JANUARY 2016 IS THE STARTER HOMES INITIATIVE DOOMED TO STALL? // p.22 • 17 GOALS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD // p.30 • CASE STUDY: MERTHYR TYDFIL IS BACK ON THE RISE // p.40 • HOW CAN PLANNERS FACILITATE THE NORTHERN POWERHOUSE? // p.42
T H E B U S I N ES S M O N T H LY FO R P L A N N I N G P R O F ES S IO N A LS
ANGLE OF ATTACK NEW RTPI PRESIDENT PHIL WILLIAMS ON SHAPING UP TO 2016’S CHALLENGES
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CONTENTS
PLANNER 08 18
THE
JANU ARY
20 16
PLANNING IS AN INTEGRAL ELEMENT – BUT I DON’T THINK PEOPLE APPRECIATE IT AS MUCH AS THEY SHOULD”
NEWS
6 Solving the housing crisis, according to Lord Kerslake
7 Plymouth will see first UK rent-to-buy scheme 8 On the ground… TCPA Annual Conference
9 LGA launches housing commission 10 Liverpool Waterfront voted England’s Greatest Place 11 Durkan under fire after development site near Strabane floods
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OPINION 12 Chris Shepley: None shall sleep if the song remains the same 16 Cliff Hague: A new civic culture must fill the void 16 Karl Parkinson-Witte: Government must accelerate infrastructure delivery 17 Robert Pritchard: A plan for the powerhouse? 17 Simon Brooksbank: Local devolution – an opportunity for the young
COV E R I M AG E | PE T E R S E A R L E
22 The Starter Homes Initiative – a sensible response to the housing shortage or an audacious social policy experiment? David Blackman reports
30 The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals form a blueprint for a better world, says Clive Harridge
“HOUSING NEEDS TO BE LESS OF A POLITICAL FOOTBALL AND MORE ABOUT COHERENT LONGTERM POLICIES” MARTIN BELLINGER, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT ESSENTIAL LIVING, ON THE COMPREHENSIVE SPENDING REVIEW
34 Decisions in focus: Development decisions, round-up and analysis
18 New RTPI president Phil Williams aims to build on his predecessor’s “striking work”, he tells Martin Read
26 How can planning help to deliver the Paris Accord’s climate change aims? By Simon Wicks
QUOTE UNQUOTE
INSIGHT
FEATURES
40 Case Study: Merthyr Tydfil town centre
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38 Legal landscape: Opinion, blogs, and news from the legal side of planning 42 Plan Ahead – our pick of upcoming events for the planning profession and beyond 44 RTPI round-up: News and interviews from the institute 50 Plan B: Lord Bob K is in da (affordable, mixed-tenure) house
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PLAN UPFRONT
Leaderr Sustainability for sure – but housing remains hot – Imagine you’ve been seconded on to The Planner’s editorial team (it’s OK, we don’t bite). We’ve asked you to help us develop a themed series of features for the new year. What topic would you recommend? Infrastructure? Sustainable development? City regions? All perfectly plausible, and each worthy of our attention. None of them, though, is the topic of housing – described recently by outgoing RTPI president Janet Askew as the issue of this year, last year, next year and for many years yet to come. I say all this in the full knowledge that 2016 is set to be a big year in planning for other hugely significant reasons. The recent Paris Agreement on climate change has just as much potential to propel planning front and centre on a global basis while Habitat III, the
Martin Read United Nations conference on housing and sustainable urban development, is to be held this October. And yet, to paraphrase Bill Clinton’s campaign guru James Carville, it’s the housing, stupid. No other topic has the potential to raise hackles, misrepresent planning’s role or kindle political passions. It’s entirely understandable that the RTPI will be focusing on housing throughout the year and it’s why we’ve elected to start
our Challenge of Housing series of interconnected features in this, the first edition of 2016. We start, logically I hope, with the government’s Starter Homes initiative and the Conservatives’ fervent hope that addressing declining levels of home ownership will itself lead to solutions to the supply problem. In what I suggest is far from the first time that this has happened, much of the initiative appears to have been published before the actual detail of how it might work in practice has been clearly worked out. (What proportion of properties in 100+ developments have
"MUCH OF THE INITIATIVE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED BEFORE THE ACTUAL DETAIL OF HOW IT MIGHT WORK IN PRACTICE HAS BEEN CLEARLY WORKED OUT"
to be made available to young first-time buyers? You’d think this pretty critical metric would have been considered when first establishing the genuine merit of the proposal.) Some view the Starter Homes initiative as one that ensures planning is “no longer the most important mechanism for securing affordable rented housing” - with planners dealing with the aftermath of an enforced quota rather than involved in calculating the best available solution. Perhaps it’s in pointing out the flaws in such proposals that we at The Planner can best serve the purpose of promoting planning’s wider role. If we are committed to one thing above all else, it's proving and publicising the value of planning and planners in general. Housing is a topic that will unquestionably help us do just that. So, you’re invited to get in touch with any ideas you may have - we’ll be glad to listen. Happy new year!
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Average net circulation 20,646 (October-December 2013) © The Planner is published on behalf of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) by Redactive Publishing Ltd (RPL), 17 Britton St, London EC1M 5TP. This magazine aims to include a broad range of opinion about planning issues and articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the RTPI nor should such opinions be relied upon as statements of fact. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any print or electronic format, including but not limited to any online service, any database or any part of the internet, or in any other format in whole or in partww in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publisher. While all due care is taken in writing and producing this magazine, neither RTPI nor RPL accept any liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein. Printed by Southernprint
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NEWS
Analysis { RTPI NATHANIEL LICHFIELD LECTURE
Solving the housing crisis, according to Lord Kerslake By Laura Edgar Every part of the housing sector will need to “play their part and raise their game” in order to deliver the housing needed in England. This is what Lord Bob Kerslake, chair of Peabody, a London housing association, told the audience at this year’s RTPI Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture. As there is no “magic bullet” to meet the demand for housing, Kerslake said housing should be seen as a “vital part of the national infrastructure” and should be planned as such. “[Housing] needs to be planned long term and across the political and economic cycles.” The challenge, Kerslake stressed, is enormous, and that scale “must be understood”. Although the government’s prioritisation of housing is welcome, “the almost exclusive focus on home ownership over other tenures seems to me to be both wrong and counterproductive”. Going forward, Kerslake listed his six proposals for solving the housing crisis.
Communities as well as homes needed The whole profession needs to sign up to the “mission”. “Housing cannot be seen in isolation to the other economic and social issues facing an area,” while the proper infrastructure and amenities need to be in place. Communities as well as houses need to be built and the quality of housing has to be right.
Integrated teams “We need to see more integrated, multi-disciplinary teams that bring together the different skills needed for great place-making.” This means, Kerslake said, a new way of working. A holistic approach encompassing economic development, local services, transport, design and the environment is “vital”. “Maybe we should think of Chief Place-making Officers instead of Chief Planners.”
Greater flexibility in planning fees There needs to be “national recognition” of the importance of the
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Lord Bob Kerslake: There is no “magic bullet” to meet demand for homes
planning function and it must be properly funded. It is “pretty clear” that underfunded services are unlikely to deliver. To secure funding, greater flexibility in planning fees should be allowed and then reinvested back into service. Kerslake said almost all developers he has spoken to would support higher fees. There is also a “real need” to invest in public sector capacity.
Understanding markets Planners should have a better understanding of house builders’ business models and what is needed to create a more “dynamic and diverse” sector. Small, preferably permissioned sites should be “actively allocated” to small house builders.
Local authorities “lack” in house expertise Kerslake said there needs to be a “fundamentally different approach” to planning gain. While he believes Section 106 Agreements have been “vitally important” in capturing uplift in land values and funding infrastructure and affordable housing, “in too many cases they have come to dominate the discussion, leading to high costs and long delays”. Local authorities, he continued, “often lack the in-house expertise” and so it becomes effectively a negotiation between private firms. Kerslake suggested moving to standard affordable housing and infrastructure tariffs in local housing market areas, with “expert sub-regional teams to consider cases where a departure is thought to be justified”. For public land, he explained, a strategic approach working in partnership with developers and housing associations “is likely to deliver better long-term results”.
Neighbourhood planning His final point was that everyone should learn to love neighbourhood planning. Kerslake thinks neighbourhood planning, viewed with distrust by local government when first introduced, has “evolved into a powerful tool for engaging communities”.
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PLAN UPFRONT
Plymouth will see first UK rent-to-buy scheme An agreement has been reached to build the UK’s first affordable rent-to-buy houses in Plymouth. Plymouth-based housing companies Persimmon Homes and Rentplus have signed a pact to develop 19 new affordable rent-to-buy homes in the city, aimed at tackling the region’s housing shortage and helping people into home ownership. The properties at Derriford are part of a Persimmon Homes development consisting of 139 homes, and part of Plymouth City Council’s ‘Get Plymouth Building’ programme. The Rentplus homes are available at up to 80 per cent of local market rent for an agreed period of between five and 20 years. When the tenancy has finished the occupants are given the opportunity to buy the house and will be given a 10 per cent deposit by Rentplus to do so. The affordable rent homes will be
marketed and allocated to households by Tamar Housing Society through Devon Home Choice, which enables local households to be considered for affordable housing available in the area. Rentplus chief executive Richard Connolly said: “With average house prices in the South-West now close to £230,000 and in some places more than £300,000 – and average earnings in the region among the lowest in England – we have an unbelievable housing situation where many houses cost more than 10 times the average annual household income. “Rentplus is designed to make housing accessible for all those who wish to own their own home and we look forward to working with partners in Plymouth and across the country to help tackle the housing crisis.” Rentplus is currently working with Plymouth City Council to deliver 500 homes over the next five years.
Welsh Budget: housing supply could be boosted by 6,000 homes
administration announced its budget, the last before Assembly elections next year. Local authorities will receive more than £4 billion funding from the Welsh Government in 2016-17, public services minister Leighton Andrews announced.
The Welsh Government has announced that it is investing up to £290 million in the second phase of its Help to Buy – Wales initiative in a bid to boost housing supply and home ownership. Between 2016 and 2021, the funding aims to support the construction of more than 6,000 additional new Welsh homes. Ministers have highlighted that recent statistics show that during 2014-15 a total of 6,955 new homes were started, a rise of 20 per cent on the previous year. News of the housing funding came as the
Developers behind a plan to build 3,800 homes in south Dublin have applied for planning permission from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for the first phase of work for the €2 billion scheme. The Irish arm of US developer Hines is submitting a planning application to develop roads, parks and other infrastructure to allow the first stage in the construction of a new town centre and upgraded Business Park at the Cherrywood Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) in south Dublin. The plan is ultimately to develop a new neighbourhood that will become home to as many as 30,000 people. The initial infrastructure work is expected to cost up to €100 million and will be funded mainly by Hines, the largest landowner in the SDZ, with other property owners contributing. Hines is expected to submit proposals for its housing scheme in the middle of next year. That detailed planning application will involve retail floor space, a cinema, other leisure uses, restaurants and an initial 1,400 flats.
The figure represents a decrease of just 1.4 per cent, from the amount received last year on a like-for-like basis and includes £35 million to continue the Welsh Government’s commitment to prioritise schools funding. The budget indicated an allocation of £28 million for investment in Enterprise Zones, which includes the remaining £7 million of a financial package for Cardiff International Airport route development. The budget announcement also included funding for the second phase of the Llangefni link road, infrastructure works for the Northern Gateway Highway and the Dyfi Bridge on the A487. Extra funding is also being provided for the St Asaph Flood Risk Management Scheme and the so-called Coastal Risk Management Scheme. n The Welsh Draft Budget 2016-17 can be found here: tinyurl.com/planner0116welsh-budget-homes
I M AG E S | A L A M Y
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New south Dublin neighbourhood takes shape
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NEWS
Analysis { TCPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
On the ground… By Laura Edgar What is happening on the ground? That was one of the questions asked of the speakers at the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) Annual Conference on 24 November. As the UK faces a shortage of housing, affordable or otherwise, and complaints of a “slow” and “complex” planning system persist, the answer is not one full of overwhelming optimism.
“Plethora” of initiatives The government has announced and legislated for a number of initiatives aimed at addressing the housing shortage and, as chancellor George Osborne said in the Comprehensive Spending Review, “a crisis of home ownership in this country”. However, the “plethora of government initiatives” is, according to Andrew Pritchard, director of policy and infrastructure at East Midlands Councils,
The voluntary right to buy has left housing associations between “a rock and a hard place”
making it “harder, not easier, for councils to meet the local housing needed”. Pritchard said the Right to Buy scheme has “massively eroded” the existing affordable housing stock. Clive Betts MP, chair of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, said the voluntary right to buy has left housing associations between “a rock and a hard place”. Housing associations will in some cases be able to build back on a oneto-one basis, but whether they can build like-for-like property in the locality, particularly in central London and some rural areas, Betts has doubts. For Pritchard, the lack of affordable housing “begs a question”: “How long does something have to fail for before the Westminster establishment accepts that it has failed?” Betts and Pritchard also expressed concerns regarding the Starter Homes initiative. Betts said the scheme will “replace the
traditional s.106 properties, the properties for rent and shared ownership”. “Less affordable housing will be built,” he stated. Pritchard highlighted that starter homes are by most people’s standards “still pretty pricey properties”, while increasingly scarce s.106 resources “will be switched from supporting affordable housing for rent to supporting these exclusive starter homes”. (A maximum of £250,000 outside of London, and £450,000 in London.)
Communities pursuing defensive plans Although there are some good neighbourhood plans, Joanna Cave, partner at David Lock Associates, said rural communities are “pursuing defensive” ones based on “very little or no evidence at all”. Neighbourhood plans as a means of local participation, Cave continued, “don’t work effectively”. Where discussions could be had on the wider issues planning
FROM THE GRASSROOTS Speaking at the TCPA Annual Conference, also during the ‘What’s happening on the ground?’ session, Alice Lester, programme manager at the Planning Advisory Service, spoke about a series of behaviours and emotions she and her colleagues are seeing in local authorities at the minute. A C C E P TA N C E Lester said there is definitely acceptance by local authorities that there is a housing need and it needs to be planned for. There is also acceptance that the duty to cooperate “can’t be ignored or taken lightly” and there is acceptance that some difficult decisions will need to be made. BAMBOOZLED Local authorities are bamboozled by all of the ongoing changes and asks of planning and the planning system, Lester explained. She listed a number of things
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that have left local authorities confused and bamboozled, including: • Starter homes – what does that mean? • Brownfield registers – what are the criteria? • Permission in principle – what does that mean for the plan-making side of things? “It has been indicated that all will become clear soon, but soon isn’t soon enough. We need it now,” said Lester. D E S PA I R Local authorities are despairing over the ability to do “proper” place-making when “so much seems to be driven by an argument about numbers, and about viability”. PROACT I V E “There is always a silver lining,” said Lester. Councils, she said, are doing a variety of
things to become builders again, including developing partnerships with builders. “Strong leadership is needed within councils and that might include taking some risks.” F O C U S E D O N VA L U E F O R M O N E Y A N D S E RV I C E D E L I V E RY Lester explained that many heads of service and planning portfolio holders now have greater financial literacy about spending and income in their departments. It is about understanding where resources are being used. HAPPINESS “Notwithstanding the problems I have laid out, most planners in local authorities do really quite like their jobs, believe in what they are doing and actually, they are just getting on with it,” she concluded.
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PLAN UPFRONT
LGA launches housing commission The Local Government Association (LGA) has launched a Housing Commission to explore “new routes” to house building so that councils can enable the building of more “desperately needed” homes. Local authorities, according to the LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, are “desperate” to dramatically increase the availability of new homes in their areas. The Housing Commission also aims to explore the importance of effective housing in boosting jobs and growth as well as helping to meet the needs of an ageing population. The LGA has laid out four themes for the commission to focus on: • House building – finding new ways that councils can enable investment in new homes; • Place-making, community and infrastructure – the role of councils in shaping
has to face, “the battle on numbers continues to rage”.
Planning system “slow and complex” Shaun Spiers, chief executive at the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), said branches of the campaign group encounter a planning system that is “almost totally geared to development, not to sustainable development, but to development at any cost, particularly to implausibly high housing targets”. CPRE said it finds Local Enterprise Partnership (LEPs) hard to engage. “It really is an act of genius to abolish regional planning on the grounds it is opaque, unaccountable and undemocratic, and replace it with LEPs, where we have far less of an idea of what is going on and we have far less access.” Cave explained that in her experience of working with landowners, “few would argue the current system enables us to do this at the best of our abilities despite government claims to the contrary”. A system needs to be found that allows planners to harness capabilities such as “sophisticated mapping data” and apply them in a creative way through a “truly participatory and transparent process so that planning can truly lay claim to serving the public once again”.
homes within prosperous places and communities; • Employment, welfare reform and social mobility – the role of housing in supporting tenants to find and progress in sustained employment; and The LGA wants to see • Health and quality “new routes” to house building of life for an ageing population – the role of housing in adapting to an ageing population and preventing onward costs to social care and health services. The LGA is seeking evidence on the key issues that communities are dealing with, as well as partners and councils. Additionally, evidence of good practice on how
Government to consult on NPPF changes The government has announced a consultation to seek views on specific changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
increasing the density “to make more efficient use of land in suitable locations”.
Housing on brownfield land Affordable housing redefined The current definition includes some low-cost home ownership models such as shared ownership, as long as they are subject to ‘in perpetuity’ restrictions or the subsidy is recycled for alternative affordable housing provision. The government proposes to amend the NPPF definition to include a fuller range of products, including Starter Homes and other low-cost market housing products. In its response to the Housing and Planning Bill, the RTPI expressed concern about the focus on the overall number of Starter Homes and the reclassification of affordable housing. Starter Homes proposals “reduced the ability of local areas to plan for and created balanced communities”, the RTPI said, adding that social rent and shared ownership homes could be replaced by Starter Homes.
Residential development around commuter hubs Currently, local planning authorities set appropriate density levels to reflect local circumstances, but the government wants to encourage development around new and existing commuter hubs, I M AG E S | A L A M Y / G E T T Y / I STO C K
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these issues have been addressed is being sought. Views from councils, partners, organisations and individuals are welcome. The commission’s findings will be brought together in a report set to be published in spring 2016.
To ensure that possible opportunities for brownfield development are pursued, the government wants to make it clear in the policy that “substantial weight should be given to the benefits of using brownfield land for housing (in effect, a form of ‘presumption’ in favour of brownfield land)”. But, said the RTPI, “many brownfield sites are so poorly located that their development would generate high volumes of car traffic and long commutes.”
Green belt land The government wants encourage local communities to consider opportunities for Starter Homes in their area as they develop neighbourhood plans, including on designated green belt land. It is also considering releasing brownfield land in the green belt as part of its approach to deliver 200,000 Starter Homes. n To read more about the RTPI thoughts on the consultation proposals: http:// tinyurl.com/Planner0116-NPPF1 n The consultation document can be found here (pdf): http://tinyurl.com/ Planner0116-NPPF2
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NEWS
Analysis { ENGLAND’S GREAT PLACES
Liverpool Waterfront voted England’s Greatest Place By Laura Edgar The public has chosen Liverpool Waterfront as England’s Greatest Place. The nationwide competition, organised by the RTPI, saw more than 11,000 people vote for their greatest place from a shortlist of 10. The competition aimed to show off the diverse places that planners and the planning system have created, protected and enhanced for communities. An independent eminent panel of judges narrowed down the shortlist from 200 unique public nominations. The public then voted for its favourite. A presentation for the winner took place in December at Albert Docks. Presenting the award to Malcolm Kennedy, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member “WE ARE ABSOLUTELY of regeneration, transport and DELIGHTED TO HAVE climate change, RTPI President BEEN VOTED AS Janet Askew said: “Liverpool’s ONE OF ENGLAND’S leaders and all those involved GREATEST PLACES” JOE ANDERSON, MAYOR OF LIVERPOOL should be congratulated for showing what planning and planners can do to make the most out of England’s stunning heritage to create vibrant, beautiful places for people to live and work. “It is a timely reminder, against a backdrop of budget cuts to local councils, of how vital planning is, and how desperately important it is to ensure that planning is properly resourced to be at the heart of society.” The Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said the accolade is recognition of the work put into ensuring the area reaches its “full and breathtaking” potential. Anderson said: “As a city, we don’t stand still, and over the past 10 years Liverpool has been transformed through a number of regeneration projects, some of which have taken place in and around the waterfront. Due to the nature and status of the area, these investments are always dealt with sensitively and the developments only go ahead if they add value to the city and the people who live, work and visit here.” Thame High Street in Thame, Oxfordshire and Saltaire, the World Heritage Site-designated historic village near Bradford, came in second and third respectively.
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Liverpool Waterfront in 1972 (top) and now
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MERSEY HEARTBEAT
Liverpool Waterfront
Judges’ comments: “Liverpool Waterfront is a mix and balance of contemporary development in a World Heritage site setting. The regeneration has transformed this area into a vibrant place and a cherished place for locals and visitors alike. There is a great degree of pride in Liverpool for this place.”
A major British port, Liverpool’s docks have been central to the city’s development. Liverpool’s waterfront is a designated World Heritage Site, a status it was awarded in July 2004 by UNESCO. The Albert Docks, also part of the city’s World Heritage Site, remained a fully working dock until it closed in 1972. It was reopened as a visitor attraction following a renovation programme in 1988. It remains the UK’s largest group of Grade I listed buildings. Redevelopment of the waterfront, including building a mix of leisure, commercial and open spaces as well as residential uses, was initiated in the 1980s by the Merseyside Development Corporation and is ongoing.
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PLAN UPFRONT
Durkan under fire after development site near Strabane floods
RTPI Scotland launches its 2016 Scottish Election manifesto
Environment minister Mark H Durkan has faced criticism for his decision to allow a £50 million retail development near Strabane, after the planned site was left under two feet of water by Storm Desmond. Local traders’ representatives said the siting of the project was unsuitable because of the flood threat posed by the confluence of the rivers Finn, Mourne and Foyle. Local traders are also angry at Durkan’s decision because they fear the scheme’s out-oftown location will pose an economic threat to Strabane town centre. However, the group behind the proposed Lifford Road development – which includes a 90-bed hotel, supermarket, garden centre and filling station – said it remained 100 per cent sure that its proposed measures will prevent any future flooding. Durkan insisted that flood risk and economic impact had been considered when he determined the application. “Overall, I considered that the potential benefits were determining factors in granting planning permission,” he said.
RTPI Scotland has published a manifesto for the 2016 Scottish Election comprising actions it believes are needed to build a successful and sustainable country, including appointing a cabinet secretary for places. RTPI Scotland also stresses how planning has important roles to play in enabling sustainable economic growth and promoting social justice. It sets out how, with the right support, planners and the planning system can help the new government to achieve these ambitions. RTPI Scotland believes that any future Scottish government must aim to:
South-East airport expansion delayed A decision on whether to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport has been delayed until summer 2016. The announcement follows a report released in July this year by the Airport Commission concluding that Heathrow Airport is the best of option for expanding runway capacity, rather than Gatwick Airport or a new airport in the Thames Estuary. A decision had been promised by the end of 2015, but transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said that although the case for aviation expansion is clear, “it’s vitally important we get the decision right so that it will benefit generations to come”. McLoughlin said the government would now undertake more work on the environmental impacts of airport expansion, including air quality, noise and carbon. “We must develop the best possible pack-
age of measure to mitigate the impacts on local people. We will continue work on all the shortlisted locations, so the timetable for more capacity by Sir Howard Davies (chair of the Airports Commission) is met,” he explained. The delay has left business groups angry. John Longworth, British Chamber of Commerce director general, said businesses would see the delay over a decision as a “gutless” move by the government. “Business will question whether ministers are delaying critical upgrades to our national infrastructure for legitimate reasons, or to satisfy short-term political interests. Businesses across Britain will be asking whether there is any point in setting up an Airports Commission – or the recently announced National Infrastructure Commission – if political considerations are always going to trump big decisions in the national interest.” Longworth added that ministers need to stop “prevaricating” and get on with doing what the country “sorely needs”.
(1) Provide a quality home for everyone who needs one through the increasing number of quality homes built. (2) Ensure that planning authorities have the resources they need through investing in the planning service, exploring how to de-clutter unneeded processes, and by incentivising continuous improvement. (3) Support communities to shape the place they live in by enabling planning authorities, communities and community organisations to engage in early discussion on the future of places. (4) Support and protect town and city centres by ensuring a Town Centre First Duty is included in Community Plans and that this is monitored and reported on transparently. (5) Invest in infrastructure and use the National Planning Framework, Strategic Development Plans and City Deals to coordinate investment and align budgets. (6) Create great places for people by establishing a cabinet secretary for places to coordinate support for cities, towns, villages and neighbourhoods and through better linking of town planning with community planning. (7) Set out a clear, integrated framework for energy through publishing a National Energy Strategy with a clear evidence base and policy framework for decisions. RTPI Scotland convenor Pam Ewen said: “Our seven-point action plan shows the vital role that planning can play in supporting Scotland to thrive. Giving planning a more central role in the new government can ensure that we use resources to best effect through better coordinating infrastructure with development and connecting visions with resources. It will allow the government to plan more effectively to create sustainable economic growth.”
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CHRIS SHEPLEY
O Opinion None shall sleep while the song remains the same I was in New York some years ago, and I had the good fortune to see the great tenor Pavarotti performing in the Metropolitan Opera House. Pavarotti was singing to a tiny soprano, of whom he seemed rather fond. She fluttered around him, disappearing completely from time to time behind his vast bulk, as he explained in Italian (with subtitles) that he fancied her something rotten. But he never for one moment looked towards her to assess her response to his advances, being much more interested in the need to cast an appropriately emotional expression at the audience. He seemed completely immobile, which may not have helped. He was oblivious to the fact, obvious to those of his audience not completely overwhelmed by the transcendent (if fading) beauty of his voice, and undoubtedly to the soprano too, that any bid to consummate their passion was doomed to end in a messy and probably fatal anti-climax. So what was the essence of his problem, and how can we learn from it? He had in mind a policy that was unattainable, at least by the methods he preferred (which, given his inability to shift his position, involved simply ploughing hopelessly on). He seemed unaware of the possible unintended consequences of his actions, having failed to consult genuinely with interested parties, such as the audience. His presentation skills remained strong, though
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“THE PRIVATE SECTOR WILL CONTINUE TO DO ITS UNDERSTANDABLE THING, BUILDING SUFFICIENTLY FEW HOUSES TO KEEP THE PRICES UP” less effective than once they had been. He was severely constrained by the libretto, which was of little relevance to the real situation on the stage. An uncritical audience – influenced by an uncritical press – suspended disbelief, but deep down knew that failure was inevitable. All the concrete evidence suggested that the process he envisaged was messy and the outcome almost certainly disastrous. My guess is that you are ahead of me here. The government aims to solve
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the housing crisis. This is unattainable, at least by the methods they prefer (which, given their inability to shift their position, involve simply ploughing hopelessly on). They seem unaware of the possible unintended consequences of their actions, having failed to consult genuinely with interested parties, such as nearly everybody. Their presentation skills remain strong, though less effective than they once were. They are severely constrained by the libretto (“taken the tough decisions”, “hard-working families”, etc), which is of little relevance to the real situation on the street. An uncritical audience, influenced by an uncritical press, suspend disbelief but deep down know that failure is inevitable. All the evidence suggests that the process they
envisage is messy and almost certainly disastrous. So – with a few flimsy sticks and unappetising carrots in the Autumn Statement, a few more threats and constraints lobbed at local government, and a few financial gadgets which will probably raise prices still further overall, numbers may creep upwards (but never mind the quality). Moderate numbers of unaffordable affordable houses will be built. The private sector will continue to do its understandable thing, building sufficiently few houses to keep the prices up, and grumbling. But without something like a bit of strategic planning or a sophisticated public sector building programme to complement the private sector product, the objectives will not be reached. Energy policies seem similarly Pavarottian, heading energetically in an expensive direction while ignoring the evidence that other solutions might be better. The outcome could be equally tragic, as the tiny renewable soprano is smothered by the nuclear behemoth. Operas often end with the deaths of the leading players. We shall see. But not much will change as there is little effective opposition.
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
18/12/2015 14:33
Quote unquote FROM THE RTPI AND THE WEB
“We need to think seriously about resourcing spatial planning at the city region level” DAVID CAULFIELD, STRATEGIC GIC DIRECTOR AT SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL
“Housing needs to be less of a political football and more about coherent longterm policies that deal with the actual issues”
“Housing is a crisis that has been a long time in the making. I do not think it is too much of an exaggeration to say that it is one of the biggest public policy failures of the last 40 years”
MARTIN BELLINGER, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT ESSENTIAL LIVING, ON THE SPENDING REVIEW
“It marks the end of general needs social housing in London. There will be no more”
LORD BOB KERSLAKE, SPEAKING AT THE RTPI NATHANIEL LICHFIELD LECTURE
RUTH CADBURY, LABOUR MP FOR BRENTFORD AND ISLEWORTH, ON THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE HOUSING AND PLANNING BILL IN LONDON
“Councils can build homes. Councils who build houses can help shape their own destiny and their community’s, rather than just leaving it to the government’ KEITH HOUSE, DEPUTY CHAIR OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION FOR ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY, HOUSING AND TRANSPORT
“New headlinegrabbing affordable housing initiatives smack of more short-termism, and an inability or unwillingness of the government to grasp the big issues” STEVE SANHAM, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AT HUB RESIDENTIAL, ON THE SPENDING THE REVIEW
I M AG E S |
ISTOCK
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CORRESPONDENCE
I Inbox
YOUR NEWS, VIEWS AND QUESTIONS F E E D B ACK
Ray Woolmore — In reading December’s issue of The Planner I was disappointed to see no mention of the important decision on 21 October by environment secretary Elizabeth Truss confirming the Lake District National Park and Yorkshire Dales National Park Variation Orders, which had been submitted to government by Natural England in 2013. The confirmation of these two orders marked perhaps the most significant gain for National Parks in the last few years, extending the Lake District by 3 per cent and the Yorkshire Dales by nearly 24 per cent; and, historically, the completion of “unfinished business”. This dated from proposals in John Dower’s seminal 1945 Report On National Parks, and the more detailed proposals in the 1947 Report of the National Parks Committee, chaired by Sir Arthur Hobhouse. Extensive areas of fine landscape, like the Northern Howgills and Mallerstang, had been excluded from national park designation in the 1950s simply because of the timidity of the National Parks Commission to cross too many administrative boundaries. The new boundaries of the extended national parks now reflect the natural beauty of the landscape and not present or historic administrative boundaries. My disappointment over the omission of any mention of the two national park extensions in The Planner briefly reinforced my feelings, expressed before,
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Two minutes with… Steve Melia STEVE MELIA is a lecturer in transport and planning at the University of the West of England and author of the myth-busting Urban Transport Without The Hot Air: Sustainable Solutions For UK Cities You spoke at the RTPI’s Transport and Spatial Planning conference, and were critical of planning policy. Why? If you look at the changes that we made in about 2000 when John Prescott was in charge of the combined Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, it was the only occasion in recent history where we had one government department in charge of both transport and spatial planning. A lot of people were sceptical, but it’s clear they did make some pretty radical differences. For example, the density of site development peaked around a year after PPG3 was implemented. Traffic, which had been rising inexorably since the Second World War, also peaked a few years before the start of the recession and began to fall. Was there a link between the two? When the coalition government decided to chuck all this out, did anybody bother to ask whether the previous policy worked? Did you get any responses? Graham Pendleton from the Department for Transport said if we want to achieve influence we must couch our arguments in the language that will influence the current crop
that countryside planning, particularly in relation to national parks and AONBs, has a ‘Cinderella’ status among many planning professionals. But then I read
of politicians – to talk about things like economic growth. I said I didn’t write my book to influence the current crop of national politicians. If I had, I would have failed miserably. What’s the problem with talking about growth? Surely transport networks lubricate healthy economies? There’s no evidence that building roads and airports boosts the national economy. They can help local economies and move economic activity around, but there’s no evidence that anything you do with transport infrastructure will do anything to the national economy. A lot of studies purporting to show links always come up against is the ‘What causes what?’ conundrum. One of the things I say in the book is that Bill Clinton’s slogan “It’s the economy, stupid” metaphorically hangs over the desk of every transport planner in the country. I think we should scrap that and replace it with something like “If it works in transport terms the economy will look after itself”. So what’s the point of transport networks then? There’s no easy answer to that. But clearly, we have to
in the same issue that in Scotland the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park had been crowned overall winner at the Scottish Government planning
be able to support growth of population in Britain, and I think we should be doing that in the most sustainable way. Intensification [of housing] is an issue and that means people asking how we’re going to tackle congestion. But I say forget that. Congestion can never be solved as long as the majority are car drivers. We need to learn to live with it and concentrate on problems we can solve. We’ve got a major problem with housing. We’ve a rapidly rising population. Where is the additional traffic going to go? At the moment the politicians have no answer. Is anywhere getting it right? The book looks at six cities that have achieved progress. But it was painful, and they still have congestion. Here, there’s London, Cambridge and Brighton. From elsewhere, Freiburg, Lyon and Groningen. They have all achieved big modal shifts in the context of rising population with constraints of some kind. They have all implemented restraints on the private car, though not necessarily in ways that people would specifically recognise. It has a lot to do with selective road closures. They have also all introduced public transport investment and filtered permeability. What’s your next book about? The working title is Can Britain House 86 Million People? It looks at the housing problem and does a similar thing in terms of mythbusting. If there’s one issue surrounded by myths it’s housing. n Urban Transport Without The Hot Air: Sustainable Solutions For UK Cities is published by UIT Cambridge, www.uit.co.uk/urbantransport-without-the-hot-air
awards, and that the judges of these awards were all long-established planning professionals. My fears were, apparently, ill-founded. Ray Woolmore, MRTPI (retired)
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18/12/2015 16:02
SECTOR INFORMATION GUIDES Throughout 2016 The Planner will be publishing several A5-sized desktop reference supplements. These will be targeted at local authorities, other planners and professionals of all types seeking to get updated quickly on the services of planning consultancies in key sectors from urban regeneration to conservation, transport and major infrastructure. These annual guides detail the policy, legal, demographic and other issues that make for the current state of the sector, looking ahead to the events and trends likely to influence the sector over the course of the coming twelve months.
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The guides will be sent to all RTPI members who receive The Planner magazine OCTOBER 2015 YOUNG PLANNERS SURVEY: NOW IT’S OUR TURN // p.20 • HOMES FOR BABY BOOMERS AND BEYOND // p.28 • RTPI AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PLANNING FOR BUILT HERITAGE: DUDLEY REBORN // p.32 • ASKING FOR A PAY RISE: DO’S & DON’TS // p.34
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B E S T O F T H E B LO G S
O Opinion
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Cliff Hague is a freelance consultant and emeritus professor of planning and spatial development at Heriot-Watt University
The civic ideal is the lifeblood of the pla planning profession. People become planners because they are inspired by places as shared experiences, and the idea that what happens to places is a matter for democratic determination. So the dilution of that lifeblood, as local government’s role has shrunk, is an existential concern. Civic leadership has given way to efficient delivery of services to customers and clients; planning has been absorbed into a management process to achieve (or undershoot on) targets within conglomerate service directorates. The squeeze on local government spending has not only stripped out expertise and experience, but has also inculcated a risk-averse culture, when innovation has become essential not just in the boardroom or the laboratory, but in public service, too. This makes conservation of the historic environment and of landscapes particularly vulnerable. Familiar streetscapes and valued spaces are integral to civic identity; they root citizens in their place and embody the idea that we, the people, are the owners of our villages, neighbourhoods or cities. Yet the built and natural environment is being reduced to an item on a balance sheet, where it can show as a liability rather than an asset. Meaning and place identity is devalorised, and dete-
Karl Parkinson-Witte is joint managing director of strategic land promotion agency Richborough Estates
Government must accelerate infrastructure delivery
A new civic culture must fill the void
rioration presages destruction. Planning authorities are coerced to act within the economic realism that promises investment and jobs. Caring for the legacy is increasingly urgent. Re-use of existing buildings generally makes e nv i r o n m e n t a l sense: the embodied energy offsets energy and resource use in production of new materials. Trees and undeveloped land are needed to absorb downpours that are no longer ‘once in 100 years’ events. The increased dominance of capital cities and big agglomerations under globalisation and the information society makes essential innovative urban “conservative surgery”, as Geddes called it (echoed as “cellular renewal” in Germany for the last 20-30 years). Yet the human resources to practice planning in this way have been deemed unaffordable. The void reproduces the notion that places are just an aggregate of private spaces, and ‘third parties’, and offshore investors (and disinvestors) have the prime voice in shaping our townscapes and countryside. A new civic culture has to be built, from a pride in place and a capacity to do something about it. Local councils could be champions of such a movement, if they can risk breaking the mould. Planners and their institutions should be doing some creative thinking and advocacy.
“THE BUILT AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS BEING REDUCED TO AN ITEM ON A BALANCE SHEET”
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BLOG
There ha has long been a clear strategic focus from recent administrations to focus house building on brownfield sites where possible. Yet hidden in the Housing and Planning Bill was the proposed ‘planning in principle’ rights applicable to greenfield sites as well as brownfield. There is insufficient brownfield land to satisfy the UK’s housing need and so greenfield sites in sustainable locations have to be considered. A recent report, New estimates Of Housing Demand And Need In England, 2011 To 2031, by Dr Alan Holmans of Cambridge University, shows that housing requirements in England are on average 240,000245,000 a year – up to 10,000 more homes a year than the figure often quoted by politicians. House building levels are rising, but they remain at their slowest level since the 1920s – 100,000 a year less than the requirement. I think many would agree with the need to free up greenfield sites identified in local development plans more quickly, allied with a need to streamline an overstretched planning system. What I’d query is whether planning in principle rights – particularly extended to greenfield locations – is the correct way to do it. The rules will mean that although councils
will be able to assess as-yet unspecified technical details on developments for sites identified for new homes in local plans, they won’t have an outright power of veto. The Daily Telegraph says early forecasts suggest that this bill could unlock 7,000 sites. In towns and cities, planning in principle rights may well help to speed the delivery of new homes, but in more constrained and sensitive locations such measures may cause more harm than benefit. It may also increase the number of lesser quality sites coming forward with the benefit of planning permission. The devil is in the detail and at the moment there is none within the bill about the scale of scheme that might be caught by the potential planning in principle rights or any detail as to the extent of the assessment reserved for subsequent approval. Greenfield land has a part to play in delivering housing. But those with a stake in the industry have a part to play in making sure it meets the needs of local communities as part of a neighbourhood planning process. Consultation and communication is vital, but the concern is that planning in principle may undermine that totally. For that reason it should apply only to brownfield sites.
“IN MORE CONSTRAINED AND SENSITIVE LOCATIONS SUCH MEASURES MAY CAUSE MORE HARM THAN BENEFIT”
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Have your say Would you like to see yourself in these pages? Get in touch by email – editorial@theplanner.co.uk Topical, inspirational, angry or amusing – we consider all relevant comment
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Robert Pritchard is a principal associate for Eversheds International
Simon Brooksbank is a graduate planner with Boyer
Local devolution – an opportunity for the young
A plan for the powerhouse?
In the run-up ru to publication of Novem November’s Comprehensive Spending Review, devolution deals were announced for city regions in the North, with the finalisation of significant settlements in South Yorkshire, the North East and the Tees Valley. But progress is by no means uniform across the ‘Northern Powerhouse’. At the time of writing there is a big gap in the coverage of devolution arrangements resulting from the continued difficulties in concluding a deal for the Leeds city region. All three of the above deals involve the proposed delegation of planning powers, including the possibility of the formulation of city region planning policy. But the clear message from the North East deal in particular is that any bid to revive regional spatial strategies will get short shrift; what is advocated are planning development frameworks. It is clear that any city regional policy must avoid the top-down approach associated with the discredited regional policy. But any overarching policy should not be consensual to the point that it becomes anodyne. The approach to the devolution deals has many parallels with the city challenge process in the 1990s; unsurprising, given the key role of Michael Heseltine in both initiatives.
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While the bidding process has undoubtedly improved the quality of the submissions to the Treasury, there is inevitably a risk that what results is a patchwork of disparate arrangements that fails to articulate the role of individual towns and cities and does not provide a coherent policy framework across the Powerhouse area. This is a big problem given the need to present a credible case for investment to foreign investors. All of this supports the case for a Great North Plan that identifies the contribution each city region can make in an overall narrative. The plan could also help in reconciling cross-boundary issues – and the question of infrastructure and the need to promote connectivity across and beyond the Powerhouse area. But it is essential to avoid an unnecessary layer of planning policy. The trick will be to produce a ‘policy light’ document that reflects the aspirations of the constituent areas while being visionary about what the North offers foreign investors. The support of the right planning policy is vital to the region’s success. Editor’s note: The RTPI and IPPR North will be discussing – with Michael Heseltine – the proposed Great North Plan at their Northern Summit in Leeds on 14 January
“ANY CITY REGIONAL POLICY MUST AVOID THE TOP DOWN APPROACH ASSOCIATED WITH THE DISCREDITED REGIONAL POLICY”
London iis the undisputed political, eco economic and cultural hub of the UK. In terms of population, its 8.6 million residents make it is as big as the next six urban areas combined. It accounts for a fifth of all jobs, and a quarter of the UK’s economic output. Its draw on young talent in search of job opportunities and cultural dynamism is undeniable. While much work has been done to improve their image, other cities in the UK all too often are written off as drab and uninspiring, and while these other cities are seeing modest growth, London’s population is set to hit 10 million by 2030. This demand for new homes has made our capital the epicentre of the housing crisis. Average house prices in London recently surpassed the £500,000 mark, pushing for many the dream of home ownership out of reach. Because of the concentration of job opportunities in London, coupled with the limited alternatives outside of the M25, young people feel drawn like a moth to London’s bright lights. All too many Londoners end up living in less than satisfactory conditions, which has a material impact on their quality of life and overall happiness. For those unable or struggling to save to get onto the housing ladder, many are forced to live
in house-shares into their 30s and 40s; or at home with their parents. Or they spend a disproportionate percentage of their income to rent. Many of those who manage to get a toehold onto the capital’s housing market are forced to live in squalid, cramped conditions in unsafe areas. Not all countries share this domination by one city. Germany has Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, and Cologne. All these cities to a greater or lesser extent offer their residents the full package of good job opportunities, cultural dynamism and, crucially, relative affordability. But it’s not all gloom for the UK. The government’s Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill is designed to address this issue. Manchester is moving up the ranks as the UK’s ‘second city’ and leads the way in the proposed ‘Northern Powerhouse’. In two years’ time it will be able to elect its own mayor and exercise greater autonomy. It is too early to say how successful this initiative will be. But if we are able to provide young people with a greater choice of where to live it would spread the burden of housing demand across the UK, alleviating the crisis in the South-East to give us all a better quality of life.
“ALL TOO MANY LONDONERS END UP LIVING IN LESS THAN SATISFACTORY CONDITIONS”
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I N T E R V I E W P H I L W I LLI A M S
HE
2016 RTPI PRESIDENT PHIL WILLIAMS IS A MAN OF CONSIDERABLE LOCAL AUTHORITY PLANNING PEDIGREE, HAVING MADE HIS MARK IN CARDIFF AND NOW BELFAST. NOW HE'S MAKING PLANNING'S CASE BY EMPHASISING ITS IMPORTANCE IN THE TRIANGULAR BALANCING OF PLANNING, PEOPLE AND POLITICS AS HE TELLS MARTIN READ
Janet Askew’s successor as RTPI president for 2016 is a local authority planning man through and through. Phil Williams has 35 years' experience in London and Welsh authorities, 15 as head of planning for Cardiff City Council leading on a variety of major projects including the redevelopment of Cardiff and Cardiff Bay as well as regeneration and reclamation schemes in the Valleys. A former chair of the Planning Officers Society for Wales – through whose office he was invited by Prince Charles to meet and discuss sustainable development – Williams has also chaired the RTPI’s Regions & Nations Panel as well as its Policy Practice and Research Committee. He’s also served on its Board of Trustees. Most recently, Williams was appointed last March as Belfast’s first Director of Planning and Place, taking on the role following Northern Ireland’s local government reforms and reorganisation that have seen planning powers devolved back to local authorities. As he takes on the mantel of president, Williams believes the RTPI is perfectly placed to sit at the centre of the regeneration and housing debate in the UK as well as continuing to look internationally at playing ”a significant global
PHOTOGRAPHY PETER SEARLE
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AD OF
ON HIS NEW JOB TITLE:
“‘DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND PLACE’ IS AN ATTRACTIVE ROLE BECAUSE IT ISN’T LIMITED TO THE TRADITIONAL PLANNING FUNCTION BUT ACTUALLY RECOGNISES THE NEED FOR PROPER PLACE CREATION” ON THE RTPI’S INTERNATIONAL ROLE:
“THERE’S MERIT IN ENSURING THE INSTITUTE IS ATTRACTIVE TO OVERSEAS STUDENTS – YOU CAN SEE THE POTENTIAL. THE RTPI IS A GLOBAL INSTITUTE AND UNCHALLENGED IN TERMS OF ITS BASE, HISTORY AND DIRECTION OF TRAVEL” ON PLANNING’S ROLE:
“THE WHOLE TENET OF GOVERNMENT THINKING AROUND HOUSING, TRANSPORT, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES DEMANDS A FOCUS ON PLANNING. PLANNING IS AN INTEGRAL ELEMENT – BUT I DON’T THINK PEOPLE APPRECIATE THAT AS MUCH AS THEY SHOULD”
ATTACK
{
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I N T E R V I E W P H I L W I LLI A M S Three-point plan
role” in enabling countries to develop “fit for purpose planning systems”. Williams puts on record his view that Janet Askew leaves the institute in a positive position and that he’ll not be bringing any radical new agenda. “There needs to be continuity with some of the very striking work Janet has done, particularly on the international scene,” says Williams. Although he himself has not worked in the private or voluntary sector, “what I bring is an understanding of what the public sector needs to do to make its contribution. There are huge challenges in terms of planning authority budgets and I’ve been in the middle of all that, looking at budgets to see how we can improve service delivery within that challenging environment.
ON THE HOUSING BILL AND AFFORDABLE HOMES:
MOST MORTGAGE LENDERS WILL EXPECT YOU TO REMAIN IN A PERMANENT JOB AND TO PAY IT OFF OVER 25 YEARS, BUT THE WHOLE EMPLOYMENT MARKET IS MORE TRANSITORY NOW, WITH ANY PEOPLE ON SHORTTERM CONTRACTS. PEOPLE JUST DON’T HAVE THAT LIFELONG STABILITY IN WORK ANY MORE” Housing
Understandably, housing is set to remain the most pressing concern in the UK for 2016. Williams believes planning’s role to be crucial. “Planners have the ability to look at things in a more holistic way. Yes, housing is a key component, but recognising where people live, work and carry out their leisure time is so significant in trying to create sustainable communities. “Providing housing in the right places, creating sustainable communities and developing existing communities in a more sustainable way – these things are key. The fact is that even when people can perhaps secure an affordable property they still have to travel significant distances to get to work and spend an unreasonable portion of their salary on travel. It’s about trying to get more sustainable, cheap, efficient transport in a more inte-
C V
HIG HL IG HT S
P HI L WI LLI A MS Education: BA (Hons) degree in geography, Kings College London; MSc in Planning, Cardiff University; MBA, University of South Wales Timeline:
1980
Planning officer, Surrey County Council
1982 Policy research officer at the London Borough of Sutton
1983 Became a member of the RTPI
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1996
Development manager at Caerphilly County Borough Council, fourth largest (in terms of population) among the 22 Welsh authorities. Involved in planning applications relating to reclamation, regeneration and housing schemes
2000
Head of planning at Cardiff City Council, leading on major projects including the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay and the city centre, as well as regeneration / reclamation schemes in the Valleys
2005 Chair of the Planning Officers Society for Wales
2011
Chair of the RTPI’s policy practice and research committee and member of its Board of Trustees
2015 Belfast City Council’s first Director of Planning and Place, taking up the post following the transfer of planning powers to local government
Phil Williams believes a successful place is the result of the interplay between three groups – people, politicians and planners. The latter two groups may be driven by different time horizons (politicians perhaps short-term, linked to an election cycle; planners looking further ahead perhaps 15 to 20 years based on local development plans and longer-term strategic planning) – but each must come together with people in the community to given them a say in order to develop a sense of place. “These relationships, of consultation and inclusion of communities in the planning process, of how we as planners can influence the political angle, are interesting to me at every level from local and regional to national. It’s all about the interrelationship between these three groups.” PEOPLE “Take just one element away and the triangle collapses. It’s about understanding the relative position and weights of each of these three triangular elements – with planning key to balancing that POLITICIANS equation.”
PLACE
PLANNERS
grated way to reduce that burden. Housing is key, but its location is critical.” The other issue that concerns Williams is what he terms the “infrastructure deficit”. “I see it in my current post and it was something I certainly dealt with when Cardiff’s Local Development Plan was being adopted. Deliverability of any plan can be compromised by the capacity of the surrounding infrastructure – the roads, schools, hospitals, etc. That whole infrastructure deficit is something a typical local authority cannot provide solutions to in isolation, and neither can the development community. It needs a joined-up approach. “If the planning profession doesn’t speak up, who else is going to? The planning profession is well placed to articulate the challenges associated with infrastructure deficit issues.” For Williams, the job for planning as a profession is to articulate its concerns. “The planning system can be quite complex; the front-loading of the process appears time-consuming, the adoption of a local development plan within four years as a target date is challenging; it’s enshrined in primary and secondary legislation. Trying to simplify that process and get the right decisions made at the right time is where I think we can exert more influence. We need to push forward and make sure we’re at the heart of the debate.”
City regions Williams believes city regions are the way forward, “a logical economic driver of the
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Phil Williams’ career to date
Jan net Ask kew on 2015 5 – and advice for her successor “I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed every minute of my presidency. I met so many planners in the UK and all over the world. Seeing the effort they put in and the amazing things they’re doing despite the many restrictions placed on them – believe me, planners are working really hard. And the blessing of this role is that you get to meet so many of them.” “I’ve been a planner all my life, working in local government, private practice and
academia – but I saw so much that was new to me last year. I now have millions of photographs and stories in my head and I’ve filled maybe 12 notebooks.” “As for Phil, he may not say it out of modesty, but his day job as Belfast’s first Director of Planning and Place must be one of the most important and complex jobs in town planning. I met many of the people in Belfast setting up what is in effect a completely new system with the devolving
city plus its hinterland”. It’s not just the city that benefits from being at the heart of the region, says Williams, but “the areas surrounding the city core itself can make significant contributions and secure benefits as a result”. Might city regions bring the activity of planning professionals in those areas into sharper focus? “Yes, and some of the work in Cardiff and Swansea as regions has demonstrated that. Although in Northern Ireland, having just had devolved powers for the first time in 40-odd years you can understand that the authorities surrounding the city of Belfast itself are reluctant to engage in a regional perspective and share that power. There’s a sensitivity there, principally political.” All in all, 2016 looks set to be a particularly busy year, but one for which Williams is well prepared. “My wife is very proud and my family all very supportive,” he says.”
down of planning powers to all these new authorities. “Phil, you’ll need to be prepared to talk about a huge amount of things, switching from the technicalities of drainage schemes to quizzing a developer about new housing or local authority planners doing development control. They do a vast array of things, and you’ll have to be ready with questions. But you’ll find they love talking about what they’re doing.”
ON THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTION OF PLANNING:
“THE LINK BETWEEN PLANNING AND PEOPLE IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON. PEOPLE IN MANY COMMUNITIES SEE PLANNING AS PERHAPS NOT AS ENABLING AS IT SHOULD BE. THE ACID TEST WOULD BE TO THEORETICALLY TAKE PLANNING OUT OF THE EQUATION AND FOR THOSE COMMUNITIES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WERE THAT THE CASE”
It all started for Phil Williams with what he describes as his innate passion for “the human, social side of geography”. Entering higher education in the 1970s, Williams took a geography degree at London’s Kings College, moving to London from his home town of Haverford West in Pembrokeshire – “a classic case of the rural boy going up to the big city”. Always interested in planning and local government from these early days, Williams began his working life in the planning department at Surrey County Council, then as policy research officer for the London Borough of Sutton. But in 1983 Williams moved back to South Wales to work as an enforcement officer. “I went from policy research and retailing policy assessments to dealing with unauthorised developments; it just showed me the wide dimension and perspective of planning. “At that time there were plenty of Valley communities reliant on the coal industry and I saw the social and economic impact of the decision to close the collieries.” Williams’ return to South Wales also involved a decision to further develop his education, taking the external exams of the RTPI (“I’m probably one of the last products of the external exams”) and an MSc in planning and IT at Cardiff University. 1983 also the year he became an RTPI member.
“I took particular interest in policy formulation and development management, working for a number of local authorities including Caerphilly County Borough Council working on planning applications relating to reclamation, regeneration and housing schemes.” All of which ultimately culminated in Williams’ appointment as Cardiff’s head of planning in 2000 – followed by 15 years of dynamic planning work coinciding with that city’s significant redevelopment. “The planning service provided a positive contribution to the redevelopment of Cardiff,” says Williams, “both in the city centre and around Cardiff Bay. “I went there as the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was winding up; the Cardiff Bay Barrage had just been put in place, enabling the estuaries to be contained. That brought an opportunity for waterfront development to the city that it didn’t have before – bringing opportunities and resolving challenges.” Major schemes such as the Wales Millennium centre and the Welsh Assembly Debating Chamber followed. Williams also singles out the impact of introducing John Lewis into the city centre as evidence of the planning service driving economic viability. “I wanted to make sure that planning was seen in a positive light, as enabling things to happen, not just as a control mechanism.”
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SENSIBLE RESPONSE TO THE HOUSING SHORTAGE OR “AUDACIOUS SOCIAL POLICY EXPERIMENT”? DAVID BLACKMAN CONSIDERS THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT’S ‘STARTER HOMES’ INITIATIVE
HOME
TRUTHS
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The government has made a big bet, staking its housing policy on a belief that spreading home ownership will boost overall supply. Ministers’ concerns stem from figures showing that the overall rate of home ownership has fallen from a peak of 71 per cent of households in 2003/04 to 63 per cent in 2013/14. This decline has been steepest among first-time buyers. Housing charity Shelter predicted, in a report published in 2015, that unless existing trends are reversed the proportion of those aged 25 to 34 who own their home would halve from 1.2 million now to 616,000 within five years. This would represent just one-fifth of people in this age group, compared with 60 per cent in 2005, says Shelter. The mirror image of this figure shows that the number of those aged 25 to 34 who are
renting has risen from 675,000 to 1.6 million since 2005. And ‘Generation Rent’ is giving up on the home ownership dream, according to a survey by lender Halifax – under half (43 per cent) of 20- to 45-year-olds are saving for a home deposit, a 6 per cent drop compared with the year before.
Aspiring to home ownership Generation Rent’s reluctance to save for a deposit is understandable when the average wage needed to access the typical first-time buyer home is £40,553 – nearly twice the national average annual earnings of £22,044, according to research by KPMG. A survey carried out earlier this year by campaigning group Priced Out estimated that the proportion of tenants who can’t afford to buy their own home has increased from 54 per cent to 69 per cent over the past five years. They also face increased competition from buy-to-let landlords, who are able to put down average deposits of nearly £100,000. And the affordability picture is set to get worse, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which predicted that house prices would rise by 25 per cent over the next five years because of the acute shortage of homes for sale. The government has responded by mobilising its full battery of housing policy tools to fix the problem (see box). It’s a programme that goes far beyond even Margaret Thatcher’s council house right-
“THIS IS ABOUT ASPIRATION AND REINVENTING THE DESIRE TO OWN YOUR OWN HOME”
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to-buy policy of the 1980s. Ministers signalled their intentions in the Conservative manifesto, which contained a controversial pledge to extend Thatcher’s right to buy from council to housing association tenants. Martin Curtis, until recently leader of Conservative-controlled Cambridgeshire County Council, explains why his party’s leadership is so keen to promote home ownership over all other forms of tenure. “This is about aspiration and reinventing the desire to own your own home. Good economies are driven by high aspiration.” The problem now, Curtis adds, is that for too many households home ownership is no longer a realistic goal. And now the planning system has been enlisted to help realise the Conservatives’ home ownership dream.
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MIKE KIELY Planning Officers Society chairman
A fall in house building?
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CHRIS BROWN Chief executive of regeneration developer Igloo
Starter homes vs affordable housing The Housing and Planning Bill going through Parliament rips up the existing policy under which councils can use planning gain agreements to secure affordable homes. Under the new regime a yet-to-bedecided proportion of properties in developments larger than 100 units will have to be offered at a cut-price rate to first-time buyers under the age of 40. The discount will be worth 20 per cent of the market value of the property. Full details of how the new system will work have yet to be revealed, but planning will “no longer be the most important mechanism” for securing affordable rented housing, says Adam Challis, head of UK residential research at JLL. Although councils may still seek extra contributions for affordable rented housing, once a proportion of the units have been top-sliced for starter homes, little will be left in the pot. John Rowley, planning officer at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, says: “There’s only a limited amount of money developers can supply for affordable housing and that’s going to go straight to the starter homes. This specific duty to provide starter homes is going to trump all other types of affordable housing.” Chris Brown, chief executive of regeneration developer Igloo, says: “The local authority will be under a legal obligation to promote starter homes and that will put it in a really difficult
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centage of affordable, but to the model of affordable that is provided within that.”
“THIS SPECIFIC DUTY TO PROVIDE STARTER HOMES IS GOING TO TRUMP ALL OTHER TYPES OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING”
negotiating position with a developer.” “Delivery of mixed tenure communities is becoming much more difficult,” says Hugh Ellis, head of policy at the Town and Country Planning Association, who thinks the new Starter Homes rules represent the first time that a duty has been imposed on local authorities to deliver a specific planning objective. The CPRE’s Rowley worries that this new duty will undermine local plan housing policies painstakingly developed by communities. “It undermines faith in local planning if people feel they have not had their say.” But Curtis, a director at the public affairs company Curtin & Co, counters that councils will be able to adapt their policies to take account of the new regime. “There will be a change, not to the per-
But many experts worry that the government’s single-minded focus on home ownership may undermine its other stated goal to increase house building. According to the Department of Communities and Local Government’s own impact assessment of the policy, published in December, for every 100 starter homes built under the new regime, up to 71 affordable rented and low-cost shared ownership properties will be lost. The discrepancy is explained by the lower subsidy needed to deliver discounted starter homes as opposed to affordable rented dwellings. In the short term, though, Planning Officers Society president Mike Kiely says private house builders are already pausing projects as they wait to see how the new system pans out. “If they can make more money they will hold out for what better suits their model,” he says. And some worry that the policy will not stimulate demand as much as those shaping it hope. Richard Donnell, research and insight director at housing market researchers Hometrack, says many of those able to take advantage of the cut-price starter homes are already catered for by the existing Help to Buy scheme, meaning the new initiative is unlikely to deliver much additional supply. “Starter homes will cannibalise (house builders’) existing business,” he says. Igloo’s Brown says: “It’s effectively paying a 20 per cent discount for houses that would have been built anyway.” In addition, as the government’s former chief civil servant Lord Bob Kerslake warned in this year’s RTPI Lichfield lecture, the focus on home ownership leaves future housing supply almost entirely reliant on the private house builders, who have little commercial incentive to build during downturns, when housing associations have often plugged the gap. Kiely says: “In the past, RSLs (registered social landlords) picked up the baton during downturns. During the past recession and in the ’90s, there was an awful lot of RSLs buying stuff in the market and building it out.” However, associations will find it more difficult to pick up the slack in the future, he warns.
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Threat to mixed communities The biggest losers, though, are likely to be those households who are unable to access home ownership either because they are unemployed or in insecure work and therefore unable to raise a home loan under recently tightened mortgage rules. This group is reckoned by property consultant Savills to add up to 70,000 new households a year. According to figures sourced in December by the Labour Party from the House of Commons library, would-be home owners will need an average income of £55,000 a year and a deposit of £47,000 to buy one of the government’s Starter Homes. “We have to accept that there will be some people for whom this will not be an option,” says Gavin Smart, deputy chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing. “It’s not a question of home ownership being an illegitimate goal, but what else do you do?” Provision of affordable rented housing, until now the mainstay of low-cost housing, will be reliant on cross-subsidy from housing associations’ private sale and rent activities. But this is likely to only deliver a fraction of even the historically low figure of 9,000 truly affordable social rented properties currently being completed each year in England. And this shortfall will be most pronounced at the larger, family home end of the market, says Igloo’s Brown. Low-income households will increasingly be pushed into the insecure private rented sector, adds Smart. On top of this, POS’s Kiely points out, the new starter homes won’t represent a permanent addition to the stock of affordable housing because the discounts will only apply for five years. “If the 20 per cent presumption was in perpetuity you could see it instituting a general reduction that would enable people to gain a foothold on the market, but it’s only for five years. It’s the best investment product going and is just going to
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JOHN ROWLEY Planning officer at the Campaign to Protect Rural England
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HUGH ELLIS Head of policy at the Town and Country Planning Association
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RICHARD DONNELL Research and insight director at housing market researchers Hometrack
FROM HOUSE TO HOME
How the government is prioritising home ownership above other forms of tenure: • Doubling the housing budget from 2018/19, with subsidies switched from primarily affordable rented properties to help deliver 400,000 owner-occupied Starter Homes, shared ownership and rent to buy; • Extending the Right to Buy scheme to housing association tenants; • Making the Help to Buy scheme in London more attractive by enabling households living in the capital to benefit from an interest-free loan worth 40 per cent of the value of the property they want to buy; • Withdrawing higher rate mortgage interest rate relief on income from rented properties; • Changing planning rules so that one in five new properties on developments containing more than 100 homes must be Starter homes; and • Adding 3 per cent to stamp duty on sales of buy-to-let rented homes.
“WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT THERE WILL BE SOME PEOPLE FOR WHOM THIS WILL NOT BE AN OPTION”
inflate prices,” he says. Ruth Cadbury, Labour MP for the west London constituency of Brentford, recently warned in the House of Commons that the new regime would mean the end of new general needs social housing in the capital. JLL’s Challis believes that under-provision of affordable housing will have damaging consequences not only for those in housing need, but for the economy, too, particularly in places like London where housing affordability pressures are greatest.
“Running roughshod over general need is a very dangerous move. For the strength of London’s economy we need a variety of balanced, mixed communities and affordable has to be part of that mix.” Planning minister Brandon Lewis has argued that a mix of subsidies available under the Starter Homes and Help to Buy schemes could enable relatively low-income households to secure a foot on the housing ladder. Curtis says: “If you can drive more people into home ownership potentially you are going to have less people having a demand for social housing. It might drive down the cost of (private) renting: people have to remember social housing is not the only form of affordable housing.” For Hometrack’s Donnell, this entire home ownership push is an audacious social policy experiment, which will prove one way or the other whether the market really can deliver the goods on housing. Those locked out of the housing market will be crossing their fingers that the government’s hunch is right.
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OF ONE
The Paris Agreement marks a historic accord in the challenge to tackle climate change. How can planning help to deliver its goals? Simon Wicks reports
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In early December the world agreed on how to limit climate change. After a fortnight of intense negotiation, all 196 countries at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (known as COP21) consented to the Paris Agreement. Its keystone is a commitment to keep global warming “well below” 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, with an “endeavour” to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Achieving this will require a sea change in the way we generate and use energy. “This has basically said that fossil fuels have had their day,” says Naomi LuhdeThompson, Friends of the Earth’s planning adviser. We need also to considerhow humans can minimise
“CLIMATE CHANGE HAS TO BE THE FIRST AMONG EQUALS NOW. PLANNERS HAVE TO BE ABLE TO GIVE IT MORE WEIGHT”
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IN ACCORD
The main points of the Paris climate change accord:
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“WE NEED A VERY CLEAR STATEMENT FROM MINISTERS THAT GOOD PLANNING IS CRITICAL TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION”
their environmental impact through the design of settlements and transport systems, patterns of consumption, environmental protections, building standards, business practices… the list goes on and raises the question: How? “We’re at 25 per cent renewable energy at the moment, but we’ve got to get close to 100 per cent,” says Rob Shaw, director of sustainability and climate change at environmental planning and design consultancy LDA. “To deliver on the targets we’re going to have to think again.” Thinking again, for Shaw, means viewing plan-making as the act of fitting the various pieces of the climate change mitigation and adaptation jigsaw together. “We’re going to have to move away from speculative applications for renewables,” he says by way of example. “We need to bring renewables – and risk management – into the plan-making process.” Specifically, he’d like to see the National Grid brought into the planning process, so that energy planning can happen in concert with planning for housing, schools, retail, employment and so forth. “My clients put in planning applica-
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Keep global temperatures “well below” 2.0°C and “endeavour to limit” them to 1.5°C
Limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the same levels that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally
Review each country’s contribution to cutting emissions every five years
Rich countries to help poorer nations by providing “climate finance” to fund climate change adaptation and renewable energy
tions based on criteria that are primarily not within the gift of planning,” Shaw explains. “They’re looking at places where there’s capacity on the grid, and that leads to sub-optimal outcomes, conflict with communities over land use and a ‘them and us’ mentality. By bringing it into the plan-making process we can have an allocation of sites.” The future of energy, he says, is local – and much will be created on our own properties. But for configuration to work, energy companies and local government will have to work out how they can generate revenue from a profoundly different generation and distribution mechanism. Such revenues will be necessary to fund innovation and the maintenance of infrastructure. With central government funding for renewables unlikely, regional
bodies may have to step into the breach. Devolution could be a lever for change.
First among equals “Climate change is so specialised in its implementation and needs that the planning system has to be the most appropriate mechanism for doing it,” says Shaw. He and Luhde-Thompson both argue that planners already have the legal and policy tools to deliver much of what is needed. “It’s [about] the level of weight that’s given to climate change mitigation,” says Luhde-Thompson. “Paragraph 93 of the NPPF is extremely positive. But climate change has to be the first among equals now. Planners have to be able to give it more weight. It has to be considered in every decision. But that’s not necessarily what’s happening.”
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A framework for the future? Luhde-Thompson’s concern is that an emphasis on planning for economic growth has drowned out those other two pillars of sustainable development, the fulfillment of social and environmental aims. A political steer is needed. “It would be very important for the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to come out and say how important tackling climate change is and to reinforce the NPPF,” she says. To date, however, there has been a gap between rhetoric and reality. A week after the Paris Agreement, the government slashed subsidies for solar energy and handed out 93 fracking licences. It has scrapped onshore wind subsidies, ditched the zero-carbon homes standard and talked up the role of gas in “bridging the gap” to a low-carbon future. Such policy signals are discouraging, says Shaw. “The investment community is going to be very, very nervous of taking what was meant to be a very clear policy signal towards more gas.” Shaw’s reading is that government has been anxious that the speed of transition towards renewables was putting the UK at an economic disadvantage. The Paris Agreement, however, will create a kind of level playing field internationally. “Now that you’ve got this legally binding target and a five-year ‘stocktake’, it will give a clear, strong signal to the market and give the ability to government to say, ‘Look, we need to do something because everyone else is doing something as well’.” But with good intentions unlikely to turn into cash, money “needs to come from corporate bodies at the level of local authorities and LEPs. We can see the value economically in investing in climate change mitigation and adaptation, so let’s properly resource that”, he adds.
Low-carbon world UK cities are already making strides towards carbon-free operations, says Jackie Homan, head of sustainability at Birmingham City Council. “Around climate change cities have got quite ambitious plans in place already,” she says. “For example, the Green Commission in Birmingham already has a 60 per cent carbon reduction target against a 1990 baseline.” This 2027 target is part of a wider ‘Carbon Roadmap’ and presently “mainly driven by things such as addressing healthy air quality and a modal shift in public transport to reduce congestion”. But Birmingham is also just one of
An 15-paragraph section of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is dedicated to explaining how planners can “meet the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change”. The critical paragraph is number 93, which states: “Planning plays a key role in helping shape places to secure radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, minimising vulnerability and providing resilience to the impacts of climate change, and supporting the delivery of renewable and low-carbon energy and associated infrastructure. This is central to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.”
three cities, with Amsterdam and Mumbai, piloting the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Net Zero Emission City programme. Its focus in Birmingham is on the 14-hectare city centre Smithfield redevelopment. “We’re looking at how we can work with the private sector on making zero emissions an investable proposition,” says Homan, adding: “What’s coming out of COP 21 is starting to make people realise that we need to mainstream these things. This is a global issue and it’s something that everybody needs to address.” Business models must be proven and policy reinforced before investors are confident enough to release substantial funds. Cash is, as ever, the pinch point. Birmingham’s endeavour to bring private and public sectors together is also evident in the Birmingham District Energy Company run with Cofely District Energy. What Holman would really like to see is more programmes like the £120 million London Green Fund, which harnesses European,
“NOW YOU’VE GOT THIS LEGALLY BINDING TARGET AND A FIVE YEAR ‘STOCK TAKE’ IT WILL GIVE A STRONG SIGNAL TO THE MARKET AND GIVE THE ABILITY TO GOVERNMENT TO SAY ‘LOOK, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING’ ”
local authority and private funding. “Local authorities can’t do it on their own, but neither can the private sector,” she says.
A long-term view Blogging about COP21, the RTPI’s chief executive Trudi Elliott observed that the economic argument in favour of lowcarbon living needs to be won before serious transformation can occur. “Investments in sustainable transport and housing that are critical for lowcarbon futures and for inclusive development are also essential inputs into economic growth,” she wrote. “As the French Prime Minister’s Office outlined before the conference, ‘the task of COP21 is to send strong policy signals that determined climate action is needed and will not harm the economy. In fact, these actions will trigger multiple employment, health and human development benefits by aligning strengthened short-term economic growth with long-term sustainable development goals’.” Marion Frederiksen, the RTPI’s international policy and research officer, insists that planners can provide both the longterm vision and the understanding of sustainable development. But planning must also recognise that climate change adaptation is an international drive that will involve countries sharing resources. We can all learn from elsewhere, says Frederiksen, even from the developing nations that richer countries are obliged by the Paris Agreement to support. “Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador have the environment written into their constitution. It doesn’t matter if you have a change of government, the rights of nature still have to be observed.” Even the World Bank recognises that planners are “one of the professions best placed to assist in implementing international agreements on sustainable development”. It is recruiting planners to guide its infrastructure loans. In a post-Paris Agreement world, planners could have an integral role to play in mitigating and adapting to climate change. But the stars will have to align across legislation, policy and funding. In the present climate it’s possible. “There’s been a lot stronger commitment than anybody thought a year ago,” says Frederiksen. Can we do it? Yes, says Luhde-Thompson, but planners must be constantly mindful. “We need to make sure that every planning decision is having to count towards greenhouse gas emissions.”
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WAYS TO CHANGE THE WORLD? THE UNITED NATIONS’ NEWLY ADOPTED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AIM TO PROVIDE A BLUEPRINT FOR CREATING A BETTER WORLD. CLIVE HARRIDGE OFFERS A COMMONWEALTH PERSPECTIVE
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IN THE YEAR 2000 the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set out the global community’s aspirations to tackle some of the fiercest challenges facing the world. Mainly focused on helping developing countries, the MDGs set targets for progress on a range of development indicators. There has been great progress in many areas – for example, extreme poverty has been halved (falling from 1.9 billion living in extreme poverty in 1990 to 836 million in 2015). The likelihood of a child dying before the age of five has also been halved, and 90 per cent of children in developing countries are now enrolled in primary schools. Across the world, more than two billion more people now have access to clean drinking water. Despite such successes, however, there are still many gaps left by the MDGs. Huge numbers of people still live in extreme poverty, and millions of children are denied the right to schooling. Persistent gender inequalities remain; millions of citizens are subject to climate change hazards. When the UN agreed to the goals, its members also signed up to a 15-year I M AG E S | A L A M Y / COR B I S / G E T T Y
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“ADDRESSING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS PROVIDES NATIONS WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHIFT TO A PATH OF INCLUSIVE, SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT”
Building on the momentum of their predecessors, they have ambitions to address inequalities, economic growth, cities and human settlements, energy, climate change, justice and more. They are global in nature and universally applicable – and, crucially, they are not intended to be independent from each other. Success is contingent on the goals being implemented in an integrated manner. Underpinning each of the 17 SDGs are a number of targets, and work is now being undertaken to identify global indicators to measure progress towards the implementation of the SDGs over the next 15 years. Addressing the goals provides nations with an opportunity to shift to a path of inclusive, sustainable and resilient development. In the words of the UN, “it is an agenda of action for people, the planet and prosperity”.
The urban challenge
review. This culminated in the United Nations agreeing in September 2015 to replace the MDGs with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) supported by 169 targets. Two months later, at the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta, 53 Commonwealth heads committed to the UN’s ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, which incorporates the 17 goals. This involved promising to help states secure resources to achieve the 17 SDGs.
The Sustainable Development Goals
Mortality figures for under-fives have been halved since 1990, and 90 per cent of children in developing countries now receive primary education
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises that ending poverty must be accompanied by economic growth and measures to address a range of social needs while also tackling climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals are thus much broader in scope than the previous MDGs and they apply to all countries, whether developed or developing. They have also been prepared through a more open and participatory process than the MDGs, which were compiled by experts.
Many of the challenges to be addressed by the SDGs stem from the high rates of urbanisation being experienced – much of it associated with extreme poverty. Within parts of the Commonwealth, rates of urbanisation are among the highest in the world. Many Commonwealth countries have experienced significant economic growth, leading to extensive and rapid urban development. But this economic transformation has come with substantial environmental and social costs. The RTPI, the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) and others have been active over the past two years in promoting the need for a specific SDG directly related to urban areas. This is not least because what happens in the Commonwealth has enormous significance globally – it represents nearly a third of the global population and a quarter of the land area. We were successful, and the final list of goals includes SDG 11: “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” This shift in direction from the MDGs highlights the need for action in the places where people live. Whether in mega-cities like Mumbai, which drive national economies, or in villages vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, these are the places where words need to translate into deeds.
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17 goals for a better world The UN Sustainable Development Goals in brief
“DESPITE THE HUGE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, GENERAL AWARENESS OF THEM REMAINS VERY LOW”
CAP was also very active in the recent CHOGM, which led to the ‘Malta Declaration on Governance for Resilience’. This includes specific reference to the significance of planning in securing resilient urbanisation and building a sustainable future in line with SDG11. The trends associated with rapid urbanisation will inevitably continue as people around the world migrate to urban areas in ever-larger numbers. But rather than see urbanisation as the problem, we should look to it as the solution to many of the challenges we are facing. That is, of course, if the urbanisation is well planned and sustainable. If so, it has the potential to underpin economic growth, which in turn can benefit a wide range of issues, from poverty and social inclusion to climate change. In the words of Dr Joan Clos, UN-Habitat executive director and former mayor of Barcelona: “We must move away from urban development that is power-hungry and creates ecological risks, towards a new urban model that is productive, safe and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. This is not a dream. In fact, it is not only possible but an imperative.”
What happens now? Although led by the UN and national governments, successful implementation of the SDGs can only be achieved through partnership working between governmental and non-governmental organisations, including the private sector. Although the work of planners is directly related to SDG11, we also have key roles in helping to address many of the other SDGs. CAP itself has been promoting the role of planning in the Commonwealth to help meet the new agenda. While here in the UK we have a wellestablished planning system, this is far from true for many Commonwealth countries where effective planning and planning resources can be extremely limited. To this end, CAP was a significant con-
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Partnerships for the goals
No poverty Zero hunger
Peace, justice and strong institutions
Good health and wellbeing
Life on land
Quality education
Life below water
Gender equality
Climate action
Clean water and sanitation
Responsible consumption and production Sustainable cities and communities
Reduced inequalities
Affordable and clean energy Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Find out more at: tinyurl.com/planner0116-CHOGM
tributor to ‘The Gaborone Declaration – Local Government Vision 2030’ agreed by the Commonwealth Local Government Forum earlier this year. This recognises the key role planning has in local government in securing successful implementation of the SDGs. In particular, it emphasises the urgent need across the Commonwealth for national urban policies to provide for effective planning. 2015 has been a remarkable year with the agreement to the Sustainable Development Goals by all 193 United Nations countries and their subsequent endorsement by 53 Commonwealth heads of government. General awareness of the SDGs remains very low, however. At the moment national governments are saying all the right things. But for
success to be achieved this talk needs to be supported by actions and appropriate resource allocation. There also needs to be buy-in from local governments, civil society and the private sector. Ultimately, successful sustainable development requires effective partnership working across professions, combining all these sectors and implementation at the local level.
Clive Harridge is honorary secretarygeneral of the Commonwealth Association of Planners and head of planning, transport and design for Amec Foster Wheeler
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INSIGHT
DiF { D
DECISIONS IN FOCUS
Decisions in Focus is where we put the spotlight on some of the more significant planning appeals and court cases of the last month – alongside your comments. If you’d like to contribute your insights and analyses to future issues of The Planner, email DiF at editorial@theplanner.co.uk LEISURE
HOUSING
Awesome awaits as permission is granted to LEGOLAND Windsor to develop a Haunted House attraction
‘Haunted House’ approved for LEGOLAND Windsor
140 homes approved for North Berwick ( SUMMARY Permission has been granted for a residential development in North Berwick after a reporter decided the proposal would go some way to remedy an affordable homes shortage in East Lothian.
( SUMMARY Permission has been granted for a new Haunted House attraction at the LEGOLAND Windsor amusement park after an inspector ruled that the development would not be materially harmful to the operation of local highways. ( CASE DETAILS Inspector Robert Parker noted that the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Local Plan designates the park as a major developed site within the green belt and thus open to infill development. He found that the proposal would not greatly increase the developed proportion of the site as it would occupy a small gap between existing rides and wouldn’t exceed the height of existing buildings. The inspector also found that because of the “attractive landscaped setting” of the proposal site, the Haunted House would not be visible from outside the resort. He said the building itself would have no greater impact on the openness of the green belt than the existing LEGOLAND development.
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The council contended that the new attraction would increase visitor traffic, which in itself would constitute harm to the green belt. Parker noted that the council had offered no evidence that increased visitor numbers would be “inevitable” as a result of the proposal, and that evidence from LEGOLAND and other theme parks in the Merlin Group indicated that investment in headline attractions did not automatically increase visitor numbers. The council posited that the attraction would prevent a decline in visitors and so increase traffic by default; the inspector thought it would be “unreasonable to use the planning process to actively seek a reduction in visits”.
( CONCLUSION REACHED Parker found that even viewing the appellant’s uncontested worse-case traffic figures, a traffic increase would be “neither significant nor perceptible in the context of daily and seasonable fluctuations in flows”. Mitigation measures were ruled unnecessary, and would be better dealt with by the multi-agency traffic working group. The cost of appeal proceedings was awarded to the appellant as the council had acted unreasonably by refusing the appeal without sufficient evidence.
Appeal Ref: APP/ T0355/W/15/3005191
( CASE DETAILS Reporter Richard Dent noted that the housing land requirement for East Lothian is 6,250 for the period 2009 to 2019, and 3,800 for 2019 to 2024. The appellant, Miller Homes, argued that there is a shortfall in the district’s fiveyear housing supply of 1,750 for the period 2013 to 2018. Although the council disputed the appellant’s calculations, it accepted that there is a shortfall. Dent acknowledged that as the site lies within designated countryside the scope for new residential development there is severely restricted, but decided that in light of the council’s accepted housing shortfall, development would be appropriate. Although the 140 units suggested in the proposal would be significant in the
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A development in Berwick was permitted to help address a lack of affordable homes
difficulties and/or autism. The college’s director said that the facility would be “heaven sent” for students who wished to undertake supervised work experience in caring for small animals.
context of North Berwick, the town is described as one of the main settlements in East Lothian, and the council accepted that the development would be appropriate in scale and character. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Council concerns over the development lacking robust boundaries, thus risking setting precedent for future expansion, were found to be easily mitigated through a planning condition. The appellant further argued that any future housing would be properly considered through the local development plan preparation process. Several financial contributions were agreed, including £2,210,000 towards education infrastructure, £15,000 towards the provision of a school crossing patrol, and an affordable housing provision of 35 houses.
and small animal housing unit and a training facility for students with severe learning difficulties in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, after an inspector found the scheme constituted inappropriate development within the green belt. ( CASE DETAILS The appellant had sought to erect a timber-finish, hexagonal parasol building to house the proposed facilities. Inspector Peter Eggleton conceded that the building had been designed to limit its wider impact. The appellant posited that the development would seek to promote the importance of conservation of wildlife in the local community, encourage outdoor recreational activities and provide facilities for outdoor pursuits. The facility would also be used by staff and students of Trinity Specialist College, which is a training establishment for young adults with severe learning
( CONCLUSION REACHED Despite acknowledging that the scheme would both benefit the local community and encourage economic activity in a rural setting, Eggleton found that these positives did not outweigh the development’s harm in reducing the openness of the green belt.
Appeal Ref: APP/ P4605/W/15/3130074
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Clark backs Tonbridge solar park refusal ( SUMMARY Communities secretary Greg Clark has upheld an inspector’s decision to refuse developer Capel Grange Solar Energy permission for a 22.3-hectare solar photovoltaic park in Tonbridge, Kent, after finding that the scheme was inappropriate for the green belt.
Appeal Ref: PPA-210-2047
GREEN BELT
Cattery and specialist college facility inappropriate in green belt ( SUMMARY Planning permission has been refused for a cattery I M AG E S | A L A M Y / G E T T Y
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An inspector ruled a small animal housing unit and college training facility in Sutton Coldfield as incompatible with green belt use
( CASE DETAILS The communities secretary agreed with inspector John Woolcock’s assessment that the proposal would contravene both Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s core strategy and local plan policies surrounding protection of the green belt. He said it would erode the openness of the Metropolitan Green Belt and “conflict with the purposes of including land within it”. Both Clark and Woolcock deemed that the limited grazing possible around the solar panels would “significantly underutilise” 14.4 hectares of best and most versatile (BMV) land for a long period of time, conflicting with the national policy, which “encourages the effective use of land by focusing large-scale solar farms on previously developed and nonagricultural land”. He found that there was no “compelling evidence” to sanction development on BMV land, as is called for in the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 March 2015. ( CONCLUSION REACHED The communities secretary disagreed with the inspector’s conclusion that the temporary nature of the scheme should factor into consideration, viewing that the 25-year life span was a “considerable period of time”. He found that “the evidence submitted does not demonstrate that the impacts of the appeal scheme are, or could be made, acceptable”, and so the appeal was dismissed.
Appeal Ref: APP/ M2270/A/14/2226557
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DiF { D
DECISIONS IN FOCUS AGRICULTURE
Plans for an earth slurry lagoon in Hereford have been allowed
RENEWABLE ENERGY
DCLG upholds anaerobic digestion plant rejection ( SUMMARY The Department for Communities and Local Government has backed an inspector’s decision to refuse permission for an anaerobic digestion plant at Fletcher Bank Quarry, Ramsbottom, after it was found to constitute inappropriate development in the green belt. ( CASE DETAILS Inspector Jean Nowak accepted that the plant’s proposed position within the quarry bowl limited the visibility of the land, but suggested that this would not mitigate the impact of the development on the openness of the green belt insofar as the openness of the green belt refers to the absence of buildings. In his letter, the secretary of state noted that planning permission had been granted for operations including a construction waste recycling and composting facility, which the appellants identified as a fall-back option.
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Earth slurry lagoon approved for Hereford farm
Nowak noted that there was a “considerable degree of uncertainty” concerning the impact of either scheme on living conditions of sensitive receptors in the local area, with a significant risk that both could routinely release odours at levels that would have a notable detrimental effect. Nowak noted that because of limitations in feedstock capacity within 10 miles of the site there was a “significant uncertainty” regarding the likely tonnage of waste that would be diverted away from landfill each year as a result of the proposals, which gave the benefits of the scheme in this respect only moderate weight. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Although both the inspector and the secretary of state agreed that in other issues including highway safety and noise impact the scheme was unlikely to have a significant detrimental effect, the extent to which the proposal went against national policy regarding green belt protection meant that the appeal should be rejected.
Appeal Ref: APP/ T4210/A/14/2224754
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( SUMMARY Permission has been granted for the construction of an earth slurry lagoon at Eastfields in Hereford, after the development was found to be acceptable in relation to landscape character, the aquatic environment and the conservation of minerals. ( CASE DETAILS Inspector Joanne Jones noted that a slurry storage lagoon was largely completed at the time of her inspection, but that the proposal included remodelling of the lagoon to reduce its size and introduce an impermeable layer. She noted that the site was bounded by mature trees that limited views towards the site from public vantage points, and found that the topography of the land meant that there would be no sight of the slurry store from neighbouring properties. The slurry store would have a capacity of some 3,000 cubic metres and would be filled twice yearly by an umbilical pipe, with the slurry to be spread on an adjacent field. Jones posited that despite council concerns about the impact of the development on the landscape with particular regard to adjacent mature woodland, the works proposed would actually reduce the current store and facilitate the restoration of earth banks and additional tree planting. The scheme also proposes to move the slurry store away from the woodland, and remove previously deposited material to allow for
restoration measures. The appellant’s submitted Construction Quality Assurance Plan largely assuaged concerns over the effect on the surrounding aquatic environment through its inclusion of a geo-grid reinforcement to construction clay and installation of a leak detection system. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Jones noted that the site and farm lie within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone, and as such a five-month slurry storage capacity is required in order to “minimise diffuse pollution from nitrate and phosphate runoff”. The appellant does not currently have such a capacity, thus necessitating the implementation of the appeal scheme.
Appeal Ref: APP/ W1850/W/15/3063758
HERITAGE
Archaeological mitigation enforced on graveyard ( SUMMARY An area of agricultural land for which planning permission has been granted to extend a church graveyard in Kilmeston, Hampshire, must be subject to thorough archaeological investigation before development can start, says an inspector. ( CASE DETAILS Inspector G J Rollings noted that the site and its surroundings previously provided evidence of archaeological remains, and that the immediate
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surrounding area appeared to have once been a historic centre that evolved into the village of Kilmeston. Rollings acknowledged that there was a “significant likelihood” of further remains which may date back to the late Saxonearly Medieval times. He determined that these were of moderate to high historical significance and could be considered non-designated heritage assets. As the site lies within the South Downs National Park Authority area, the protection of these assets was accorded further weight. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Rollings acknowledged that “the likely high costs of the required archaeological works would be onerous for a charitable institution” and could impede the development’s viability. He also conceded that there was a definite local need for an enlarged graveyard that would be best placed within the appeal site. However, given the significance of the heritage assets, Rollings chose to enforce archaeological mitigation.
Appeal Ref: APP/ Y9507/W/15/3127969
HOUSING
Ludlow homes approved despite amenity impact ( SUMMARY Outline permission has been granted for up to 215 homes, plus public open space and a convenience store in Ludlow, Shropshire, after an inspector found that the benefits of the plan overrode any objections. ( CASE DETAILS Inspector B J Sims noted that saved policies of the South Shropshire Local Plan 200411 (SSLP) outline a county requirement for 27,500 new dwellings by 2026 – 500 to 1,000 of them in Ludlow. According to the SSLP, the appeal site lies outside the settlement boundary of Ludlow and is not allocated for development. But this plan is set to be replaced by the Site Allocations and Management of Development Plan (SAMDev), which calls for 875 new dwellings to be built between 2006 and 2026, with two allocated sites also sitting outside the current development boundary. Concerns were raised about the site’s inaccessibility because of the A49 to the
north and a main railway line traversing the site’s southern boundary. These issues were mitigated by various plan alterations to highway junctions and the addition of a pedestrian bridge in place of a current level crossing. A Rule 6 party argued that the proposed bridge could be unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists along a narrow section of a main road. It also said the enlarged public open space suggested in the proposal, accessible via the bridge, would generate unacceptable numbers of dog walkers and associated traffic. Sims acknowledged that these potential effects would be “noticeable and no doubt irritating to residents”, but they did not warrant a planning objection. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Sims said the “demonstrable” sustainability of the proposal coupled with the benefits of this number of affordable and market homes outweighed “any small degree of environmental harm”.
Appeal Ref: APP/ L3245/W/15/3001117
HOUSING
Affordable homes allocation suitable for Poole ( SUMMARY Permission has been granted for 70 homes in Upton, Poole, after Purbeck District Council rejected the plan because of lack of suitable affordable housing provision. A graveyard extension had to be investigated by archaeologists because of the “significant likelihood” that it held late ancient remains
( CASE DETAILS Inspector RPE Mellor noted that the appeal site is allocated for housing in
the council’s development plan, but that permission was refused as the appellant sought to designate four dwellings as affordable housing against the 40 per cent allocation (28 homes) required by the council. Mellor took note of several viability studies to which the site had been subject, including the council’s Update Study on affordable housing viability, published in 2010. Based on its findings, the residual land value for the development with 40 per cent affordable housing would have been £264,000. After an examining inspector expressed concern about viability in Upton, the CIL rate for the development was reduced from £30 per square metre to £10 per sq m. Purbeck council consulted the District Valuer Service, which said the scheme could provide 40 per cent affordable housing, allowing for a gross development value of £13.63 million. The council and the appellant disagreed on the accuracy of valuations relating to both affordable and market housing. It was agreed that the development costs, landowner’s return and developer’s profit should all be reduced compared to the appellant’s viability appraisal and that the gross development value should be increased. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Mellor ruled that the development could viably support 21 affordable homes, equating to a 30 per cent provision. A completed s.106 also made effective provision for suitable alternative natural green space (SANG).
Appeal Ref: APP/ B1225/W/15/3049345
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LLegal landscape Rose Grogan
THE DUTY TO COOPERATE: WHAT NEXT? The duty to cooperate has not been an overwhelming success in helping authorities to meet housing need. But it may soon become moot, says barrister Rose Grogan The housing crisis continues to vex those making local plans, and inspectors who have to consider whether a draft plan is capable of meeting the objectively assessed needs of an area. One particular issue is the question of how to get local planning authorities to engage with one another on the issue of housing. The government’s answer to this in 2011 was the creation of a ‘duty to cooperate’ in the Localism Act. At the time, it was hailed as a better alternative to regional planning, removing an unnecessary layer of policy while still setting the framework for strategic planning across local authority boundaries. On its face, the duty appears to provide a much-needed framework for addressing strategic planning problems. Local authorities are required to cooperate with one another on cross-boundary issues, and face having their plans found to be unsound by inspectors, leading to considerable delays in bringing forward a plan if the duty is not complied with. There are cases where inspectors have found that a local authority has not discharged the duty: Central
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Bedfordshire, Aylesbury Vale, and Hart District Council are three examples. These local authorities barely engaged with their neighbouring authorities, and so it was a clear case of failing to discharge the duty. In practice, however, the duty to cooperate has been the subject of criticism, in particular because it is a duty of form, not substance. In some ways, the criticism is justified. For a start, it does not require agreement. All that is required is evidence that
“WITHOUT A REQUIREMENT THAT LOCAL AUTHORITIES REACH AGREEMENT, THE DUTY WILL CONTINUE TO FALL SHORT OF ACHIEVING THE ULTIMATE AIM OF GETTING LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITIES TO MEET HOUSING NEED”
attempts have been made to cooperate. A further criticism is that the duty is all stick and no carrot, there is little positive incentive for neighbouring authorities to cooperate, and the enforcement of the duty currently depends on inspectors taking a robust approach. What is not clear from cases where local authorities have fallen foul of the duty is whether the threat of unsoundness had any impact on their decision to go about cooperating (or not) in the way that they did. The duty to cooperate has been the subject of very little litigation. One example is the recent case of (R on the application of Central Bedfordshire Council) v SSCLG [2015] EWHC 2167 (Admin), where the court upheld the finding of an inspector that the duty had not been complied with. Surprisingly, there have been very few challenges to inspectors’ conclusions that the duty has been complied with. The courts
have therefore not had the opportunity to bolster the duty, nor do they appear interested in doing so. Very early on, the courts confirmed that the test on review is whether an inspector’s decision was rational, and the court will not embark on a more searching analysis of whether the duty has in fact been discharged. Without a requirement that local authorities reach agreement, the duty will continue to fall short of achieving the ultimate aim of getting local planning authorities to meet housing need. One potential answer to this problem comes from the government’s devolution agenda. The creation of ‘city regions’, with the potential for devolved planning powers suggests a return to regional planning to cater for strategic issues such as housing. Increasingly, local authorities are coming together to create joint strategic plans to tackle issues such as housing and soon there will be devolved cities with planning powers across a number of local authorities. All of this sounds very similar to the regional planning that the coalition government abolished in 2010, although this time around regional planning will take on different forms depending on the area. Have we come full circle? Rose Grogan is a barrister with 39 Essex Chambers and specialises in planning and environmental law
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LATEST POSTS FROM THEPLANNER.CO.UK/BLOGS
B LO G S How the energy secretary reversed the first refusal of a DCO application under the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects fast-track process – and Halite’s underground gas storage facility in Lancashire got the go-ahead
L E G I S L AT I O N S H O R T S Achieving development consent for underground gas storage By Sheridan Treger, Tim Smith and Paul Grace
In July 2015, Halite Energy Group’s underground gas storage facility in Preesall, Lancashire, was authorised by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the basis of its ‘nationally significant’ contribution to the security of gas supply, increasing the UK’s gas storage capacity by 20 per cent. Halite’s success had been the culmination of an uphill planning struggle to bring gas storage to Preesall, where the salt strata provides one of the few locations in the UK suitable for man-made caverns to be created by solution mining for the underground storage of gas. The Planning Act 2008 provides a fast-track consenting process for nationally significant infrastructure. Halite’s was the first development consent order (DCO) application under it to be refused by the secretary of state against the recommendation of his examiners. It was also the only DCO decision to be judicially reviewed successfully and to be
re-determined by the secretary of state. Advised by BLP from late 2010, Halite applied to the secretary of state for a DCO in November 2011, which the examiners recommended should be approved. Yet in April 2013 the energy secretary refused the application. Halite judicially reviewed the decision. The High Court found no rational basis for the secretary of state’s conclusion that he had “no convincing evidence” as to the likely capacity of the project, and could not therefore decide whether the project’s benefits outweighed the visual impact of its gas compressor compound. There had been an overall lack of fairness in the process; likely capacity had played no role in the examination, had not been put to Halite and was not a requirement of the relevant national policy statement. The decision was quashed. The secretary of state appointed a firm of specialist geotechnical consultants to assist him in re-determining the decision. Their report concluded a likely storage capacity of three to four times the threshold for an underground gas storage facility being considered “nationally significant”. Having satisfied himself on the question of safety, the secretary of state accepted
Halite’s arguments on the planning balance and determined that there was a “compelling case” for authorising the application. The certainty of outcome of the DCO process, with almost 100 per cent approvals, resides in the clear policy support for certain kinds of infrastructure projects. Nevertheless, as Halite has shown, policies can still be misinterpreted. Also, as the DECC’s refusal of the Navitus Bay wind farm DCO demonstrates, even supportive policies are still part of a wider statutory planning balance, with scope for subjectivity. Government is laudably keen for the process to deliver. Following Halite, examiners are taking opportunities to get to grips with complex technical concerns as early as possible. Also, where even formidable issues remain at the close of examination but still appear capable of being addressed, and there is the political will to grant consent, the secretary of state is increasingly engaging with promoters to promote scope for solutions. Sheridan Treger, Tim Smith and Paul Grace are planning lawyers at BLP. For their full article, visit: tinyurl.com/planner0116halite-dco
Council “failed to apply correct law’ The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has urged Northampton Borough Council to provide conservation training for its planning officers after accusing the authority of failing to apply the correct law and guidance with regard to heritage assets. The LGO’s report said the council failed to consult Historic England, failed to record pre-planning advice, and validated a planning application without the necessary information. The LGO investigation looked at the council’s handling of plans for a café extension in a conservation area. A conservation officer recommended amendments to improve the design and reduce its impact on the listed building and conservation area, but planning officers omitted them and recommended approval. The planning officers also referred to the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 rather than the Planning (Listed Buildings & Conservation Areas) Act 1990.
Consultation halt deemed ‘unlawful’ A High Court judge said the London Borough of Lambeth’s decision to stop consulting on refurbishment options for a housing estate and focus on regeneration alone was unlawful. Bokrosova v London Borough of Lambeth, considered the Cressingham Gardens estate of 301 homes (216 of them council homes). Five options were put forward in February 2014; three considered refurbishment, and options four and five involved regeneration with either full or partial demolition. The council held a consultation in November 2014. In February the cabinet member for housing wrote to residents, saying the lowest cost for refurbishment “is still three times what the council can afford”. He said a paper would go before councillors recommending that the refurbishment option should not be consulted on further. Claimant Eva Bokrosova challenged this decision. Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing said the question was whether it was lawful for the council to reject options one to three put forward for consultation without completing the process, a breach of the section 105 Housing Act 1985 arrangements it had chosen to make. She was not satisfied that enough changed in February 2015 to end consultation on options 1-3.
Stronelairg Wind Farm permit ‘defective’ The Scottish Government’s approval of a wind farm near Fort Augustus was “defective”, said a Court of Session judge. Following a judicial review, Lord Jones said ministers reached a decision on SSE’s 67-turbine project “in breach of environmental obligations”. The application was approved in June 2014, after which landscape charity John Muir Trust sought a judicial review. It said the wind farm would destroy the character of the wild land. Lord Jones said the public were not given a chance to comment on a revised application and the court heard that Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) had objected to the wind farm’s siting. “If the ministers did take into consideration SNH’s objection in principle to any wind farm development at Stronelairg, they have given no reason for rejecting it,” he said.
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CASE STUDY
MERT HYR REVIVAL
CASE ST UDY
AWARD: RTPI AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PLANNING AND DESIGN FOR THE PUBLIC REALM PROJECT NAME: MERTHYR TYDFIL RIVER TAFF CENTRAL LINK AND PENDERYN SQUARE
KEY PLAYERS: MERTHYR TYDFIL COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL, MERTHYR TYDFIL HOUSING ASSOCIATION, MERTHYR TYDFIL COLLEGE, CAPITA SYMONDS DESIGN ENGINEER , MOTT MACDONALD PROJECT MANAGEMENT , BAKER ASSOCIATES CONSULTATION T H E PROJ ECT Merthyr Tydfil had acquired the unwelcome reputation of possessing a town centre that closed at 5pm, says the council’s head of planning Judith Jones, with little to entice the public and which made a poor impression on potential investors. The town was once a major industrial centre, but the loss of heavy industry in the mid-20th century, and later of the factories that followed it, damaged its economy. By 2000 the town centre had many vacant retail premises and those still occupied often sold discount goods, while public buildings were in a general state of dilapidation. Modern shopping centres had opened nearby leaving the Heritage Quarter, the main gateway to the town centre, with empty shops and many derelict listed buildings. Finding that the town suffered from a lack of private sector confidence and that people who did used the town centre viewed it adversely, the council decided to try to change its fortunes through public realm regeneration. This project has restored vitality to the town centre by connecting the main commercial High Street with the Heritage Quarter and in the revamped Penderyn Square the derelict Old Town Hall has been restored as the thriving Redhouse arts centre.
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Redhouse has been the catalyst in regeneration. It offers a gallery, theatre, café, and recording studios and is owned by Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association, which carried out the restoration. Its main tenant is Merthyr College, and a direct link to the main campus has been created by a new bridge across the River Taff. Penderyn Square has been opened up using the site of the derelict former Castle Cinema and now provides a space for people to meet in the town centre and for events, which have included markets, food festivals and Christmas lights displays. The council was keen to take the public with it, not least because delivering the project would involve considerable disruption from construction work within a relatively small area. It appointed Baker Associates in June
“ONE OF THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT WAS TO REVIVE THE TOWN’S ECONOMY, AND THIS IS STARTING TO BEAR FRUIT”
2011 to devise a consultation programme, which sought to gather opinions from stakeholders using traditional methods such as exhibitions and workshops alongside online media while students were targeted during freshers’ week at the college. The results identified the need to improve building frontages, create a new civic square, improved pedestrian links between the railway station and town centre and better connections to the Taff, to which most of the town centre had metaphorically turned its back. Measures included an improved traffic gyratory system to redistribute traffic and reconnect the town centre to Taff and the bridge, which in turn enabled two main roads to be redesigned with better integration between pedestrian and vehicle uses. The link to the River Taff was designed to be a main traffic route that would reduce congestion but also provide attractive gateways to the town centre and college and allow pedestrians to move easily from one bank to the other. Jones recalls the planning issues were not themselves especially complex, but once the project had been agreed, getting it built without a lot of disruption in a small town centre was a challenge. “The project was not difficult in planning terms, but it meant a lot of construction I M AG E S | M E RT H Y R T Y D F I L C O U N C I L
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J U D G E S’ C O M M E N T S The judges considered the Merthyr Tydfil River Taff Central Link and Penderyn Square project one that demonstrates the use of the public realm to pumpprime investment to facilitate wider regeneration. They noted this marked the culmination of 12 years of continued and resilient focus by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and its partners to create the conditions for economic resurgence and showed the economic importance of place-making and asset management as part of regeneration. Judges said the project had been marked by an interesting approach to community engagement, which focused on different audiences and the spaces with which they were concerned.
district and small businesses are starting up, so we are trying to attract employment investment into the town.” Town centre manager Rhian Prosser agrees. She says the improvements have created a place where major chain stores are once again happy to invest and have dramatically cut the number of vacant shops that previously blighted the area. “Events in the square have been hugely important,” she says. “We had 5,000 people to the food fiesta and 25,000 in the town that day. “Having the college run its dramatic arts course at Redhouse means the centre is lively with students and we hope that will sustain a night-time economy.” Merthyr Tydfil is now a functioning centre, rather than a place that was in danger of being sidelined.
THE OUTCOMES
was going on in a small area and there was some public concern about that and access to shops, so we consulted widely and kept people informed and with the consultation results could say ‘well this is now, but look what you are going to get’.” One of the main objectives of the project was to revive the town’s economy, and this is starting to bear fruit. Jones says: “When investors, mainly house builders, come they see what has happened and they think about investing in Merthyr again, it has made a difference to the way they see the town.
Merthyr, once one of the world’s industrial capitals, is enjoying a resurrection following redevelopment of the town’s centre
“We want more homes in the town centre and that is also intended to bring a better night-time economy as it has been known as a town centre that shuts at 5pm.” Access to the railway station has been improved. Jones notes that it “was hidden behind shops and didn’t look very safe”, and the final piece of the jigsaw will be getting permission for a new bus station. “We now have a business improvement
Planning officers have delivered the bridge – a significant piece of engineering – alongside the public realm improvements. Since the scheme’s completion, town centre footfall has remained strong, with an average of 100,000 visitors a week, compared with decreases over the last year in neighbouring towns. The regeneration of the centre of a deprived town has been effective as a means of regenerating the wider area, where poor appearance had discouraged residential, tourism, and commercial investment and generated somewhat negative publicity. Vacancy rates for shops have fallen, traffic and pedestrians flow more freely without conflicting, and the town centre has a focal point.
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Plan ahead P
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Looking North for growth What role will business play in the so-called Northern Powerhouse, and how can planning facilitate that? A February conference will be exploring the issues Chancellor George Osborne appears to be on a mission to singlehandedly oversee an economic revival of the North of England. At a glance, the 'Northern Powerhouse' project seems, to be founded on local governance and an overhaul of the North’s transport infrastructure. It can’t be that simple, surely? Probably not. Nevertheless, it may be about time for those with a vested interest in economic regeneration (i.e. everyone) to arrive at a common understanding of what a Northern Powerhouse actually means. “Our research tells us that business leaders are aware of the term but they don’t really understand what it means," says Martin Venning, joint organiser of a two-day Northern Powerhouse conference in Manchester in late February. “If businesses aren’t able to realise how it applies to their own circumstances and what opportunities can emerge for them, then it’s very difficult
“BUSINESSES WILL ALSO WANT SOME CONFIDENCE THAT THERE’S A LONGER TERM STRATEGY FOR THE NORTH. BUSINESS IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR CERTAINTY" 42
Northern lights: How will the government’s strategy work?
to see how the growth the government aspires to can be delivered.” The fact that it’s a conference aimed ostensibly at business reflects the central role of commerce to powering a Northern juggernaut. But economic growth needs to come hand-in-hand with political, educational and cultural change if it is to make a lasting difference to the wealth and wellbeing of the north of England. It’s no coincidence that the North is leading the way in devolution to city regions, with deals agreed for Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield,the North East and Tees Valley. Indeed, the chief executives of the region’s six largest councils will be discussing how they see devolution playing out in their region in an opening session that promises to set the scene for two days of exploring the Northern Powerhouse idea from a variety of perspectives. Before that, however, Lord Prescott features in conversation. The man who came up with the original revival plan for the North with the Regional Assemblies Bill in 2004 will be offering his thoughts on the government’s fresh approach and what business needs to operate
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profitably in the region. According to Venning, there are three key requirements. “One thing we need to think about fundamentally is that if you take devolution to its fullest extent, it perhaps means a greater role for busineses in providing services that previously would have been provided by the public sector and local authorities. There are all sorts of implications there,” he says. “Businesses will also want some confidence that there’s a longer-term strategy for the North. Business is always looking for certainty. “And the other thing that business really wants to know is what incentives are out there,” Venning continues. “We need to make sure business understands why we should invest in the North. If we don’t have higherquality infrastructure and
supporting services such as broadband, then the North is at a competitive disadvantage. If there remains the possibility that our transport gap can be narrowed somewhat, then the north of England is well placed to benefit from the overheating economy of London and the South-East." Which is where planners come in. Regional planning of a kind that can create the environment for economic growth and its associated benefits is a sine qua non of devolution. Much of the conference will be concerned with how this physical and social infrastructure will come into being, with sessions on transport, energy, technology, education, skills, and more. Even former trade secretary Lord Mandelson is set to have his say. “If we are going to encourage investment we need to stress that we have something unique to offer," says Venning. “Not only do we have great heritage in manufacturing and nowadays in hightech industry, we have 23 universities in the North – their capacity to contribute to the economy is not recognised as yet. “We also have fantastic country. It’s a great place to live. We want to make sure that planners share the vision to make the North a far more globally competitive place, but also to protect what makes the North such a great place.”
LO O K I N G N O R T H What: UK Northern Powerhouse Conference and Exhibition When: 25-26 February 2016 Where: Manchester Central Find out more and book: www.uk-northern-powerhouse.com/
I M AG E | G E T T Y
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DIARY
LISTINGS Talks, conferences, training, master classes – everything you need to keep on top of the latest thinking and developments in the planning world.
LONDON 28 January – Growing London: The importance of Crossrail 2 Crossrail 2 will add capacity to the regional rail network, cutting journey times across the SouthEast. It will also support economic regeneration by providing the infrastructure needed to support 200,000 new homes and 200,000 new jobs. This lecture will examine Crossrail 2’s place in London’s future growth. The speaker is Dr Michèle Dix CBE, managing director of Crossrail 2, who is responsible for developing and gaining funding and powers for the route. Venue: Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner0116-LO-2801 25 February – RTPI’s guide to the planning system in 2016 This conference addresses two big political themes – planning in the context of wider discussions around devolution to local government and how planners are coping with resource limitations. The afternoon session will look at planning with limited resources from the point of view of government, local authorities, and applicants. Venue: The Hatton Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1216-LO-2502
EAST MIDLANDS 23 February – Post adoption of neighbourhood plans The Planning Advisory Service is delivering a number of topical workshops for local authority officers on neighbourhood planning. These will be held across the country and were selected in line with responses to a request for issues. This workshop event is for local authority planners only and places
are strictly limited. Venue: Mercure Nottingham, 2 George Street, Lace Market NG1 3BP Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0116-EM-2302 24 February – Environmental Impact Assessments The EIA process is complex, involving screening, scoping and assessment stages. This workshop covers the relevant legislation, provides explanatory examples and will assist with submitting an EIA. Topics: stages in an EIA; how mitigation can help to reduce impacts to acceptable levels; what to expect of EIA consultants; the planning officer’s role in decision-making; and common methodologies. Venue: Nottingham Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0116-EM-2402 25 February – East Midlands Awards Evening Presentation of Regional Awards for 2015. Keynote speaker is Steve Quartermain, chief planner at DCLG. The evening will start with drinks and canapes at 6pm. The evening is free and open to all planners. The award categories are for: Plan; Development scheme, Local Authority Planning Team; Planning Consultancy; Young Planner; and Chairman’s Award. Venue: Nottingham Contemporary, Weekday Cross, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG1 2GB Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-EM-2502
SOUTH WEST 29 January – Delivering housing: needs and alternatives In the light of rising pressure on housing and changing demographics, this conference explores some key challenges and potential solutions. This
DON’T MISS RTPI London: Mayoral Series 2016 RTPI London, together with its Mayoral Series Partners New London Architecture, Transport for London and ING Media, will be seeking the best speakers to help inform, shape and debate the main priorities for the next mayor. The RTPI London Mayoral Election series will explore different planningrelated areas of interest (some dates and details have yet to be confirmed). • 21 January – Transport (hosted by TfL or Hawkins Brown). • (TBC) 4 February – Strategic planning and the green belt • (TBC) 16 February – Mayoral hustings (hosted by RIBA) • (TBC) Week starting 14 March – Housing (hosted by Colliers) • (TBC week starting 11 April – Maintaining London’s environmental resilience • (TBC) Week starting 25 April – Economics of London and devolution. Details: tinyurl.com/planner0116-LO-mayoral
will include measuring housing need and first-time buyer affordability, together with housing’s social, rural and custom-build dimensions. Guest speakers include: Steve Fidget, WYG Planning; Joanna Lee, Peter Brett Associates; and John Sneddon, Tetlow King. Venue: Swindon Town Football Club, Swindon County Ground, Swindon SN1 2ED Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-SW-2901 23 February – Development management With the government threatening the removal of local planning powers unless local planning authorities improve both planning application and plan-making performance, this event will explore the latest PAS research and case studies on development management approaches with detailed workshops as well as the usual legal and case law updates. Sponsored by Ashfords. Venue: The Rougemont Hotel, Exeter, Devon EX4 3SP Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-SW-2302
NORTH WEST 11 February – Planning support: Knowledge and networking This event is intended to provide administrators and technical support colleagues with an
understanding of the plan system to enable them to appreciate the wider context within which they are working. The day will include an update on the changes to the planning system over the past year. Venue: BDP, Manchester M60 3JA Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-NW-1102
how we can provide better design in place-making. Includes a presentation from one of the successful schemes from the RTPI Planning Awards. Venue: The Assembly Rooms, Fenkle Street, Newcastle NE1 5XU Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-NE-2402
EAST OF ENGLAND
NORTH EAST 26 January – NE Five Institutes Debate: Northern Powerhouse or Northern powercut? Panel debate about the development at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse focusing on the professional delivery of the scheme. Chaired by Ian Wylie, publisher and editor of the Northern Correspondent. Venue: The Great Hall, Sutherland Building, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE1 8ST Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-NE-2601 24 February – Design matters – making successful places This event will examine some of the ways in which great design is achieved. It will consider how the national design agenda and local design guidelines are translated into sustainable development. It will use best practice and case studies both within and outside the region to provide a clear idea of
24 February – Lessons from city planning: Regeneration, development and transport This one-day conference is being sponsored by the Peterborough Investment Partnership, a joint venture between Peterborough City Council and other partners. Speakers to be announced shortly. Venue: Peterborough Conference & Events Venue, ABAX Stadium, London Road, Peterborough PE2 8AL Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0116-EE-2402
YORKSHIRE 19 January – Relationships between qualifying bodies & local planning authorities, linking neighbourhood plans & local plans This Planning Advisory workshop is for local authority planners only. Venue: The Royal York Hotel, YO24 1AA Details: tinyurl.com/ planner0116YO-1901
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NEWS
RTPI {
RTPI news pages are edited by Josh Rule at the RTPI, 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3R 8DL
2016 – year of transition: the non-accredited routes to membership are changing IRAM MOHAMMED, CHAIR OF THE ROUTES TO MEMBERSHIP PROJECT WORKING GROUP, EXPLAINS HOW CHANGES TO THE NON ACCREDITED ROUTES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED WITH MEMBER INVOLVEMENT AND WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD Following the successful completion and implementation of phase 1 of the Routes to Membership project (the review of the Licentiate Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) accredited route), our focus shifted to the non-accredited routes.
Why review? The non-accredited routes to membership had each evolved over time in response to different needs. While some routes and classes had been reviewed individually in the past, there had been no comprehensive review. The result was varied requirements, an unclear membership structure, and potential members lost to the Institute. To maintain the ‘gold standard’ of Chartered Membership, the Board had agreed that all routes should be competency-based, with the APC competencies for the accredited route forming the foundation for all routes. So this was an additional push for the Working Group to carry out a full review.
Member involvement Extensive consultation was carried out during 2015 with RTPI committees and panels and with Technical Members and Legal Associates. As a Working Group, we were very encouraged by the level
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of interest shown by members in the consultation and the issues raised, and thank those who participated. It was clear that this was a topic of interest to members, and that they wanted to see changes to the non-accredited routes so that routes are fit for purpose both now and going forward. Member feedback was invaluable for shaping and developing proposals, which were then thoroughly debated by the Board of Trustees and General Assembly.
What is changing? • The Special Entry, Reciprocal Arrangements and EU Pathway routes to Chartered Membership will close during 2016. They will be replaced with a new Experienced Practitioner APC (EP-APC) route from January 2017. • The existing Associate APC (A-APC) route to Chartered Membership will remain, but is being modified so that there is consistency between the A-APC and EP-APC routes. The modified route will be in place from January 2017.
• New competencies will be in place for the EP-APC and A-APC routes, and to become an Associate, from January 2017. Guidance will be produced and new routes formally launched later in 2016. • Updated experience requirements will be in place from January 2017, including options for those undertaking the new Town Planning Technical Support Apprenticeship and for those without a degree or other qualification (who will be able to use their additional experience to demonstrate how they meet the required standards). • The Technical Member class will close at the end of 2016, with future candidates applying for the Associate class from January 2017 onwards. • The post-nominal AssocRTPI will be introduced for Associates from 2017 in recognition that this class is a partial professional qualification with revised competencies. • From January 2017, the Affiliate class will be broadened to welcome more members, including those working in planning who are waiting to gather the experience they need to progress to another class.
What’s coming next? We will be carrying out further consultation with planning lawyers to identify what they want from membership. This will include reviewing the Legal Associate class, its requirements, and assessment process to ensure that it also, like other routes and classes, is fit for purpose and will be attractive to future members. If you work with planning lawyers, please make them aware of this, as we are keen to hear their views. Please contact Catherine Middleton to get involved.
n This article is the first of a series of updates to keep members informed about the transition year and the new routes that will be coming in from 2017. Please also see the RTPI website www.rtpi.org. uk/applying-for-membership, or contact catherine.middleton@rtpi.org.uk for further information or with questions
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Editorial E: rtpinews@rtpi.org.uk
RTPI (switchboard) T: 020 7929 9494
Registered charity no. 262865 Registered charity in Scotland SCO37841
3 POINT PLAN Planners explain how they would change the English planning system
Alethea Evans, Phil Dash & Bethany Jones Waste Planners, ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL New homes and economic growth require mineral extraction and generate waste. In a plan-led system, new sites must be allocated for the management of these resources. Complex data for Strategic Waste and Mineral Plans is often administered at a national scale. The government’s austerity programme has decimated support for this process. More local authority cuts will exacerbate this issue. Delivery of waste capacity to support new growth has been curtailed as the hard line on green belt has been extended to waste development with the National Planning Policy for Waste. ‘Streamlining the planning system’ has resulted in professional judgement being substituted for ideological zeal. Commentary on Neighbourhood Planning has mainly focused on the positive aspects of participative planning, with little discourse on impacts on county matters. One of the 12 Essex districts now has 18 Neighbourhood Planning areas. As Neighbourhood Plans emerge, we witness a fracturing at the district level. Being a tier removed, there are issues regarding the communication of minerals and waste issues at the appropriate time.
YOUR INSTITUTE, YOUR QUESTIONS
JULIA MOUNTFORD, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, BOYER
I’m interested in getting more involved in the RTPI’s work. What exactly is a Regional Activities Committee and what does being a member involve?
1 Deep financial cuts: Will derail delivery of homes, economic growth, and effective land use planning in the long term
2 Green belt ideology has replaced judgement: Green belt provisions can constrain site operations for mineral and waste facilities
3 Multiple Neighbourhood Planning Areas: Creates unmanageable expectations at a county level for mineral and waste planning
POSITION POINTS
NATURE POSITIVE LOCAL PLANS JAMES HARRIS, POLICY AND NETWORKS MANAGER
This report from the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Wildlife Trusts reveals that National Planning Policy Framework policies for biodiversity are not being consistently embedded in local plans across England. The RTPI has previously worked with the RSPB and the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management to identify 12 spatial planning principles to be embedded in local plans to halt overall biodiversity loss. These are published in Planning Naturally: Spatial Planning With Nature In Mind. We’d like to see stronger government incentives to encourage cooperation between local authorities on this and other larger-than-local issues.
n Nature Positive Local Plans: http://bit.ly/1Ta5e5R
ALEX MCKENZIE, RTPI SOUTH EAST REGIONAL COORDINATOR The Regional Activities Committee (RAC) is a group of RTPI members who volunteer to help organise a range of RTPI activities in their region. Activities of RAC members range greatly, but might include organising a CPD event, editing a newsletter, promoting planning at careers fairs, or responding to consultation on RTPI matters. RAC meetings vary from Region to Region, but usually take place around 4 times a year. Joining your RAC is a great way to gain skills, expand your CPD portfolio, and help shape the future of the RTPI and the planning profession. Regions are keen to welcome new members to their RAC, provided they are willing to commit to making a contribution to their Region. To find out more, contact your Regional Coordinator. n Contact details can be found at www.rtpi.org.uk/the-rtpi-near-you/
Planning Naturally: Spatial Planning With Nature In Mind: http://bit.ly/1Ta5e5R
THE MULTIPLE BENEFITS OF TRANSPORT PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY REVIEW JAMES HARRIS, POLICY AND NETWORKS MANAGER
In a time of fiscal constraint, it’s vital to understand how effective transport planning can help a range of economic, social and environmental objectives. This report from the RTPI-TPS Transport Planning Network presents case studies submitted by members of local transport projects ranging from large infrastructure investments to behaviour change programmes and public realm improvements. It shows the benefits local transport investment can bring, and shares experiences of cross-sector working, project delivery, and use of external funding. The RTPI is urging local and central government to ensure that good transport infrastructure is planned and delivered with new housing.
n Report: http://www.rtpi.org.uk/knowledge/networks/ transport-planning/projects-publications/
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RTPI { INTERNATIONAL IN FOCUS: RTPI MEMBERS WORKING AROUND THE WORLD
Anne Fisher, Heritage Planner MILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA Despite being six months pregnant with my third child, the lure of adventure was strong enough to entice my husband, two children and me across the Atlantic from Banbury to Milton, just west of Toronto in Canada. The picturesque UNESCO-listed Niagara Escarpment runs through Milton, which is the fastest-growing municipality in Canada. As a heritage planner this, in addition to the town’s built heritage, presents many challenges in my current role, where I deal with any development proposals that involve heritage resources. I provide planning policy advice relating to cultural heritage resources and try to conserve and integrate cultural heritage into new subdivisions. It is very different from my time in central London and Coventry, but the work here is more diverse and the environment rapidly changing. The planning system could do more to conserve heritage resources and require good urban design. Given the pressure to plan for growth, conserving the best of what we already have can be easy to overlook. The planning appeals system, headed
up by the Ontario Municipal Board, should be reviewed and more funding is needed to provide public transport within hin and between communities. unities. Zoning has become topical in the UK and while it has long been used here, zoning by-laws which are used to regulate development have become massive documents that do not offer the flexibility to deal with dense urban environments. As a result, there is increased interest in Canada to remove zoning and introduce a development permit system like the UK’s planning application system in its place.
Conference hears ‘strong enforcement is fundamental to integrity of planning system’ The annual National Association of Planning Enforcement (NAPE) conference took place on 13 November at Islington Town Hall, London. The event was sponsored by Landmark Chambers and attracted 80 NAPE delegates from across the UK who enjoyed a varied, topical and interesting programme. Throughout the day, speakers presented and discussed the impact of office-toresidential permitted development rights, and the Proceeds of Crime Act, as rig well as updates in case law. There was we the opportunity to attend one of four th workshops ranging from injunctions to wo drafting notices. dr Stressing the importance of enforcement “Without the strong enforcement –“ function the whole integrity of the fu planning system is undermined” – Stephen pla Wilkinson, the RTPI’s incoming 2016 W vice-president, opened the conference, vic reminding everyone that the event comes rem at a time of widespread cuts to local authority planning budgets, affecting their au ability to deliver a key range of functions, ab including enforcement. in By sharing best practice and going over the challenges and obstacles as well as the opportunities in enforcement work, the day allowed delegates to refresh and top up their knowledge. Dave Westhead, NAPE chair, said: “The conference was a great opportunity for our members to share their individual experiences and learn from experts. In light of cuts to planning departments across the country, it is more important than ever that enforcement officers are at the forefront of changes to the planning system and demonstrate the importance of this vital aspect of planning.”
Milton M i in Ontario
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I M AG E | A L A M Y
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RTPI Y ACTIVIT E PIPELIN Current RTPI work – what the Institute is doing and how you can help us RTPI EVENTS IN 2016 It’s a new year with lots of events lined up. Take advantage of the great free and lowcost events that will help you build skills, contribute to your continuing professional development, and allow you to network with fellow planning professionals. The RTPI Events Calendar contains all events run by the RTPI across England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Whether you’re interested in planning law, transport, planning enforcement, or housing, there’s an event for you. Have a look and start booking today: http://rtpi.org.uk/events/events-calendar/
WHO WILL WIN OUR AWARDS FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE 2016? We were inundated with entries for the Awards for Planning Excellence. The judges face a tough task of selecting the shortlist. The finalists will be announced soon. The category winners and the overall winner of the prestigious Silver Jubilee Cup will be announced to an audience of 500 built environment professionals at the ceremony at Milton Court, Barbican, London, on 5 May – save the date! Tickets for the ceremony will go on sale in February. Register for tickets at awards@rtpi.org.uk If you wish to raise your profile by playing an important part in this major awards ceremony, there is an array of sponsorship opportunities available. Please contact rebecca.hildreth@rtpi.org.uk for more details
SAVE THE DATE! RTPI PLANNING CONVENTION 2016 BETTER PLANNING SOLUTIONS THE CHALLENGE OF GROWTH The UK population is projected to grow to more than 70 million by 2030, requiring the equivalent of 20 towns the size of Coventry, Belfast or Cardiff to be built every year. Demand will be on planners to deliver places that accommodate this growth. Join us on 28 June 2016 to critically examine the best solutions that planners in UK and internationally can provide to tackle the issues of infrastructure, housing, economic growth and the environment now and in the future, at a time when planners are also facing a number of wider challenges in adopting new policy frameworks within finite resources. Open now for ‘early bird’ bookings, the 2016 Planning Convention will also feature a wide range of panel debates led by key influencers on energy, smart cities, land value capture, design, ethics and devolution. Hear what the planners of tomorrow feel will be big issues for the future. Book here: www.theplanningconvention.co.uk
IS YOUR COMMUNITY ELIGIBLE FOR OUTREACH SUPPORT FROM PLANNING AID ENGLAND? Do you know of any disadvantaged communities that could benefit from Planning Aid England’s free outreach and capacity building services? Planning Aid England has a long and productive history of empowering communities to engage in the planning system. With almost 600 volunteers, we have the expertise and experience to lead outreach and capacity building in a wide variety of contexts. We are now seeking new outreach opportunities, and would like your help! We wish to work specifically with those living in disadvantaged areas or hard-toreach groups, where we are able to provide free support. This support may include: Running workshops for community groups/housing associations; providing training on the planning system; assisting at consultation events; and providing independent advice at third-party events such as LPA consultation events or developer days. If you know of any eligible local groups that you think would benefit from our support, please send details to casework@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk
RTPI SHORTS
CWMBRAN FACTORY BECOMES GLOBAL CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE IN RTPI CYMRU 2015 AWARDS An ageing factory in Cwmbran, south-east Wales, transformed into a worldwide centre of excellence for vehicle braking systems, has won the 2015 RTPI Cymru Wales Planning Award. Council planners, working closely with the workforce, used the planning system to trigger regeneration of the factory site, which has safeguarded 1,170 jobs, cleaned up contaminated land and improved pedestrian links to the town centre and train station. As a result of the planners’ intervention, the factory owners decided to reinvest in manufacturing. The company has since had strong orders for products made at the site. The other award-winners were: Highly commended: c Holyhead Townscape Transformation submitted by the Isle of Anglesey County Council; and c The Pump House, Barry, submitted by White Young Green (Cardiff office), The Vale of Glamorgan Council and DS Properties. Commended: c Coppet Hall development, Pembrokeshire, submitted by Acanthus Holden; and c Plas Penddeuglawdd, Rhyl, submitted by Denbighshire County Council. Excellence in Planning related survey and analysis: c Tree Cover in Wales’s Towns and Cities, submitted by Natural Resources Wales. MEMBER DEATHS It is with great regret that we note the deaths of the following members. We offer our condolences to their families and colleagues.
c NJ Wilson Wales c DM Tolan South East c NK Scott North West c E Rolfsen c L Rendell South East c Dr GMAI Pilch Overseas c JB Niven Scotland c PJ McKinley South East c S Manoharan South East c MJ Ludlam North West c Professor S Keller Overseas c KR Hearn London
c G Facks-Martin South West RL Faccio Overseas DW Daymond West Midlands c TG Davies Wales c GK Davie Scotland c M Cole Wales c CW Bishop South West c JM Balfe South West c Professor Graham Ashworth North West c J Ashbridge Yorkshire c DWV Allen Scotland
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ADVERTISEMENTS
Recruitment { PRINCIPAL PLANNING OFFICER x 2 Salary: £35,814 - £46,707 Location: Thurrock Thurrock has one of the largest and most ambitious growth led regeneration agendas in the country. Located in the heart of the Thames Gateway, Thurrock offers an exciting mix of rural countryside and areas of intensive urban regeneration. Thurrock is also home to London Gateway, the most significant European development in the last 20 years. £7bn is being invested to create 26,000 jobs across the Borough and over 18,500 new homes are planned. With the scale of the local agenda comes a unique opportunity for developing professional skills and expertise; we take great pride in the way in which we deliver our service and the Council is one of only a few to be awarded the ‘Investors In People’ Gold standard. The Planning Service is also proud to have been shortlisted for a number of recent national awards in recognition of the high quality of its work. In addition, flexible and remote working arrangements assist staff in achieving a healthy work-life balance. We are looking to appoint two keen, experienced and motivated principal planners to join our busy Development Management. The successful candidates will be educated to degree level and eligible for RTPI membership, with excellent time management and communication skills, and a track record of delivery. To apply for this role, please visit thurrock.gov.uk
Situated in West Hertfordshire, the Borough of Dacorum is composed of the main towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring. Some of the benefits include: attractive pension scheme, family friendly policies, generous holiday entitlement and personal development.
Housing & Regeneration
3 X LEAD PLANNING OFFICERS Up to £36,926 (Inclusive of Car Allowance)
STRATEGIC PLANNING OFFICER Up to £36,926 (Inclusive of Car Allowance from Band 11)
PLANNING OFFICER (PT) Up to £18,927 p.a. (22.5 Hours)
LEAD CONSERVATION OFFICER/ASSISTANT TEAM LEADER Up to £40,038 (Inclusive of Car Allowance) Due to the amount of regeneration and investment coming forward exciting opportunities have recently arisen. We have an ambitious regeneration programme in Hemel Hempstead Town Centre, including a new building for the Council and many major schemes coming forward. The Borough benefits from a rich historic environment with 941 Listed Building entries and 25 Conservation Areas. As well as 28 scheduled monuments and 3 historic gardens. We have an up-to-date core strategy and adopted CIL. We are working closely with the Economic Development and Regeneration team to produce development briefs on key regeneration areas and are currently in the process of bringing forward a site allocations document. We are looking for motivated and proactive people, who are keen to develop their careers in a progressive organisation which has an exciting regeneration and investment programme. We are open to applicants on a part-time/job share basis. Closing date: Sunday 24th January 2016. For further details of these posts please visit our website at www.dacorum.gov.uk We are an equal opportunities employer. Candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria will be interviewed.
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Planning Manager Strategic Land Brentwood HQ £competitive + car + benefits Whether your background is in consultancy or with a development company, your grasp of planning in a commercial environment will be key to making the most of this career development opportunity. We develop sustainable new communities and are currently promoting major urban extensions through emerging Local Plans and outline planning applications across the south-east of England, as well as seeking new strategic sites of more than 300 homes. A qualified town planner with a keen interest in the commercial and legal aspects of securing new sites, you will have the ability to assist both in managing the promotion and master-planning of mixed-use development on greenfield and brownfield sites as well as carrying out research and site appraisals in support of new business opportunities. For an informal discussion, please call Mike Lambert or Gary Duncan on 01277 690568. To apply, please email your CV with a covering letter setting out what you could bring to the role to
kim.silk@cpplc.com Closing date is Monday 18 January
An Equal Opportunities Employer
www.countryside-properties.com
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ADVERTISEMENTS
BABERGH AND MID SUFFOLK DISTRICT COUNCILS
BABERGH AND MID SUFFOLK DISTRICT COUNCILS
Would you like to work across 2 award winning councils that are at the cutting edge in delivering better, shared services and outcomes for local communities? We currently have several vacancies in the Planning service team:
Would you like to work across 2 award winning councils that are at the cutting edge in delivering better, shared services and outcomes for local communities?
Heritage and Design Officer
Senior Policy and Strategy Planners (2 posts) £34,746 - £40,217 Spatial Planning Policy Officers (2 posts) £21,530 - £40,217
£27,123 - £40,217 Ref: BM00169-1215 Place of work: Hadleigh and Needham Market We are looking for an officer to join our Heritage and Design Team.
Place of work: Hadleigh and Needham Market You will develop, implement and review planning policies and related strategies for Babergh and Mid Suffolk in order to achieve economic, social and environmental objectives. You will work collaboratively, flexibly and innovatively with colleagues within the Economy service, those across other delivery teams and elected members. Your role will focus on planning and especially on delivering the sustainable growth agenda. You will help fulfil the corporate priorities of Babergh and Mid Suffolk Councils, particularly supporting the economy of these 2 districts through practical engagement and proactive work to promote planned growth, well-being and prosperity. For an informal discussion please contact Rich Cooke on (01473) 825704. If you are interested please apply online by visiting our career pages on the Babergh Mid Suffolk website: www.babergh.gov.uk/ council-business/careers Closing date: 31 January 2016.
You will have an interest in conservation of the historic environment, architectural history, principles of construction and methods of repair and have knowledge of planning law, policy and procedures in relation to the management of heritage assets. You will provide guidance and advice on the management and conservation of all heritage assets. You will be educated to degree level in an appropriate discipline or have gained post-graduate education in a relevant conservation field and have design expertise.
For an informal discussion, please contact Nick Ward on (01473) 825851 or (01449) 724935. Please note: Previous applicants need not apply. If you are interested please apply online by visiting our career pages on the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Website: www.babergh.gov.uk/ council-business/careers Closing date: 31 January 2016.
Hyndburn is an attractive area set in the heart of Pennine Lancashire, within easy reach of Manchester, the Lakes and the Coast. Hyndburn is a great place to work. Over recent years we’ve established an impressive reputation as a Council with a strong sense of direction and an enviable record for improving services and getting things done. We have an exciting opportunity to join our team.
Planning Officer (Development Management)
Senior Planning Enforcement Officer Full Time, Band F, £27,924 - £30,978 per annum To lead the Council’s Planning Enforcement team.
£22,937 to £24,472 (SCP 26-28) Essential Car User
Planning Enforcement Officer
The Planning Officer will be responsible for managing a varied caseload of planning applications, planning enquiries and appeals. Working as part of a small team, you will be expected to work within the relevant time frames to secure high quality and sustainable development across the Borough. Strong communication skills, and the ability to effectively engage within the Council, with its residents, applicants, and elected members, are essential. You should possess a degree in a relevant subject and be aiming to become a member of the RTPI if you are not already a member. You should have a sound knowledge, experience of development management and have strong negotiation skills. You should also be computer literate and understand development control IT systems. The post has become available due to the promotion of the post holder. The Council supports the personal development of its team members and there may also be opportunities to become involved in the development of planning policy as part of this role. If you are passionate about delivering results as we are, and if you want a job where you can be part of a team that’s making a real difference, we’d like to hear from you.
Full Time, Band D, £20,253 - £22,937 per annum To carry out duties in relation to breaches of planning control, monitoring planning conditions and unauthorised developments. Interested – go to https://northwestleicestershire.engageats.co.uk You can apply for any of our posts online – see above. Applications must be made on the standard application form. Closing date: 18 January 2016. Interviews: 28 January 2016 (Senior PEO) and 29 January 2016 (PEO). Disabled applications who meet the essential criteria for the job will be guaranteed an interview. Smoke free working environment. We welcome applications from all sections of the community
Closing date: Monday 25th January 2016. Vacancy Ref: 988 Application packs can be downloaded from www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk
www.nwleics.gov.uk
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INSIGHT
Plan B P LORD BOB K IS IN DA (AFFORDABLE, MIXEDTENURE) HOUSE As reported in this month’s The Planner, Lord Bob Kerslake brought to bear his considerable expertise on housing to offer a multiplicity of solutions to our housing woes during this year’s Lichfield Lecture. But it transpires that the former head of the civil service has another area of knowledge, of a quite unexpected kind. Unlike Jeremy Corbyn, this is no obscure fascination with manhole covers (though Plan B is in no position to judge – we once spent an afternoon researching the 193 pavement protection bollard). Lord Bob K is far too kool for that kind of geekery. You get me?
ur Behold the excited text our d esteemed editor Martin Read sent your humble reporter during the post-lecture dinner: “I am talking to Bob Kerslake about our shared love of early hip hop. This is a true thing happening now.” We’re not talking Run DMC here either. Oh no. As reported by Mr Read, Grandmaster Bob is known to do a spot of body popping to the likes of The Sugarhill Gang and Afrika Bambaataa. (Not sure he actually body pops - Ed.) It seems you planners have form here. Plan B is given to understand that a certain past RTPI president – let’s call him
Hiff Clague – once delivered a speech to young people in the form of a rap. rap No, No he really did. did Here’s an extract… I’m sure nobody here’s a fool But unless you have a TIA tool, How can you make a plan? Is control of development just a sham? Hey, you planners, hear what I say: Can you do a TIA? Mr Clague, we high-five you. You can read the remainder of the TIA rap here: www.rtpi.org.uk/media/5984/ The-TIA-Rap.pdf
INTO THE ABYSS I M A G E S | S A F E R B A S E M E N T C A M PA I G N / I S T O C K
Multi-storey basement developments have become the extension du jour in certain parts of London – often to the consternation of neighbours and local authority planners. Indeed, in Kensington and Chelsea, where well-to-do residents who had already had their basements done complained loquaciously about the awful disturbance caused by neighbours constructing ‘iceberg homes’ of their own (got to keep up with the DarcyThompkins, after all), the local council has tried to introduce a ban on oversized excavations. It’s doubtful that the Twistleton-Smythes will take much notice of the interfering busybodies at the local council. They may, however,
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DOWN THE PAN PR firm Makeurmove gets in touch to inform Plan B that a downstairs toilet adds around £18,000-£26,000 to the value of a typical London home. As we live in a basement flat, we’re now considering converting our kitchen into a water closet (cost: £2.5-£4K) and flogging the place for a sizeable profit. That works, right? mark the unfortunate fate (no sniggering) of one of their own, whose home collapsed into its burgeoning basement midway through works. The story became a “story’ partly because the obviously far too small six-bedroomed, £3.5 million house in Barnes, south-west London, was once owned by former pop star Duffy. Would it be unkind to suggest that the building was merely parroting Duffy’s career trajectory since 2010? We shouldn’t mock. It’s tempting though.
n Send your views to our crib – aight? Tweet us - @ThePlanner_RTPI 18/12/2015 14:40
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Planner/Senior Planner (3 Posts) £22,937 - £35,662 pa (pro rata) depending on experience Cambridge is well known for its historic environment which accommodates many conservation areas and listed buildings; this special place is experiencing a period of rapid growth and change. These roles within the City Development Management team will put you at the heart of delivering high quality new development across the City to support residents, businesses and our two universities.
Planning Team Leader Up to £50k (more for an outstanding candidate) including car allowance and market supplement Hart District Council has now been announced as the best place to live in the Halifax Quality of Life survey for the fifth year running - and we intend to keep it that way. Due to an internal promotion an excellent opportunity has arisen for an outstanding planning professional to join our team and help to mould the future of the service and the Hart as a whole. This will be an opportunity to lead and support a team of planning professionals and deal with large-scale developments whilst driving forward performance and delivering a high quality, customer focussed service that delivers growth and supports the needs of local communities.
You will be responsible for a varied caseload of planning applications and related development management work and there will be many opportunities for you to take on new challenges. You’ll come to us having completed a degree course allowing you to become a full member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI) or with MRTPI for the Senior Planner role. Some experience of working in a planning office would be beneficial but we are also interested if you have confidence in your communication skills, work well with customers and are a team player. In return, we will provide the opportunity to gain a wide range of experience that will help towards gaining membership of the MRTPI and we will pay your RTPI subscriptions. We are recruiting three Planner/Senior Planner (depending on experience) positions: - Permanent, 37 hours per week post - Permanent, 22 hours per week post - Two year fixed term, 37 hours per week post These posts are politically restricted. For informal enquiries please contact Sarah Dyer on 01223 457153 or email sarah.dyer@cambridge.gov.uk. For an application pack, please contact the Recruitment Team on 01223 458198, email recruitment@cambridge.gov.uk or apply online at www.publicsectorjobseast.co.uk. Closing date: 12noon, 22 January 2016. Interview date: 4 February 2016. No Agencies Please Embracing diversity, committed to equality, and safeguarding children and adults
You must possess a robust knowledge of planning law and guidance and be a strong negotiator with outstanding interpersonal skills and the ability to speak to a variety of audiences. You will also need to demonstrate your first-hand experience of complex and large scale applications and planning appeals. Applications will be considered from candidates already working at a similar level or those looking for career progression. You will represent the service at Development Control Committee and other related meetings and engage with and support our parish councils to ensure clear communication and advice. In return we offer superb training and career progression for the right candidate. The post will be moulded to suit the strengths of our chosen candidate, and is also subject to a competitive salary, local authority pension scheme, good leave entitlement and a friendly working environment.
Senior Planning Officer (two posts) Up to £37,761 including car allowance and market supplement. Hart District Council’s Development Control team is undergoing a period of major investment and service improvement which has resulted in a new Senior Planner post being created. This is part of a drive to provide excellence in customer service whilst improving and enhancing our built environment. We are looking for eager, motivated and organised planning professionals to join our team. You will need a flexible and pragmatic approach to work and be a professional and customer focussed officer with the ability to provide sound planning advice. In return, we offer the opportunity to be involved in a broad variety of planning matters including complex and challenging cases and offer excellent training opportunities. The post is also subject to a competitive salary, local authority pension scheme, good leave entitlement and a friendly working environment.
To apply for any of these posts, either visit www.hart.gov.uk/jobs or alternatively send a CV, Supporting statement and covering letter to Emma Whittaker, Planning Manager by email to emma.whittaker@hart.gov.uk For more information on the post you can contact Emma Whittaker on 01252 774115
www.publicsectorjobseast.co.uk
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