribution to the local economy in the long and short term, and

( CONCLUSION REACHED Javid agreed that these factors add additional weight in favour of the development, but his conclusion afforded most weight to the provision of housing in an area where it is in short supply. Concluding that the adverse impacts of the scheme did not outweigh its benefits, Javid ratified the inspector’s decision.

V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: APP/A2280/W/16/3143600

HOUSING

Leicestershire homes will bring ‘substantial beneﬁt’ ( SUMMARY Plans to build 250 homes west of Lutterworth have been approved after the contribution to housing provision and other beneﬁts were found to heavily outweigh concerns. ( CASE DETAILS The appeal site is west of Lutterworth, a Leicestershire market town bordered to its

APRIL 2017 / THE PLANNER

p36_39_dif.indd 37

24/03/2017 14:51

LANDSCAPE

DiF { D east by the M1 motorway. Much of its expansion has been to the west of the town towards a gently sloping valley, and the local council has designated the area for further development. But concerns have been raised about the impact that more expansion would have on the character of the landscape. These concerns were assessed by inspector Christine Thorby, who found them to be of limited weight. Although the development would encroach on a hitherto undeveloped slope in the countryside, she noted that the built-up edge of the town already exerts a “strong suburban inﬂuence” on the rural area, which is in any case relatively unremarkable. There is little sense of the valley as a whole from any nearby views, so the visual harm would be low, she said. The site is within a designated Area of Separation between the town and nearby distribution centre Magna Park, however, the development would only narrow this gap to an

DECISIONS IN FOCUS acceptable degree, rather than closing it completely. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Thorby found several benefits to the proposal, which she considered to substantially outweigh any drawbacks, especially the potential contribution to housing provision. Harborough District Council is unable to show a five-year supply of land for housing – of the 700 homes sought for the area by its core strategy, only 300 have planning permission or have been built. The proposal for 250 homes – 30 per cent affordable – would make a contribution of substantial weight to this objective. Thorby said Lutterworth’s wide range of services and facilities and its extensive traffic capacity make it capable of supporting the development – and boosting the local economy. She allowed the appeal. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: APP/F2415/W/16/3151978

A new home next to a West Yorkshire sweet factory has been approved

T H E P L AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p36_39_dif.indd 38

HOUSING

Sweet smell of success for home plan near factory

( CONCLUSION REACHED Satisﬁed that the factory would not impact on the proposed development, Watson allowed the appeal.

V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E

( SUMMARY Proposals for a home next to a sweet factory in West Yorkshire have been approved despite concerns about disruptive odours. ( CASE DETAILS The factory, owned by confectionery business Dobson’s, operates day and night. Proposals for a house next door were originally blocked by the local council, whose environmental health oﬃcer raised concerns about the impact of the factory’s noise and odour output on future residents. The appellant undertook an assessment comprising three surveys, which found that detectable smells were intermittent, and of a ‘delightful’ nature. A similar assessment was made of noise potential, which found it to be minimal enough that it would not aﬀect the development’s residents, as long as mitigating features were included in its design. Previous noise complaints from 2005 and 2009 noted by the council were found to have been resolved. Inspector Siobhan Watson ruled these concerns were unfounded. She also considered the proposal’s impact on the area’s character as the site is within Elland Conservation Area, characterised by traditional stone buildings with slate roofs. She decided that the site’s current untidiness is detracting from its character, and that the development could improve upon it as long as it is built to high standards of design.

Appeal Ref: APP/A4710/W/16/3164226

HOUSING

Passivhaus homes ‘no longer exceptional’ ( SUMMARY Plans for two highly efficient Passivhaus-standard homes have been dismissed, as an inspector found their design no longer innovative enough to meet the ‘truly exceptional’ standards required for green belt development. ( CASE DETAILS Passivhaus buildings use advanced building techniques to achieve exceptional energy efficiency standards. Although there are more than 25,000 in Northern Europe, there are fewer than 250 in the UK. This proposal would see the construction of two detached Passivhaus homes on green belt land east of Rayleigh in Essex. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) considers construction of new buildings on green belt land inappropriate, subject to some exceptions. Inspector D M Young found the site was “unmistakably rural”, judging that the development would “significantly erode” the openness of the green belt. The appeal hinged on paragraph 55 of the NPPF, which says isolated homes may be built if they are of truly outstanding and I M AG E S | S H U T T E RSTO C K / J OH N S M I T H

24/03/2017 14:51

The listed Church of St Botolph in Saxilby, Lincolnshire, will not be harmed by 133 new homes

innovative quality and design. Young agreed that buildings built to Passivhaus standards “would undoubtedly boast high-quality design”, but he ruled that the Passivhaus movement is well established and could not be considered truly innovative, asserting that “while they are not yet commonplace, neither are they any longer rare”. He also questioned whether the proposal could be considered isolated, as the site is opposite a row of houses. ( CONCLUSION REACHED The appeal was dismissed, despite the relative rarity of Passivhaus buildings in the UK and their ecological benefits. The decision is an example of the significant weight afforded by the government to preserving the green belt.

V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: APP/B1550/W/16/3159712

RENEWABLE ENERGY

£12m anaerobic power plant inappropriate for East Lothian site ( SUMMARY Plans for an anaerobic digester and power plant near Edinburgh have been deemed of ‘inappropriate scale’ and unclear potential beneﬁt. ( CASE DETAILS The development, near Ballencrieﬀ in East Lothian, would convert waste byproducts from nearby breweries and agriculture into natural gas, creating enough energy to power 7,000 homes. But reporter Dannie Onn

noted several issues. His survey of the area found it to have a mediumto-high sensitivity to large-scale industrial development. The site is in arable lowland populated by dispersed settlements and small farms, and its position between hills to the south and the coast to the north allows extensive views. The plant would introduce “major industrial development”, with silos, chimney stacks and a gas tank readily distinguishable from existing farm buildings. Onn also found that, owing to the plant’s proposed night-time working hours and the lights of vehicles travelling to and from it, some light spill would be inevitable, to the detriment of nearby residents’ living conditions. Potential noise and odour emissions were found to be within satisfactory levels, however, and the impact on the roads would also be acceptable. Onn also considered the potential financial benefits of the plans, noting that it would provide income to local farms and create six jobs. But it would also require an investment of £12 million, and there is no clear evidence that it would create a net economic benefit, or that it would represent the best possible use of the land. ( CONCLUSION REACHED The proposal was judged to be damaging to the character of the environment, putting it in conflict with the Scottish Planning Policy framework and outweighing the potential economic benefit. V I E W O N LI N E FO R F R E E Appeal Ref: PPA-210-2057

HOUSING

Homes would not damage view of listed church ( SUMMARY Proposals to build 133 homes in Saxilby, Lincolnshire, have been approved after an inspector ruled that the development is sensitive to its rural surroundings. ( CASE DETAILS The site borders a housing development to the north, and is next to the churchyard of the grade I listed Church of St Botolph, but the area is “undoubtedly rural” said inspector M Seaton. Assessing the plan’s impact on this setting, Seaton did not disagree with the council that the development would result in permanent and adverse change to the appeal site itself, but said that, while pleasant, the land had no speciﬁc characteristics warranting its protection. Seaton said despite the negative eﬀect on the site itself the development would

assimilate into the character of the wider area well once it had matured. This would be achieved through a sensitive layout with lower density to the north of the development, along with other mitigating features including landscaping. He voiced concern about the development’s impact on the church’s setting, noting that it was also crucial that views of its tower from the north of the village should be protected in line with local plan policy, which requires proposals not to cast any detrimental effect on skylines or important views. But he judged this damage to have been satisfactorily mitigated by the inclusion of a wedge of open land near the church to minimise obstruction of views towards it. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Noting the scheme’s other benefits, including a 10.5 per cent provision of affordable homes, Seaton approved it.

VIEW O NLI NE FOR FREE Appeal Ref: APP/ N2535/W/16/3142445

APRIL 2017 / THE PLANNER

p36_39_dif.indd 39

24/03/2017 14:52

INSIGHT

LLegal landscape HOLDING OUT FOR HERITAGE IN BATH New proposals for Bath Quays South could threaten the city’s World Heritage Status. Follow Stonehenge and bring in UNESCO, say Jason Tann and Christine Hereward Bath is one of 29 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the UK and uniquely the only entire city accorded this status. Such designation gives rise to additional issues for Bath and North East Somerset Council to consider in planning policy and in determining applications. Equally, developers need to make sure they address the designation in applications, a requirement that also applies to schemes located outside the World Heritage Site itself if the proposed development may impact upon it. This has been brought to the fore with proposals for Bath Quays South, a mixed residential and commercial scheme on a council-owned site comprising 63 ﬂats and 85,000 square feet of commercial space to be located in listed Victorian industrial premises and some new buildings. The site is not considered to make a contribution to the outstanding universal value of the World Heritage Site and the scheme has generally been well received. However, at issue is the impact of certain elements of the scheme on the setting of the World Heritage Site. These were of suﬃcient concern for Historic England to suggest that if the original scheme

T H E P L AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p40-41_LegalLandscape.indd 42

were to be implemented it could cause signiﬁcant harm to Bath, the ultimate consequence being the loss of its UNESCO designation. There is no directly enforceable legal obligation on local planning authorities to comply with UNESCO requirements. However, they are required to consider the impact of development on heritage assets. The NPPF provides that it should be wholly exceptional for any development that could cause substantial harm to a heritage asset of the highest signiﬁcance, such as a World Heritage Site, to be permitted. Bath’s planning policy (culminating in the emerging World Heritage Site setting supplementary planning document) puts the protection of its UNESCO status centre

stage. Decisions affecting the setting of the World Heritage Site must be made with regard to the site’s outstanding universal value, integrity, authenticity and significance. Such an assessment could form part of an environmental impact assessment if required. As a further safeguard, an objection by Historic England to an application would require referral to the secretary of state, who could call it in. Bath Quays South is pending determination and was referred to the secretary of state in February. Following a reduction in the height of the office element of the scheme and a change to the proposed materials, Historic England is no longer objecting to those elements. But it is still concerned about the potential impact of such “massive” development on the setting of Georgian Bath – a key attribute of the outstanding universal value in the designation.

“THERE IS NO DIRECTLY ENFORCEABLE LEGAL OBLIGATION ON LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITIES TO COMPLY WITH UNESCO REQUIREMENTS. HOWEVER…”

There had been calls to involve UNESCO at an earlier stage to assist with producing a scheme that would not impact on the World Heritage Site. As a signatory to the World Heritage Convention, the UK is subject to the operational guidelines. Paragraph 172 of these requires a notification to UNESCO if it is intended to undertake or authorise major restorations or new constructions that may affect the outstanding universal value of a World Heritage Site. Notifications under paragraph 172 are often made late on in the process and can lead to a site being put on UNESCO’s danger list if threatened by a project. The approach that was followed for Stonehenge is to be commended; in that case, UNESCO was brought on board at the start of the process to assist in finding an appropriate solution to improving the A303. A salutary lesson is the example of Dresden, which lost its World Heritage status in 2009 because of construction of a four-lane road bridge across the Dresden Elbe Valley. That, though, would seem a far cry from the proposals for Bath Quays South. It remains to be seen whether the secretary of state will call in the application and enlist the assistance of UNESCO, and whether the council’s development partners will be sent back to the drawing board. Jason Tann is head of commercial real estate and Christine Hereward is head of planning at Pemberton Greenish LLP

I M AG E | I STO C K

27/03/2017 14:14

IT’S TIME TO BE FRANK ABOUT ADDRESSING THE UK’S HOUSING SHORTAGE The recent housing white paper promised to ‘Fix our broken housing market’. It doesn’t even come close, says Ian Graves The UK housing sector is once again in the spotlight following the release of the government’s long-awaited white paper, Fixing Our Broken Housing Market. While it correctly identifies many of the issues facing the housing market – the main one being the chronic undersupply of housing stock in many parts of the country – the solutions on offer don’t match the scale of the problem. The stated aim of the white paper is “to boost housing supply and … create a more efficient housing market”. But there is a tension at its heart between this goal and the aspiration to strengthen and expand neighbourhood planning. For many in the planning system, neighbourhood plans often seem designed to stifle development – the opposite of what the government wants to achieve. The white paper attempts to square

Ian Graves this circle by claiming that neighbourhood planning actually boosts housing supply. It states that, where neighbourhood plans contain a target ﬁgure for new housing, this is typically 10 per cent greater than the number planned for by the local authority in its local plan. The source of that ﬁgure isn’t cited. In correspondence ahead of a judicial review last December, lawyers acting for a large number of housebuilders attacked it as “completely fallacious” – suggesting that the relevant study is smallscale, out-of-date and based on poor quality information. Whatever your view, it’s clear that a lot is riding on the government being right on this point and it seems surprising

“WHAT IS MOST STRIKING IS THE POVERTY OF BOLD, AMBITIOUS THINKING ON THE SCALE NECESSARY TO TACKLE WHAT IS APPROACHING A NATIONAL CRISIS IN HOUSING SUPPLY”

that the neighbourhood planning system is being expanded without much hard evidence that it will support the government’s aims. The white paper pledges to retain “existing strong protection for the green belt” and states that these boundaries should be amended only in “exceptional circumstances”. This avoids a much-needed debate about the nature and purpose of the green belt. Many people wrongly equate “green belt” with the open countryside. Much green belt is unattractive and could be released for housing development without the loss of environmentally valuable land. By deﬁnition, many locations within the green belt are sustainable, being on the edge of large conurbations, often where the demand for housing is greatest. Strategically releasing suitable sites in the green belt could reduce demand for development in the countryside by avoiding the need to leap green belt restrictions. Failure to grapple

with this issue is a missed opportunity. So too is the failure to expand the role of the public sector in housebuilding. Data suggests that the only times in recent history when housebuilding exceeded or even approached targets set by the government was when councils played a full part in expanding supply. While there is a suggestion that local authorities and housing associations will be allowed to build more homes, this seems unlikely to form a major part of the government’s strategy. Developers will welcome plans to limit local authorities’ power to impose precommencement conditions, part of the upcoming Neighbourhood Planning Bill, and proposals to streamline the processing of planning applications. They will be less pleased by the political rhetoric suggesting that landbanking and proﬁteering by “greedy” housebuilders is a key cause of the housing crisis, which seems rooted in a misunderstanding of how the sector works. Local authorities will be relieved to see proposals to increase fees for those performing well, which should help to support under-resourced planning departments. But what is most striking overall is the poverty of bold, ambitious thinking on the scale necessary to tackle what is approaching a national crisis in housing supply. After months of delays, leaks and spin, many reading the white paper will ﬁnd themselves echoing shadow housing secretary John Healey’s response to Sajid Javid in the House of Commons. “Is that it?” Ian Graves is a legal director in the planning team at Shakespeare Martineau

AP R IL 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p40-41_LegalLandscape.indd 43

27/03/2017 12:56

LANDSCAPE

Career { D E V E L O P M E N T WRITING AN EFFECTIVE CV

As the average recruiter takes just six seconds to make an initial decision on a CV, deciding what to include can be diďŹ&#x192;cult. How can you make sure yours makes the right impact? Matt Moody gathered a few diďŹ&#x20AC;erent perspectives

David Bainbridge is a planning consultant and partner at property consultancy Bidwells LLP

' ) # # ) + ( $ ( '( ' ($') )$ # ' ( # !. &* ' . %%! ) $# " ) $ ( # # $') )$ () # $*) '$" ) '$, 0 )8( (. )$ ) # $ ( ( ' *# #) # ><=A2 ) " ) )'* $ ) ' ) + # *()' (0 *) $#8) () ') ! + ' # .$*' %%! ) $#( . '$# *() . ) ; , # ) $" ( )$ %! ## # 0 ! (( ( $ ) # "$' 2 â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

â&#x20AC;˘

El Eleanor Gingell has recently taken up a new role as a planner with the Department of Communities and Local Government. She is a former recipient of the British Empire Medal for services to planning. Eleanorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s views are her own and not those of her employer

' $%. # ( $, $"" )" #) .$*8' %%!. # (% *! ) + !.2 $' + ') ( %! ## # '$! (0 9) " ( $ ) (( # 0 # # " ! , !! ! !. ) $" '()0: ( .( + # ' 2 9 .$*' ) ( )$$ !$# )$ '' + 0 #) '+ , (!$)( " . !' . ) #0: ( .( #'. .!$'2 9 ' $% ( ' ( )) # !$() $' #$) ' # ) ' ) % '($# ; ) ' 8( %'$ !. %'$)$ $!0 ($ !, .( $!!$, #()'* ) $#(2:

)8( () )$ ( + .$*' # $'" ) ; $' $ *" #)( # ) 0 ($ ' ! (( ( *' 2 ' ' #$ ' # () %' ( #) ) $# '*! ( ; ( "%! # $# ( ( ) .2 9 "%! $'" )) # ( ,$' () $' " 0: ( .( ! #$' # !!0 9 !) $* ) ' 8( # ) !. %! $' *!! ) %$ #)( # $! ) -) )$ " ') # ( ) $#( () # $*)2: .$*) ( " )) ' $ % '($# ! %' ' # 0 *) 9%! ## '( ' * . ) ' )) #) $# )$ ) !:0 ( .( .!$'0 ($ )8( "% ' ) + ) ) .$*' ( ! '0 *' ) # (. )$ ( #2

+ - &* () $#/ % '($# ! () ) " #) ( + - &* () $# , # ) $" ( )$ (2 ( ' '* ) '(0 # #'. .!$' ) # ) .8' *## (( '.2 9 )8( #$) (( #) ! )$ # !* !$# #)'$ * ) $# $*) .$*'( ! 0 !) $* ) ( # ' !!. () !! %) ! )$ $ ($2 ) ) ' () $ ) $ ) ) ! # 0: ( .( 2 .!$' !( "$' ()'$# !.2 9 ! + % '($# ! () ) " #)( ' , () $ ) " 0 *#! (( .$*8' (% !!. ( )$ ,' ) $# 2 ' # " # '( ' + $/ #( $ ( + '. , 0 # $#8) + ) ) " )$ ( ) ) '$* ! ' % ' ' % (2:

- "*" "% )/ *( % '($# ! () ) " #) $ ( ) ) )$% $ ) 0 )8( "$() ! !. )$ ' '() # ) ' $' # ( )$ + ) ' ) () "% )2 .$* ) # % '($# ! () ) " #) ( "$' ! !. )$ ' ) ' '8( )) #) $# ) # .$*' "$() ' #) -% ' # 0 )8( ,$') # !* # ; #$)0 .$* " ) $#( ' ( + # ) $' .$*' $+ ' ! )) '2 ) )$ # !* / .$* $ )$ # !* $# 0 .$* ( $*! *( ) )$ + .$*' % '($# ! )$* 0 ' ) ' ) # , () # (% . *() (*"" ' ( # $) ' % ')(2 9 $* ( $*! )'. # ( ' .$*' $*)!$$ $# ! # , ) ' + ( .$*0: ( .( + # ' 2 )

p42_43_dev_landscape.indd 42

$*' ,$' -% ' # $'"( ) " # $ . $ 0 # )8( ' * !. ) "$() "%$') #) % ') $ ) , $! ) # 2 # -% ' # ( # "" ) ' ! $' "%!$. '(2 &* !!.0 )$$ "* ) ! ( ! !. )$ !*) .$*' + " #)(0 $' , !! ( "%!. #$) ' 2

27/03/2017 11:12

JOBS

) (# %%.

Make Planner Jobs your ďŹ rst port of call for town planning jobs, careers advice and the latest people news from across the sector. Visit jobs.theplanner.co.uk

9 ) % # ( $# -% ' # 0 *) ,$*! ( . # + ' "$' ) # ),$ ( ( $ @0: ( .( # ' 2 ! #$' # !! $ ( *') '1 9 % *! ) + ( # '$ '0 *) )8( () )$ ) .$*' $#)$ ( # ! ( 2: ' ( ) ) ) !$( ' )$ $# % .$* ' 0 ) )) '0 *) ( 9 .$*8' ( # $'0 ) ' 8( "$' ! , . $' (! )!. !$# ' :2 ( ( . ; .$*' %$( ) $# $# ) ' ' ! ' ) '" # ( $, "* ) ! )$ # !* 2 .$*8' # , ' * ) $' # # ' '(0 $, # .$* !! $*) .$*' , ) ! " ) -% ' # )$ ' , *%$#6 $#+ '( !.0 .$* + . '( $ -% ' # # " - "*" $ ),$ % ( )$ ,$' , ) 0 $, # .$* , ) " ( ) *)6

CVs

Yes

#) ' ()

9 .$*' -% ' # ( ! " ) 0 .$* ( $*! ! ) ) # ( ) ) "$#()' ) .$*' % (( $# $' ) # *()'.0: ( .( 2 9 , ' * ) ( , ) $*) "* -% ' # # +$!*#) ' , ) ! ## # 0 $' $ ( $')4) '" ,$' %! " #) , ) # !$ ! %' ) $' *) $' ).2:

)' (( ( !!(

) ' ) # $ *( $# (% ( $ .$*' '$! 0 ) # $*) ) ( !!( # #$,! .$* )$$ , .0 ( .( # !!2 9 ' * ) ( # # !* % ')4) " $ ( $' +$!*#) '. -% ' # 0 ( !$# ( .$* $#( ' $, ) ' ! ) ( )$ ) ( !!( $ $$ %! ## '2

9 %$')( !* #+$!+ " #) # "$#()' ) ) ",$' 0 $' - "%! 0 # , )' (( # $' ' ,$' ,$') $#( ' # $ # # ) # ),$' ( ; #+$!+ " #) , ) ) #() )*) # !% () # " ) "$#()' ) # ! ). )$ * ! # %' $' ) ( .$*' ' (%$#( ! ) (0: ( $#) #* (2 9 )8( !($ $*)2:

+ !*

) "$' -% ' # )8( &* () $# $ % # $*) ) "$() + !* ! %$ #)(2 ) ' ) # ! () # ' (%$#( ! ) (0 9 $ *( $# .$*' . + " #)( # '$! :0 ( .( # !! ; 9 ( .$*'( ! , ) + !* .$* '$* ) )$ %$( ) $#:2

) ' ## !(

.$* ! ! .$* #8) $ .$*'( ! *() 0 $#8) ,$''.0 ( .( 2 ' ' $) ' , .( )$ ) .$*' -% ' # '$((2 9 $*' $+ ' ! )) '0 $!!$,4*% " !0 # "$() "%$') #)!. ) #) '+ ,0 ' !! $%%$')*# ) ( )$ -% # $# .$*' . %$ #)( # %'$+ -)' - "%! (2:

- )

' ! (( $ .$*' ! + ! $ -% ' # 0 )8( $$ )$ "% ( ( + " #)( ) ) # &* #) 0 ( 2 9 ) ' ) # ( . # .$* 7,$' $# ! ' ( " 80 .$* $*! ( . 7,$' $# ?<<4*# ) ( " # ($*) 4 () $# $#82 .$*' + " #)( # '$ # $,# #*" ' !!.0 ) . ( " "* "$' ' !2:

# !* # (" !! ( ) $# $*) .$*' ! $*)( $ ,$' ( $$ , . )$ # ) ($" % '($# ! ). #)$ .$*' 2 ) ( 0 )8( "%$') #) )$ $#( ' .$*' * # 0 ( .( # !!2 â&#x20AC;˘

â&#x20AC;˘

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

CJ Obi and Henry Taylor are recruiters at Osborne Richardson, a recruitment consultancy that specialises in planning

AP R IL 2 0 1 7 / THE PLA NNER

p42_43_dev_landscape.indd 43

27/03/2017 11:13

NEWS

RTPI {

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

Steady on: Planning in Northern Ireland two years after major reform 2015 MARKED A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT FOR PLANNING IN NORTHERN IRELAND; TWO YEARS ON, HOW IS IT WORKING OUT? ROISIN WILLMOTT FRTPI, DIRECTOR OF RTPI NORTHERN IRELAND, LOOKS AT THE CHALLENGES FACING THE PROVINCE AND ITS FLEDGLING PLANNING SYSTEM Delegates at last year’s Northern Ireland conference are due to reconvene on April 25 to discuss how changes to the planning system are progressing

In April 2015 a new plan-led system, accompanied by reforms to public services, was introduced following years of a centralised system. Eleven new local councils with responsibility for many planning functions were introduced. The then Department for Environment, part of the Northern Ireland Executive, retained some powers, as is the case with other UK jurisdictions. Many planners woke up on 1 April 2015 with a new employer, but generally the ‘big bang’ that was predicted didn’t happen; life carried on. But since then changes have been felt as councils developed confidence, forming their own identities and strategies. During this transition, RTPI NI held workshops and conferences, and advised councillors and officials on how to operate effectively within the new system. The effort this has required from everyone should not be underestimated. The changes have affected planners in all sectors, as well as the elected members

who have had a marked change in their roles. But the hard work has been worth it; planning is now positioned for it to be more responsive and accountable to communities and for long-term gain. A completely new function is the introduction of Local Development Plans (LDPs), linked closely with each council’s Community Plan, the LDP being a spatial interpretation of the latter. Councils are now immersed in writing their LDPs; will they meet the four-year target set to have plans adopted? It’s a big ask, but having an adopted LDP will be an important part of the machinery for meeting the needs of communities and guiding investment. This spring, RTPI NI will provide planners with the tools to write LDPs at a conference in Mid Ulster. Last May, the Departments of the Executive were remodelled and the planning function transferred to the Department for Infrastructure, bringing it together with the Regional Development

Strategy – the overarching plan for Northern Ireland. This puts planners at the heart of what could develop into a key leadership role for Northern Ireland. Life was settling down under minister Chris Hazzard, but following a political wrangle new Assembly elections were called for 2nd March. RTPI NI issued a set of requests, including stability in the planning system, for the new assembly to implement. We might know who the new Minister for Infrastructure is when you read this, but whoever takes on this portfolio, there is no need for substantial change; the Northern Ireland planning system still needs time to bed in. Another need for stability is the pending departure of the UK from the European Union. This has implications for the whole of the UK, however, the unique issue for Northern Ireland is its land border with the Republic of Ireland, which will remain a member of the EU. How will this border be treated? What are the implications for strategic planning across the border, for transport links, for energy and for those people from both sides of the border who live their lives across it? We will be exploring some of the issues yet to be worked out with colleagues from the Republic of Ireland at a conference on 25 April. It is an interesting time to be a planner in Northern Ireland: it is unquestionably a period of signiﬁcant change we will look back at and comment on. Good planning has been taking place in Northern Ireland for many years, and the RTPI is continuing its search for the best places as inﬂuenced and shaped by planners and planning. In 2017 we pick up this search in Northern Ireland. Started by RTPI Scotland to mark the RTPI’s centenary, the search for the best places across the UK, as voted for by the public, has crowned Dundee Waterfront (Scotland in 2014), Liverpool Waterfront (England in 2015) and Aberaeron (Wales in 2016). Look out for more information on this and your chance to nominate your best places in Northern Ireland.

T H E PL AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

p44_47_RTPI_news.indd 44

24/03/2017 12:07

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 she would change the Scottish planning system

Nicola Orr PLANNING OFFICER, PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL RTPI EAST OF SCOTLAND CHAPTER CONVENOR There is nothing groundbreaking in my 3-point plan at all. Rather it’s an echo of aspirations I’ve been listening to since graduating in 2011. What is exciting now, however, is that those aspirations are slowly coming to fruition and planning is about to get a whole load more exciting in Scotland! I truly believe that planners shouldn’t be one-trick ponies, but rather expose themselves to as much diverse experience as possible, even if it is outside our ‘comfort zone’. We need to broaden our horizons to ensure that we all advance in the profession and become truly versatile planners. We also need to look at radicalising the way we engage to combat the increasingly apparent consultation fatigue and make planning a stimulating topic within each community, where people feel they can positively make a diﬀerence to their place. It’s an exciting time for planning in Scotland; let’s all work together and encourage the culture change we hope for.

COMMITTEE CONCERNS: NATIONS AND REGIONS PANEL The Nations and Regions Panel brings together volunteer representatives from our regional management boards and national executive committees in the UK and Ireland. Here, its chair, Tom Venables, gives an update on the year’s priorities. Communicating with each other – championing good dialogue between English Regions and the Nations of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, the Panel, General Assembly and Board of Trustees Supporting and learning from each other – what we do and how we do it. The sharing of ideas, best practice and collaboration across the nations and regions. Outreach to members and future members through our activities The panel is a forum for discussion and consultation on matters important to our members in the nations and regions. With this in mind, we will continue to oﬀer the institute our support as the RTPI transitions towards a new CPD training oﬀer in 2018, and continue supporting the delivery of member initiatives.

1 Upskilling planners to ensure they are adaptable and versatile. Encourage more cross team working

2 Achieve much more inclusive public engagement, particularly with younger people while strengthening our Community Planning links. Planning needs to be more appealing and inviting!

3 Enhance the role of Development Plans, emphasising delivery and implementation. I agree with a more streamlined review process and a longerterm development plan

POSITION POINTS

DISTRICT HEATING RULES TO CHANGE The Scottish Government is consulting on changes to the regulation of district heating systems, which can support decarbonisation and more aﬀordable energy. Its use in Scotland today is limited. One exception is the Lerwick District Heating and Energy Recovery Plant, which supplies hot water and heat to 1,200 homes on Shetland. The government proposes a strategically planned approach to implementing district heating, where procedures deﬁne responsibilities for all stakeholders. While this includes a vital role for planners, it should have regard to acute resource and workload pressures.

n www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/01/9139

RTPI SCOTLAND RESPONDS ON SEEP The Scottish Energy Strategy aims to build on Scotland’s past leadership in energy engineering as it targets ambitious cuts in climate change-causing emissions. A major pillar is Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP), aiming to decarbonise heat supply by improving energy efficiency in buildings. The strategy also targets further decentralisation of energy provision. In its response, RTPI Scotland will emphasise that changes to strategic planning in the coming year must account for this. Localised energy provision will demand effective cross-border working, as well as communication with national government to ensure that strategic demand is met.

n www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/01/3414

AP R IL 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p44_47_RTPI_news.indd 45

24/03/2017 12:07

NEWS

RTPI { I NT ERNATI ON AL I N FOC US : R T P I MEMBERS W OR KI N G AR OUN D T H E W O R LD

How the RTPI is helping to shape the Scottish planning system KATE HOUGHTON, POLICY AND PRACTICE OFFICER, RTPI SCOTLAND

Geneva, Switzerland ALICE CHARLES, LEAD, URBAN DEVELOPMENT, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

I lead the World Economic Forum’s Urban Development work and manage relationships within the forum and externally. I produce content to inspire the transformation of cities around the world. I am also responsible for building and managing the world’s premier community of infrastructure and urban development business leaders. Through engagement with government, regulatory and civil society leaders, we advance the critical issues facing the industry. I was initially attracted to planning as I have an older brother with cerebral palsy and, while growing up, saw the diﬃculties he faced in navigating the built environment and wanted to do something about it. Geneva is regarded one of the most liveable cities. However, I believe most buildings constructed in the past 30 years are not aesthetically pleasing and are out of keeping with the traditional form in the city. Forty-one per cent of Geneva’s population are foreigners and the planning system does little to

engage this community or respond to their needs. Finally, I ﬁnd industrial buildings and other bad neighbour uses can be located close to homes and the regulations that apply in other countries in relation to this do not apply here. If I could, I would change planning education to ensure courses provide students with adequate training in design, construction and engineering. This would greatly assist junior planners to make better development planning and control decisions. I would reform the planning system to ensure that cities are prepared to respond to the major challenges that are aﬀecting the way our cities are designed and built e.g. the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I would also ensure that planning policy explores the opportunity presented by the shared and circular economy to our towns and cities. Working outside the UK has given me the opportunity to have not only an industry perspective on urban development, but also a global one. If I could change one thing about our profession, I’d ensure that it received greater international recognition.

T H E PL AN N E R \ A P R I L 2 0 1 7

I M AG E | I STO C K

p44_47_RTPI_news.indd 46

In early 2017 the Scottish Government consulted on its proposals for the future of the planning system, outlined in its consultation paper Places, People and Planning, to which RTPI Scotland submitted a substantive response. We hope our recommendations will help the Scottish Government to refine its proposals into practical improvements for implementation through legislation and guidance. To make sure that RTPI Scotland’s suggestions took into account the experience of our members, a series of workshops was held across Scotland in February. Events in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness each tackled questions under the five main themes of the review: Leadership, resources and skills, Housing, Infrastructure, Collaborative Planning, and Development Plans. Government representatives also attended each event and gave an overview of the consultation paper as a whole. The outcomes of these workshops have been collated into a series of think pieces. These outline workable changes to the planning system that could help the government achieve its ambitions for a more ‘inspiring and influential’ system. Headlines from the think pieces include a framework for Regional Partnership Working and using Housing Action Plans to identify and overcome barriers to delivery on allocated sites. There was also widespread support among members for involving schools more in development planning – encouraging young people to think creatively about their places. We thank all members who gave their time and ideas. The think pieces, and RTPI Scotland’s response to the consultation, can be found at www.rtpi.org.uk/scotland.

24/03/2017 12:08

RTPI Y ACTIVIT E PIPELIN Current RTPI work – what the Institute is doing and how you can help us 2017 RTPI AWARDS FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE OPEN FOR ENTRIES Now in their third year, the prestigious RTPI Research Awards continue to recognise and promote high-quality, impactful spatial planning research from RTPI-accredited planning schools, and planning consultancies, in the UK and internationally. All RTPI-accredited planning schools staﬀ and students are encouraged to submit entries, as well as planning consultancies for the Planning Consultancy category. Further information, including eligibility criteria and full application guidelines, is available at: www.rtpi.org.uk/knowledge/researchawards

HAVE YOU BOUGHT YOUR TICKET FOR THE RTPI AWARDS FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE 2017? With more ﬁnalists than ever, this year’s RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence promises to be a vibrant and exciting event. Join us at Milton Court Concert Hall on 15 June to help us celebrate the projects, teams and individuals who have made the profession shine. View the shortlist and book your tickets now at: www.rtpi.org.uk/ape2017

RTPI SHORTS

AN RTPI MEMBERSHIP CLASS RECOGNISES LEGAL EXPERTISE Legal Associate membership of the RTPI is awarded in recognition of legal practitioners’ achievement and demonstrable competence in planning law. It is an important milestone in a planning law career and a mark of professional recognition. Law plays a vital role in the planning operation and an understanding of it is essential. Planning lawyers can benefit from the institute’s expertise and research, which brings evidence to shape planning policies and thinking. Martine Koch, RTPI head of membership, said: “We have been streamlining all of our routes to RTPI membership. The Legal Associate class has been part of this and it has become competency-based in line with the Chartered membership routes, demonstrating high standards of professionalism. All of the changes have been developed by members, for members, through consultation with a working group.” By joining the RTPI, in addition to their own professional body, legal practitioners become a member of an institute who champions the power of planning in creating prosperous places and vibrant communities. Membership demonstrates shared values. To be eligible to become a Legal Associate, applicants must be a qualified legal practitioner (solicitor, advocate or barrister, or chartered legal executive) and be able to demonstrate sufficient experience in planning law. Revised Legal Associate membership guidance was launched in January to ensure eligibility criteria is clear and applying is straightforward. Take your career to the next level with Legal Associate membership. Further information: tinyurl.com/planner0417-legal-associate

BOOK YOUR FREE STUDY TOUR AT THE PLANNING CONVENTION 2017 The Planning Convention has once again drawn on its extensive network of expert practitioners to create a series of four diverse and exciting study tours. Taking place in London, the tours are a unique way of experiencing the true impact of planning. Inspiring guides will share their unique knowledge and insight on how planners have overcome challenges and transformed some of the most iconic and well-known areas of the capital. Booking and information on each tour is available at: www.theplanningconvention.co.uk/study-tours

RTPI/MPA MINERALS PLANNING CONFERENCE: ENABLING GROWTH 24 MAY 2017, NEC BIRMINGHAM Recent announcements from government have focused on using infrastructure to unlock development and economic growth. Major projects like High Speed 2 and Crossrail 2 are moving forward, the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine are revving up, and there is an ambition for one million new homes by 2020. Against this backdrop, it is essential for planners and other stakeholders to understand how the mineral demands created by a buoyant construction industry can be met, both nationally and locally. This year’s conference will explore how the minerals industry and planning professionals can respond to this growth agenda, and the role of strategic planning in allocating sites and providing the necessary infrastructure to maintain a steady supply of materials. To ﬁnd out more, visit: www.rtpiconferences.co.uk/conferences/rtpi_mpa_conference

2016 ANNUAL REVIEW HRH Prince Charles, our royal patron, has written the introduction to our 2016 Annual Review. Phil Williams, 2016 RTPI President, stated his year leading the institute was going to put planning and planners at the heart of answering key challenges facing society. The RTPI’s 2016 Annual Review outlines the activities, campaigns and publications that contributed to this ambition. Highlights include: c Growing our membership to over 24,000 for the first time. c Wales’s Best Places campaign, garnering 5,500 votes to crown Aberaeron the winner. c Strong media coverage of the Value of Planning report, stressing the primacy of planning in uncertain times. c International outreach through influencing at the oncein-a-generation sustainable development summit, Habitat III in Ecuador. c Streamlining routes to membership, ensuring they are now all competency-based. c Influencing decision-makers and briefing members on key legislation including the Housing and Planning Act and the Neighbourhood Planning Bill. c Growing future planners by expanding apprenticeship and bursary schemes, including six new diversity bursaries. c Developing our members’ skills and experience through hundreds of national and regional events. Read the full Annual Review on the RTPI website.

AP R IL 2 0 17 / THE PLA NNER

p44_47_RTPI_news.indd 47

24/03/2017 12:08