The Planner December 2015

DECEMBER 2015 PLANNING OBLIGATIONS GAIN WORTH THE PAIN? // p.22 • CAPITAL NEEDS: BRINGING AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO LONDONERS // p.26 NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING // p.30 • SHIFT IN TEMPO FOR THREATENED SMALL VENUES // p.38

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

HOW HELEN HAYES IS BEING POSITIVE ABOUT PLANNING WITHIN PARLIAMENT

AT HOME IN THE HOUSE

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PLANNER 10 18

CONTENTS

THE

D ECE MB ER

NEWS

2 0 15

“WHEN IT WORKS, PLANNING GETS GOOD OUTCOMES THAT WORK FOR EVERYBODY, BUT THE COMMUNITY LOSES OUT THROUGH POORLY TAKEN PLANNING DECISIONS”

6 Scottish planning system needs simplifying

7 National park crowned overall winner at Scottish Government planning awards

OPINION

8 Development and culture – a balancing act 9 Unloved spaces to become ‘Manhattanstyle pocket parks’ 10 A lesson from Europe 11 New campus at Dublin Institute of Technology wins award

12 Chris Shepley: Things can only get better if we see it through 16 Jake Mason: Can brand save London’s community and cultural spaces?

16 Tom Venables: Government must accelerate infrastructure delivery 17 Emilia Hanna: A change in atmosphere for Edinburgh?

17 Ron Corstanje: Modelling environmental benefits

QUOTE UNQUOTE

13

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

18 After 18 years as a planner, new MP Helen Hayes now has the controversial housing and planning reform bill in her sights. She spoke to Huw Morris 22 Are planning obligations such as s.106 Agreements the best way to collect windfall profits from land? Yes, say three academics 26 Simon Wicks looks at efforts to bring more affordable housing to Londoners 30 The glass is very much halffull when it comes to neighbourhood planning, felt speakers at The Planner’s recent webinar

NEPO

“LOCAL PEOPLE ARE SIGNED UP TO THE HOUSING QUANTUM [IN EBBSFLEET]. THAT’S PRETTY UNUSUAL IN THE UK” ROBIN COOPER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF EBBSFLEET DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

INSIGHT

FEATURES

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

26

38 Legal landscape: Opinion, blogs, and news from the legal side of planning 40 Career Development: Effective use of PowerPoint 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: Get out of our way!

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19/11/2015 09:49

PLAN UPFRONT

Leaderr An irresistible form of localism versus government’s immovable targets – Neighbourhood planning was the subject of a recent webinar conducted here in The Planner’s offices, and I think it’s fair to say we had plenty of interest in the topic. If you took the trouble to engage with us on the day, our thanks to you. Of course, that interest is understandable given the impact on professional planners of what consultant Tony Burton memorably dubbed this ‘poster child of localism’.

Funnily enough our fourth participant, lecturer Quintin Bradley, had some of the choicest lines despite not being present (Simon Wicks had interviewed Quintin beforehand –you’ll hear him if you listen again ‘on demand’). Bradley saw neighbourhood plans as ‘community manifestos’, essentially a form of democratically endorsed community plans to be

Martin Read referred to for any future public sector investment.

Despite what others see as huge legal minefields ahead, our panellists saw neighbourhood planning as a generally good thing and an addition to the planning system that had already led to innovative plans showcasing considerable creativity of thought that would, suggested Bradley, be refreshing in its impact on local economies and high streets, addressing problems “which more

conventional planning has wrestled with”.

What’s more, the public is buying into neighbourhood planning with an average turnout at the more than 100 referendums held thus far that dwarves the turnout for local elections. Positive indeed, even if that speaks volumes for our collective faith in how we choose our political representatives.

So, yay indeed for neighbourhood planning.

But while there’s good reason for optimism, there are plenty of flies in the ointment too. The necessary interaction between the professional planner and their enthusiastic amateur counterparts

"IT’S NOT MUCH OF A STRETCH TO SPECULATE THAT LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITIES WILL CONTINUE TO FIND THEMSELVES UNDER­RESOURCED"

has to be considered. We go to press before the Autumn Statement, but it’s not much of a stretch to speculate that local planning authorities will continue to find themselves under-resourced and unable to respond to neighbourhood plans as they should.

Then there’s the outright cynicism from those for whom the Housing and Planning Bill sounds the death knell for localism Indeed, there’s a sense that neighbourhood planning represents the point at which the irresistible force of the government’s much-vaunted localism agenda comes up against the immovable force of that same government’s national objectives (to meet huge housing targets, for one thing).

But is neighbourhood planning a good thing? I’ll be frank – it’s an editor’s dream. This ‘poster child’ of localism looks set to make many more headlines yet.

A good thing, too.

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

Sub-editor Deborah Shrewsbury Picture editor Claire Echavarry

SUBSCRIPTIONS £120 – UK £175 – Overseas

Consultant creative director Mark Parry EDITORIAL

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

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

Senior sales executive Lee-Anne Walsh – 020 7324 2753

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

Recruitment sales John Seaman — 020 7880 8541 Sabmitar Bal – 020 7880 7665

Consultant editor Huw Morris

PRODUCT ION

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

Production manager Jane Easterman Senior production executive Aysha Miah PUBLISHING Publishing director Joanna Marsh

RT P I C O N TA C T S

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 Polestar Colchester Ltd.

membership@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9462 Education education@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9451 Planning Aid Advice Line advice@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk 0330 929 9451 41 Botolph Lane London EC3R 8DL Media enquiries Tino Hernandez tino.hernandez@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 8182 The Planner is produced using paper that is elemental chlorine free and is sourced from sustainable managed forest.

ISSN 2053-7581

D EC EMB ER 2 015 / THE PLA NNER

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5

23/11/2015 10:26

PLAN UPFRONT

Leaderr An irresistible form of localism versus government’s immovable targets – Neighbourhood planning was the subject of a recent webinar conducted here in The Planner’s offices, and I think it’s fair to say we had plenty of interest in the topic. If you took the trouble to engage with us on the day, our thanks to you. Of course, that interest is understandable given the impact on professional planners of what consultant Tony Burton memorably dubbed this ‘poster child of localism’.

Funnily enough our fourth participant, lecturer Quintin Bradley, had some of the choicest lines despite not being present (Simon Wicks had interviewed Quintin beforehand –you’ll hear him if you listen again ‘on demand’). Bradley saw neighbourhood plans as ‘community manifestos’, essentially a form of democratically endorsed community plans to be

Martin Read referred to for any future public sector investment.

Despite what others see as huge legal minefields ahead, our panellists saw neighbourhood planning as a generally good thing and an addition to the planning system that had already led to innovative plans showcasing considerable creativity of thought that would, suggested Bradley, be refreshing in its impact on local economies and high streets, addressing problems “which more

conventional planning has wrestled with”.

What’s more, the public is buying into neighbourhood planning with an average turnout at the more than 100 referendums held thus far that dwarves the turnout for local elections. Positive indeed, even if that speaks volumes for our collective faith in how we choose our political representatives.

So, yay indeed for neighbourhood planning.

But while there’s good reason for optimism, there are plenty of flies in the ointment too. The necessary interaction between the professional planner and their enthusiastic amateur counterparts

"IT’S NOT MUCH OF A STRETCH TO SPECULATE THAT LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITIES WILL CONTINUE TO FIND THEMSELVES UNDER­RESOURCED"

has to be considered. We go to press before the Autumn Statement, but it’s not much of a stretch to speculate that local planning authorities will continue to find themselves under-resourced and unable to respond to neighbourhood plans as they should.

Then there’s the outright cynicism from those for whom the Housing and Planning Bill sounds the death knell for localism Indeed, there’s a sense that neighbourhood planning represents the point at which the irresistible force of the government’s much-vaunted localism agenda comes up against the immovable force of that same government’s national objectives (to meet huge housing targets, for one thing).

But is neighbourhood planning a good thing? I’ll be frank – it’s an editor’s dream. This ‘poster child’ of localism looks set to make many more headlines yet.

A good thing, too.

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

Sub-editor Deborah Shrewsbury Picture editor Claire Echavarry

SUBSCRIPTIONS £120 – UK £175 – Overseas

Consultant creative director Mark Parry EDITORIAL

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

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

Senior sales executive Lee-Anne Walsh – 020 7324 2753

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

Recruitment sales John Seaman — 020 7880 8541 Sabmitar Bal – 020 7880 7665

Consultant editor Huw Morris

PRODUCT ION

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

Production manager Jane Easterman Senior production executive Aysha Miah PUBLISHING Publishing director Joanna Marsh

RT P I C O N TA C T S

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

membership@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9462 Education education@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 9451 Planning Aid Advice Line advice@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk 0330 929 9451 41 Botolph Lane London EC3R 8DL Media enquiries Tino Hernandez tino.hernandez@rtpi.org.uk 020 7929 8182 The Planner is produced using paper that is elemental chlorine free and is sourced from sustainable managed forest.

ISSN 2053-7581

D EC EMB ER 2 015 / THE PLA NNER

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5

23/11/2015 15:01

NEWS

Analysis {

Capital ideas: A Stronger Scotland reveals the government’s aims to develop quicker, more efficient ways to deliver high-quality homes

SCOTTISH PLANNING REVIEW

Scottish planning system ‘needs simplifying’

By Laura Edgar Scotland’s planning system is currently undergoing a “root and branch review” as part of the Scottish Government’s regeneration programme, A Stronger Scotland.

According to A Stronger Scotland, the review aims to “increase delivery of high-quality housing development by delivering a quicker more accessible and efficient process”.

Individuals and organisations across Scotland have been asked for their views and an independent review panel has been established – minus a chartered planner.

So what do people think this “roots and branch” review should cover? The Planner asked a number of interested parties.

Q1. What do you think are the key issues with the planning system and what needs improving?

Nicola Barclay, director of planning, Homes for Scotland: The main areas that I would like the planning review to focus on are: streamlining the system; finding a solution to how we deliver the infrastructure that is required to service the hoses, and ensuring that there are sufficient resources to deliver the new system.

Margaret Bochel, director, Burness Paull LLP: Planning needs to be given its place

6

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in local authority priorities, and resourced accordingly, including looking at how planning services are supported by other council services. It needs more power to facilitate the delivery of communities that people really want to live and work in.

That means giving the public sector a much greater role in delivery, whether through land assembly or upfront provision on infrastructure, giving action plans more status, imposing penalties on all parties if sites aren’t delivered and requiring developers to focus on design quality.

Q2. How radical is the review going to be, and to what extent can it be radical?

Barclay: It will depend on how much legislative change the government are willing to push through. I believe a lot could be done within the current system, if there was greater coordination and sharing of best practice across the country. We do need a radical overhaul of how infrastructure providers interact with the planning system.

Pam Ewen, convenor, RTPI Scotland: The review could be as radical as government wish it to be. What we have to remember is our system is good; it is not broken and therefore there are some major changes, game changes that should be considered, but I don’t consider it’s a radical overhaul of the current system that’s needed.

Q3. What do you think works about the current system?

Bochel: The plan-led system provides a framework for decision-making and a degree of certainty for communities, developers and investors and should be retained. The need to think strategically and make decisions in the interests of the wider community, balancing often competing interests for the public good, is core to the current system.

Katherine Sneeden, director, Jigsaw Planning: The changes introduced since 2009 – together with the huge shift to online submissions – have made a significant positive impact on the way projects are processed and delivered. The availability of material online for planning history checks, policy documents etc, has speeded up the process in terms of advising clients on projects as well as informing members of the public.

Q4. What does Scotland need from its planning system? How can it better serve the needs of the country?

Barclay: Scotland needs a planning system that is simple to interact with, without multiple layers of process. If we have a clear steer within the National Planning Framework about the numbers of housing

I M A G E | J O H N L AW S O N B E L H AV E N

23/11/2015 10:27

PLAN UPFRONT

National park crowned overall winner at Scottish Government planning awards Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority was announced as the overall winner at the 2015 Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning in Edinburgh.

The national park won the Overall Award of the night for its approach to consultation on the LIVE Park (Local Development Plan) Main Issues Report, as well as an award in the Development Management category for its work in supporting the delivery of run-of-river hydro-electric schemes.

The approach to LIVE Park was developed by a team that included planners and architects while the campaign was led by the planning and communications trams at the National Park Authority.

The campaign, the park authority explained, was designed to be “interactive and engaging, using digital media to reach a

that we need on a national and city region basis, we could remove Strategic Development Plans altogether.

Bochel: Planning is fundamental to creating high-quality places, with planning decisions impacting on the lives of every citizen every day. Everyone in the development process must deliver – not just planners, and we must all be able to respond more quickly to ever-changing economic and social circumstances to continue to meet the needs of all sectors of our communities.

Sneeden: The planning system needs to be all about certainty in terms of prospects for applicants, process for third parties and collaborative working from planning authorities. This review is an opportunity to again look at if we are achieving this and how we can improve it.

Ewen: Scotland needs a more simplified system to assist in achieving two key things: 1) Greater speed in the system and 2) More of a focus on enabling deliverability of that growth. Scotland is a diverse country, and there needs to be flexibility in any system to reflect the different needs across our diverse country. n Read A Stronger Scotland at: tinyurl. com/Planner1215-stronger-Scotland

broader range of audiences than traditionally engages in planning consultations”.

The judges – Nikola Miller, RTPI Scotland planning policy and practice officer; Kevin Murray, director at Kevin Murray Associates; and Alistair MacDonald, founding director

of ALS Planning Ltd – said the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority’s approach taken towards creating a development plan was “dynamic and refreshing”.

Other winners at the 2015 Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning include: • The Moray Council – Delivering an Effective Housing Land Supply • Dumfries and Galloway – Lockerbie High Street: Town Centre Regeneration • Aberdeenshire Council – Proposed Local Development Plan Short Films n The complete list of award-winners and commendations can be found here: tinyurl.com/Planner1215-planning-awards

National Trust says urgent coastal action is required The government and agencies in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland need to act now to ensure that the coast is ready for the “enormous challenges” presented by severe storms and rising sea levels, according to a research paper by the National Trust.

The National Trust said Shifting Shores discovered that 12,500 new homes and businesses at risk of “significant erosion or flooding” have been built in coastal areas over the past decade, despite national advice against doing so.

The report states that only 29 of England’s 94 coastal planning authorities are currently using Coastal Change Management Areas to ensure that development doesn’t take place in areas at risk of erosion and flooding.

On the Welsh coast, the report explains that although it has a coastal path along its entirety, “there is still no easy-to-apply mechanism in legislation to ensure that the trail can be rolled back in a timely way as sections vulnerable to erosion fail”.

Therefore, in the report the National Trust is calling for a “bold and imaginative approach” to coastline management that involves an understanding of how nature works, moving towards adaptation and away from maintaining engineering defences.

The National Trust “favours” an

I M A G E S | G E T T Y / L O C H L O M O N D & T H E T R O S S A C H S N AT I O N A L PA R K

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approach that sees large areas of the coast views as a whole to create “more joinedup and better stretches of coastline”, working alongside local landowners, communities and groups to deliver this.

The National Trust expects to put this approach into practice and have plans in place for 80 of its coastal areas by 2020. n A full list of the wider challenges and a breakdown of what needs to be done can be found here: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-NatTrustReport (pdf)

D EC EMB ER 2 01 5 / THE PLA NNER

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23/11/2015 10:27

NEWS

Analysis { C U LT U R A L P L A N N I N G

Development and culture – a balancing act

By Laura Edgar

of “showcasing different approaches to protecting and maintaining culture in different London mayor Boris Johnson has called on contexts”. Here Dempsey referred to Wandplanners, developers and councils to put sworth. The guide says there are about 150 culture and creativity at the forefront when pubs in the area, some of which are listed. planning and designing developments.

The council has applied a two-stage approach to safeguarding them; a SupplePublished last month, An A-Z Of Planning And Culture outlines the practical mentary Planning Document and Article 4 Directions (Article 4 of the General Permitsteps that can be taken to integrate and protect culture, Johnson said, as well as support ted Development Order enables the new cultural activity in new developments. secretary of state or a local planning authorBut, The Planner asks, how useful is the ity to withdraw specified permitted guide, and what are planners doing to prodevelopment rights across a defined area). tect culture and employment space?

Zoe Green, senior planner at consultancy Michael Dempsey, senior associate at law Atkins, said the guide would help local firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, said An A-Z authorities and the private sector understand Of Planning And Culture appears to influwhat the opportunities are and respond to ence London stakeholders from all sides them as a scheme design emerges. and emphasises the importance of culture The guide says all local plans should highin getting the balance right. light the importance of culture, reflecting It is useful, Dempsey continued, in terms heritage and contemporary culture including theatres, cinemas, skate parks and pubs.

Green said most local plans already protect Ken Clark, cabinet member for public affairs, community, social and community neighbourhoods, planning and regeneration at Newham Council, uses. “Decisions made told The Planner that the council uses Section 106 agreements under the planning acts to support its residents. “This may be to include commitment to are to be determined in jobs and training as well as community space.” accordance with the Clark cited Bouygues Development’s Hallsville Quarter development plans unless development in the regeneration of Canning Town, in which material considerations “improved access to the open-air art venue Terry Spinks Place is indicate otherwise. If part of the design brief”.

Additionally, Clark said Bouygues has supported pop-up something is to be procultural events on the site alongside the council, while the tected or released, it Rathbone Market scheme, also in Canning Town, is “providing should be in the policy.” more than 650 homes”, has already “revamped a market space Dempsey agreed, but for the historic market site, and will provide a new community said he doesn’t think local space in the area”. authorities are making Last month, in partnership with Create Bow Arts, Newham decisions without considCouncil facilitated the reopening of a Grade II Carnegie Library ering cultural assets, while as publicly accessible studios for artists. Clark said: “The groups developers often “bring have been granted a seven-year lease for the building, and part forward something with a of the use will include a community space to host artist-led projects, events, study sessions, film clubs and social gatherings.” provision in their proposal

n In Newham…

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+ Loss of music facilities in the capital Publication of An A-Z of Planning And Culture followed the release of London’s grassroots music venues: Rescue Plan

by Mayor Boris Johnson’s Music Venues Taskforce. It found that from 2007 to 2015, the number of places for new artists to perform In London dropped from 136 to 88.

The rescue plan states: “Planning, licensing, policing and fiscal policy is struggling to balance the needs of grassroots music venues with those of residents and businesses. An increasing population means that residential development is taking place cheekby-jowl with night-time activity. This pressure, coupled with rising property prices and increasing costs for grassroots music venues, is proving too much and venues are closing.”

The taskforce makes several recommendations, including the inclusion by the mayor in the next iteration of the London Plan of specific reference to music venues and their economic, cultural and social value, as should as should local councils in development plans and supplementary planning guidance.

that’s cultural – a new pub or a community venue”. Additionally, he mentioned using an Article 4 direction and Supplementary Planning Guidance like Wandsworth.

Green said keeping an up-to-date evidence base and monitoring employment space and open space can help to protect cultural and employment spaces.

It is, stresses Dempsey, all about balance. n Download An A-Z Of Planning & Culture here: tinyurl.com/planner1215-culture

I M AG E | R E X

20/11/2015 16:21

PLAN UPFRONT

Unloved spaces to become ‘Manhattan-style pocket parks’ The government has announced that some of England’s most unloved spaces are to be transformed into Manhattan-style ‘pocket parks’.

Under the plans, community groups – supported by local authorities – will be invited to apply for a share of £1.5 million funding. This, the government said, could see up to 100 underused sites turned into small parks for people to enjoy in the middle of some of England’s biggest towns and cities.

Pocket parks were introduced in New York in the 1960s because people wanted green spaces to spend time in among the skyscrapers.

Proposals could include creating wildlife habitats, transforming rundown gardens or creating green oases in busy neighbourhoods.

Communities secretary Greg Clark said:

“Parks and green spaces breathe life into our bustling towns and cities, and provide valuable space for communities to socialise, take part in exercise, and for children to play.

“The £1.5 million funding for pocket parks will help transform scores of unloved spaces across our country, providing communities with parks that will be enjoyed for years to come.”

Speaking to The Planner, Andrew Carter, director of policy and research at Centre for Cities, said: “UK city centres are playing an increasingly important role in local economies, and so any initiative to make urban areas better places for people to live and work in is a welcome development.”

A similar scheme is already under way in London, with several spaces already transformed into pocket parks, such as St Luke’s Wildlife Garden in Hackney.

400 sites stalled across Wales

planning officers.

Although the report finds that “no single factor” is responsible for stalling of site development, “difficulties and delays in securing finance, resulting in a subsequent need for renegotiation of s.106 agreements” is identified as a key reason.

A study by the Welsh Government has found that more than 400 development sites across the country are stalled, with nearly half of those involving a Section 106 Agreement.

The report recommends that all Welsh local planning authorities (LPAs) should produce supplementary planning guidance specifically concerning planning obligations.

Published by the Welsh Government, Stalled Sites And Section 106 Agreements states that nearly all of the stalled sites are for residential development, with at least 7,600 homes being tied up.

The research, prepared for the Welsh Government by Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited, used case study analysis to find out why sites had stalled and involved discussions with

Young people across the country are struggling the most to live independently because of the cost of housing, with more than 310,000 homes needed each year to meet demand, according to new research.

The research, How Many Homes, commissioned by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), found that the housing requirement to meet the current government projection of 220,000 homes in England each year until 2031 is lower than expected.

The TCPA said this is because younger people are finding that they “cannot afford to form independent households”.

Housing shortages, resulting in higher rents and house prices – as well as increasing levels of student debt – mean that young people are living with parents or in house shares for longer.

Kate Henderson, TCPA chief executive, said: “The government needs to see this as a wake-up call.

It has already fallen behind on its targets for house building, and this is now having a devastating effect on young people.

“More needs to be done to build the necessary number of highquality, affordable homes for people who need them.”

To address the shortfall, the report suggests that 312,000 homes need to be built in England over the next five years.

Additionally, there is “significant variation” across the country in terms of procedure, approaches and resourcing of LPAs. The report makes several recommendations to improve the transparency of the s.106 system and encourage greater awareness and knowledge of processes within it, including: • All LPAs should produce supplementary planning guidance, specifically in relation to planning obligations.

• The Welsh Government and local planning authorities should encourage prospective applicants to incorporate data relating to potential contributions and draft heads of terms within a Planning Obligations Statement or, where appropriate, a Planning Statement, as a starting point for negotiations. n Read the full list of recommendations at the Welsh Government’s website. tinyurl.com/planner1215-Wales-stalledsites

I M AG E S | A L A M Y / A L E K S A N D R Z Y KOV

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312,000 homes a year needed in England – report

D EC EMB ER 2 01 5 / THE PLA NNER

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20/11/2015 16:22

NEWS

Analysis { RTPI RESEARCH

Lessons from Europe

(1) Coalition building between private land owners in Nijmegen

By Laura Edgar

(2) The RTPI has urged greater use of planning to solve the housing crisis and grow local economics following the publication of its new report, Planning As ‘Market Maker’: Learning The Lessons From Germany, France And The Netherlands.

Research undertaken by Dr Alex Lord and Dr Phil O’Brien at the University of Liverpool considers three European case studies – Nijmegen, Hamburg and Lille – and further examines the factors that have led to faster and better development, particularly in housing, across Western Europe.

The RTPI says that its research highlights the differences between the UK and its closest neighbours. Findings suggests that “proactive and positive” planning is “essential” to delivering high-quality development at scale.

“Seldom” seen in the UK, the upfront coordination of infrastructure provision and land use is posited as vital to building places that have access to jobs, good infrastructure provision and green spaces, at the sort of density required to tackle the UK’s housing shortage.

According to the report, the conclusion the failure in the UK to meet housing demand can be solved by deregulating planning policy is based on the “implied assumption” this would result in the release of land for development and therefore an increase in housing supply. However, it adds that European evidence “would suggest that deregulated development controls may incentivise speculative investment and result in an associated inflation of land values, as has been observed in relatively deregulated contexts such as Ireland and Spain (Oxley et al, 2009).”

Dr Michael Harris, deputy head of policy and research at the RTPI, said: “The experience in Europe shows that planning tools such as upfront infrastructure provision and land readjustment can shape the form and density of development effectively and we aren’t making enough use of them in the UK.” Planning is, Harris continued, much more than just about regulating the use of land – but this limited view of planning has become the dominant thinking in the UK. “It has led to the perception that planning is anti-growth, cumbersome and bureaucratic. This paper offers timely and powerful evidence that, when used in a more proactive and positive way, planning can shape better development and is one of the most powerful unused weapons we have to support the UK economy and improve quality of life.”

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(3)

+

CASE STUDIES

The report’s case studies echo circumstances that currently exist, or are just emerging, here in the UK.

(1)

NIJMEGEN:

…recognises the impact of land readjustment in the Netherlands, and its focus on coalition building between private land owners. The temporary collecting and pooling of development rights can lead to more long-term individual benefits compared to working alone; public sector risk is reduced.

(2)

H A M BU RG :

…demonstrates how a “strong guiding rule” in large-scale developments can be used to channel private sector “innovation” and delivery capabilities to increase the quality of a development.

The state and the city developed a planning institution that undertakes upfront land assembly and infrastructure provision, enabling planning to “shape and form” the structure of development.

Strategies and tools used in Europe, laid out in Planning As ‘Market Maker’: Learning The Lessons From Germany, France And The Netherlands (1) Upfront infrastructure investment to shape the form of development (2) Urban extensions to tackle NIMBYism and housing shortages (3) Invest in strong planning institutions

(3)

LILLE:

…shows how planning institutions can be empowered to employ strategic foresight and cooperative incentives to overcome institutional deficiencies, which prevent coordinated development across jurisdictions. “Strong” planning institutions and tools, devolved funding and local leadership that encourages strategic spatial planning is central to the delivery maintenance of this model.

to coordinate development (4) Regional planning to increase the efficiency of

local economic investment (5) Land readjustment to help deliver value from planning

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PLAN UPFRONT

137,000

social homes managed providing 15.5% of all households in the province

15,500

jobs supported by social housing associations

New campus at Dublin Institute of Technology wins special planning award The transformation of the Dublin Institute of Technology by Grangegorman Development Agency has been selected to receive the RTPI President's Special Award.

The former psychiatric hospital has been transformed into a new campus which, says the RTPI, stands out for its seamless integration with the town and public life. It is well connected by ‘good’ public transit and an internal transport service network.

The award was presented to Ms Terry Prendergast, senior planner at Grangegorman Development Agency on 12 November by Cath Ranson, RTPI president 2014-2015.

Ranson said: “This project is an exemplar of quality masterplanning and attention to detail. There are many facets that deserve to be recognised – the ability to use planning to create places that reach out and serve different socio-economic groups, the

creative use of a formerly closed site which now supports mixed activities and services for students and the wider community, the design of good public transport connections, the quality of heritage conservation, and the use of the arts to enhance the public and student interface.

“In all of this, the role of planning has been instrumental in ensuring urban improvements have the legacy to improve lives.”

The RTPI President’s Special Award recognises long-term outstanding achievement in planning. It is made to a planning organisation, team, office, or individual to recognise their contribution to planning achievement. First awarded in 2000, the award is not necessarily given every year.

The last award was given to The Olympic Delivery Authority and The London Legacy Development Corporation.

Fresh evidence is ‘vital’ for planning office space

such evidence “is no longer fit for purpose, and fails to respond to investor, developer and occupier requirements as they currently exist”.

Turley claimed that the use of old data means local authorities are making decisions with “little real idea of current and future need”, which could lead to a shortage

Newly published research suggests local authorities and enterprise groups are relying on dated evidence to inform local plans and the supply of land for employment uses – putting space for new offices at risk.

Planning consultancy Turley undertook a survey of information held by 326 local authorities across England and found that half were relying on employment land evidence that predates the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published in 2012.

Of those authorities that have published a local plan, 60 per cent used evidence that predated the framework.

The report, The Land That Time Forgot: Planning For Employment Land, states that

– economic output supported by social housing organisations

Report highlights economic importance of social housing in Northern Ireland A report commissioned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) has found that the social housing sector provides £1.15 billion to the economy in the province, either directly through day-to-day activities or indirectly through supply chains.

The report was compiled by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University.

Professor David Robinson, who led the study, commented: “It’s clear from our findings that social housing is making a major contribution to the economy of Northern Ireland.

“The scale and scope of activity of housing organisations revealed by our study will probably surprise some people.

“Particularly important to note is the additional value created by social housing – activities like developing new housing and repairing existing stock have big economic impacts, which ripple out into the wider economy.”

The NIHE is Northern Ireland’s strategic housing authority. The analysis was based on quantitative and qualitative data taken from the financial year 2012/2013.

of land for new commercial use, given the number of housing sites needed.

Additionally, claimed the report's authors, Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas, including those in the Thames Valley and across parts of the Northern Powerhouse, rely on some of the oldest evidence.

David Smith, head of business space at Turley, said: “It is vital that planning for offices, logistics and other commercial uses is not overlooked in the dash to build more homes.”

If the UK is to have a strong and growing economy, an approach that provides homes and office space can only be effective “if local authorities have up-to-date evidence on which to base their decision-making," says Smith.

“This is about economic success and about creating balanced communities in which people can live and work”. n The report can be found here: tinyurl.com/planner1215-Turley-report

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£1.15bn

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CHRIS SHEPLEY

O Opinion Things can only get better if we see it through When I have a bit of spare time, I love to read back issues of this journal or its various predecessors. The January 1987 edition is a particular favourite, and I thought I might share with you the following rather overthe-top bit of prose. It seems to me to have relevance, even after (almost) 30 years.

“Planners have a higher duty than to fuel the lunatic and damaging rush to live in a single, uncomfortable, uncivilised corner of these Islands. Some must of course… But that does not account for this relentless quest for the stench of the M25; this lemming-like urge to waste hours every day herded into packed trains transferring viruses between passengers; this crazed obsession with spending fortunes on grotty little flats hastily and inharmoniously created in the featureless steppes of Battersea, which could be had for a quarter of the price in more pleasant places; this pointless passion to live within earshot of Heathrow, to sit in endless traffic queues, to flop in a chair on arriving home dirty and exhausted at a time of night when folk in most of the country have taken the dog for a walk, had their tea and engaged in relaxed intercourse for a while; and to rely for relief from the inevitable heart attack on a health service bereft of nurses because they can’t afford to live in the region.

“By what contorted logic has this come to be the lot of the 21st century human?

How can a policy (for

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“EFFORTS WERE PUT INTO SUPPORTING VARIOUS MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, BUT THESE WERE DEEMED SURPLUS TO REQUIREMENTS IN THE ’80S” such I suppose it to be) of thrusting yet more folk into this bubbling maelstrom of unhealthy hyper-activity possibly be justified? Is the endless, mindless shoehorning of still more little houses into this hot pot of human suffering in any way defensible?”

Now, I’ve very slightly altered this effusion to make it 21st century-compliant; I feel justified in doing so because a young Shepley was the original author, and

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he was obviously in a bit of a tizz that day. But I think you might agree that he had a point, and that things, if anything, can only get worse.

There were, earlier in my lifetime when governments did actual useful things, some quite considerable attempts to attack this problem. Efforts were put into supporting various manufacturing industries, but these were deemed surplus to requirements in the ’80s – a matter upon which a roomful of economists would have a roomful of different views. Norman Tebbit told provincial job seekers to get on their bikes and look for work (advice which has been taken to heart by impoverished migrants from various parts of Africa, but that’s another issue). London and the South-East are now surely doomed to face

entirely foreseeable problems such as air pollution, water shortages (coming your way soon), colossal infrastructure costs, and endless bickering about the need for new housing, for the rest of my lifetime and yours.

The unaffordability of housing in and around London, and its social consequences, has been well documented, and the lack of effective action to tackle it stretches credibility.

Other than having people living in cardboard boxes in the middle of the road – as Monty Python suggested in a respected academic work – it’s hard to see how the city can continue to function.

The elaborate PR exercise which has come to be known as the Northern Powerhouse is the only visible response to all this. There are, up North where I come from, some talented people who will make the best of this. But as a strategic policy, unbacked as it is by any substantial financial support, it falls well short of our predecessors’ determination to make a difference. Only, I suppose, if the South-East becomes completely unfit for human habitation will the remaining regions and nations start to be taken seriously. This must be a real possibility.

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

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Quote unquote FROM THE WEB AND THE RTPI “I don’t think development and culture are mutually exclusive. Protecting culture doesn’t mean no development and development doesn’t mean losing culture” MICHAEL DEMPSEY, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, BERWIN LEIGHTON PAISNER

“Planning policy has never had so much street cred, and I suggest this is because there are real powers on offer” LIZ BETH, PLANNING CONSULTANT AT LB PLANNING, ON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING AND LOCALISM

“Local people are signed up to the housing quantum [in Ebbsfleet]. That’s pretty unusual in the UK” ROBIN COOPER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF EBBSFLEET DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

“Neighbourhood planning is truly d the poster child of localism” TONY BURTON, DIRECTOR OF CIVIC VOICE VOICE AND PLANNING CONSULTANT

“Many local authorities are effectively competing peting g with ‘one hand tied ied k’ behind their back’ by using outdated information of very y limited use” DAVID SMITH, HEAD OF BUSINESS SPACE AT TURLEY, TALKING ABOUT PLANNING FOR OFFICE SPACE

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We will have to learn to live with them and tto deal with them and to influence them” MARK LOWE QC OF COR CORNERSTONE BARRISTERS ON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANS

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CORRESPONDENCE

I Inbox

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

Iain Paton — Very interested in your article about ‘A Child’s Eye View of Planning’. I’ve got a couple of observations on this.

(1) My child’s primary class undertook a high street design exercise last year that might be of interest. The idea was allocation of retail and leisure units and traffic crossings etc.

(2) Technology as an enabler.

• Minecraft. Blockholm (www.blockholm.se/) is a Minecraft representation of Stockholm. Minecraft is a powerful yet simple world visualisation computer game.

Dundee Waterfront has been digitised into Minecraft as a consultation tool. Ordnance Survey (OS) created a Minecraft world map of Britain based on its open mapping products. Minecraft worlds can be generated using GIS tools and converted into the Minecraft format for instant play.

• Open data. This covers open data published by councils and also open licence mapping products published by OS. Local government adoption of open data principles is still in early days, but offers potential. I was at a Code The City event recently (#opendatascotland) where a lot of exciting discussions were about projects close to becoming reality. Making the data open for use and coding (as in Minecraft) allows community consultations to be developed with the huge volunteer interest that exists in the UK. Open data needs to be available for open use as well as free of charge, so it can be hacked or coded

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to generate applications that may differ from the original. Re-consuming published open data offers great intelligence-gathering potential: Open Cycle Map is crowd-sourced and can be used to update councils’ path network datasets.

• Open Source. Quantum GIS is an open source GIS package that can do most mapping functions even a professional requires.

PostgreSQL and PostGIS offer spatial database capabilities.

GeoServer allows publishing along with Java packages such as Leaflet, which enables the creation of striking maps. Content can be managed using CKAN, which even underpins the government data.gov. uk service. At the level of coding, Android Studio is free and the Python language is widely supported.

• Open knowledge. Code Academy and Future Learn provide free online courses in everything from Smart Cities and Coding for Data Analysis to Java game development for handheld devices. Open source software typically benefits from large user and supporter communities, also supported by government and business in several in-kind ways.

• Cloud computing. An Amazon Web Services virtual server (cloud-based computing) can be obtained free for 12 months.

I’m looking to develop a Minecraft version of my town as a learning package.

Sadly, it won’t coincide with our own local development plan consultation process, but it would be great to allow children to build places using the digital version of Lego.

Iain Paton

A LL OF A TWIT T ER @ThePlanner_RTPI Laura Bartle @LauraBartle1 “Liz Beth thinks #neighbourhoodplanning is largely working well. But raises good point about its function in urban areas @ThePlanner_RTPI” Bob Neill @neill_bob “Good to see 2 more devolution deals finalised this morning with Liverpool & W. Midlands - greater power over transport, planning & skills” Charlotte Morphet @MorphetMinor Problem in politics - politicians don’t have real life experience - Sir Ed Lister #LonConf15

Nikola Miller @NikolaMiller “@MarcoBiagiMSP supports charrettes as a participatory approach to engaging communities in the direction of change for town centres #STC15” CPRE @CPRE “Planning is not the cause of the housing crisis & weakening planning is not the solution - @ ShaunSpiers1 blog http://bit.ly/1H5296B” 96B

Teresa Hubery @tmachub “Casually reading my October ed @ ThePlanner_RTPI and saw this..... @OLGCurtis pic.twitter.com/ d3GwGNncmr Chris Jesson @chrisjesson “I’ve famously appeared in the Long Bennington Neighbourhood Plan! on phone though #localism @ ThePlanner_RTPI”

Julie Robertson — It was with disappointment that I read the Analysis on page 8 of November’s edition, which focused on the “main political parties”.

At last count SNP were the third-largest political party in Westminster. Given the current review of planning,

a result of the need to make planning deliver, the Scottish agenda is no different than the English. The Planner needs to be less Londoncentric.

Julie Robertson (We’ll certainly bear this in mind for future editions, Julie – Ed)

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R EG I O N A L FO C U S – E A S T O F E N G L A N D CONTACT:

Paulette Tedd Paulette.Tedd@attwaters.co.uk Attwaters Jameson Hill 72 74 Fore Street, Hertford Herts SG14 1BY Tel: 01992 554881 Web: www.attwatersjamesonhill.co.uk

Attwaters Jameson Hill Our values Based in Hertfordshire and Essex, we provide expert planning advice for businesses, local authorities and individuals across the UK. Our experienced planning team focuses on delivering pragmatic and cost-effective solutions.

The Lexcel accreditation demonstrates our commitment to providing the best in client care and practice management.

Many of our solicitors are on specialist Law Society panels and members of training opportunities, aiming to deliver exceptional legal advice.

We have a long tradition of community involvement – we work with the Citizens Advice Bureau, and are involved in work

birds, for instance, are protected where development is taking place. apprentice schemes and charitable activities. This provides the rounded perspective essential to meeting the challenges clients face in today’s complex legal environment.

Common themes arising An issue we regularly encounter concerns small-scale developers who require Section 106 Agreement in accordance with the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to offset the impact of their development and/ or provide contributions towards local infrastructure, i.e. offsetting the impact of a development on local wildlife to ensure that rare species of

Recent projects • Clients who find themselves subject to the issue of an enforcement notice under the 1990 Act where the local authority has become aware of a planning breach in connection with a listed building.

• Clients often need appeal advice where they have made an application to the local planning authority for planning permission or a certificate of lawfulness that has not been successful.

• The removal of restrictions under Section 106 Agreements. Restrictions are often phrased to ensure that secondary building on a site cannot be sold off for other uses or ownership.

Regional Focus features in 2016: January

August

North East/North West

South West

March

September

North West

Wales

April

October

London

Yorkshire & The Humber

May

November

West Midlands

East Midlands

June

December

Scotland

East Of England

July South East

CONTACT For more information please contact Lee-Anne Walsh: lee-anne.walsh@redactive.co.uk or 020 7324 2753

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

O Opinion

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Jake Mason is chief executive of branding agency Evolve

London is losing cultural venues at an a alarming rate and An A-Z Of Planning And Culture speaks directly to developers and planners to put culture at the forefront of what they are doing.

But what if we could get brands to tie up with new cultural venues? Could we enable bigger and better artists’ studios, arts venues and community halls to be built?

And what kind of benefits would this have for brands?

Developers are beginning to realise the huge economic value that an anchor or cluster of cultural activities can bring to new neighbourhoods. Yet, according to the Greater London Authority (GLA), the capital will lose 3,500 artists’ studios in the next five years and a third of the city’s creative workspace, and a third of grassroots live music venues have disappeared since 2007.

The reasons for the disappearance of so many venues are complex. The GLA has cited the urgent need for housing and the impact of commercial redevelopment, combined with local planning issues, licensing rules and rising business rates, as contributing factors. But all is not lost.

This presents developers and brands with an opportunity to work together to help each other to create spaces that benefit the community, but also raise their brand profile. It will enable them to create an emotional bond with consumers as the kind of brand

Tom Venables is director of design, planning & economics at AECOM

Government must accelerate infrastructure delivery

Can brand save London’s community and cultural spaces? that supports local community arts or sporting activities. Using other media to communicate with your consumers works, and it can create something that everyone can enjoy too.

Look at how Adidas raised its profile. We found that young people buying sportswear in urban areas were also interested in urban art. So we commissioned the biggest art installation billboards in Europe and five brilliant young visual artists to create inspirational new works. We even helped them meet high-level sports stars involved in the scheme.

There will be several opportunities for brands to fuse their message with arts venues in housing developments. It will raise their profile and will enable them to be seen as a brand that wants to be part of the community, thus building a relationship with their audience.

Brands could tie up with community pubs, arts venues, music studios, art galleries or other community spaces. What if there was a Reebok skate park, a Sipsmiths pub, an Amazon community arts venue, The Virgin EMI music studios or the Tate Modern artists’ studios?

The possibilities are endless.

Perhaps it would also enable developers to create better community spaces and happier places to live. It could hold the key to creating more cultural spaces in London.

“THE CAPITAL IS SET TO LOSE 3,500 ARTISTS’ STUDIOS IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS”

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Given tthe strong correlation betwee infrastructure investbetween ment and economic growth, it is unsurprising that when infrastructure decisions are deferred it is business that feels the pain.

The overriding message from business in last month’s CBI/ AECOM Infrastructure Survey was clear – government must accelerate infrastructure delivery during this Parliament.

Sixty-two per cent of respondents are concerned about the pace of infrastructure progress, and half don’t expect to see improvements in the next five years. Despite the country’s strong pipeline of projects, the findings show business lacks confidence in the UK’s ability to deliver.

Perceptions of the planning system could be part of the problem. While there is business support for planning reforms such as the National Planning Policy Framework, most firms are concerned about the link between local planning decisions and national priorities.

Given the key role local planning departments play in ensuring that growth-stimulating projects go ahead, business is rightly concerned that public sector budget pressures will lead to more resource constraints and delays – 70 per cent of businesses are prepared to consider paying more in planning fees if it leads to quicker decisions.

Local planning decisions that support the country’s infrastructure ambitions will require more strategic planning. Importantly, the inextricable link between housing development and infrastructure investment must be better recognised. This connection is often lost, particularly on big developments that cross local authority boundaries. Yet housing built in line with infrastructure investment and development is crucial to boosting the economy. And large-scale housing developments built where no infrastructure funding has been planned directly limits economic growth.

Surely it is a missed opportunity that large-scale housing is omitted from the remit of the newly formed National Infrastructure Commission?

And current approaches for delivering growth, such as the local plan system and Community Infrastructure Levy, can limit the ability to take a strategic planning approach. Devolution will bring opportunities for better collaboration, with the public and private sector working in partnerships that go beyond a ‘duty to cooperate’. Indeed, business is broadly in agreement, with 61 per cent of firms in the CBI/AECOM survey seeing greater devolution as a chance to improve local infrastructure. After all, turning momentum into delivery is what business needs.

“TURNING MOMENTUM INTO DELIVERY IS WHAT BUSINESS NEEDS”

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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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Emilia Hanna is an air pollution campaigner for Friends of the Earth Scotland

Dr Ron Corstanje, lecturer in environmental informatics, Cranfield University

Modelling environmental benefits

A change in atmosphere for Edinburgh?

Last mo month Edinburgh councillors tu turned down a planning application for a new supermarket in Scotland’s most polluted street. St John’s Road in Corstorphine is badly congested and has average levels of nitrogen dioxide almost twice the legal limit. It has been an Air Quality Management Area since 2006.

The new store would have had 140 car parking spaces and brought thousands of new vehicle visits each day to the St John’s Road Pollution Zone.

Pollution was one of five reasons for refusal, with the officer concluding: “As the proposal is likely to have an adverse effect on congestion, it follows that it will have adverse effects on air quality.”

There are important lessons from the decision. First, planning decisions have an impact on whether air quality gets better or worse, which in turn means that they have a direct impact on health and how a community thrives.

Air pollution has been linked to strokes, heart attacks, asthma attacks, and cancer. If the supermarket had gone ahead the impacts of worsened air pollution would have been felt throughout the community.

Second, the principle of avoiding worsening congestion should also apply to developments that are not located in an

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Air Quality Management Area, but which would likely see impacts within it.

The Scottish government’s directorate for planning and environmental appeals is considering whether plans for a 670-unit housing development can be included in Edinburgh’s Local Development Plan. The development is likely to increase traffic on St John’s Road, so if the Scottish government is serious about meeting its European air quality legal obligations the housing development must not go ahead. If it does, it must have stringent planning conditions attached.

Third, the Scottish government needs to provide additional safeguards in planning policy to stop new developments that would damage air quality.

Scottish planning policy is lamentably silent on air pollution, and simply says that planning decisions must “consider” impacts of proposals on air quality rather than refuse developments that would worsen it in Air Quality Management Areas.

The residents of St John’s Road were fortunate to have had a planning officer who understood the impact of this proposal. But the officer was plugging a gap and doing what policy fails to do.

Will the local community be as lucky when the housing development is decided?

“PLANNING DECISIONS HAVE AN IMPACT ON WHETHER AIR QUALITY GETS BETTER OR WORSE, WHICH MEANS THEY IMPACT ON HEALTH”

The planning plan regime continues to be limited lim by the idea of the environment as a constraint on development. That’s meant mechanisms like the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) are used to show how environmental issues can be navigated around – protecting bats with gantries across new roads and sustainable drainage systems in new housing estates.

What’s missing in the approach is the other side of our relationship with the physical landscape, and the benefits provided by ecosystems that contribute to our wellbeing. These need to be taken into account to make balanced decisions, based on an integrated view of grey, blue and green infrastructure.

And there’s the opportunity to revolutionise both strategic land use planning and development control by asking: “What does this landscape do for us now?” and “What could it do for us in the future?” This would create a more positive basis for development and the role of planning. This is what the ‘ecosystem services’ approach tries to do, looking at the positive contribution of features in a local environment such as carbon sequestration, water purification, flood protection, and recreation. opportunities.

Work on assessing the Norwich Northern Distributor Road

(NDR) has been a useful example of how an Ecosystem Services Assessment (ESA) can be applied. A project involving dual carriageway of 20 km, the NDR has been classified as requiring a Development Consent Order (DCO).

Specialists from Mott MacDonald and Cranfield University modelled, quantified, and mapped a range of ecosystem services at different times under alternative landuse scenarios, with and without the new road.

The ESA showed that benefits such as enhanced carbon sequestration could be achieved through landscaping features included in the road design, as well as trade-offs with arable agricultural production through surrounding habitat creation. Its findings informed aspects of the project’s EIA and contributed to the decisions on final siting and design of habitat creation and other measures, leading to the DCO being granted by the secretary of state.

By accounting for the benefits provided by ecosystems to society, planners can consider environmental change from a more holistic perspective. Using a quantitative modelling system means they can value the ecosystem services provided and do a scenarios-based analysis to consider the trade-offs posed by alternative project designs.

“AN ‘ECOSYSTEM SERVICES’ APPROACH LOOKS AT THE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION OF FEATURES IN A LOCAL ENVIRONMENT”

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I N T E R V I E W H E LE N H A Y E S

HAYES HE IN AFTER 18 YEARS AS A PLANNER, HELEN HAYES NOW FINDS HERSELF AS A NEW MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT WITH A CONTROVERSIAL BILL HERALDING HOUSING AND PLANNING REFORMS IN HER SIGHTS. SHE TALKED TO HUW MORRIS

THE 18

HO

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AD OF

OUSE

ew planners choose to pursue a career in politics.

Even fewer get elected to the Mother of all Parliaments. Helen Hayes is one of a very rare breed.

She succeeded Tessa Jowell as Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood at May’s general election. One of her principle tasks in the next 12 months will be holding the government to account over its Housing and Planning Bill.

First, her background. Her father, Mike Hayes, is a past president of the RTPI, whose career includes influential roles at Liverpool, Glasgow, London, Watford, and Northampton.

Inevitably, she picked up a thing or two from him. But she first got the planning bug on a study trip to Chicago’s South Side, where she worked with a community group on preserving heritage amid new development.

Later on, she qualified as a chartered member in 2005, courtesy of her work experience. Today she is quick to proclaim her pride about 18 years spent as a town planner.

Notable career highlights include a masterplan

PHOTOGRAPHY PETER SEARLE

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for Swindon town centre that set out proposals for a new art gallery and museum. Hayes also worked on a plan for Croydon Old Town, which was based on preserving the area’s heritage while supporting local businesses.

Then there was the late, lamented Sustainable Cities Project, a website offering detailed guidance for local authorities and developers on tackling climate change. This initiative was quickly given the kibosh by the incoming coalition government five years ago.

“This bill is cutting communities out of the planning process, and it won’t deliver more housing”

Getting engaged locally It’s a familiar planning theme of first listening to people, understanding their views and then involving them in decisions about the future of their areas, and Hayes acknowledges there are some parallels with being an MP. She spoke about her experience during the first parliamentary debate on the Bill in November. But it is an experience she fears will soon become a thing of the past if the legislation is not radically amended.

“What I loved most about the profession was the vital role that planning plays in brokering the space between individual interests and collective community need,” she says.

“The planning system allows communities to be involved in plan-making, scrutinising and commenting on the detail of applications, in ensuring good design quality, and that good open spaces, school places and health centres are provided to support an expanding population.

“Good planning ensures we meet our need for new homes and jobs in the short to medium term, while delivering really successful sustainable places for the long term.”

But Hayes fears that such fundamental planning principles are about to be lost under the Bill as it stands. She is deeply unhappy that the proposed legislation lacks not only what she argues is “any vision for planning”, but also sees it as simply a constraint on development.

She is particularly concerned that communities will lose influence under the legislation with vital checks on quality and sustainable development

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removed from the planning system. Among the Bill’s measures that cause serious concern are its proposals for in-principle planning consent, the scrapping of Section 106 contributions from starter-home developments, and beefed-up powers for the secretary of state to call in planning decisions.

“When it works, planning gets good outcomes that work for everybody, but the community loses out through poorly taken planning decisions,” she says.

“Local authorities will not have the chance to ensure that new development meets local need and they won’t be able to negotiate for community facilities and affordable housing. Most worryingly,” she warns, “communities will be denied the chance to shape their neighbourhoods.”

Pessimists claim the Bill sounds the death knell for localism and neighbourhood planning.

This is a view shared by a surprising number of Hayes’s counterparts on the Conservative backbenches. Hayes agrees that “the planning system as we know it is on its last legs”, and warns that the legislation risks stirring up a hornet’s nest of discontent.

“This Bill is cutting communities out of the planning process, and it won’t deliver more housing,” she says.

“We cannot deny the interests of people who want to get involved in their communities. This will simply lead to more petitions, more protests, and more judicial reviews.

“Communities will increasingly ask themselves what is the point of being involved in a neighbourhood plan. Neighbourhood planning makes sense as a piece of the local planning policy framework, but it requires the commitment of communities. People will make their views known in other ways.”

HE LE N HA Y E S

When right to buy is wrong

Born: 1974, Liverpool Education: Graduated in politics, philosophy and economics at Balliol College, Oxford, Master’s degree in social policy and administration 1997

Other aspects of the Bill are furrowing Hayes’s brow. As she is an MP whose constituency spans the inner London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark, housing is the overwhelmingly number one issue in her casework. It comes up

Timeline: 1997

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2015

1997­98 1998 Graduate Director at

2001 Joint managing

2005 Becomes a

2010 Councillor at

2011 Following

2015 Elected Labour

consultant at Strategic planning Advice

director at Urban Practitioners

chartered member of the RTPI

the London Borough of Southwark

a merger, becomes a partner at Allies and Morrison

MP for Dulwich and West Norwood

Town Centres Ltd

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at the constituency events she attends several evenings a week and at every weekend surgery she holds.

“The solution to Indeed, 20,000 people are on each bormeeting our housing ough’s waiting list for a council home, and needs is to build Hayes is besieged by distressing accounts of more homes across homelessness, evictions, overcrowding, and a wide range of tenures, not pricing damp. some of our most “I would love to be able to say to my concommitted and hardstituents that I know things are bad but the working tenants out government is introducing a new law that of their homes” will help to deliver more affordable homes, but it will take some time before things get better. But I can’t tell them that.”

Here, Hayes is alarmed that under the Bill the new definition of an affordable home in London will be one to buy for £450,000.

“How is this going to help the constituent who is a single mother with three children living in a one-bedroom flat?”

Hayes’s grievance is not with the move to building more homes to buy; rather, she argues that it is wrong to meet the housing aspirations of one part of the community while ignoring the needs of another.

She also points to the Bill’s controversial provision to sell off council homes to pay for housing association tenants to exercise the right to buy.

“Those in serious housing need as well as many others, including key workers like junior doctors and teachers, vital public sector workers and even managing directors, will find that life is going to get much harder.”

Hayes admits to astonishment that the Bill defines a household of two adults earning £20,000 each a year as high earners. She reels off a list of occupations – bus drivers, bricklayers, carpenters, nurses and midwives – who will all be required to pay market rents under the Bill’s ‘pay to stay’ clause.

That, she warns, could be as much as double what they are currently paying as social housing tenants and is not affordable in the capital.

“The solution to meeting our housing needs is to build more homes across a wide range of tenures, not pricing some of our most committed and hard-working tenants out of their homes by penalising them for getting a pay rise,” she says.

Hayes is sitting on the Commons committee that is steering the Bill and

will argue these points as the legislation makes its way to the statute book.

In the meantime, she launched in Parliament the Planning4People Manifesto, a campaign spearheaded by the Town and Country Planning Association that calls for the National Planning Policy Framework to recognise social justice in local plans and ensure that the needs of communities are as important as those of landowners and developers.

Hayes says she became involved because she likes the manifesto’s “positive vision” for planning.

“It thinks of planning as a way of helping the government to deliver the homes and infrastructure we need by involving people in the process,” she says. “It’s not thinking of planning only as a constraint on development, or as a local authority service that can be readily cut. This sees planning as a primary tool for delivering homes and economic growth.”

She has also taken on the role of treasurer for the new All Party Parliamentary Group for London’s Planning and Built Environment.

This London Society initiative aims to provide a cross-party forum to debate the capital’s current and future form.

The green belt, brownfield land, housing need and demand as well as connectivity including airports, will feature prominently in its debates.

But the group will also focus on the impact of the forthcoming legislation on London alongside general issues such as improving equity and fairness in the capital.

At home in the House So after six months into her new job, what does Hayes make of working in Parliament?

She admits it was surreal entering the House of Commons chamber for the first time.

“It’s a place that is so familiar from seeing it on TV, but then you realise you know nothing about the procedures and processes of Parliament. It’s a very steep learning curve.

“It’s an amazing role and this is an amazing place to come into,” she adds. “The driving motivation for this job is about representing people and having the enormous privilege of caring for their issues, problems, concerns and ambitions and trying to do something about them.”

Nevertheless, there is one major bugbear.

Hayes is dismissive of the weekly showboat and MPs’ braying that is Prime Minister’s Questions.

“This is the most that the wider public sees of Parliament, but it’s an incredibly unproductive half-hour, with the Opposition asking questions which the prime minister does not answer. It sheds a poor light on the place when politicians are seen not to take seriously the concerns that affect people.”

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P L A N N I N G O B LI G AT I O N S

GAIN WORTH THE

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ARE PLANNING OBLIGATIONS SUCH AS SECTION 106 AGREEMENTS THE BEST WAY TO COLLECT ‘WINDFALL’ PROFITS FROM LAND? YES, SAY ACADEMICS TONY CROOK, JOHN HENNEBERRY AND CHRISTINE WHITEHEAD, WHO ARE PUBLISHING A BOOK ON THE SUBJECT I L L U S T R AT I O N | G E O RG I N A H O U N S O M E

OPEN

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he prime minister’s recent starter-homes initiative limits the capacity of Section 106 planning obligations to deliver not just affordable rented homes, but also a wide range of infrastructure. It is one of a long line of modifications to s.106 since it was introduced that have changed priorities with respect to the use of planning gain impacting on the amount of housing provided and its tenure.

Our research on planning obligations, brought together in our new book to be published in January, shows that s.106 has delivered very significant in kind and financial contributions over the years.

In 2007-08, at the height of the boom, it provided £5 billion, most of which was delivered and of which half was for affordable homes, including shared ownership.

The affordable housing contributions delivered significant proportions of the land and funding for all new affordable homes. For example, 60 per cent of affordable homes completed between 2006 and 2008 were on s.106 sites.

Although rather less has been raised since the global financial crisis (for exam-

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P L A N N I N G O B LI G AT I O N S

Affordable homes and public art – the gain for communities

Michael Johnson’s Spital Hill sculpture echoes Sheffield’s industrial legacy

Planning obligations have secured a wide range of contributions from developers. In 2007-08, for example, the value of all the agreed contributions included £2.6 billion worth of new affordable homes, £234 million for open space, £462 million for transport, £193 million for leisure and other community facilities, £271 million for education, £900 million worth of land for a wide range of uses, and £183 million for other facilities, including public art.

For example, in Maidstone Redrow Homes built 357 new dwellings on a former brownfield site, including 85 for shared ownership and 97 for affordable rent. The shared-ownership and rented homes were acquired by Orbit Housing group at prices that allowed them to be affordable rented and shared-ownership dwellings. The mix of tenures on the site contributed to the creation of a mixed community as well as providing new affordable homes.

In Sheffield, a steel sculpture is a piece of public art soon to be installed in the Spital Hill area. It was been made by Michael Johnson, a sculptor working in Nottinghamshire, after he consulted widely with local community groups about what art they wanted to see provided within their local area. Tesco funded it as part of an s.106 agreement related to planning permission for its new superstore on Savile Street in Sheffield.

Redrow Homes’ brownfield housing development in Maidstone, Kent

OPEN

“THE PROBLEM WITH THE STARTER HOMES INITIATIVE IS THAT IT WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH S.106 BUT AT THE EXPENSE OF NEW AFFORDABLE RENTED HOMES AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE” 24

ple, £4 billion in 2011-12), its importance has increased as private replaces public funding in supporting the provision of infrastructure and affordable housing.

Our research also suggests that in most cases the costs developers incur when making these contributions fall on landowners. This is especially the case if local planning authorities (LPAs) have clear plans, consistently implement them and are good at negotiating and monitoring – particularly when large national volume builders are involved.

But the amounts achieved vary more with these competences than with the underlying land value potential. The new starter home initiative now top-slices the available planning gain as a tariff to provide new owner-occupied homes, leaving less for affordable homes and other infrastructure

Land value taxation However much the use of s.106 has changed over the years, England is the envy of the world for its capacity to tap planning

“THE SUCCESS OF OBLIGATIONS DEPENDS ON THE CLARITY OF DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND THE NEGOTIATING AND MONITORING SKILLS OF LPAS”

gain for local infrastructure requirements.

Governments across the world are keen to tap into land values as major sources of revenue but most find it difficult to generate significant additional resources.

Nonetheless, there has been a long history of planners and others advocating a tax on windfall profits when planning consent is granted and more generally taxing land values by a variety of measures, including nationalising land, annu-

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ally taxing land values, taxing gains (including windfalls on planning consent), public land banking and planning obligations.

When we in Britain directly taxed land values through development charges and betterment levies in the four postwar attempts (1947, 1967, 1973, and 1975) these taxes kept land off market (even when rates were lowered to provide landowners with some incentives).

Meanwhile, public land banking to compensate for land withholding was inadequately funded and foundered on out-of-date development plans, which were to be the key backdrop to land acquisition.

But public land banking can work.

Indeed, we have two core examples in New Towns and core development areas (CDAs) in England, as well as in a number of other European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands In our book we show why ‘taxing’ land values using planning obligations has been effective in Britain, and particularly in the English context. Our view is that this is because it is done at the point when planning consent is granted and when the increase in values arising from many public investment and other decisions that impact on values crystallises.

Planning obligations also work because they are negotiated and thus avoid many of the problems besetting other approaches (for example, valuing the land, setting geographically invariant tax rates, collecting the taxes).

Instead, we seek contributions to infrastructure and affordable housing and then negotiate these rather than seeking to tax a specific proportion of land value – of course, accepting that an eye on viability is needed. But this process has its costs in terms of uncertainties, and the costs this imposes in higher interest charges during the early part of the development process. The introduction of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) as a form of flatrate tariff has added a complexity to this because CIL is a relatively undifferentiated charge compared with the flexibility of negotiated planning obligations and their ability to tailor arrangements to local circumstances (in terms of geographical and temporal variations in demand and costs). The benefit of CIL is, of course, that it provides some more ‘upfront’ certainty for developers about what they will have to pay.

“ENGLAND IS THE ENVY OF THE WORLD FOR ITS CAPACITY TO TAP PLANNING GAIN FOR LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS” The benefit of discretion The success of obligations depends on the clarity of development plans and on the negotiating and the monitoring skills of LPAs (with a real problem of asymmetry between planners and developers).

What can be achieved depends heavily on the buoyancy of development markets – during upturns developers are generally happy to make contributions that may well not adversely affect their revenues if they enable development in an inflationary market.

On the downside, viability becomes an issue if outturn prices are below those assumed in the negotiations – leading to another round of costly discussions. And they can be regionally regressive because sites in regions with high property/land values are better able to bear the costs of obligations.

But, on the whole, obligations work.

Compared with other countries the discretionary nature of the British planning system is critical to this success, as although hope value may be embedded in many sites that are ‘ripe’ for development, development values do not fully crystallise until consent is granted.

And discretionary development management provides the basis for negotiating contributions – and when these are set out in local development frameworks and supplementary planning guidance it can work well. But it is this discretion that is at least in part at risk with the new approach to starter homes.

An affordable future?

What of the future? We see no alternative but to continue to use ways of harnessing land values to fund our critical development needs and to secure these in equitable ways.

We see much to be gained by a twopronged approach: moving towards a public land banking approach in areas of major development, involving joint ventures of the public and private sector, but

retaining s.106 alongside CIL elsewhere.

Through public land banking, sites identified for new development would be acquired at prices close to their existing use value, and LPAs would put in the infrastructure needed and then sell ‘shovel-ready’ sites to developers at their market value in their proposed use.

Planning obligations have also helped to secure equity. One of the key objectives is to help make provision for new affordable homes. In highly constrained areas, both house prices and prices of consented development land rise substantially, making it difficult for low-income households to secure something they can afford and putting land prices out of the reach of affordable housing developers.

Hence existing homeowners and landowners benefit at the expense of the less well off. Securing planning obligations for affordable housing is a way of addressing this unfairness because landowners get less for their land and thus contribute to a fairer housing outcome.

The problem with the prime minister’s starter-homes initiative is that it will be funded through s.106, but at the expense of new affordable rented homes and local infrastructure, the requirements for which will be waived when starter homes are provided.

But the starter homes can be sold on after five years when the buyers will benefit from capital gains and the windfall profits of the planning consent locked up only temporarily for five years.

In contrast, the affordable homes alternative can be secured in perpetuity. Thus the use of s.106 to secure starter homes is likely to lead to a less equitable outcome than their use for rented and other affordable homes.

TONY CROOK is professor of town and regional planning and JOHN HENNEBERRY is professor of property development studies at the University of Sheffield. CHRISTINE WHITEHEAD is professor of housing economics at the London School of Economics. The three are joint authors of Planning Gain: Funding Infrastructure And Affordable Housing, published in January by Wiley-Blackwell (ISBN: 978-1-11821981-2). RTPI members benefit from a 20 per cent discount. Go to www.wiley.com/buy/978-1-118-21981-2 and, when prompted, enter the code: RTPIM

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LO N D O N H O U S I N G

LIGHTS LONDON IS BECOMING A CITY UNAFFORDABLE TO ALL BUT THE FEW, AND THEN MANY OF THEIR INVESTMENT PROPERTIES ARE LEFT WITH THE ‘LIGHTS OUT’. SIMON WICKS LOOKS AT EFFORTS TO BRING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO LONDONERS

OUT IN

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O D O N?

According to the Greater London Authority, the average house price in the capital in June 2015 was 10.4 times the average salary.

What UBS Bank described in a November report as this “decoupling” of house prices and incomes makes London the most “overvalued” property market in the world. Only Hong Kong has residential property that is less affordable to buy or rent.

Some are calling London’s affordability problem a crisis – and the dozens of families being shipped out of the capital by local authorities who can no longer afford to house them would likely endorse that description. So, too, might the record number of 30-somethings who voluntarily departed the capital last year.

Arguably, London is the most visible example of a trend becoming symptomatic of 21st century urbanisation. It’s a city that’s becoming so expensive to inhabit that the very people who make it function are struggling to live and work there.

Policymakers, apparently wrong-footed by London’s swelling population, appear to be playing catch-up. Speaking to the Financial Times in late October, London’s deputy mayor for housing, Richard Blakeway, admitted that the mayor had to revise projected new housing requirements upwards from 32,000 a year at the start of his tenure to 49,000 now.

“The way to make housing more affordable is to build more houses,” Battersea Power Station’s head of planning Gordon Adams told an audience of planners at RTPI London’s ‘A Roof Over Our Heads?’ debate at Battersea Power Station in November. Yet only 20,500 homes were completed in London last year, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Eighteen housing zones have been designated, and huge schemes consented for Old Oak Common (25,000 homes) and Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea (18,000). But the city is expected to grow at 100,000-plus people a year to 2030. How are we to provide them with housing they can afford?

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Legislation to the rescue?

The Housing and Planning Bill, currently going through Parliament, outlines measures intended to free up land for residential development – specifically a brownfield register, permission in principle for small sites of 10 dwellings or fewer and a beefing up of right to buy and Starter Homes.

London MPs argued for affordability and social equality during its second reading. Tory mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith is seeking a “binding guarantee” that London will see a net gain in affordable housing as a result of the right-to-buy policy – “in addition to the replaced housing association homes, at least two-low cost homes built for every single high-value home sold.”

Brentford and Isleworth’s Labour MP

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LO N D O N H O U S I N G

Standards, risk and viability Ruth Cadbury said permission in principle would “restrict the ability of local authorities, community organisations and the public to comment on, or object to, development”.

Labour’s Dulwich and West Norwood MP Helen Hayes said the bill met “the housing aspirations of one part of our community while deliberately ignoring the needs of another part entirely”.

But, speaking at ‘A Roof Over Our Heads?’, the Home Builders Federation’s James Stevens noted that house building decline coincided with the advent of the plan-led planning system in the early 1990s.

“We have a plan-led system which doesn’t have any plans,” he stressed. “Only 25 per cent of local authorities have adopted plans. A lot of plans just haven’t taken into account recent demographic projections. What hope have you got to encroach upon London’s housing needs?”

The Housing and Planning Bill, by making it easier and more cost-effective for small house builders to take on small schemes, was “a step in the right direction” of reform, he said.

A review of London’s housing accessibility standards, as part of ‘minor amendments to the London Plan’, will mean that all multi-level houses will require “level” (i.e. lift) access to each storey. Previously this was confined to buildings of five storeys or more. It’s a potential threat to small developments where margins are tight.

“It’s important to be clear that in general terms Pocket is very supportive of the introduction of the Technical Standards – and indeed the aspiration to improve the accessible housing offer to London,” said Pocket’s Russ Edwards. “Our concerns are very specific and relate to issues that we feel are likely to reduce the number of

affordable homes delivered in London.”

These are threefold: (1) A project must bear the additional cost – typically £100K per lift; (2) A lift reduces space for units on tight sites; and (3) Residents will face an increased service charge to cover lift maintenance.

“Whilst the policy and the draft residential SPG both include wording that suggests that, where a viability case can be made this requirement is likely to be reviewed (which we are grateful for), the concern is that the requirement is yet another policy against which innovative developers like Pocket need to make a case for exemption. Furthermore, the new policy increases our risk profile for a project.”

The search for solutions Beyond Westminster, planners are deeply involved in the search for solutions to the capital’s housing needs. Hayes, a planner by profession, is a founding member of a new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for London’s Planning and Built Environment.

Convened by The London Society, it’s the first cross-party forum for such discussion for more than 50 years.

Colliers International director Jonathan Manns is a driving force behind the group’s creation. Its aim, he says, is “to provide a forum for discussion of the city in its current and future form”.

He continues: “The establishment of this group is an important step to helping develop a coherent political voice on key issues affecting London.” Housing in the capital was among the APPG’s first topics of discussion when it met in late November.

It was RTPI London member Zoe Green who brought together experts for ‘A Roof Over Our Heads?’ at Battersea Power Station for World Town Planning Day in early November.

Here, Adams highlighted the importance of marrying housing with infrastructure in the context of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea (VNEB) regeneration scheme. Agreement to extend the Northern Line into the area has made the scheme viable – but raising the money (partly through s.106 and CIL contributions) has involved a trade-off between infrastructure and affordable housing, of which there are three types (local rent low, local rent mid and local ownership).

Because of the substantial investment in infrastructure paid for by the scheme, Wandsworth “PLANS CANNOT Borough Council has allowed HAPPEN BY its usual 33 per cent affordable CONSULTATION housing requirement to drop to ALONE; THERE HAS 15 per cent. Campaigners may not TO BE A RESPECT feel that’s sufficient, but at least FOR BIG IDEAS”

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it’s housing – and housing enabled by overseas investment.

When challenged on whether he supported the marketing of London properties to overseas investors (source of the 'lights out' label), Adams stressed that without foreign investment VNEB simply wouldn’t have happened. Indeed, overseas money is now one of the biggest contributors to new housing in London.

Small builders needed Such are the compromises that planners face. Are there routes through the quandaries that restrict the development of genuinely affordable housing to buy or rent for London’s population?

Russ Edwards, design director of medium-sized developer Pocket, calls those priced out the ‘squeezed middle’. Presenting at Battersea, Edwards outlined Pocket’s model of compact apartments built on small infill sites that are sold exclusively to first-time buyers earning less than £70,000 a year.

The apartments are sold with a minimum 20 per cent discount on the market rate, and covenants prevent owners from subletting or selling them on at anything other than an affordable price.

Pocket, which operates on finer margins than volume house builders (no more than 10 per cent profit), illustrates what the government’s controversial Starter Homes initiative could be, with a few tweaks to make it more rigorous.

The need for such housing is emphatically proved by Pocket’s waiting list: 20,000 people and growing by 250 a week. Despite the support of a grant from the Mayor’s Housing Covenant (£1.25 billion to deliver 42,000 affordable homes), Pocket cannot possibly serve the needs of London alone.

What was needed, said Edwards, was a lot more Pockets taking on the smaller sites. “The big house builders are static.

Local authorities have fallen away. It has to be about SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) builders – but they need to be incentivised,” said Edwards. “There needs to be a lot more

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+ 10 ways to solve the London housing shortage The winners from New London Architecture’s New Ideas for Housing competition:

1 2 3 4 5 The Urban Darning Project: Small residential developments in central London to ‘fill-in the gaps’ of the urban fabric.

Housing over public assets: Building apartments over public buildings could provide up to 630,000 new homes.

Supurbia: Intensification of London’s suburbs, specifically main streets and owners of semi-detached homes developing plots.

Intimate Infrastructures: Mass produced modular shared housing to address a ‘missing typology’ within mixed-tenure schemes.

Buoyant starts: Prefab floating homes at affordable prices.

6 7 8 9 10 Investing in London’s future by learning from its past: Using the leasehold system to separate the cost of development from the cost of land and enable development on publicly owned land.

Mega Plan for a Mega City: Maximising land supply across ‘Edge Land’ – the inner belt running from the inner London Green Belt to the M25.

builders of our size to fill the gap.”

The Mayor’s Housing Covenant was a start, he said. Mortgage lenders could also be more flexible about lending to unorthodox models. Critically, local authority planners need support.

“Resource constraints on the planning system mean that innovation is a non-starter,” Edwards said. “Planners cannot resource what they need to do on standard projects, let alone put in the extra time required to understand new projects. So it’s up to SMEs. But unless they can manage their risk profile, there’s no point building.”

An additional risk to the Pocket model was impending changes to the London housing standards (see box: ‘Standards, risk and viability’). The viability of these small developments is so finely poised that even small changes to the development environment can throw them off kilter.

Solutions big and small There’s no shortage of suggested solutions to London’s housing challenge. Elsewhere in this issue, for example (page 39), planning barrister Mary Cook critiques ambiguities in the Starter Homes scheme and argues for reform of the private rental sector for younger people who are not ready to settle down.

RTPI London has also inaugurated a series of talks and presentations to gather ideas to present to the new Mayor of London in 2016.

At the first event in October, architect-planner Sir Terry Farrell offered a seven-point plan for improving London, including greater intensification, more crossings for the Thames; placemaking alongside transport infrastructure; and the development of the South Bank as London’s “third” city centre.

Farrell’s list is reminiscent of the 10 winners of the New London

ATAL Opportunity Areas: ‘Active Transport Accessibility Level’, a new designation to unlock housing density in areas with poor public transport.

Unlocking leftover land for generation rent: Permanently affordable intermediate housing on small, under-used council-owned sites.

Wood blocks: A new shell and core housing typology to ‘scale up’ the growing appetite for selfbuild.

Architecture competition to come up with ‘New Ideas for Housing’ in London (see box above – ‘10 ways to solve the London housing shortage’). Richard Blakeway and “OVERSEAS MONEY Lord Bob Kerslake, chair of the IS NOW ONE OF London Housing Commission, THE BIGGEST were among the contest’s judges.

CONTRIBUTORS TO The winning ideas are all going NEW HOUSING IN to be presented to the GLA for LONDON“ consideration of their feasibility.

Which prompts the question: is there the political will to turn ideas into action? There are still arguments to be won and lost (do we go ‘up’ or ‘out’? Do we sacrifice some affordability for numbers?), and there are some significant gaps in policy and delivery mechanisms.

But the very fact that so many influential people are talking about London’s housing conundrums is surely a cause for hope. There is, too, a new wave of ambitious planners - and architects and policymakers and developers - in the capital keen to make their mark.

Reviewing Farrell’s address to the RTPI London group, George Weeks – a young urban designer for Transport for London – called for inspiration on a scale to match the challenge: “It is vital for planners to become part of the proactive planning system and think about what is good for London (as opposed to getting bogged down in policies),” he wrote.

“Plans cannot happen by consultation alone; there has to be a respect for big ideas.”

n Find out more at: tinyurl.com/Planner1215-london-housing

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COMMUNITIES

HOW GOES THE

IS NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING WORKING? ARE WE SEEING THE TRANSFER OF POWER TO LOCAL PEOPLE THAT WAS INTENDED? HOW SUCCESSUL IS THIS ‘POSTER CHILD’ OF LOCALISM PROVING TO BE? THESE WERE AMONG THE ISSUES ADDRESSED AT A WEBINAR EVENT HELD RECENTLY AT OUR OFFICES

NEIGHBOURHO

T The glass is very much half full when it comes to neighbourhood planning – at least, that was the picture painted by three planning specialists – Liz Beth, Tony Burton and John Romanski – at our recent webinar. The event, sponsored by RTPI Conferences, followed the typical webinar format of three people each giving a presentation – but it also enjoyed an extraordinary amount of input from those listening.

Giving a personal view of neighbour-

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LIZ BETH

“AUTHORITIES DECENTRALISING NEED TO KEEP FAITH WITH THE PROCESS, EVEN WHEN DECISIONS ARE NOT TO THEIR LIKING” ­ LIZ BETH

Neighbourhood planning – Direct democracy in action?

(1)

Participation: Groups are consulting widely and some are using innovative techniques. Response rates high in small villages.

But, the ‘usual suspects’ get involved and urban forums outside parished areas have greater problems.

(2)

Deliberation: Real power is being devolved to a local level and communities are now learning the realities of planning.

But it’s time-consuming for volunteers and the process is becoming less lay-person friendly as legal challenges occur. Groups without a ‘tame’ planner can be manipulated.

(3)

Empowerment: Neighbourhood plans are part of the development plan and the local group is in control up to submission to the local planning authority. At its best, neighbourhood planning enables real community planning.

But is it taking power from the local planning authority? Is voluntary planning undermining the planning process? Is neighbourhood planning a workable model in urban areas?

(4)

The verdict so far: Promising start, but worrying signs of centralised power re-asserting itself.

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hood planning, Liz Beth, planning consultant at LB Planning, spoke on whether the current state of neighbourhood planning represented direct democracy in action.

From the outset, Beth said, localism seemed to present some interesting opportunities for widening community involvement in planning to a variety of organisations. Three actions – neighbourhood plans and neighbourhood develop-

ment orders, the terminations of higher lever regional strategies and the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework – all played to the decentralisation agenda of the new government. It “offers potentially radical change to the way planning in England works.”

To date over 1,500 communities have started to prepare a neighbourhood plan.

“Planning policy has never had so much street cred, and I suggest this is because there are real powers on offer. The main attributes of direct democracy are participation, deliberation and empowerment.”

Some groups had risen well to the occasion and engaged the ‘hard to reach’ people in their communities, said Beth – but urban areas can suffer because they do not have a parish council to start the neighbourhood plan process. Beth suggested that the neighbourhood plan process for urban areas may need rethinking.

Beth accepted that there were “worrying signs” that central power TONY BURTON is reasserting itself, but argued that authorities decentralising needed to keep faith with the process, even when decisions “TOO MANY are not to their liking.

LOCAL Tony Burton, director AUTHORITIES of Civic Voice and planARE BEING ning consultant, spoke OBSTRUCTIVE on whether the sheen AND DRAGGING was coming off localism.

THEIR HEELS” ­ TONY BURTON There is no doubt for Burton that neighbourhood planning has had a remarkable impact in less than five years. It is 1 / What is Localism? It’s giving greater rights to the people and truly “the poster child trusting them to make good decisions. It signals a power shift of localism”, he said, that puts communities in control. with greater numbers of people turning out 2 / It’s real: 1,700 communities have registered a for neighbourhood plan neighbourhood plan, in 68 per cent of local authorities. There referendums than local have been 350 draft plans, 100 referendums and a 100 per cent elections. yes vote. The average turnout beats local elections.

However, Burton said, there are too many 3 / Community rights: e.g. communities have listed more than local authorities being 800 pubs as assets of community value. “obstructive and drag4 / Contradictions: Legislative moves undermine some of the ging their heels” and principles of localism and neighbourhood planning, including there are many areas permitted development and starter homes. There are also where neighbourhoods conflicts with local plan preparation. cross political and local authority boundaries.

5 / Civic revolution: But it’s a new starting point and marks a There are also “no guartransition from representation to participation, consultation to antees that local authorengagement, information to social action. ities will actually deliver on the policies in neigh6 / Disruption: Neighbourhood planning is positively ‘disruptive’ and it’s here to stay. bourhood plans even

OOD?

Has the sheen come off localism?

“IT’S QUITE OBVIOUS THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL ELEMENT WITHIN GOVERNMENT WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN PLANNING AS WE KNOW IT FULL STOP, NEVER MIND NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING” ­ HUW MORRIS

when they go through the process and become a formal part of the statutory development plan”.

There are also contradictions in localism. The lack of control that local communities have over the conversion of offices to residential, and the way they have been “forced” to accept starter homes, were just some of the examples Burton gave.

Localism is “bigger than party politics”, said Burton, and politicians are following the trends, not leading them. Localism, Burton concluded, “is here to stay”.

Speaking about conflict, John Romanski, neighbourhood planning advisor at Planning Aid England, claimed neighbourhood planning had gone a long way to reducing levels of conflict and is instead bringing communities and planners together.

Conflict, according to Romanski, can be a choice. Sometimes, however, people don’t know they are conflicting with planning policy. “Not all groups are aware of strategic policies while sometimes they are aware of them but not the implications of them.” Indeed, he added, some people are only involved in a neighbourhood plan in order to create conflict with the local plan.

If conflict is not managed, an inspector could modify plans and make them unrecognisable, meaning groups could end up challenging the very plan they helped make.

To avoid conflict, Romanski said that understanding the rules of engagement was important. “The first thing that groups need to do is meet with the local planning authority. Very early on identify what those strategic policies are, what is

{

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JOHN ROMANSKI

COMMUNITIES

set in stone and what can be discussed.

Meet early and regularly with the planners. […] Make sure evidence is robust and future proof your plan.”

Huw Morris, The Planner’s consultant editor, offered a word of caution and admired the optimism of the other speakers.

“Many planning consultants, senior planners in local government, backbench politicians, lawyers and lobbyists think localism ran into the sand three years ago,” he said. The onset of planning deregulation, office to residential reforms, starter homes and forthcoming housing and planning legislation showed greater centralisation. “It’s quite obvious there is a substantial element within the government, particularly at the very top, who don’t believe in planning as we know it full stop, never mind localism and never mind neighbourhood planning” .

“THE FIRST THING THAT GROUPS NEED TO DO IS MEET WITH THE LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITY” ­ JOHN ROMANSKI

Managing conflict between neighbourhood and local plans (1) Support: Planning Aid England

has supported 274 neighbourhood planning groups, a good proportion in deprived areas. More than 3,000 days of staff time have been given to neighbourhood planning.

(2) When might conflict happen?

“THE MAIN ATTRIBUTES OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY ARE PARTICIPATION, DELIBERATION AND EMPOWERMENT”

(3) What are the implications of not managing it?

• A failed, modified, ignored or undermined plan • A disgruntled community

(4) How can you avoid conflict?

• Being unaware of the parameters • Plan to oppose • Change in policy • Working in isolation • Applying rigid policy requirements • When trying to be innovative

­ LIZ BETH

; Creative approaches Housing and planning lecturer Quintin Bradley is writing a book on neighbourhood planning and will talk on the subject at the St George’s Centre in Leeds on December 9th (see ‘Plan Ahead’, p.42). Interviewed for the webinar, we asked – did he think neighbourhood planning was working?

“I think we’ve a very long way to go in terms of relationships. It’s very difficult for local planning authorities to respond to neighbourhood plans when they’re suffering from job cuts and resource challenges. And it’s difficult for developers to evolve a new way of working which is more local and geared more to specific community needs than the

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speculative development they’re used to. But in those challenges I think there are great opportunities.

If there’s something distinct emerging from neighbourhood planning it’s the particular view of balancing development and sustainability in environmental and social terms as well.”

The challenges are worth it, he said. Neighbourhood plans, were being innovative in addressing problems which more conventional planning has wrestled with.

“In terms of challenges like revitalising high streets and developing a local economy, they’re coming up with some really interesting things. I think there are restrictions in

what they can do in terms of planning policy because it’s quite a responsive thing and it requires there to be private sector involvement and that’s one of the challenges here.

“Perhaps one of the limitations of neighbourhood planning is that it's just land use planning, not social or community planning.

But neighbourhood plans are finding ways around that in the use of projects and recommendations, as well as land use policies.

It’s interesting that what you’ve got now are almost community manifestos; for future public sector investment you’ve got a democratically endorsed community plan, which is incredibly valuable.”

• Understand the rules of engagement • Meet early and regularly with the planners • Ensure evidence is robust • Future proof the plan • Work constructively and build bridges • Refer to PAE guidance

h Sign up and listen on demand This review went to press two days after the webinar, so responses to questions unanswered during the event are not mentioned here. If you did not listen live, or did not originally register, you can still sign up and listen on demand – visit www.theplanner.co.uk to sign up.

+ Tailored training This webinar was sponsored by RTPI Conferences. If you’d like a training session on neighbourhood planning or any other topic delivered on the premises of your organisation, contact RTPI Conferences at www.rtpiconferences. co.uk (tel: 020 3122 0138)

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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 COMMUNITY

The communities secretary has rejected appeals against the London Borough of Newham’s refusal for a ‘mega-mosque’ in West Ham

Newham mosque appeals rejected ( SUMMARY Communities secretary Greg Clark has refused three joint appeals to develop and retain a 9,000-capacity mosque in Newham, which was built without planning permission. ( CASE DETAILS The appeals were submitted on behalf of the Trustees of Anjuman-E-IslahulMuslimeen of London against the refusal of Newham Borough Council.

Clark agreed with the inspector’s ruling on Appeal A, which sought outline planning permission for the use of existing buildings as a mosque and the construction of further worship space, plus various sports facilities.

Inspector D E Morden ruled the appeal should be refused as it would result in the loss of housing provision on a large, important site in the council’s strategy to reach 40,000 new homes by 2027. He said the plan contravened the council’s aims to give communities of the host boroughs of the 2012 Olympics the same social and economic chances as the rest of the city.

He noted that the scheme would improve pedestrian movements through the

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site, and found that it would preserve the setting of the nearby Three Mills Island Character Area and listed buildings as it would “be a major piece of architecture, interesting enough in its own right to stand close to the conservation area”. But these benefits would not outweigh the impact on the council’s development plan aims.

Morden said the appellant had failed to prove that a mosque of this size was needed. Clark agreed and refused Appeal A. Appeal B, which sought the renewal of temporary two-year planning permission for the retention of a security building and the change of use of land to include all buildings designated as places of worship, was recommended

for approval by the inspector.

But Clark said the appeal would amount to a third temporary permission in contravention of guidance.

He said the granting of a second temporary planning permission would rarely be justifiable and he ruled that it should be refused. Appeal C was made against the council’s enforcement notice.

After a change was made to allow for a three-month period to clear the site, this appeal was also refused. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Clark gave great weight to the mosque’s provision for a large, long-standing congregation of followers of the Tablighi Jamaat movement of the Muslim faith, and appreciated that

an alternative space to accommodate worshippers would be hard to find. But this did not outweigh the council’s aims for the area.

A DCLG spokesman said: “The decision was based on concerns that include local housing provision and conflict with the council’s local plan… It also took account of evidence from all parties and is in line with the council’s original determination and advice from the independent planning inspector on the main appeal.”

Appeal Ref: APP/G5750/A/13/2198313

CONSERVATION

Child’s playhouse harmful to New Forest landscape ( SUMMARY An inspector has ruled that a wooden playhouse erected without permission should be torn down because of its adverse effect upon the New Forest National Park. ( CASE DETAILS The site on which the playhouse stands is split into two parts: a garden linked to an existing residential building, and a small paddock with stables.

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A children’s tree house was ruled to be incompatible with a site near the New Forest

Inspector C J Ford acknowledged that the structure was made out of “high-quality wooden materials” which had been left untreated for a “natural appearance”, but noted that planting around the playhouse was not sufficient to shield it from public view. ( CONCLUSION REACHED The inspector found that as the structure encroached onto paddock land associated with the countryside, it constituted an “awkward and incongruous feature in the rural landscape that is harmful to the significance of the (Forest Central North) Conservation Area”. He said it was “highly commendable” that the appellants had sought to make outdoor play provision for their children, but that the high level of protection afforded to National Parks must be appreciated.

Appeal Ref: APP/ B9506/C/15/3005868

MIXED­USE DEVELOPMENT

Clark approves Maidstone mixed-use development ( SUMMARY Communities secretary Greg Clark has supported the approval of a mixed-use I M AG E S | G E T T Y / I STO C K

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development comprising up to 500 homes, including land for an education facility, a community centre and open space in Maidstone, Kent. ( CASE DETAILS Developer Croudace Strategic submitted the proposal as two separate, identical appeals, as the development plan straddled the boundary between the Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council (TMBC) local authority areas, although no buildings are proposed for the TMBC section of the site. Both appeals were recommended for approval by inspector P W Clark.

MBC’s main issue with the appeal was the development of an access road through an area of designated ancient woodland, which has medium-to-high ecological value at local level.

The secretary of state agreed with the inspector that the appellant’s proffered solution to develop a route that would result in the loss of just 0.03 ha of ancient woodland, and avoid effects on a 600-year-old ash coppice, was the best option.

Although this would technically infringe upon local plan requirements for woodland retention, the inspector and secretary of state agreed that the ecological effects would be acceptable. The MBC Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy showed the site to

be a Biodiversity Opportunity Area, but the secretary of state agreed that the harm to biodiversity from this option would not be significant.

The inspector ruled that loss of farmland, access to the development, impact on archaeological interests and a strategic gap separating Maidstone, Medway Towns and the Medway Gap were acceptable. ( CONCLUSION REACHED The appellant agreed to several financial contributions including £2,825 per dwelling towards various highway and transport measures and £14,286 per pupil towards building an on-site primary school. A 30 per cent affordable housing provision was also agreed.

The secretary of state agreed with the inspector that the large benefits of the proposal “would not be outweighed at all… by the limited adverse impacts”.

Appeal Ref: APP/ U2235/W/14/2226326

HOUSING

Crewe homes approved despite green gap contention ( SUMMARY Outline permission has been granted for the development of up to 150 homes in Wistaston, Crewe, after an inspector ruled that concerns over green gap narrowing were overshadowed by housing need. ( CASE DETAILS Inspector Jonathan King

noted that although the appeal had been made against the Cheshire East Council’s failure to provide a decision within the prescribed period, the council would have objected to the appeal on grounds including the use of best and most versatile (BMV) land, unsustainable development in open countryside and significant erosion to the green gap between the built up areas of Nantwich and Crewe.

King reported that the gap in question was around 2.5 km in width at its widest part, and acknowledged that the development would reduce this gap by 200 metres. However, he deemed that this distance represented a “fairly small proportion” of the overall width of the gap, and thus the settlements would remain physically defined and separate “to an extent greater than in other parts of the gap”.

The inspector noted that the 7.6-hectare site was not subject to any specific landscape designations, accepting the appellant’s views that the visual quality of the site was “moderate”.

He also acknowledged the existing impact of urban influences on the site including a large aboveground sewage pipe and pylons, but did accept that the development would still “radically effect” the character of the site.

Although the council disagreed with the submitted Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment which deemed the visual impact of the proposal to be minor, King suggested that it was “by no means unusual for landscape architects to reach differing conclusions because the input is unavoidably

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DiF { D objective”. The parties did agree that such impact would be essentially local.

King noted that the natural elements of the visual quality of a walkway along a brook in the site’s vicinity would be diminished, but ruled that on the whole the site was less visually sensitive than nearby locations that had been permitted for development.

Issues relating to the use of 3.63-ha of BMV land and the impact on highway safety were ruled not to be determinative matters.

The development was also deemed to be sustainable in its access to local amenities and alternative modes of transport. ( CONCLUSION REACHED King acknowledged the local planning authority’s admittance to a persistent under-delivery of housing in the past six years and its subsequent inability to deliver a five-year housing supply.

The proposal would contribute 45 units of affordable housing that would go some way to addressing need in the area.

While measures had been outlined in the council’s emerging development plan for some sites to be released from the green belt for housing purposes, it was suggested that the proposed level of housing growth would be inadequate to ensure the success of the overall economic, employment and housing strategy. Subsequently, King ruled that the development was acceptable “on balance”, subject to further planning details being agreed.

DECISIONS IN FOCUS ENFORCEMENT

Inspector stops enforcement move on pigeonracing facility ( SUMMARY An inspector has quashed an enforcement notice against a pigeon-racing facility in Carneyhough, Northern Ireland. ( CASE DETAILS As well as alleging an unauthorised change of use of the buildings, Newry Mourne & Down District Council took issue with the erection of a boundary fence. The appellant said the fence had been extended at a neighbour’s behest, and that he had gained verbal agreement for it from the local planning authority (LPA).

Commissioner Pauline Boomer found that as the fence had been erected beyond the boundaries of the appellant’s property this constituted a separate breach to be dealt with through the enforcement notice.

Boomer said action could not be taken against a breach of planning control

Appeal Ref: APP/ R0660/A/14/2228115

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The council felt that 200 pigeons on site, coupled with the erection of a 1m-high steel-clad fence constituted detrimental visual impact

that had been substantially completed for five years or more. As two of the buildings were built before 2009, they were found to be immune from enforcement, but the appellant had to prove that the buildings had been used to keep pigeons since 1978.

A letter from the Northern Ireland Provincial Amalgamation of Racing Pigeons saying birds had previously been raced from the address was not accepted as proof of use, so the appeal failed in relation to operational development and change of use. ( CONCLUSION REACHED The appellant said he and his neighbours had experienced antisocial behaviour and dumping of waste, and that the new fence was necessary as a deterrence to vandals.

Boomer said the local planning authority had given no reason why the fence had been deemed unacceptable, but following a new submission for landscaping, she quashed the enforcement action.

Appeal Ref: 2014/E0036

HOUSING

Clark backs Midlands homes despite plan neighbourhood plan conflict ( SUMMARY The secretary of state has supported an inspector’s decision to grant permission for 39 homes in Earls Barton despite the development’s possible conflict with the emerging Earls Barton Neighbourhood Plan (EBNP). ( CASE DETAILS The EBNP sets out housing needs for the village, within which 19.3 ha of land are allocated for mixed use, including 280 dwellings.

The proposal submitted by Bowbridge Land contravened countryside policies in the adopted development plan as it constitutes development in open countryside. But Greg Clark agreed with inspector Wenda Fabian that as these policies also relate to housing supply, they are not current if the council cannot show a five-year housing land supply.

Wellingborough Council had claimed to have a 5.2year housing supply for the period 2015-2020 and a 5.8year supply for 2016-2021.

But the appellant submitted a report by surveyor Turner Morum that concluded that as of June 2015, the council could not prove a five-year supply for either period.

Clark’s letter cited a key issue with the council’s housing estimates to be the predicted rate of delivery from two urban extensions in Wellingborough, both of which are subject to completion of s.106 deals.

The submitted report was said to strengthen the

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The reporter decided the scheme would result in an unacceptable visual impact on the Highlands landscape

RENEWABLE ENERGY

DCLG rejects Staffordshire wind turbines inspector’s conclusion that the council’s figures for those sites are unrealistic.

Clark sympathised with residents’ worries that the location would jut into the countryside at the end of the village, but ruled that harm to the landscape was not an overriding concern. ( CONCLUSION REACHED The benefits of the scheme through its contribution towards housing need, 30 per cent affordable housing provision and the financial support offered to various local services through an s.106 contribution, were seen to outweigh any harm.

Appeal Ref: APP/ H2835/A/14/2221102

Developer PI Renewables, argued that misty weather is common for the area and would render visual impact of no significance. But the reporter said it was right for the environmental statement to assess the scheme on the basis of clear weather.

The cumulative effect of the wind farm in tandem with a number of existing and approved wind farm developments in the area was ruled to be significant.

The Ben Wyvis massif is included in Scottish Natural Heritage’s Core Areas of Wild Land in Scotland 2013.

A landscape witness for SNH considered that if the proposal went ahead two perceptual responses to the wild land area – “sanctuary or solitude” and “arresting/ inspiring qualities – a sense of awe” – would be affected.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Scottish wind farm ruled detrimental to mountain ( SUMMARY Permission has been refused for 14 wind turbines close to mountain Ben Wyvis. ( CASE DETAILS Reporter RW Maslin noted that the submitted environmental statement identified significant effects of the proposal on three landscape character types: Rocky Moorland, Rounded Hills and Narrow Farmed Strath. He agreed that from several locations within each area, the impact of the turbines would be significant.

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

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( CONCLUSION REACHED Maslin noted the benefits of the scheme, including its capacity to generate up to 42 megawatts of electricity and the creation of employment in the area.

However, Maslin also noted that 183 people gave representations against the development when the application was first under consideration versus just 15 representations in support.

Ultimately, the reporter ruled that the extent to which the scheme came into conflict with various national and local policies to protect landscape areas outweighed the benefits of the scheme.

Appeal Ref: PPA-270-2117

( SUMMARY The secretary of state has overturned an inspector’s approval of two wind turbines for Stone, Staffordshire.

( CONCLUSION REACHED Greg Clark ruled that as a slight impact on landscape and townscape quality had been acknowledged, this meant that local concerns on this subject had not been addressed. Therefore the proposal was refused.

Appeal Ref: APP/Y3425/A.14/2212769

( CASE DETAILS Inspector David C Pinner accepted Stafford Borough Council’s view that the turbines were “overtly unusual manmade engineered structures” but said this criticism could be levelled at any turbine – and “much of the infrastructure needed to support modern living”.

He found that a photomontage submitted with the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) showed that the proposed turbines would not have a significant effect on the quality of the townscape.

For similar reasons, the inspector agreed that the LVIA showed there would be no effect on the Moddershall Valley Conservation Area.

A further assimilation method of finishing the turbines in matt grey to reflect the predominant colour of the sky was also agreed to diminish their visual impact.

BUSINESS

OK for St Albans trampoline park ( SUMMARY Permission has been granted for the change of use of an existing industrial building to a trampoline park at Alban Park, St Albans, as it posed no loss to amenity or highway safety. ( CASE DETAILS The site is mixed use, with retail and commercial units. ( CONCLUSION REACHED Inspector David Spencer felt the change of use would be no more harmful in terms of noise and road use than the previous use.

Appeal Ref: APP/ B1930/W/15/3053087

The 105 parking spaces fell below the council’s parking standards, but the plan posed neither risk to nearby businesses nor highway safety

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LLegal landscape A SHIFT IN TEMPO FOR SMALL VENUES UNDER THREAT

Jonathan Phillips

Koko nightclub and live music venue in Camden has successfully challenged the council’s decision to grant planning permission for converting the adjoining Hope and Anchor pub into flats.

On 8th September, High Court Judge Mr Justice Stewart ruled that insufficient attention had been paid to the setting of nearby listed buildings and the conservation area, and that noise impact had not been adequately assessed.

There were five grounds to the challenge: Koko occupies a Grade II listed building, but the case officer failed to assess the significance of this heritage asset and failed to assess potential harm to it and other heritage assets in the vicinity from the proposed development.

In relation to potential noise impact from established late-night leisure operations, the case officer considered that with relevant mitigation measures, the proposed residential use was acceptable and would not result in increased complaints about noise which could harm the continued operation of the nearby late night operations.

This was despite concerns raised by the council’s environmental health officer, who recommended refusal, and despite measured noise levels that would be clearly noticeable.

Committee resolved

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to grant permission, but reworded conditions were not referred back to committee for approval.

Conditions relating to noise did not secure the mitigation which committee members were advised was necessary.

Finally, the ruling accepted the council’s submission that there had been no breach of a procedural requirement in relation to the developer’s failure to submit a heritage impact assessment.

The grant of planning permission was quashed and the council will now have to reconsider the proposal.

This case highlights the recurring issue of proposed residential conversions in the vicinity of established late-night leisure operations

“THE ‘AGENT OF CHANGE’ PRINCIPLE SAYS THAT THE PERSON OR BUSINESS RESPONSIBLE FOR CHANGE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING ITS IMPACT”

and the associated noise impact considerations. The recent high-profile case relating to Ministry of Sound in Southwark resulted in the developer being required to enter a legal agreement to prevent any changes to noise attenuation works by future occupiers of the flats. In addition, a Deed of Easement was granted to allow noise from the venue to pass over the new residential development. But these are not considered to be solutions that could be applied in all cases.

The London Mayor’s Ambient Noise Strategy ‘Sounder City’ stresses that meeting development needs and urban vitality can be achieved without ‘cheek by jowl’ mixing of conflicting land uses. The assessment of new residential development must include comprehensive considerations of the quality of the local environment to accommodate this use; the potential impact of existing land uses on proposed development; and the impact of proposed development on existing land uses, to ensure compatibility.

The mayor has also published London’s Central Activities Zone (CAZ) Draft Supplementary Guidance (SPG). This confirms that arts, cultural and entertainment activities are integral to the function and distinctive character of the CAZ and make a vital contribution to London’s world city offer. It makes it clear that it is important to manage residential development sensitively to ensure that residential uses do not constrain evening activities in the area.

The ‘Agent of Change’ principle says that the person or business responsible for change is responsible for managing its impact. In other words, whichever building is constructed later, that is the one that must provide appropriate soundproofing.

Are we seeing a shift in law and policy in that direction? It is interesting to note the growing awareness in the trade that developers’ proposals to build residential premises near licensed premises can constitute a future threat to their business, and that this threat can be addressed at the planning stage.

At the same time there are signs in the courts, in national campaigns and indeed at Westminster that the voices of those who provide music at established venues are at last being heard.

Jonathan Phillips is group partner planning in Bidwells’ Oxford Office

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CORNERSTONE BARRISTERS PLANNING LAW DAY SPECIAL

B LO G S This month: opinion and news from the Cornerstone Barristers annual planning day, which focused on affordable housing, neighbourhood planning and the Housing and Planning Bill.

L E G I S L AT I O N V I E W Starter homes threat to emerging local plans

The strengthening of the government’s starter homes policy through the Housing and Planning Bill could disrupt the local plan process, planning barrister Mary Cook (below) has claimed.

Speaking at the annual Cornerstone Barristers planning law day, Cook noted that the bill, which proposes to oblige local authorities to promote the supply of up to 200,000 starter homes, was likely to cause delays or suspension of emerging local plans.

“Local plan examinations in their early stages now run the risk of being caught by this new legislation,” she said.

“If just submitted, it seems to me likely that these plans will have to be altered to accommodate the 200,000 starter homes.”

Cook noted that a lack of clear guidance about whether starter homes were classified as ‘affordable housing’ would throw uncertainty on the

affordable housing numbers already allocated in emerging local plans.

She continued: “The introduction of starter homes casts applications into some doubt. What’s the [section] 106 going to look like?

“Quite how the 20 per cent market discount is going to relate to affordable homes will be different in different areas.”

Cook stressed that more attention should be paid to reforming the private rental sector than encouraging first-time buyers, “and rather more flexibility than buying a place that you have to stick to for five years.

“In today’s jobs market that’s quite difficult, to know your job is so secure that you will be staying in the same place for five years.”

Prematurity and neighbourhood plans

Cook’s colleagues delved into conflicts between local and neighbourhood plans, particularly around issues of ‘prematurity’ – where an application precedes the adoption of a neighbourhood or local plan.

In particular, they highlighted frustrations with inconsistent approaches to the weighting of neighbourhood plans by inspectors,

the courts and the secretary of state during applications and appeals.

Barrister Paul Shadarevian noted a legal judgment (in Woodcock Holdings vs SSCLG), which had countered the secretary of state’s practice of attaching greater weight to emerging neighbourhood plans than required by paragraph 216 of the NPPF. But he also drew attention to an ongoing case in East Hertfordshire where the communities secretary had intervened on vague grounds to delay an application in an area with no neighbourhood plan, no adopted local plan and no five-year housing supply.

“Faced with a neighbourhood plan up to date that deals with the supply of housing in the context of no five-year supply we cannot know which way the secretary of state will go,” said Shadarevian.

Fellow barrister Mark Lowe QC noted: “We will have to learn to live with them [neighbourhood plans] and to deal with them and influence them where we can.”

He continued: “It’s a race to get the application out before the neighbourhood plan tries to scotch it. Your powers of influence are pretty limited, but I suspect you are better inside the tent talking to the community and trying to steer it.”

The Housing and Planning Bill – an overview Martin Edwards

The Housing and Planning Bill brings yet more change to the planning system and is an inevitable but necessary mishmash of proposals stemming from the government’s so-called productivity plan Fixing The Foundations.

Stretching to 145 clauses, it covers a variety of areas, from starter homes to compulsory purchase.

Not everyone will welcome the changes and some may see them as sounding the death knell for localism and a return to centralised planning.

The policy background centres on the current housing crisis, a problem that Westminster has allowed to get out of hand over the past two decades and which requires further wholesale (and some might say ideologically convenient) ‘streamlining’ of the planning system, at the local level, to solve.

Part 1 begins the task of increasing the supply of new homes in England by introducing new provisions for ‘starter homes’ and self-build and custom house building. The objective is to ensure that starter homes become a common feature of new residential development.

The main planning changes are to be found in Part 6, ‘Planning in England’. Clause 102 introduces the concept of ‘permission in principle’. These are grants by means of a development order and will relate to land that is allocated for development in a “qualifying document”.

It is understood that initially the government intends that only land allocated on the Brownfield Register, in development plan documents or neighbourhood plans would be capable of being granted permission in principle.

The current intention is that these provisions will be limited to minor housing development of fewer than 10 units. However, there is clear potential for mission creep and some might see this as a further erosion of local controls over planning.

Clauses 92-95 give new powers to the secretary of state to intervene in the neighbourhood plan process.

Similarly, new powers are given to the secretary of state to intervene in the preparation of local plan documents. Clause 97 introduces what has been described as ‘micro-management’ powers, giving the secretary of state the power to direct inspectors to suspend proceedings, consider specified matters, hear from “specified persons” or take other specified procedural steps.

Clause 99 gives the secretary of state the power to take over a local authority’s plan preparation or to direct it to prepare or revise a local plan. Clause 100 enables the secretary of state to recover the examination costs from the authority.

This is clearly a very big stick with which to beat tardy planning authorities with no discernible sign of any carrots. One recently retired inspector has even been reported as suggesting that clause 97 effectively ends independent examination.

Martin Edwards is a planning and environmental barrister at Cornerstone Barristers

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INSIGHT

Career { D E V E L O P M E N T C CREATING AN EFFECTIVE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

Presentations are a key part of the planning professional’s skill set, says Rachel Miller. Done well, they can win the hearts and minds of your audience, whether you are presenting to clients, addressing a conference, or speaking at a local community hall Microsoft's PowerPoint is, without doubt, the tool of choice for most speakers. It’s not surprising; this easy-to-use software can highlight and illustrate key points, bringing plans and developments to life and keeping your audience engaged.

But the truth is that a PowerPoint presentation can just as easily fall flat — especially when the slides show no more than a few tired bullet points that the audience has usually read before the speaker has had time to explain them.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Getting the most out of PowerPoint is about having clear objectives in mind and then making it work to your advantage – and most of this is down to preparation.

1/

FOCUS ON YOUR AUDIENCE

Your presentation must be targeted at the audience. This may sound blindingly obvious, but some speakers focus too much on what they want to say and not enough on what the audience might actually want to hear.

Avoid the temptation to demonstrate everything you know. Instead, think about the needs of the audience and focus your presentation on helping it.

2/

START STRONG

The first few minutes really count. This is where PowerPoint can help you set the scene, show the audience that you understand what it needs, and explain what you are going to deliver. Refine and practice your opening words until you are absolutely happy with them.

Don’t be tempted to save a key point

40

for later in your presentation. You may well have lost half the audience by the time you get to your big reveal. If you don’t win over members of your audience at the start you probably won’t get them back later.

3/

ESTABLISH A STRUCTURE

A common mistake is to try to cram too much into a presentation. It’s important to keep your presentation tight and focused; the best way to do this is to create a clear structure that you share with the audience so that you bring them with you every step of the way.

Remember the rule of three – the optimum number of points that most people can absorb and remember.

Divide your presentation into three key parts and don’t list more than three points on any one slide.

A tried-and-tested way to structure your presentation is: • Explain the situation/problem; • Outline the possible solutions; and • Present your plan.

4/

GET IN THE FLOW

The best presenters use PowerPoint to create a logical ‘flow’ of points and move effortlessly from one slide to another. This is where practise can really pay off and it helps to build trust with your audience – essential when you are trying to win it over. It’s also a good idea to introduce a new point before you bring up the relevant slide – it looks more professional and stops people reading ahead.

5/

DEALING WITH DATA

Presentations are often full of facts and figures, especially in the planning sphere. The trouble is, no matter how knowledgeable an audience is, it will lose concentration when faced with too much data.

There are two key ways to handle this. One is to make sure you present data well – make full use of the PowerPoint tool SmartArt and turn your bare statistics into compelling graphics, such as bar charts and flow

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+ Expert Q&A: Simon Raybould charts. Secondly, be selective; flag up the most important data and provide the rest in a handout at the end.

6/

ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE

Anything that engages your audience emotionally will get attention and be remembered. Try to tell stories. Use examples from reallife and include surprise, humour, or suspense. Show some passion for your subject and tell everyone how excited you are to be there.

Interaction between speaker and audience also improves engagement.

Ask and answer questions and find simple ways for audience members to participate. This is especially useful at training sessions.

7/

Q. What’s the biggest mistake people normally make with PowerPoint?

A. It’s thinking that PowerPoint is for you, when it should be there for the audience. It’s not a crutch. You have to think about what the audience needs to see. Never use PowerPoint slides simply as a prompt or a script for your presentation.

Q. How can you make your presentation more polished?

A. Use PowerPoint’s Presenter View. It gives you a place to put easy-toread notes so you don’t forget key points, but the audience only sees the slide. It also means you can introduce the next topic just before you bring the slide up – giving the impression you are totally on top of your game.

Q. How important are visuals?

A. They are vital. We process visual information up to 35,000 times faster than text – but all your graphics must be well-designed and must tell the story of the data. Complex data should be provided in a handout at the end. Before you begin your presentation, tell your audience there will be a handout and it will build trust.

CREATE VISUAL APPEAL

Research proves that visual material is absorbed more quickly than words and remembered for longer. And visuals are absolutely critical when it comes to presenting development proposals, for example.

Good-quality photography, plans and illustrations can all bring your presentation to life.

Make sure visuals are strong and bold. Avoid using anything that is hard to decipher. Spend time devising a clear ‘look’ for your entire presentation using typefaces, colours and icons – it will look more professional and cohesive.

Q How do you make sure nothing goes wrong?

A. You can reduce the risk of failure by making sure all the logistics are right on the day – everything from the technology and handouts to your own appearance. The best way to do this is with a comprehensive checklist. Draw this up in advance; on the day, the simple act of checking the list will give you more confidence before you go on. It’s also critical to practice – you must really know your material.

Q. How do you cope with nerves?

A. Trying to go from being scared to being calm is a big ask. Your adrenaline has to go somewhere. Research has proved that channelling that energy into excitement – literally by saying the words “I am excited” – improves confidence considerably.

8/

USE YOUR OWN WORDS

The words that you say are certainly important, but the words you project on-screen are also powerful. And too many PowerPoint headings are full of dull corporatespeak or jargon.

Don’t assume that everyone you are addressing is ‘in the know’; create easy-to-understand headings that pose questions, arouse curiosity or promise interesting insights.

9/

FOCUS ON THE OUTCOME

And finally, think about what you want your audience to do afterwards and make sure your conclusion contains a call to action.

n Dr Simon Raybould is the founder of Aware Plus, specialists in soft skills training and presentations.

His new book is Presentation Genius

n Rachel Miller is a freelance journalist and editor of the Marketing Donut small business website

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INSIGHT

Plan ahead P

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

There goes the neighbourhood Neighbourhood planning – administrative headache or democracy in action? A one-day conference in Yorkshire reviews its progress so far “With the rise of neighbourhood planning from 2011, we’ve now got a whole resource of good practice to look at, but also a much clearer idea of the challenges and how those can be overcome,” says Quintin Bradley, senior lecturer in housing and planning at Leeds Beckett University.

“Bottom-up planning has always been viewed as a challenge, but many practitioners would say that this is the way the profession should be working,” he adds – while conceding that this very local approach to planning is not without its trials for professional planners.

Introduced by the Localism Act of 2011, neighbourhood planning enables communities to create their own neighbourhood development plan and vote it through on a referendum. The plan has weight

“TO WHAT EXTENT DOES COMMUNITY­ LED PLANNING DEMOCRATISE PLANNING DECISIONS? I THINK THAT’S STILL QUITE A THORNY QUESTION” 42

Qu Quintin Bradley: “B “Bottom-up pla planning has always been viewed as a challenge”

– but to pass muster it must meet a range of criteria, not least aligning with the local plan.

Among the criticisms of neighbourhood planning have been suggestions that it introduces conflict between local and neighbourhood plans. This is particularly the case where (as with many authorities), a local plan has yet to be adopted.

For some, neighbourhood planning adds an unnecessary layer to an already complex planning system. For others, it is local democracy in action and has the capacity to revitalise placemaking in England.

This debate – and other aspects of neighbourhood planning – will be under the microscope at ‘Planning for and by communities’, an RTPI Yorkshire conference in Leeds on 9 December, jointly run with Sheffield Hallam and Leeds Beckett Universities.

Bradley himself will be reviewing the “emerging lines of conflict” within neighbourhood planning. Other presentations will look at how neighbourhood planning can balance community and strategic needs; Bob Pritchard of Eversheds, meanwhile, will take a look at the developing legal framework around

neighbourhood planning.

“Perhaps the most obvious area of tension in neighbourhood planning is the case law that’s been accruing around neighbourhood plans, in relation to house building in particular and development in general,” elaborates Bradley.

“On the one hand, you could argue that neighbourhood planning is increasing allocations for house building.

But at the same time it hasn’t really resolved problems between developers and communities, which I think was one of its other aims.”

Bradley, who is joint author of a forthcoming book on neighbourhood planning (Neighbourhood Planning And Localism: Power To The People?), is also interested in the extent to which it ‘democratises’ the planning process.

“There are questions of equality – who gets involved and what is the geographic spread of that? You’ve also got the problem that the people who get involved are the people with the capacity and interest to do so.

“So to what extent does community-led planning democratise planning decisions? I think that’s still quite a thorny question.”

But Bradley has faith in neighbourhood planning as a way for communities to bring a strong sense of locality into decision-making.

He believes that communities can adapt to the nuances of planning and the compromises the system places on them, local authorities can adapt to letting go of certain aspects of planning, and developers can adapt to more local ways of working. The day will also feature case studies of successful neighbourhood planning from urban and rural areas.

Bradley hopes delegates will leave with an enthusiasm for a challenging – and sometimes disruptive – new element within the planning system.

“Personally, I want them to believe in community-led planning – I think there’s still a lot of resistance to that,” he says. “But I think what we’ve got now is a position where we can say: ‘Look, this does work, this works very well indeed.

There are ways over all the obstacles we can think of’.”

G O O D N EI G H B O U R S What: Planning for and by communities Where: St George’s Centre, Leeds LS1 3BR When: Wednesday 9 December 2015 Find out more and book: http://www.rtpi.org.uk/events/ events-calendar/2015/december/planning-for-and-bycommunities/

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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 9 December - The Academy of Urbanism end of year review & reception A review of recent academy activities and a chance to share ideas for 2016. This event is a half-yearly opportunity for Academicians and Young Urbanists to look back at the academy’s successes and generate ideas and activities for the future. The review will be followed by a talk from a guest speaker.

Venue: The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-LO-0912 25 February – RTPI’s guide to the planning system in 2015 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 resource from the point of view of government, local authorities, and applicants.

Venue: The HattonJ Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-LO-2502.

EAST OF ENGLAND 9 December – Masterplans, spatial frameworks and development briefs This event will enable delegates to: develop a broader understanding and appreciation of the overall masterplanning process and the level of spatial and delivery detail needed at each stage of the planning process; understand key processes for producing, reviewing and implementing masterplans, spatial frameworks and development briefs; and develop their own placemaking and design skills.

Venue: Bedford Borough

Council Offices, Borough Hall, Cauldwell Street, Bedford MK42 9AP Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-EE-0912

EAST MIDLANDS 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 2016 – 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 will include measuring housing need and first-time buyer affordability, together with housing’s social, rural and custom-build dimensions. Guest speakers include:Steve Fidgett, WYG Planning; Joanna Lee, Peter Brett Associates; and John Sneddon, Tetlow King.

Venue: Swindon Town Football Club, Swindon County Ground, Swindon SN1 2ED, UK Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-SW-2901 23 February – Development Management With the government

DON’T MISS UCL ISR public lecture: Natural capital – valuing the planet A talk by Professor Dieter Helm CBE, of the University of Oxford. Alongside global warming, population growth, the destruction of the world’s biodiversity and natural capital threatens to undermine economic growth.

On current policies, natural capital - those assets nature gives us – will be massively depleted and undermine economies. To put growth on a sustainable basis requires that natural assets are taken. This lecture sets out how to do this, how to start restoring natural capital, and why it is necessary for sustainable economic growth.

Dieter Helm is an economist specialising in utilities, infrastructure, regulation and the environment, and concentrating on the energy, water, communications and transport sectors primarily in Britain and Europe.

Date: 10 December 2015 Venue: Roberts G08 Sir David Davies LT, Malet Place, London, WC1E 7JE Details: tinyurl.com/Planner1215-LO-1012

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 last year.

Venue: BDP, Manchester M60 3JA Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-NW-1102

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 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

YORKSHIRE 8 December – YORnet Christmas drinks and networking The focus will be on providing an opportunity to meet colleagues from across the property and

development industry in a relaxed setting.

Venue: Oracle Bar, 3 Brewery Place, Leeds Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-YO-0812 9 December – Planning for and by communities Public participation has been the hallmark of planning policy for decades, but deeprooted tensions continue between the aspirations of local communities and the requirements of strategic and marketled development. This conference explores these tensions through the experiences of communities and practitioners engaged in ‘bottom-up’ planning initiatives.

Venue: St George’s Centre, Great George Street, Leeds Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-YO-0912 11 December – Wakefield: The importance of cultural and transport Investment The centre of Wakefield has been transformed in recent years and it is hoped the new Wakefield Eastern Relief Road will lead growth in jobs and housing. This seminar will showcase what has been achieved and focus on the importance of transport investment to growth and recovery for the district.

Venue: The Hepworth, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 5AW Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-YO-1112

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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 9 December - The Academy of Urbanism end of year review & reception A review of recent academy activities and a chance to share ideas for 2016. This event is a half-yearly opportunity for Academicians and Young Urbanists to look back at the academy’s successes and generate ideas and activities for the future. The review will be followed by a talk from a guest speaker.

Venue: The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-LO-0912 25 February – RTPI’s guide to the planning system in 2015 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 resource from the point of view of government, local authorities, and applicants.

Venue: The HattonJ Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-LO-2502.

EAST OF ENGLAND 9 December – Masterplans, spatial frameworks and development briefs This event will enable delegates to: develop a broader understanding and appreciation of the overall masterplanning process and the level of spatial and delivery detail needed at each stage of the planning process; understand key processes for producing, reviewing and implementing masterplans, spatial frameworks and development briefs; and develop their own placemaking and design skills.

Venue: Bedford Borough

Council Offices, Borough Hall, Cauldwell Street, Bedford MK42 9AP Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-EE-0912

EAST MIDLANDS 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 2016 – 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 will include measuring housing need and first-time buyer affordability, together with housing’s social, rural and custom-build dimensions. Guest speakers include:Steve Fidgett, WYG Planning; Joanna Lee, Peter Brett Associates; and John Sneddon, Tetlow King.

Venue: Swindon Town Football Club, Swindon County Ground, Swindon SN1 2ED, UK Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-SW-2901 23 February – Development Management With the government

DON’T MISS UCL ISR public lecture: Natural capital – valuing the planet A talk by Professor Dieter Helm CBE, of the University of Oxford. Alongside global warming, population growth, the destruction of the world’s biodiversity and natural capital threatens to undermine economic growth.

On current policies, natural capital - those assets nature gives us – will be massively depleted and undermine economies. To put growth on a sustainable basis requires that natural assets are taken. This lecture sets out how to do this, how to start restoring natural capital, and why it is necessary for sustainable economic growth.

Dieter Helm is an economist specialising in utilities, infrastructure, regulation and the environment, and concentrating on the energy, water, communications and transport sectors primarily in Britain and Europe.

Date: 10 December 2015 Venue: Roberts G08 Sir David Davies LT, Malet Place, London, WC1E 7JE Details: tinyurl.com/Planner1215-LO-1012

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 last year.

Venue: BDP, Manchester M60 3JA Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-NW-1102

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 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

YORKSHIRE 8 December – YORnet Christmas drinks and networking The focus will be on providing an opportunity to meet colleagues from across the property and

development industry in a relaxed setting.

Venue: Oracle Bar, 3 Brewery Place, Leeds Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-YO-0812 9 December – Planning for and by communities Public participation has been the hallmark of planning policy for decades, but deeprooted tensions continue between the aspirations of local communities and the requirements of strategic and marketled development. This conference explores these tensions through the experiences of communities and practitioners engaged in ‘bottom-up’ planning initiatives.

Venue: St George’s Centre, Great George Street, Leeds Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-YO-0912 11 December – Wakefield: The importance of cultural and transport Investment The centre of Wakefield has been transformed in recent years and it is hoped the new Wakefield Eastern Relief Road will lead growth in jobs and housing. This seminar will showcase what has been achieved and focus on the importance of transport investment to growth and recovery for the district.

Venue: The Hepworth, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 5AW Details: tinyurl.com/ Planner1215-YO-1112

D EC EMB E R 2 0 15 / THE PLA NNER

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NEWS

RTPI {

RTPI news pages are edited

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

Capturing the wider benefits of tech growth Joe Kilroy Policy Officer A common thread running through the narrative of the recent economic bounceback of many cities is a burgeoning technology sector. Indeed, the sector is among the main drivers of growth in many metropolitan areas today.

Britain’s technology sector is set to grow four times faster than national Gross Domestic Product this year and digital job growth is predicted to outperform all other occupation categories by 2020¹ In the context of a weak, nationally imbalanced recovery, business and policy leaders need to take advantage of this trend to accelerate structural shifts towards a stronger and more sustainable economic future that creates new jobs and opportunities.

The striking growth of the sector means that tech’s spatial footprint is increasingly evident in urban areas, which raises the question of how cities should respond. The Planning And The Tech And Advanced Manufacturing Sectors paper argues that planning has

‘‘Silicon Roundabout’ ‘Si in East London

a key role to play in ensuring not only that the conditions are in place for the flourishing of the technology sector, but also in ensuring that the benefits of its growth spill over across the whole city.

In the introduction to the Death And Life Of American Cities Jane Jacobs promotes: “The need of cities for a most intricate and close-grained diversity of uses that give each other constant mutual support, both economically and socially... the science of city planning and the art of city design, in real life for real cities, must become the science and art of catalysing and nourishing these closegrained working relationships.”² In the context of tech, planning can nurture the sector’s working relationship with the city and ensure mutual support between its growth and the city’s growth.

Planning has two roles to play in order to ensure tech growth is balanced.

(1) An attractor: planning can make a place attractive as a base for tech firms to establish. At the city level measures such as providing affordable office space, social and physical infrastructure, implementing connectivity, initiating

partnerships with academic institutions, and reintegrating declining areas makes an area attractive to the sector. This role is about the planned investments that make cities attractive to firms in the first place.

(2) A distributor: one line of argument in the literature champions hightechnology industries as having the potential to help city economies to flourish, while also increasing incomes and reducing poverty. Others highlight the potential difficulties of tech-led urban growth, arguing that that the sector is quite insular, its profits are spatially and socially concentrated, and that the benefits of growth in the tech sector may not spread across the city population. This need not be the case. Tech is not an untameable force of nature. Its impact on a city and who gets to share in the potential benefits are grounded in the choices we make as a society. The question is, as the sector grows, what are the best policy decisions to enhance opportunities on offer to the greatest number of people?

International experience shows that if there is proactive leadership and public decision-making about who should feel the benefits of tech growth it can be balanced across a city and can be used to deal with long-term challenges. For city leaders pursuing tech growth may lead to aggregate gains, but if these gains are to reach the wider metropolitan population decisions need to be made about how to ensure these gains are widely shared.

By providing long-term strategies to use the burgeoning tech sector to enhance social as well as economic opportunity, planning can ensure that the city as a whole benefits from the presence of tech firms. This includes shared costs for infrastructure, the build-up of a skilled labour force, and accessible education programmes. n Footnotes ¹ See http://thebusiness.duedil.com/ tech-nation-what-it-is-and-how-we-madeit-3549/ ² Death And Life Of Great American Cities.

[New York] Random House [1961] pp75 n ‘Planning And The Tech And Advanced Manufacturing Sectors’ paper will be published in January 2016

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Editorial E: rtpinews@rtpi.org.uk

RTPI (switchboard) T: 020 7929 9494

Registered charity no.

262865 Registered charity in Scotland SCO37841

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

Debbie Kirk Principal Planning Officer (Enforcement)

1

2

3

CHESHIRE EAST BOROUGH COUNCIL Introducing statutory charges for some aspects of enforcement would generate income. A fixed penalty notice could be an alternative to submitting a retrospective planning application for minor householder breaches where enforcement action is not expedient.

This would offset some of the cost of the investigation, reduce pressure on planners, and ease the perception that people get away with such breaches.

Permitted development rights are more restricted for Conservation Areas, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, national parks and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but not green belt. Disproportionate additions to buildings in the green belt is inappropriate development, but existing permitted development rights allow extensions that can treble the floor space of an original dwelling. Restricting such rights in green belt could remove the conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework. Director liability exists for offences against environmental protection and health & safety laws to stop people hiding behind the corporate veil. Building this into planning law could cut offences committed.

YOUR INSTITUTE, YOUR QUESTIONS

SARA MORRIS, SENIOR FORWARD PLANNING OFFICER, PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

With the Welsh Assembly elections coming up next year, what is the RTPI doing to put housing need in Wales on the agenda with politicians?

ROISIN WILLMOTT, RTPI DIRECTOR OF WALES & NORTHERN IRELAND RTPI Cymru has developed 10 ‘asks’ of the next Welsh Government including a housingspecific request to ensure the provision of a quality home for everyone in Wales. In addition, we have teamed up with a number of organisations on a national Homes for Wales campaign to end the housing crisis. The campaign brings together those who believe everyone has a right to a decent, affordable home. We are demanding one thing – that the next Welsh Government publishes an ambitious plan for housing as part of the new Programme for Government that sets out how they will end the housing crisis in Wales.

For more information go to: www.rtpi.org.uk/wales

The introduction of statutory charges for some aspects of an enforcement service, possibly Fixed Penalty Notices

Restricting permitted development rights for additions to buildings in the green belt

The incorporation of director liability into planning legislation for offences relating to protected trees, listed buildings, adverts and non­ compliance with statutory notices

POSITION POINTS

RTPI PROJECTS ‘ENDORSED’ BY EDUCATION REPORT FINDINGS Andrew Close, Head of Careers & Professional Developmentt The Higher Education Funding Council for England’s analysis into national pilots to support students in England found that both financial and non-financial interventions are necessary to support success at postgraduate level. Where the intention is widening participation, then targeting of funding is important.

Innovative modes of delivery between employers and universities maximise students’ employability.

RTPI projects such as the Future Planners bursaries, ambassadors for schools, learning partners and apprenticeships are focused on similar outputs.

n For more see www.rtpi.org.uk/becomeaplanner.

The full education report: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/ news/newsarchive/2015/Name,105304,en.html

FAITH GROUPS & THE PLANNING SYSTEM Kathie Pollard, Policy and Networks Adviser The RTPI has backed a report from the Faith and Place network containing 15 recommendations for faith groups, planners, developers, and local authorities. It suggests faith groups should be more active in the development of local plans and that councils should review data on applications to ascertain whether refusals are above average from faith groups and take appropriate action if required to engage faith groups in the planning system.

n https://faithandplacenetwork.files.wordpress. com/2015/10/hum021015ar-policy-briefing-dbl1.pdf

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NEWS

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

George Browne, Deputy Chief Town Planner BARBADOS TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING OFFICE SAINT MICHAEL, BARBADOS Supervising a team of 12, I have responsibility for the management of planning enforcement and, research and policy formation. On a day-to daybasis I prepare development briefs, development control guidelines, assist with the preparation of strategic plans, carry out enforcement action and refer planning matters, as required, to the Solicitor General and Director of Public Prosecution. I work with the Chief Town Planner, who is responsible for ensuring orderly and progressive development of the island.

For the purpose of planning the island is divided into five geographical areas. The planning system, based on the UK Town and Country Planning Act 1947, is integrated, multidisciplinary and involves consultation with the general public, private and public stakeholders. However, there is scope for greater stakeholder participation and establishing planning units within all government ministries involved in consultations about planning applications would improve outcomes. We also need to work towards increasing the number of planning applications submitted electronically.

I paradise: Barbados is In not without its problems no

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Although the island has a reputation for being a tropical paradise, it is not without out its problems. We cannott satisfy ti f the demand for housing, there is traffic congestion on the main arteries leading into Bridgetown (the UNESCO World Heritage capital city) and we have an ongoing challenge of managing competing land uses on an island with limited land resources.

The risks of a tsunami and climate change are major issues which need greater public awareness. The majority of the 272,000 people who live on this small Caribbean island here live within one kilometre of the coast.

Concerns over the Housing and Planning Bill The RTPI has raised concerns over a number of measures outlined in the Housing and Planning Bill, which passed its second reading in Parliament in November.

The bill places extra duties on local authorities that are already struggling to meet the requirements for handling planning applications and writing local plans. While the government’s commitment to a plan-led system is encouraging, the RTPI believes the burden placed upon local councils in plan production at this time of austerity must be reduced.

The institute is also concerned that the need to assess the physical constraints and accessibility of housing sites in order to determine if they should be included on brownfield registers will impose further unfunded burdens on councils. Already stretched resources will mean that sites that have not been fully assessed may be included. Central and local government must prioritise planning within their spending plans in order to draw up local plans by 2017 and deliver vital housing through these plans.

The focus on housing is welcomed, but the institute stresses that planning is only part of the answer. Solving the housing crisis will require action across the whole of government, in fiscal policy, regulation of infrastructure providers and innovative mechanisms of land assembly, preparation for development and onward sale to builders. It also argues that the key priority must be to get more homes actually built and a focus on skills, supply chain, finance, and infrastructure must accompany this bill. n Read the RTPI’s full briefing http://www.rtpi.org.uk/briefing-room/newsreleases/2015/october/rtpi-briefing-for-2ndreading-debate-of-the-housing-and-planningbill/

I M AG E | I STO C K

20/11/2015 16:30

RTPI Y ACTIVIT E PIPELIN Current RTPI work – what the Institute is doing and how you can help us PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR BACK APPRENTICESHIPS The RTPI apprenticeship programme is running with Bridgwater, Chichester and Havering Colleges. The programme is a cost-effective way of developing a new generation of ‘home grown’ planners. The intention in 2016 is to go UK-wide if more employers sign up.

David Groom, New Forest District Development Control Manager, said: “The council is dedicated to growing its own. In terms of the Town Planning Apprenticeship, the course fully supports the range of areas our Planning service covers and the ongoing National Vocational Qualification obtained through on-thejob mentoring. We are only a month in and Nick our apprentice is getting stuck in at the office and out on site.“ n To join, contact careers@rtpi.org.uk or see www.rtpi.org.uk/apprenticeships

2016 SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Members will now have received their RTPI subscription for 2016. Subscriptions are due for renewal on 1 January annually. There will be no increase in rates next year.

We have continued to invest in services to provide you with the maximum support as and when you need it. You can spread the cost by setting up a direct debit for payment in equal quarterly instalments. You also have the option of paying online by credit or debit card.

You may qualify for a reduced subscription fee if you are on a low income or if you started maternity leave during the previous calendar year. n If you have queries email subscriptions@rtpi.org.uk or call 020 7929 9463

PLANNING AID ENGLAND VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED FOR CASEWORK Planning Aid England (PAE) offers independent advice and support to empower individuals and communities to engage in the planning system. The PAE advice line is a key channel for the delivery of services. It provides a limited amount of free professional advice by phone, email, and through the Planning Aid Direct website, with volunteers providing further in-depth support (casework) to eligible clients.

We are incredibly grateful for the assistance that our volunteers provide.

To meet the growing demand for PAE services, we are now recruiting volunteers across the regions who are interested specifically in casework opportunities.

Volunteering with PAE is a great way to broaden your professional experience, gain new skills and practical experience of volunteering, support your CPD and to give something back to the community. It is also a rewarding and enjoyable experience. n For information and to volunteer: http://www.rtpi.org.uk/planning-aid/

AWARDS FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE 2016 As we go to press, the entries for the Awards for Planning Excellence 2016 are rolling in thick and fast for all of the 14 categories. Thank you to everyone who entered.

The judges are carefully selecting the very best in planning and 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 in London on 5 May – save the date!

The ceremony will be held at Milton Court, The Barbican.

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. n Please contact rebecca.hildreth@rtpi.org.uk for more details on sponsorship n Tickets for the ceremony go on sale in February. Register your interest for tickets at awards@rtpi.org.uk

RTPI SHORTS

ROUTES TO MEMBERSHIP PROJECT UPDATE From July-September 2015 the RTPI consulted with members on draft proposals for a new membership routes structure. RTPI committees, panels, nations and regions, Legal Associates and Technical Members gave their views. Members want to see the current nonaccredited routes replaced with a clearer, competencybased structure. Mindful of this, the member-led working group prepared proposals which were agreed by the Board of Trustees and subsequently endorsed by the RTPI General Assembly (GA) in October. These are: b b

b b

b b

Modifying the existing Associate APC (A-APC) route to Chartered membership; Closing the Special Entry, Reciprocal Arrangements and EU Pathway routes to Chartered Membership and replacing them with a new Experienced Practitioner APC (EP-APC) route; Closing the Technical Member class with future candidates applying for the Associate class; Maintaining the Legal Associate class while further research is carried out into the membership needs of planning lawyers; Keeping the paid student member class; A transition period of one year from January 2016.

GA also debated further proposals, including the competencies and experience requirements that will underpin new routes, prior to further discussion by the board. Details of this will be featured in future editions. n More information: Catherine Middleton catherine.middleton@rtpi.org.uk

RTPI MONITORS SCOTTISH PLANNING SYSTEM REVIEW RTPI Scotland has been working to inform, engage, and influence the review of the Scottish planning system during a very tight timescale for submissions. It welcomed the establishment of the review as a chance to maximise the system’s potential, but it has expressed disappointment to Scottish ministers, Scottish Government officials and the chair of the panel that there is no place for a chartered planner with recent experience of the planning service on the review panel.

It has also discussed the review at a number of key meetings and advisory groups including the Scottish Forum for Planning and the Ministerial High Level Group whilst Pam Ewen, RTPI Scotland Convenor, outlined some emerging thinking at the Annual Homes for Scotland conference.

A series of posts have been put on the RTPI Scotland blog to stimulate thinking and ideas whilst seven discussion events were organised across the country through its chapters. These were well attended and sparked debate on a range of issues around the review’s themes: development plans; housing delivery; infrastructure; development management; leadership, resources and skills; and community engagement.

A special edition of the RTPI Scotland journal, The Scottish Planner, is also to be published to help stimulate debate and thinking on the issues. This engagement has helped to frame the written evidence that has been submitted to the panel. It can be read at www.rtpi.org.uk/scotland. RTPI Scotland will give oral evidence to the panel in the New Year. It is expected that the panel will provide the Scottish Government with a report in March 2016. RTPI Scotland will engage with government once recommendations emerge.

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Recruitment { We have an exciƟng opportunity within the Development Management Business Unit. The team sits within the Deputy Chief ExecuƟve’s Directorate and conƟnues, having been through a restructure previously, to play a signiĮcant and pro-acƟve role in helping to support the team in delivering growth for Newark & Sherwood.

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You are invited to join our Development Management team who are responsible for helping to support growth for Newark & Sherwood through the delivery of essenƟal infrastructure and the determinaƟon of planning and related applicaƟons.

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T H E P L AN N E R \ D EC E M B E R 2 0 1 5 Laundry List HPV.indd 1

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Come and work in the beautiful Eden Valley Eden District Council prides itself on serving its residents and strives to support communities to lead on the delivery of local services they desire. Prime examples of this include the Council’s successful Community Fund and its leadership on Neighbourhood Planning.

We are on the lookout for bright and motivated planners to join our team. You will have sound knowledge and experience of planning legislation, best practice and guidance coupled with the drive and motivation to deliver our planning services to a high standard. Based in the attractive market town of Penrith, the posts will involve steering RXU IRUWKFRPLQJ ORFDO SODQ WKURXJK WR DGRSWLRQ DQG LPSOHPHQWLQJ SODQQLQJ SROLFLHV WKDW UHÀ HFW WKH &RXQFLOœV priorities and vision. :H FDQ RIIHU D IULHQGO\ ZRUNLQJ HQYLURQPHQW À H[LEOH ZRUNLQJ DQG XQSDUDOOHOHG DFFHVV WR VRPH RI WKH ¿ QHVW DQG most tranquil countryside available. The District not only contains the stunning Eden Valley, it also includes parts of both the Lake District National Park and North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Yorkshire Dales National Park is also due to extend into Eden next year.

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A motivated and forward thinking individual is sought to provide effective leadership in Planning Policy and to the Planning Policy Team. You will be responsible for shaping, implementing and delivering corporate policies, planning policies and the council’s vision and priorities. Our draft Local Plan is at an advanced stage and one of the main areas of work will involve driving it through to adoption.

<RX ZLOO SOD\ D VLJQLÂż FDQW SDUW LQ KHOSLQJ RXU VPDOO and dedicated planning policy team to steer our draft Local Plan through to adoption. The work offers an excellent opportunity to be involved in all aspects of plan-making.

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We are looking for an experienced Strategic Planner with a track record of producing development plans and the ability to lead a team of professionals focussed on shaping and supporting high quality place making and economic development. You will be MRTPI qualiďŹ ed and provide the professional lead to specialists covering strategic planning, housing, economy and community and seek out collaborations that deliver strong outcomes for local communities and businesses

Development Management Senior Specialist Salary: ÂŁ33,857 - ÂŁ37,483 QualiďŹ ed to degree level (or equivalent) within a Planning or related discipline and a Member of the RTPI, you will have the ability to lead on delivering more complex developments including major strategic developments and providing key Development Management advice.

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Development Management â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Senior Case Manager (Enforcement) x 1 Salary: ÂŁ23,698 - ÂŁ27,123 Responsible for investigating and enforcing breaches of planning control, you will have a background in regulation/enforcement preferably in a local government, planning context.

Application forms and further details can be downloaded from our website: www.southhams.gov.uk or www.westdevon.gov.uk. Alternatively, further details are available from Customer Services, South Hams District Council, Follaton House, Plymouth Road, Totnes, TQ9 5NE. Tel: 01803 861234 (01803 861444 out-of-hours answerphone) or e-mail customer.services@southhams.gov.uk Closing date: Monday 14 December 2015

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INSIGHT

Plan B P

I M A G E S | PA / S H U T T E R S T O C K

GET OUT OF MY WAY! Plan B is an inveterate strider.

In our household we don’t do ambling or loitering. We don’t drift or dawdle, mosey or wander. Indeed, we don’t practise any form of slow walking, ever. We stride, purposefully – even when we’re not heading anywhere in particular. Fast walking is good.

Slow walking, on the other hand, is unmitigatedly bad.

People who clog up perfectly good pavements with their plodding should be rounded up and, like Alex in A Clockwork Orange, re-educated. Do they not understand how obstructive they are? It may not work, of course, because – as comedian Frank Skinner likes to point out – people who walk slowly probably think slowly, too.

What’s needed is a planning solution to this irksome issue.

Segregated lanes for fast and slow walkers, perhaps. We’re

not the only ones who think this.

It turns out that loathing of slow walking is a national affliction; thus the media this month was full of gleeful comment about an experiment (really a publicity stunt) in Liverpool to trial a fast-walking lane.

It’s described as a first, although it’s not – last year a 10-year-old schoolgirl successfully lobbied Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre to introduce a rush-hour overtaking lane for pedestrians to speed her journey to school.

Will fast walking lanes be rolled out across the nation?

It’s doubtful. Pavements are too anarchic to be constrained by petty rules. Besides, people routinely ignore bike lanes, so what is the hope for segregated walking lanes? No, what’s

onall solution, l ti needed is a personal something like – oh, I don’t ls for people. know – bike bells an has already A Japanese man strian bell piloted the pedestrian ting shufflers as a tool for shifting shufflers from his path. He recorded the results on YouTube and it’s fair to say that if you ring a bell everyone automatically hops to it. Next time someone asks you if it’s possible to introduce a fast walking lane, just show them this video: tinyurl.com/ planner1215-plan-b

A STONE AGE OXYMORON The Guardian reports this month that archaeologists have discovered a ‘Stone Age eco home’ in the roots of an upturned tree near Stonehenge.

A nice story, but it prompts the question: how could a Stone Age home NOT be an eco home? Let’s just think about this for a second: an eco home is surely only an eco home in relation to alternatives to eco homes – in other words, non-eco homes.

But as far as Plan B is aware, Stone Age hunter-gatherers didn’t have access to the domestic infrastructure that might characterise a noneco home. We’re thinking gas and electricity on tap, environmentally costly mass production methods for building materials, and so on.

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A MER MERRY CHRISTMA FROM CHRISTMAS PLAN B A Merry Christmas Chris to all We wish you our readers. W season, a pleasant festive fes probably even though you’re yo reading this thi on 10th December. No, but seriously – happy Christmas and all that. See you in 2016.

Sure, they may have hewn some wood or stone, or even burned a few trees to create a clearing; but they didn’t really have a meaningful choice. The whole notion of eco/non-eco is surely redundant to people who would use whatever materials came immediately to hand to create shelter. This, according to The Guardian, made them “environmentally aware”. But it’s not like they were signing up for the Stone Age version of Greenpeace or anything.

Referring to a Stone Age home as an eco home is about as useful as describing a £450,000 starter home as ‘affordable’. What we have in either case is what philosophers might call a ‘category error’ – the application of a concept within a category to which it doesn’t belong, and a mark of either laziness or indifference in the formulation of ideas.

n Any modern troglodytes out there? Tweet us - @ThePlanner_RTPI 20/11/2015 16:31

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} Recruitment PLAN TO TRANSFORM RAIL TRAVEL WITH ÍŽ The High Speed Two rail network will unlock rapid inter-city travel â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and unmissable opportunities for planning professionals. Â&#x2039;Â&#x2030;Â&#x160; Â&#x2019;Â&#x2021;Â&#x2021;Â&#x2020; Â&#x2122;Â&#x2018; Â&#x2039;Â?Â&#x2039;Â&#x2013;Â&#x2021;Â&#x2020; Č&#x2039; ÍŽČ&#x152; is developing the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new high speed railway. It will cut travel times between cities and free up capacity on routes we already use. It will support regeneration and create thousands of jobs.

Simply put, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a project of huge national importance.

Among the technical disciplines Â&#x2026;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2013;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2026;Â&#x192;Â&#x17D; Â&#x2013;Â&#x2018; Â&#x2026;Â&#x2018;Â?Â&#x2022;Â&#x2013;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2014;Â&#x2026;Â&#x2013;Â&#x2039;Â?Â&#x2030; ÍŽÇĄ there are opportunities for planning professionals at a range of levels, with roles based out of London and Birmingham. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Working on the biggest UK project in a generation presents massive opportunities and challenges. There isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t another job like it.â&#x20AC;?

Paul Gilfedder, Town Planning Lead â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Phase One ÍŽ Â&#x2039;Â&#x2022; Â&#x192; Â&#x160;Â&#x2014;Â&#x2030;Â&#x2021;Â&#x17D;Â&#x203A; Â&#x2026;Â&#x2018;Â?Â&#x2019;Â&#x17D;Â&#x2021;Â&#x161; Â&#x192;Â?Â&#x2020; wide-ranging project. Planners

should be prepared to apply their Â&#x2021;Â&#x161;Â&#x2019;Â&#x2021;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2013;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2022;Â&#x2021; Â&#x192;Â&#x17D;Â&#x2018;Â?Â&#x2030;Â&#x2022;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2020;Â&#x2021; Â&#x2019;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2018;Â&#x2019;Â&#x2021;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2013;Â&#x203A; teams in supporting regeneration and growth at station locations.

They also drive the consents process associated with the deemed planning permission granted by Parliament. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Collaboration, communication and adaptability are key to providing planning support across the project.â&#x20AC;?

Laura Williams, Built Heritage and Town Planning Advisor Relationship building is crucial for planners, who work closely Â&#x2122;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2013;Â&#x160; ÍŽ Â&#x2026;Â&#x2018;Â&#x17D;Â&#x17D;Â&#x2021;Â&#x192;Â&#x2030;Â&#x2014;Â&#x2021;Â&#x2022; Â&#x192;Â?Â&#x2020; contractors including engineers, environmental specialists and programmers. The team also liaise with planning authorities and stakeholders along the line of route: this is vital to enable the railway to be constructed on time and to budget. Dz Â&#x2021;Â&#x2039;Â?Â&#x2030; Â&#x192; Â&#x2018;Â&#x2122;Â? Â&#x17D;Â&#x192;Â?Â?Â&#x2021;Â&#x201D; Â&#x192;Â&#x2013; ÍŽ gives you the opportunity to shape a world-class project, in a fast-paced and challenging planning environment.â&#x20AC;?

Adam Ruane, Town Planning Advisor

Image: QA Photos/LCR

With such wide project horizons, a variety of backgrounds and Â&#x2021;Â&#x161;Â&#x2019;Â&#x2021;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2021;Â?Â&#x2026;Â&#x2021;Â&#x2022; Â&#x2039;Â&#x2022; Â&#x2122;Â&#x2021;Â&#x17D;Â&#x2026;Â&#x2018;Â?Â&#x2021;Â&#x2020;Ǥ Â&#x160;Â&#x2021; Â&#x2026;Â&#x2014;Â&#x201D;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2021;Â?Â&#x2013; Â&#x2013;Â&#x2021;Â&#x192;Â? Â&#x2020;Â&#x201D;Â&#x192;Â&#x2122;Â&#x2022; Â&#x2018;Â? Â&#x2021;Â&#x161;Â&#x2019;Â&#x2021;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2013;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2022;Â&#x2021; gained from Crossrail, local government, the Environment Agency and private consultancy. ÍŽÇŻÂ&#x2022; Â&#x2019;Â&#x17D;Â&#x192;Â?Â?Â&#x2039;Â?Â&#x2030; Â&#x2013;Â&#x2021;Â&#x192;Â? Â&#x2039;Â&#x2022; Â?Â&#x2018;Â&#x2013; Â&#x152;Â&#x2014;Â&#x2022;Â&#x2013; planning for the future of rail travel. It is key to delivering the biggest project of its kind in the country, one that has the potential to transform the UK economy for decades to come.

Â?Â&#x192;Â&#x2030;Â&#x2021;ÇŁ ÍŽ Â&#x2013;Â&#x2020;Ǥ

Â?Â&#x192;Â&#x2030;Â&#x2021;ÇŁ ÍŽ Â&#x2013;Â&#x2020;Ǥ

ÍŽ Â&#x2039;Â&#x2022; Â&#x201D;Â&#x2021;Â&#x2026;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2014;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2013;Â&#x2039;Â?Â&#x2030; Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2018;Â&#x201D; Senior Planning Manager, Planning Manager, and Planning Advisor roles in London and Birmingham. Â&#x2018; Ƥ Â?Â&#x2020; Â&#x2018;Â&#x2014;Â&#x2013; Â?Â&#x2018;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2021;ÇĄ Â&#x2019;Â&#x17D;Â&#x2021;Â&#x192;Â&#x2022;Â&#x2021; Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2022;Â&#x2039;Â&#x2013; Â&#x160;Â&#x2013;Â&#x2013;Â&#x2019;ÇŁČ&#x20AC;Č&#x20AC;Â&#x2026;Â&#x192;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2021;Â&#x2021;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2022;ǤÂ&#x160;Â&#x2022;͎ǤÂ&#x2018;Â&#x201D;Â&#x2030;ǤÂ&#x2014;Â?Č&#x20AC;Â&#x152;Â&#x2018;Â&#x201E;Â&#x2022;

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020 3773 5580 | theplanningconvention.co.uk

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20/11/2015 11:42