The Planner - July 2015

JULY 2015 ACCOMMODATING THE CAPITAL’S ‘PULL FACTOR’ // p.22 • STRATEGIC PLANNING UNDERGOES A RENAISSANCE IN WALES // p.26 • NEPAL BUILDING RESILIENCE INTO RECONSTRUCTION // p.30 • REFLECTIONS ON AN URBANISING WORLD // p.34

T H E B U S I N ES S M O N T H LY FO R P L A N N I N G P R O F ES S IO N A LS

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Ministerial Address by Brandon Lewis MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning

The New Politics for Planning 7 July 2015 • London

Why attend?

Understand the new politics for planning following the UK general elections Hear from the best industry speakers from across the world Gain new insights from a choice of special interest sessions Learn the latest in planning from a range of free study tours

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CONTENTS

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THE

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“EARTHQUAKES AND DISASTERS ARE NOT JUST NATURAL CRISES; THEY REFLECT A POVERTY CRISIS, TOO"

NEWS

6 The case for the Northern Powerhouse

7 Manchester’s interim mayor named 8 To boldly go: Scots planners told to grasp nettle on housing 9 Fresh incentives needed for more housing in capital 10 Energy bill deals blows to renewables industry 11 The heat is on for cross-border power grid project

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OPINION 12 Chris Shepley: It’s all just a little bit of history repeating itself 16 Gemma Grimes: An illogical approach to wind energy 16 Joe Kilroy: The trouble with the Housing Bill 17 Maura Fox: Northern Ireland planners are learning to go it alone 17 Susan Parker: A local right to veto?

COV E R I M AG E | A RU NA S K AC I N S K A S

FEATURES 18 The UK ranks 27tʰ in the world for infrastructure. David Blackman outlines 10 challenges facing the government 22 Transport For London’s Richard de Cani talks to Mark Smulian about the capital’s growth 26 Strategic planning is about to undergo a renaissance in Wales.

Huw Morris reports

QUOTE UNQUOTE

“IF THERE IS £22.5 BILLION OF PUBLIC MONEY AVAILABLE FOR HOUSING, WE SHOULD USE IT TO BUILD HOMES THE NEXT GENERATION NEEDS, NOT JUST GIFT IT TO THE LUCKY FEW ALREADY HOUSED IN HOUSING ASSOCIATION HOMES” HENRY GREGG, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT THE NATIONAL HOUSING FEDERATION

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INSIGHT

30 Dr Kishan Datta Bhatta considers what planners can do to limit the toll of natural disasters

38 Legal landscape: Opinion, blogs, and news from the legal side of planning

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40 Career development: Getting the most out of conferences 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: More power to your (ugly) elbow

34 The shift to cities creates options for innovation and growth, says Dr Alfonso Vegara

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PLAN UPFRONT

Leaderr Energy bill buffets the future of renewables – News that the government’s energy bill has given local authorities the power to object to onshore wind farms of more than 50 megawatts in size, and that the Renewables Obligation to new onshore wind is to be closed from April next year, brings into sharp focus the broader thrust of this country’s energy policy.

It makes plenty of people wonder: exactly what is it?

It’s certainly depressing to see the British wind industry taking so many blows (sic). And of course, there are optimists who will make the case that this is not a brake on onshore wind; that in fact, local authorities will continue to consider each application on its merits with plenty of schemes getting the nod. But in reality it’s difficult to look at this as anything other than a range of obstacles hindering this nascent industry

Martin Read sector. Without greater compulsion, the emergence of fewer onshore wind farms is a racing certainty.

Which is odd because the need to decouple this country from its reliance on fossil fuels surely continues to make sense to most. Most important is the ability of renewables to lessen the stranglehold that ‘Big Oil’ – and all the various players that entails – has on us.

Anything that reduces the capacity of others to hold the UK to ransom is surely

worth developing further.

With onshore wind farms, the problem seems largely cosmetic; the big concern is the visual impact of the windmill, not the activity of harvesting wind in itself.

Certainly, it’s difficult to imagine a fight between fracking and onshore wind in which the former comes out the winner.

In terms of extracting actual power, any comparison with coalmining or fracking is no real comparison at all.

Some will point to the low yield from wind farms.

Others will counter that this yield is on a steeply upward curve, and that in any event there are national security

“WAY BEFORE ITS REDEVELOPMENT AS LUXURY HOMES, THE JOKE WAS THAT BATTERSEA POWER STATION’S BEST NEW USE WOULD HAVE BEEN AS A POWER STATION”

issues that the rise in fuel independence guaranteed by wind can only help with.

It wouldn’t have mattered which colour of government took office in May, the need to sharpen the focus on energy was always going to be immediate. The gap between the amount of energy generated and our requirement for it, particularly during peak demand, is vanishingly small. And we’ve not just stumbled upon this crisis.

Experts from across the spectrum of academia and business have been shouting from the rooftops for at least the past 10 years. Way before its redevelopment as luxury homes, the joke was that Battersea Power Station’s best new use would have been as a power station.

So good luck, wind, and all who sail because of you. It can’t be long before we realise how lucky we are to have such a natural resource, and plan for its development accordingly.

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Average net circulation 20,646 (October-December 2013) © The Planner is published on behalf of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) by Redactive Publishing Ltd (RPL), 17 Britton St, London EC1M 5TP. This magazine aims to include a broad range of opinion about planning issues and articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the RTPI nor should such opinions be relied upon as statements of fact.

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

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NEWS

Analysis { DEVOLUTION STRATEGY

The case for the Northern Powerhouse

By Laura Edgar

First proposed by the 2010-2015 Coalition government, the Northern Powerhouse has been confirmed as a priority for the 2015-2020 Conservative government. It involves improving transport links including installing High Speed 2 (HS2) and developing HS3 to strengthen connections between Northern cities.

In March, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne established Transport for the North, to bring together Northern transport authorities to work alongside the government to help create a Northern Powerhouse. Devolving powers to cities with a directly elected mayor is also part of the plan. But what exactly is a Northern Powerhouse?

Cox: Osborne set up a gold standard in Manchester and so they have had the limelight.

The economic recovery in Leeds has been just as good as Manchester. In economic terms, it needs to be seen as a Northern Powerhouse.

Q1: What does the concept Northern Powerhouse mean, what does the term encompass?

Ed Cox, director, IPPR North: I think it covers three ideas. Cities in particular drive economic growth and it is about ensuring that cluster of cities in the north of England – including Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle, Leeds – have sufficient economic mass. It’s about transport connectivity and devolving key powers to different city regions.

Q4: What would a Northern Powerhouse mean for the rest of England ?

Richard Blyth, head of policy, RTPI: Arguably a Northern Powerhouse would make a lot of sense for other parts of England. The Mayor of London has indicated that he supports stronger powers for both London and other cities. Given that English government is probably the most centralised in the world for a state of its size, this figures.

Ben Harrison, director of partnerships, Centre for Cities: It is a complicated idea. The chancellor is trying to balance the economy, with the Powerhouse acting as a counterweight to London by connecting up the urban centres of the North with projects such as HS3. These will bring people in the North closer together and boost cities’ economic performance.

Q5: Does what has been announced – devolution, transport packages – go far enough?

Blyth: The RTPI believes that the Northern

Q2: What does the initiative hope to achieve?

Harrison: I think if you asked the government, it is about improving the economic performance of Northern cities. I think that is why the emphasis has been on innovation, transport and devolution – making sure Manchester, and other cities in the North, take control and improve their economic performance.

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Q3: Is it a Northern Powerhouse, or a NorthWest Powerhouse, or indeed, a Manchester Powerhouse? How can it be ensured that the whole of the North benefits?

Harrison: Manchester has agreed a devolution deal and has therefore received the bulk of media attention. There is no right to suggest that this is what it amounts to. The government is considering more than Manchester, and the chancellor has opened his door for cities that want to get devolved powers through a directly elected mayor.

“IF THERE IS A CONSTANT THEME TO THE NORTHERN POWER HOUSE AND CITY DEVOLUTION, IT IS THAT THOSE WHO SECURED THE FIRST WAVE OF CITY DEALS ARE AHEAD OF THE GAME AND IN THE LEADING PACK. MANY WOULD SAY THAT MANCHESTER IS, BY SOME MARGIN, THE LEADER IN THAT PACK” TIM PUGH, BLP

Powerhouse presents an excellent opportunity for cities and authorities to work together and think beyond their own boundaries to create the housing, transport, infrastructure and environment that will benefit the whole of the north of England. The issue for planners is can those responsible for the investment which places and indeed sites need are prepared to come round the table and make progress. If budgets are controlled by Whitehall mandarins (and foreign board rooms) the process of urban development is incredibly difficult. Devolution of a range of public budgets to a city would make it easier to bang heads together to actually get things done.

Q6: What should happen next?

Cox: We would like to see a wide acknowledgment of economic growth take place, not just in big cities but in smaller places too. And plans for devolution to extend to not only big cities but to the places in between.

Tim Pugh, partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner: There are big questions to be resolved.

One revolves around the details of how precisely cities will achieve devolved powers – will elected mayors actually be a prerequisite? A second concerns fiscal devolution.

Major cities and combined authorities have been seeking that and they were supported by recommendations from the Communities and Local Government Committee last year.

These questions will be played out in Parliamentary Committee and the 2015 Budget and Spending Review. Certainly, groups like the Local Government Association and the Core Cities Group (representing the UK’s eight largest city economies (including Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool) are arguing not only for greater devolution of powers, but also the ability to use locally those taxes raised locally. As things stand there is an asymmetry between devolving powers and responsibility on the one hand, yet curtailing nationally distributed funding and not permitting locally raised funding on the other.

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PLAN UPFRONT

Manchester’s interim mayor is named Tony Lloyd has been selected as the interim mayor of the Manchester city region.

The current Police and Crime Commissioner and former Labour MP was chosen by a panel representing the 10 Greater Manchester councils – the leaders of Bury, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford, the mayor of Salford and deputy leader of Wigan council.

Lloyd was chosen ahead of the leader of Wigan Council, Lord Peter Smith.

The interim mayor will work in partnership with the Greater Manchester

Combined Authority and become its full-time leader from 26 June, when the appointment is set to be confirmed, until May 2017 when a public vote will take place for a directly elected mayor.

Lloyd will not have any executive powers.

The directly elected mayor will be responsible for devolved powers include transport, housing and planning.

Lloyd said now is an exciting and challenging time for Greater Manchester.

“As we move towards devolution we have to ensure that there is a strong voice making the case to government on Greater Manchester’s behalf. I am pleased that I will be that voice, but to be effective my role must carry legitimacy with the people of Greater Manchester.

“The changes we need can only be delivered if the public has bought into them and are included in the debate,” said Lloyd.

Glasgow identifies key City Deal projects Glasgow City Council has identified and listed projects valued at £400 million specific to Glasgow as part of the £1.13 billion City Deal for Glasgow and the Clyde Valley.

These include: regeneration work in the city centre; Sighthill and the canal area; in Collegelands, Calton and the Barras; on the Clyde waterfront and the West End supporting growing businesses, as well as Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Partnership activities across the city.

Projects in Glasgow over the next 10 years include: the creation of a bridge connecting Partick and Govan; new public realm works across the city centre; new pedestrian and traffic bridges in Sighthill; the development of the former meat market site at Bellgrove; incubator growth space in the Merchant City for young, high-growth companies; and a new drainage scheme at the canal to enable further development there.

Gordon Matheson, Glasgow City Council leader, said: “These projects will help to tackle long-term economic issues and I M AG E S | G E T T Y / I STO C K

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build a platform for future prosperity.”

The eight authorities in the City Deal are East Dunbartonshire Council, East Renfrewshire Council, Glasgow City Council, Inverclyde Council, North Lanarkshire Council, Renfrewshire Council, South Lanarkshire Council, and West Dunbartonshire Council.

Planning for successful places: 2015 Young Planners’ Conference The 2015 Young Planner’s Conference will be held in the maritime city of Southampton.

Hosted by the South Coast Young Planners, it will explore the theme of ‘Planning for Successful Places’ and will ask the critical questions: what makes a place successful and how can planning facilitate this?

Confirmed speakers include: the chief planner at the department for communities and local government Steve Quartermain CBE; RTPI chief executive Trudi Elliott CBE; planning director at the Home Builders Federation Andrew Whitaker; and Dr Janice Morphet, visiting professor at UCL Bartlett School of Planning.

They will discuss a variety of topics, ranging from the politics of planning places and planning for South Coast communities to planning for growth.

The conference will also feature workshops to provide young planners with opportunities to develop or enhance practical skills, explore key topics in greater detail or obtain essential advice on the Assessment of Professional Competent process. Study tours of Southampton and the wider area will allow delegates to see examples of best practice from the South Coast.

The conference will be held on Friday 9 October to Saturday 10 October at the Grand Harbour Hotel. For tickets and more information, please visit www.rtpi.org.uk/ypc Sponsors for the event include Savills and Turley.

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NEWS

Analysis { COMMUNITY PLANNING

To boldly go – Scots planners told to grasp nettle on housing

By Laura Edgar Local authority heads of planning from across Scotland heard several calls to arms at their annual conference in Perth on 11 and 12 June.

Looking at ‘People, Place and Planning’, the conference asked how planners could enable growth and plan with communities. The consensus? That planners had to be bolder, more proactive and a key part of corporate approaches.

Discussion on housing growth had been heightened by Scottish Cabinet Secretary Alex Neil’s announcement earlier that week that he was organising a national discussion on how to improve and streamline development planning and housing delivery.

All speakers welcomed this as a chance to change for the better.

Keith Anderson, chair of the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland, thought that planners should move from being gatekeepers to helping to stimulate growth. Although funding was going to be difficult, he mentioned the potential of new capital borrowing powers.

Nicola Barclay, the new director of planning at Homes for Scotland, outlined how she wanted house builders and planning authorities to work closer together – perhaps by being clearer at the very start of the process on housing need numbers.

Pam Ewen, manager of TAYplan and Convenor of RTPI Scotland, believed that it is time for a change to enable planners to focus on the bigger picture where they provide greater leadership and envisioning to create great places. Planners should look to learn from international examples of housing and placemaking in Canada and on the Continent. “Let us allow planners to plan again,” she said.

Peter Marshall (Perth and Kinross Council), Karen Cadell (Area Landscape Architects) and Mike Hamilton (Springfield Homes) talked through the practicalities of making this happen on the ground in major expansions around Perth.

Key lessons focused on the need to have proactive and visionary planning over a long period of time; the complexity but necessity of engaging early on transport, health and design; and the important role played by Perth and Kinross Council in agreeing substantial upfront funding to make the development happen.

Barbara Cummins of Historic Scotland used the historic environment as an example of the need to mainstream activities and show how they can contribute, and add value to, bigger ambitions.

Designer Wayne Hemingway, former chair of CABE’s Building for Life panel, gave a rousing rallying call. “Design is about improving

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Wayne Hemingway: “The big issues of the world right now revolve around planning”

the things that matter in life,” he said. “The big issues of the world right now revolve around planning, planning thinking and what planning can do.”

He urged planners to be bold, brave and creative. This sometimes meant that they should decide when to step away to allow for more organic changes to towns and cities. He cited examples of community-driven regeneration from Berlin, Hackney and Williamsburg.

On day two Colin Mair, chief executive, Improvement Service, and Alasdair McKinlay, Scottish Government, discussed the Community Empowerment Bill. Mair outlined how planning was an important player in helping to deliver key outcomes, especially in supporting approaches towards preventive spend.

The implications of the Community Empowerment Bill would introduce a new legislative provision to improve places for people.

This could, it was argued, lead to major changes in the way public bodies function and communities would be able to challenge service provision and ask to do it themselves if they felt it wasn’t working.

Petra Biberbach of PAS gave a bottom-up view on this, discussing the Charrette+ model, which aims to connect communities with community planning and spatial planning.

Craig McLaren and Nikola Miller from RTPI Scotland presented work they have been carrying out on how to better connect spatial and community planning. Joking that community planning was currently “neither about communities or planning” given its focus on aligning public service programmes and resources, they explained how research had shown there was disconnect with land use planning but also a desire for the link to be strengthened.

McLaren and Miller outlined a newly published ‘route map’ that set out practical ways to make these connections through Main Issues Reports, action programmes and the idea of an overarching Sovereign Plan that development plans supported. They said the plan should be the spatial articulation of the community plan.

“IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE TO ENABLE PLANNERS TO FOCUS ON THE BIGGER PICTURE WHERE THEY PROVIDE GREATER LEADERSHIP” PAM EWEN

At the conference, Michael McGlynn replaced David Littlejohn as chair of Heads of Planning Scotland. It was clear from the conference that he had a challenging agenda to take forward, but fortunately many opportunities that could be used to do this.

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PLAN UPFRONT

Fresh incentives needed for more housing in London A new financial rewards system is recommended in a recent report to help increase housing delivery in London.

Carrots and Sticks: A targets and incentives approach to getting more homes built in London, co-authored by business group London First and Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners (NLP), argues that there needs to be a ‘carrot-and-stick approach’ to housing delivery in the capital.

It states that the ‘carrot’ would be increased financial benefits for boroughs that meet its targets, while the ‘stick’ would be “giving greater powers to the Mayor of London to intervene, should boroughs fail”.

The incentive would be the London Housing Delivery Bonus (LHDB), which would be in addition to the existing “but weak” New Homes Bonus.

The LHDB would be allocated by Mayor

World’s first tidal lagoon still in deep water

of London, Boris Johnson, based on each borough’s performance compared with its housing targets.

The more the target is exceeded, the greater the reward for the borough, suggests the report.

The ‘stick’ would see the mayor receive powers to determine all planning applications for 50 homes or more for a set period of time for boroughs that “consistently underperform against their target”.

The mayor would have to justify this intervention against set criteria.

The recommendations have been made following analysis by London First and NLP – also in the report – that show only 18 out of 33 local authorities met or exceeded their housing targets from 2010 to 2013, with London as a whole failing to meet targets outlined in the London Plan. n See: http://londonfirst.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2015/05/Carrots-andSticks-Report_Web.pdf

South Dublin masterplan could double population

The south Dublin suburb of Cherrywood could double in size with a population of around 20,000 if the masterplan drawn up by US real estate company Hines for land near the N11 gets off the drawing board.

Ambitious new expansion plans for a I M AG E S | A L A M Y / I STO C K

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History was made when UK ministers approved plans for what is proposed to be the world’s first tidal lagoon, a 320-megawatt power plant in Swansea Bay. The scheme was the subject of a successful application for a Development Consent Order (DCO).

Announcing the successful bid, Lord Bourne, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office), said: “Low-carbon energy projects like the tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay could bring investment, support local jobs and help contribute to the Welsh economy and Swansea area.”

The scheme involves a series of turbines installed in a proposed six-mile horseshoe-shaped sea wall around the

100-hectare site near the N11 dual carriageway have been unveiled.

The company has Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) approval for the construction of a new retail-led, mixed-use town centre comprising up to 3,800 apartments and houses, and zoning capacity to expand the second-largest office park in Dublin to three times its current size.

Hines is also working in close collaboration with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to progress an integrated and sustainable plan for the site, which will include new homes, shops, schools and parks and appropriate transport infrastructure.

Hines wants to construct an elevated, fully pedestrianised town centre plaza at the level of the existing Luas tramline running through the area.

This will be modelled in part on New York’s High Line district.

Parking and road access will then run under the town centre.

bay.

The £1 billion project still requires a marine licence from Natural Resources Wales and crucially, agreement with the Department of Energy and Climate Change over the price of electricity produced by the scheme under the administration’s Contract for Difference regime.

The scheme has been welcomed by the two local planning authorities involved, the County and City of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.

But question marks remain over the scheme’s impact on key wildlife sites and fish, seal and porpoise populations in the bay.

Planning approval is still needed for the grid connection to the scheme and the DCO does not include proposals to extend the planning jurisdiction of the two local planning authorities to include the offshore area of the project.

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NEWS

Analysis { RENEWABLE ENERGY

Energy bill deals blows to renewables industry

By Laura Edgar Additionally, energy bills will go up.

Following the announcement of an energy bill in the Queen’s “Onshore wind, which is one of the cheapest forms of generatSpeech, what is the future of renewable energy?

The energy bill sets out how legislative changes are to be made ing electricity, will be unduly restricted and more expensive so that consent from the secretary of state will no longer be energy sources will need to fill the power gap,” said Grimes. required for onshore wind farms of over 50 megawatts (MW).

She added that removing new subsidy would also put UK and European Union renewable energy targets at risk, lead to a fall in Instead of being decided through the Nationally Significant Infrainvestor confidence and a fall in the “UK’s international standing structure Project process, local authorites in England and Wales, as a stable and attractive place for infrastructure investment”. which already have powers over wind farms under 50 MW, will be able to make decisions on these planning applications.

Investors, then, will move away from the 50 MW+ onshore wind These changes came into effect on 18 June after an announcemarket to offshore wind and other more favourable markets, ment by communities secretary Greg Clark. Onshore wind farms Tarpey told The Planner. “The subsidy cut and policy changes will will also need to be backed by local and neighbourhood plans. most likely see a dramatic reduction in new wind farms built.”

The Queen’s Speech also confirmed the Conservative governThe future for onshore wind will, says Grimes, depend on the ment’s commitment to end new subsidy for extent to which the UK government and the onshore wind farms. The Department of devolved administrations “commit to Energy and Climate Change will be intro- ”IT MAKES NO SENSE AT A TIME addressing some of the country’s major ducing primary legislation to close the WHEN WE HAVE MAJOR CLIMATE challenges – minimising energy costs to Renewables Obligation to new onshore CHANGE PROBLEMS THAT consumers, tackling climate change and delivering full decarbonisation of the UK wind from 1 April, 2016.

THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING The devolving of powers to decide on pro- TO PREVENT LOW­CARBON energy sector by 2050. Onshore wind delivjects of more than 50 MW worries renewable SOURCES OF RENEWABLE ers on all of these objectives.” energy professionals. Kieran Tarpey of ENERGY” – KIERAN TARPEY Gordon MacDougall, managing director, Entrust, a wind, solar and telecoms planning Western Europe, Res Group, is looking to the and environmental consultancy, said the future with optimism. He said onshore number of planning applications passed wind now stands on the verge of being able will be affected, with “local representation pressurised more not to compete on a purely commercial basis, “with other, more to allow such projects, which are now nearly all contentious”. mature, forms of energy generation without requiring new subsiIt is also likely to create an uneven renewable energy playing dies in the 2020s – and it would be in no one’s interest for this field. Tarpey said “either councils should be given greater powers important opportunity to be squandered”. for all energy projects or none at all” to ensure a fair system.

The key stepping stones to a subsidy-free future are, said MacGemma Grimes, RenewableUK’s director of onshore renewaDougall, “retaining the current transition arrangements from bles, agrees. She said that although local councils should be Renewable Obligations (RO) to the recently introduced and commaking decisions about local projects “because it means governpetitively auctioned Contract for Difference (CfDs)”.* ment ministers can’t interfere with them for political reasons”, it MacDougall concluded that the new UK government has a key role to play in delivering the ingredients that are needed to make raises a wider issue. Different rules for different energy projects this happen: “Stable and supportive policy, a fair and responsive would create a field “deliberately skewed against onshore wind planning system and a lower risk environment for investors.” and in favour of fracking, for example,” she said.

Also of concern is the removal of new subsidy for onshore wind.

Tarpey said it is likely to result in a “significant reduction” in the * A CfD is a financial instrument that will guarantee a fixed price number of applications going into planning. for generators supplying energy

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PLAN UPFRONT

Clark calls in Maldon local plan Communities secretary Greg Clark has directed that Maldon District Council’s emerging local plan should be submitted to him for approval following a request from the council’s chief executive to intervene.

Inspector David Vickery published his interim findings on Maldon District Council’s local plan in May, citing the plan as “unsound” because it didn’t provide adequate provision for travellers. He advised that the plan should be withdrawn.

Maldon District Council chief executive Fiona Marshall asked Clark to exercise his powers to intervene because the inspector’s decision was based on “one part of the housing strategy, the ‘traveller’s policy’”, considering the whole plan as a result to be unsound.

The council believes that the interim findings represent a “disproportionate response” in terms of the inspector’s interpretation of national guidance.

Clark wrote to the leader of Maldon District Council Miriam Lewis stating that he noted “the council’s concerns in relation to the approach taken by the planning inspector and I wish to test whether the inspector has reached a proportionate and balanced view on the local plan as a whole in the light of national planning policy”.

He therefore directed that the plan should be submitted to him for his approval.

The heat is on for cross-border power grid project Proposals for a controversial £250 million electricity inter-connector across the Irish border are set to raise the temperature again.

The Republic of Ireland’s grid operator EirGrid has submitted a planning application for the long-delayed scheme and a key environmental report on the project’s Northern Ireland section has been published.

The proposed scheme – a second connection between the separate power grids – will link the networks through new substations at Turleenan, near Moy in County Tyrone, and Batterstown, County Meath – some 85 miles away.

Environmental and health campaigners

wanted the project undergrounded.

In Northern Ireland the lead is being taken by the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI) and a separate planning application was the subject of an adjourned inquiry organised by the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) several years ago.

SONI has now published an environmental report which is due to be advertised in the local press to give the public the opportunity to comment.

The Department of the Environment is seeking views from its statutory consulters before requesting the reopening of inquiry, the timetabling of which will be a matter for the PAC.

Norwich bypass receives government support

the A1067 Fakenham Road.

George Hobbs, leader of Norfolk County Council, said that after years of planning work is close to starting on a project that is of “enormous importance to Norfolk and Norwich”.

Hobbs continued: “We are determined to improve Norfolk’s infrastructure after years of under-investment, and this is a huge stride forward.

“There are other hurdles to clear, including finalising construction pricing and funding approval, but the secretary of state’s announcement brings us significantly closer to starting work.”

Campaigners, however, have condemned the decision to grant development consent.

During planning examination, which concluded in March, Norwich and Norfolk Transport Action Group represented local concerns and opposed the scheme.

Denise Carlo, from the group, said: “This three-quarters ‘road to nowhere’ has been rushed through under new planning laws biased in favour of building new roads.

There will be many losers.”

The Norwich Northern Distributor Road has been granted a development consent order by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin – a move that has been condemned by local campaigners.

In his decision letter McLoughlin said that in the public interest, “the case is compelling” for authorising this Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.

The bypass, which is aimed at reducing congestion on the existing road network in and around the city of Norwich and improving transport connectivity in the area, will be dual carriageway and will run 20 km from the A47 at Postwick to I M AG E S : G E T T Y / I STO C K

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J U LY 2 0 1 5 / THE PLA NNER

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CHRIS SHEPLEY

O Opinion It’s all just a little bit of history repeating itself Although it’s more than a decade since I terminated my efforts at running the Planning Inspectorate, I am still asked to comment on current controversies. Of which, at present, there are in England and Wales, at least two.

First, there has been a considerable increase in the proportion of housing appeals allowed. During most of my lifetime about a third have been allowed. That, under my tenure, was so consistent that people wrongly accused us of having a private target to keep the figure around this level.

My theory is that, in normal times this is selfregulating. Each disappointed applicant considers his or her chance of success at appeal, case by case. Given a 50-50 chance, then, an appeal is probably worthwhile.

But, as human nature is an uncontrollable beast, a degree of over-optimism creeps into the calculation, and people tend to appeal if there is a one-third chance.

There have been two occasions when this ratio has not applied. The first was in the late 1980s and the second is now. In both cases the proportion allowed rose to around 40 per cent or even, at the present time, nearer to 50 per cent for major housing. This is bad news – ‘planning by appeal’ is rightly held to be an inefficient way of making decisions. They should be taken locally, both as a matter of principle and because it is much quicker and much cheaper for the applicant, the authority and the taxpayer. Why, people ask me, does the ratio go up?

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“ ‘PLANNING BY APPEAL’ IS RIGHTLY HELD TO BE AN INEFFICIENT WAY OF MAKING DECISIONS” And I answer that there are three reasons: • Lack of stability in the planning system – rapid changes, up with which people cannot keep. A particular 2010-15 feature that makes the appeal outcome less predictable.

• Government policy that changes in a way that is resisted by local authorities.

In the ’80s Nicholas Ridley freed up policy on housing and retailing, but authorities, especially in the South-East, resisted this and continued to refuse housing applications – while out-of-town retail was

widely opposed by towns wanting to protect their centres. Inspectors followed the government’s policies, as they must, and allowed more cases. Something rather similar is happening now.

• Lack of clear policy guidance. Many people, while quite liking the NPPF, did predict that the loss of the detail in the previous guidance would increase uncertainty and so increase “planning by appeal”. It has. Some policies, on wind farms, for example, have been especially unclear.

There are lessons here for Greg Clark: clarity, consistency and predictability are essential to keep costs and appeal numbers down.

The second issue, which in part follows from the first, is about delays, and here I sympathise with PINS,

because I suffered from this in the mid-90s. I don’t believe PINS has become more inefficient. On the contrary, a series of measures over the last 30 years has led to greater efficiency and better use of resources.

But I know that PINS has been subject to cuts. I think we’ve all made the connection between these cuts and the reduced service provided by central and local government. My experience was that PINS needs to be planned strategically, long term, so that it can respond to changes in demand that are outside its control.

When I faced problems they arose from decisions made some years earlier – when it seemed (in the recession of the early ’90s) that cuts could comfortably be made.

And it was hard to recover from that. We had to recruit lots of inspectors, as PINS is doing now. I’d be surprised if current problems could not be traced to decisions made a while ago. Thus, in both cases, history (a subject ministers should study more carefully) repeats itself.

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

I L L U S T R AT I O N | O I V I N D H O V L A N D

22/06/2015 11:03

Quote unquote FROM THE WEB AND THE RTPI “It’s about transport connectivity and that idea that we need to invest more in transport infrastructure to allow those cities to work together, between and within” ED COX, IPPR NORTH DIRECTOR, SPEAKING TO THE PLANNER ABOUT THE NORTHERN POWERHOUSE

“ Managed tto o ssqueeze queeze “Managed in in a quick quick tturbo urbo session session e early arly ttoday oday before h eading iin n tto o before heading W estminster” Westminster” BR BRA B R ANDO RA AN NDO D O N LEWI DO L E WI EWI EW WIS O VE VER VE ER R BRANDON LEWIS OVER SHA SH S H A RE HA RE RES ES S ON ON T TW W ITT I TTE IT TT T TE ER R SHARES TWITTER

“I see the Planning (Wales) Bill as a little bit like a Christmas present – a gift from me to you”

“People in general want public structures to look good, as well as being functional. It’s not a trivial thing, when you have a big infrastructure project that you put time, effort and money into” ENERGY SECRETARY AMBER RUDD, SPEAKING TO THE INDEPENDENT ABOUT MAKING NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS PRETTY

CARL SARGEANT, SPEAKING AT THE RTPI PLANNING WALES CONFERENCE

“The question should not merely be can we afford highquality homes for all those who need them, but can we afford homes for all that need them full stop” IAN CARTER, PLANNING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, NEWPORT CITY HOMES, SPEAKING AT RTPI PLANNING WALES CONFERENCE

£22.5

“If there is £22.5 billion of public money available for housing, we should use it to build homes the next generation needs, not just gift it to the lucky few already housed in housing association homes” HENRY GREGG, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT THE NATIONAL HOUSING FEDERATION

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

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“I wonder why something can’t be rated on the cost of the quality of the product rather than how much it cost to buy the land in the first place” VICTORIA COOMBS, ARCHITECT, LOYN & CO, SPEAKING AT THE RTPI PLANNING WALES CONFERENCE ON LAND VALUE

J U LY 2 0 15 / THE PLA NNER

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CORRESPONDENCE

Inbox

YOUR NEWS, VIEWS AND QUESTIONS F E E D B AC K

David Bissenden Recent press reports have highlighted the massive amount of housing space tied up by pensioners often living alone in four-bedroom houses. A report from Legal & General estimated that some 7.5 million rooms could be available if the occupiers ‘downsized’ to smaller homes.

But many older people feel that suitable smaller housing is not available. Bungalows, particularly, are in short supply. The much-maligned bungalow is still the housing of choice for many older people as they usually have all the facilities of a large house including private garden and off-road parking, but with the benefit of single-level living.

With the shortage of suitable housing land, many LPAs stipulate in their local plans/development frameworks a minimum density of housing units per hectare. Bungalows, which are ‘land-hungry’, inevitably fall foul of this requirement.

Some councils view bungalow estates as a waste of good housing land, which does little to help the housing shortage for young families.

But this argument may be fallacious and I believe LPAs should stop putting minimum densities in local plans and see bungalows as an important element of the social mix.

If the new occupiers of bungalows release their existing 3/4 bedroom houses onto the market, then it is possible that the net gain in housing units available is actually higher than if the usual 2/3 storey+ flats/ houses had been built on the same plot of land. Obviously, outside

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of certain premium areas, it is likely that higher-density development will be more profitable than bungalows.

But LPAs could demand (if backed up by government guidance) that an element of all new housing developments should include bungalows/ suitable housing for the 60+.

That way new development would more closely reflect the population mix, as the first wave of ‘baby boomers’ are now in their late sixties.

David Bissenden MRTPI (Ret)

James Bisset Just finished reading my colleague’s June 2015 The Planner. Coming across pictures of cooling towers on page 9 being used to illustrate an article on Wales’s greenhouse gas limits quite amazed me (as it always does). They may create the powerful impression of emitting big white clouds of ‘greenhouse gases’ – when in fact what you are seeing are millions of tiny droplets of harmless water! But I guess an image of an actual chimney with apparently nothing come out of it wouldn’t have the drama or impact despite being factually correct.

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n Please take the time to check out The Planner online – and let us know what you think.

A LL OF A TWIT T ER @ThePlanner_RTPI Karen Read @klrplanning “Is the Northern Powerhouse actually that northern??”

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James Bisset Parks, countryside & leisure service manager

Andrew Coleman I read the interview with Bob Yaro with much interest and admiration for his work in New York. My admiration was multiplied exponentially when his CV highlights and your career timeline revealed that he gained his first degree at the age of 9 and was working as a planner at 13.

Surely this qualifies him as Gotham’s Planning Boy Wonder?

Make City Festival @MakeCityBerlin: “Few would contest that building stable communities where people feel at home is a key element in keeping our cities calm. – Nicola Bacon”

Roger Keil @rkeil ”Do we have to urbanize to become sustainable?” @Markus_Moos #urbanbias #infraloo”

Richard Blyth @RichardBlyth7 “If your’re worried about the housing market you have to look a lot further than “planning reform” to find your solutions.”

Andrew Coleman RTPI

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Recruitment {

SENIOR PLANNING OFFICER - DEVELOPMENT CONTROL SALARY £31,215 - £38,511 – Reference 24322

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PLANNING TECHNICIAN - ENFORCEMENT SALARY £15,393 - £22,230 – Reference 24406

tĞ ŚĂǀĞ ĂŶ ŽƉĞŶŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ Ă dĞĐŚŶŝĐŝĂŶ ƚŽ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ŽƵƌ ďƵƐLJ WůĂŶŶŝŶŐ ŶĨŽƌĐĞŵĞŶƚ dĞĂŵ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ŝŶǀĞƐƟŐĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ĂůůĞŐĞĚ ďƌĞĂĐŚĞƐ ŽĨ ƉůĂŶŶŝŶŐ ĐŽŶƚƌŽů ĂŶĚ ĐŽŵƉůŝĂŶĐĞ ǁŝƚŚ ƉůĂŶŶŝŶŐ ƉĞƌŵŝƐƐŝŽŶƐ͘ dŚĞ ƚĞĂŵ ĂůƐŽ ĚĞĂů ǁŝƚŚ ƌĞůĂƚĞĚ ƉůĂŶŶŝŶŐ ĂƉƉůŝĐĂƟŽŶƐ ƌĞƐƵůƟŶŐ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ŝŶǀĞƐƟŐĂƟŽŶƐ͕ ĨŽƌŵĂů ĂĐƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ƌĞůĂƚĞĚ ĂƉƉĞĂůƐ͘ tĞ ĂƌĞ ůŽŽŬŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ ƐŽŵĞŽŶĞ ǁŚŽ ŝƐ ĂďůĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞ ƚĞĐŚŶŝĐĂů ĂŶĚ ĂĚŵŝŶŝƐƚƌĂƟǀĞ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ͕ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ĞƐƐĞŶƟĂů ĂďŝůŝƚLJ ƚŽ ƌĞĂĚ ĂŶĚ ŝŶƚĞƌƉƌĞƚ ƉůĂŶƐ͘ Ŷ ƵŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉůĂŶŶŝŶŐ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ǁŽƵůĚ ďĞ ĂŶ ĂĚǀĂŶƚĂŐĞ͘ &Ƶůů ĚĞƚĂŝůƐ ŽĨ ďŽƚŚ ƚŚĞ ũŽďƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ĂŶ ĂƉƉůŝĐĂƟŽŶ ĨŽƌŵ͕ ĂƌĞ ĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞ ŽŶ ŚŝůƚĞƌŶ ŝƐƚƌŝĐƚ ŽƵŶĐŝů͛Ɛ ǁĞďƐŝƚĞ ʹ ǁǁǁ͘ĐŚŝůƚĞƌŶ͘ŐŽǀ͘ƵŬ͘ Kƌ ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚ WĞƌƐŽŶŶĞů ŚŝůƚĞƌŶ ŝƐƚƌŝĐƚ ŽƵŶĐŝů͕ <ŝŶŐ 'ĞŽƌŐĞ s ,ŽƵƐĞ͕ <ŝŶŐ 'ĞŽƌŐĞ s ZŽĂĚ͕ ŵĞƌƐŚĂŵ͕ ƵĐŬƐ͕ ,Wϲ ϱ t͘ Tel: ;ϬϭϰϵϰͿ ϳϯϮϭϱϱ ;Ϯϰ ŚŽƵƌƐͿ͘ WůĞĂƐĞ ƋƵŽƚĞ ĂƉƉƌŽƉƌŝĂƚĞ ƌĞĨĞƌĞŶĐĞ͘ Closing Date: tĞĚŶĞƐĚĂLJ ϭϱ :ƵůLJ ϮϬϭϱ

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

O Opinion

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Gemma Grimes is director of onshore renewables at RenewableUK

The gove government plans to introduce primary legislation to remove onshore wind farms from the infrastructure planning regime, affecting projects above 50 MW in England.

These proposals may also affect projects in Wales, depending on how and when recommendations of the Silk Commission in Wales are taken forwards. The government also said it intends to make further reforms to the NPPF in England. There is also the possibility that changes may be proposed to planning guidance.

We consider these changes to be unfair and disproportionate. If these proposals to remove onshore wind projects from the NSIP regime go ahead unaltered, there will be one set of rules for onshore wind and a different set of rules for all other types of major renewable and low-carbon energy infrastructure development.

This restriction is also illogical when you consider that onshore wind is both low cost and continually receives public support levels of 65-70 per cent, based on Department for Energy data.

The above changes are likely to be accompanied by other changes in government policy on onshore wind, with plans set out in the Tory manifesto to remove ‘new subsidies’ for this form of energy generation. This

Joe Kilroy is a policy officer at the RTPI

The trouble with the Housing Bill

An illogical approach to wind energy

is despite the industry having set out ambitious yet achievable commitments to cost reduction that will see onshore wind becoming the cheapest form of all new energy generation, including gas plant, by 2020.

Any changes to the financial support mechanisms available to onshore wind will further skew the pitch, making it more difficult to build such projects, and increasing the need for the government to invest in dirtier and/or more expensive forms of electricity generation.

This would increase consumer energy bills while reducing our ability to meet UK carbon reduction targets.

Inevitably the government’s proposed changes to the planning system run the risk of putting more pressure on local authorities. We hope that local authorities will continue to carefully weigh the social, economic and environmental benefits of hosting onshore wind projects, including the range of local jobs that are available during a project’s construction and maintenance phases, local habitat improvements and a range of innovative schemes, such as local electricity discounts to homes near wind farms, designed to enable local communities to benefit directly from and invest directly in, their local wind farms.

“THIS RESTRICTION IS ALSO ILLOGICAL WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT ONSHORE WIND IS BOTH LOW COST AND CONTINUALLY RECEIVES PUBLIC SUPPORT”

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There is cross-party consensus that w we have a housing crisis.

Many agree that a shortfall in house building is a major factor.

Campaigns like the RTPI’s Homes for Britain have done important work to get housing on the government’s agenda.

The purpose of the Housing Bill is to extend the Right to Buy Scheme to facilitate access to homes for first-time buyers. The hope in the housing sector is that the bill will address the supply side of the problem, but it is difficult to see how.

The RTPI’s concern with the extension of Right to Buy – apart from its potential to cut the supply of affordable housing stock – is for communities who agreed to housing developments in good faith on the understanding that a proportion of the homes would be affordable.

In parts of the country S106 agreements have led to a substantial volume of affordable housing in the past 20 years, but these agreements are being bypassed to facilitate a small number of people to pursue home ownership.

Another concern is whether, in the absence of strategic arrangements with other landholding authorities, councils have access to less expensive land that would allow the building of replacement affordable homes on a one-for-one basis.

Many councils will struggle to find land at a price that would allow more expensive properties to be replaced by more or less valuable homes.

The First Time Buyers proposal may lead to a fall in affordable housing available to all on the basis of need.

The ‘cost’ is not borne by government but by lost Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and affordable housing receipts for the council area. There is a financial squeeze on local government and this measure would reduce further money for delivery.

And it is doubtful that low-value housing in poorer locations all occupied by first-time buyers is a realistic or desirable outcome.

Targeting commercial land to provide homes for first-time buyers raises the question of whether people want to live there.

The desirability of such areas will be weakened by the fact that these developments will be exempted from CIL obligations, making it less likely that social infrastructure will follow. Development needs to happen in a holistic way. This means delivering social and physical infrastructure alongside housing. It is welcome that housing is on the government’s agenda, but in terms of devising evidence-based policy, housing is an area that is still proving problematic for government.

“IN TERMS OF DEVISING EVIDENCE­BASED POLICY, HOUSING IS AN AREA THAT IS STILL PROVING PROBLEMATIC FOR GOVERNMENT”

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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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Maura Fox is head of planning for Derry City and Strabane District Council

Susan Parker is chair of Guildford Greenbelt Group and and a councillor for Guildford Borough Council

A local right of veto?

Northern Ireland planners adjust to a new way of working

On Apri April 1, public sector planners in Northern Ireland made a historic journey. After 40 years of operating within the confines of central government we returned to the regions to shape the planning functions of the newly formed local councils.

We had to train staff in new roles and procedures and relocate them. We had to work with elected members to familiarise them with their new responsibilities as decision-makers and move away from their previous advocacy role, which could be defensive and confrontational.

We set up a shadow planning committee and invited chief planners and speakers from London, Scotland, and Wales to give us tips for setting up our new committee and procedures.

We also did capacity-building events including mock sessions involving retrospective cases, to build knowledge and trust.

We had to deal with complex IT issues and keep normal business running smoothly as we made the transition. We had to really go back to basic principles and find simple processes that would ensure essential elements of our business were covered – legislative requirements, wider public accessibility, meeting customer needs and delivery of decisions while providing value for money.

I’m already seeing improve-

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ments for planners, elected members and for the people. In our new role as advisers, not decision-makers, our professional judgements are being considered highly and the role is distinctive. The potential conflict of being a civil servant and a professional planner no longer exists, and I can see how we can sit more comfortably alongside other local council professionals, such as environmental health officers, building control officers and engineers. Many of these colleagues are seeking our advice on new or existing council projects, from cemeteries, and parks, to masterplans and waste facilities.

Our new council area of Derry City and Strabane is the most economically deprived in Northern Ireland. My team’s key objectives will be delivering jobs, providing certainty for our economy, providing new social and affordable housing, and dealing with rural deprivation.

I see scope to bring some of the skills we picked up in central government into our new roles. We have an understanding of the wider political environment, quasi-judicial skills and a wider communication and stakeholder network.

The change to the planning system gives planners a great chance to create fresh ways to fulfil the aspirations of our areas.

“THE POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF BEING A CIVIL SERVANT AND A PROFESSIONAL PLANNER NO LONGER EXISTS”

‘Localism in the context of plan‘Localism’ ning is a fig leaf. National politicians blame local politicians when unpopular decisions are taken; but local politicians blame national politicians for national policy and its implementation. Local people are unable to influence the process as both tiers of government decline to accept responsibility.

It is hard for any community to argue that an area does not need or want ‘growth’, especially when councils seek to impose this. Their incentive for doing so is in part economic – higher council taxes, CIL and the New Homes Bonus all contribute to a serious economic incentive for councils making planning decisions that have nothing to do with actual need.

In the Guildford area there is bad congestion and almost full employment. Despite this, the local council has determined that “Guildford is one of the crucial regional growth hubs in the South-East”.

But the roads that run through Guildford are gridlocked daily, and our infrastructure is creaking. Residents recognise that increased stimulus in relation to economic development here is likely to lead to poorer economic performance and a poorer quality of life.

So we have a conundrum.

Developers want to build here.

Our council supports development. Local people don’t want much more building. The consultation process has resulted in overwhelming objection to development (22,000 responses), but this concern is likely to be disregarded.

Developers can submit repeated planning applications for the same site, but the right of appeal for the public is non-existent. Local people are stakeholders in relation to any area, and developers only have a transient interest – but that interest is given overwhelming weight.

It would be fairer if there were a process to determine a local veto of major developments. This would mean that when local government is implementing decisions the community regards as flawed the decisions could be rejected.

This would need to be subject to checks, but this could be achieved, say by defining major developments as those involving a certain number of homes or more than a certain acreage.

If most local people (within a radius of the development or in the district) were in favour, then it would be approved, but if a majority were to veto a development it would not be. Any such decision should not be subject to renewed application and should be a final determination, at least for a period of years.

“ROADS THAT RUN THROUGH GUILDFORD ARE GRIDLOCKED DAILY, AND OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS CREAKING”

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INFRASTRUCTURE

INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGES FOR THE NEW GOVERNMENT I L L U S T R AT I O N | A RU N A S K A C I N S K A S

THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM RANKS THE UK ONLY 27TH WORLDWIDE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROVISION. THERE’S LITTLE DOUBT WE HAVE A PROBLEM, BUT WHAT’S TO BE DONE ABOUT IT? DAVID BLACKMAN OUTLINES 10 INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGES FACING THE NEW GOVERNMENT

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“

e are ranked behind places like Thailand in the quality of our infrastructure, which is a great shame when you consider that we are one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe,” says Richard Laudy, head of infrastructure at law firm Pinsent Masons.

In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, a productive economy must be able to get its population to work on time while keeping the lights on. But although May’s general election saw the major political parties compete on promises to fix the nation’s infrastructure, there was less agreement about how to address the problem.

The Conservatives pledged to deliver the government’s National Infrastructure Plan, which has identified £413 billion worth of projects.

Labour, meanwhile, wanted to set up an independent commission to oversee infrastructure delivery.

Now is the time to start delivering.

Here are 10 infrastructure priorities for the next five years.

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SET UP AN INDEPENDENT NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION

There is widespread agreement that the Treasury’s National Infrastructure Plan doesn’t go far enough.

Research carried out by ABI Barbour suggests that the actual value of infrastructure projects under way is just £171 billion – with more than half accounted for by renewable energy.

Labour’s proposal for a National Infrastructure Commission has received a favourable hearing from business.

Based on a review by ex-Olympics 2012 chief Sir John Armitt, it aims to take the politics out of infrastructure planning

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INFRASTRUCTURE

and delivery.

Richard Threlfall, director of construction and infrastructure at KPMG, says: “There’s strong desire in the infrastructure community to commit to an Armitt-like, long-term vision for delivery of infrastructure in the country.”

Laudy urges Osborne to take this leaf out of Labour’s book. “I would encourage George Osborne to have a cup of coffee with John Armitt, and talk to him about a better way to come up with a strategic, long-term plan for British infrastructure.”

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DRAW UP A PLAN

The NIP remains essentially a list of projects rather than a plan that prioritises them in line with an overarching strategy linking to population and economic growth.

Not everybody agrees that such a plan is the answer. David Leam, director of infrastructure at London First, says: “I could see the NIP consultation process being a horror story, getting bogged down in consultation and legal challenges and nothing happening as a result.”

But Dr Hugh Ellis, head of policy for the Town and Country Planning Association, says the benefit of a more robust process outweighs potential pitfalls. “A spatial plan for infrastructure is absolutely top priority because the deficiencies of not having one are obvious. There’s no join-up between the decisions being made in the NIP and those of 230 local authorities; it’s no way to organise a nation.”

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SHOW US THE MONEY

Public sector net investment, the bulk accounted for by infrastructure spending, is barely due to increase in the current Parliament, from £29.5 billion this year to £30bn in 2019/20, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Once inflation is taken into account, infrastructure spending’s share of gross domestic product falls from 1.7 per cent to 1.4 per cent by the end of the decade.

This compares with 3.3 per cent in the last year of the Labour government.

The public spending climate looks set

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“ITT’S BONKER RS THAAT WE’R RE STILL WAAITTING FOR SUCH A FUNDAMENTAL DEECISION ABOUT THEE FUTURE OF TH HE CO OUNTRY”

to shrink further, with the chancellor’s commitment to a balanced budget further restricting room for manoeuvre.

Osborne has hitherto tried to persuade the UK’s insurers and pensions firms to plug the infrastructure spending gap.

But while they like the stable returns offered by utilities and transport projects, institutional investors demur when faced with the risks involved in construction.

The government is now wooing overseas investors through its Regional Investment Organisation. Laudy argues that cash-rich foreigners are a good bet for infrastructure investment. “It could be transformational and we could see things happen very quickly,” he says.

But there’s a caveat – foreign investors could throw up challenges for British policymakers, including planners.

“Chinese business finds our planning processes opaque,” he notes.

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DECIDE WHETHER LARGE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS Ministers have previously ruled out the inclusion of housing in the streamlined nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) planning regime.

But given the scale of our housing shortage, big solutions such as new towns or urban extensions will be needed. Those bringing forward large schemes, which will often contain a residential element, have to find a way of working around the rules.

Ghislaine Halpenny, assistant director (planning and development) at the British Property Federation, says it may be time to rethink housing as an NSIP. “For new settlements, it would make

sense to go through a more frontloaded process,” she says.

John Rhodes, director of planning consultancy Quod, agrees: “There’s no logical reason why it should not be applied to help address the national housing crisis, which comes at real social and economic cost.”

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BITE THE BULLET ON AIRPORT EXPANSION

The biggest immediate item in the government’s infrastructure in-tray is the perennially delayed decision on the siting of a new airport runway in the South-East. It’s more than 10 years since Tony Blair’s Airports Commission recommended two, while a decision was deferred during the last Parliament with the Davies review. This is due to give a recommendation this summer.

“It’s bonkers that we’re still waiting for such a fundamental decision about the future of the country,” says KPMG’s Threlfall. “Business is very concerned about the implications for the growth of London and the country as a whole if we continue to faff.”

Rhodes, a director of the National Infrastructure Planning Association, argues that a firm decision will have symbolic significance. “This will be a test of the government’s ability to make sound decisions in the national interest based on objective analysis and economic common sense, and to show through real leadership that decades of political inertia are behind us.”

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SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

Big projects grab the headlines, but the smaller ventures often deliver greater economic benefits. Paul Davies, infrastructure partner at PwC, says:

“TH HIS WILL BE A TEEST OF THE GOVERNMEN NT’SS ABIILITTY TO MAKE SOU UND DECISIONS IN THE NATIONAL INTTEREST”

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“People get excited by grand projects because politically it sounds marvellous, but sometimes the cost-benefit is better in a junction in Cleethorpes that is costing people five minutes’ waiting time.”

Alexander Jan, director of infrastructure transaction advice at Arup, agrees: “It’s really important that HS2 doesn’t crowd out investment in other capital projects which have very good cost-benefit ratios.”

The acid test will be whether the government maintains its backing for the road investment and maintenance programme announced by its arm’slength trunk road agency Highways England during the last Parliament.

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GET HS2 UP AND RUNNING

The Parliamentary hybrid bill designed to give consent for the first phase of the high-speed line to Birmingham is due to receive Royal Assent by the end of this year. But construction is not due to begin until the end of this decade.

The government is also due to make a final decision on the section of the line that will run north of Birmingham.

The most vexed question surrounds whether to adopt the more costly option of routing the line via city centres, like Sheffield, rather than stopping at out-oftown locations such as the Meadowhall shopping mall.

Without city stations, it is feared that HS2 will drain economic activity from city centres, undermining the case for its construction in the first place.

However, as the government has acknowledged, HS2 will not deliver benefits on its own but has to be integrated into a wider package of improvements to the north of England’s inadequate rail network.

Rhodes says: “The current legislative work needs to be taken as the starting point for a genuine, funded commitment to early delivery, associated with a wide range of complementary and joined-up decisions which are necessary to ensure that we reap the regeneration stimulus that HS2 can provide.”

“TH HERE’SS STRONG DESSIR RE IN N THE INFFRASTRUCTURE COM MMUNITYY TO CO OMMITT TO AN ARMITTT­LIKEE, LON NG­TERM VISIO ON FOR R DELIVERY OF INFFRASTRUCTURE IN THEE COUNTRY”

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FIX A FIRM COURSE ON ENERGY POLICY

Among infrastructure experts, the government’s stance on energy policy raises the most alarm bells.

Energy regulator Ofgem recently calculated that the UK’s total electricity generation capacity is only 4 per cent greater than required to meet peak time demands.

This calculation fails to take into account the tired coal-fired power stations being phased out to help the UK meet emissions targets. Finding reliable replacement sources of energy is proving a challenge. Progress is slow on the UK’s first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinckley.

Energy policy was the “weakest part of the Conservative manifesto”, says Mat Riley, managing director for infrastructure at EC Harris. “It is lukewarm about anything other than new nuclear and gas. New nuclear is in continual delay as the technology becomes ever more expensive, and our dependency on foreign investment means this government will be faced with the harsh reality of having to pay more, or start to look elsewhere.”

The government is increasingly bearish on renewables, with the Energy Bill’s commitment to take 50 MW-plus onshore wind farms out of the NSIP process exposing them to the vagaries of local decision-making.

Ellis argues that this will effectively remove the most technologically efficient source of renewable energy from the UK energy mix. Urging the government to face down backbenchers and introduce certainty into energy policy, he says: “At the moment I don’t

understand why anybody would want to invest in renewables in this country.”

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PROVIDE A LONG­TERM RESPONSE TO THE DUAL THREATS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND COASTAL EROSION

The most visible impact of climate change is flooding, with the UK suffering a spate of major incidents in recent years.

Government policy on this issue tends to be highly reactive; the coalition government initially slashed investment in flood defences, putting its faith in public-private partnerships. The 2014 winter floods, which turned much of rural Somerset into a lake, forced a U-turn.

As east coast cities like Hull face the threat of being submerged by rising sea levels, this is another issue that requires long-term, sustained investment.

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GIVE CITY/REGIONAL AUTHORITIES CONTROL OVER INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING

Infrastructure tends to look more important when viewed from city hall rather than Whitehall. This can be seen in London where the capital’s two mayors, Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, have been instrumental in delivering Crossrail, a project that had been languishing for decades.

Arup’s Jan says: “Locally elected politicians would rather cut ribbons on new projects than pay out benefits – they know those things will reinvigorate their economies.”

The new devolution bill promises the likes of Greater Manchester and Leeds more control over their budgets. But city-regional authorities will also have to learn how to use their new powers to lobby for the extra cash that will even out the historical disparities in infrastructure funding across England.

Jan has no doubt that greater powers are a necessary first step. “Giving an area like Manchester broader budget responsibility means that there is more chance of things getting built in the long term.”

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INTERVIEW RICHARD DE CANI

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hether and how England’s economy should be rebalanced away from London and the South-East is among the new government’s preoccupations, with Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne setting great store by a ‘Northern Powerhouse’, and arguments being made for a similar deal for the Midlands.

Meanwhile, London and its hinterland are still powering ahead, raising questions of where its housing demand should be met and how its new residents can reach the concentration of jobs predominantly in its centre.

Richard de Cani is among the key people trying to make sense of managing this growth, as director of transport strategy and policy for Transport for London (TfL).

He faces a city that at 8.6 million people has already exceeded the previous peak population of the inter-war years, and which is projected to reach 10 million by 2030 and up to 13 million beyond that.

Most of London’s roads, railways and underground lines, though, date from early in the last century or even longer ago and are straining to accommodate modern demands.

With both environmental imperatives and sheer practicality pointing away from provision for cars, the key to moving the growing population around lies in surface and underground rail, and, to an extent, in cycling.

London may appear densely developed, but look closer and it has vast sites, in particular in its eastern reaches, which can accommodate tens of thousands of homes.

But residents would be largely isolated from PHOTOGRAPHY A K I N FA L O P E

IF LONDON IS TO BE ‘THE BEST BIG CITY ON EARTH’, THE DEMANDS OF BOTH COMMERCE AND 8.6+ MILLION INHABITANTS CAN’T BE MET BY ITS LARGELY ELDERLY TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE. TRANSPORT FOR LONDON STRATEGIST RICHARD DE CANI HAS HIS WORK CUT OUT. BY MARK SMULIAN

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employment sites without better transport, which is where TfL’s planners come in.

De Cani explains: “Population change is the main factor in planning. The reasons why “While we want London is growing so fast are that people as many people as staying in London to bring up their families, possible to travel when they might once have moved out, and by public transport, if London is to more people want to move to London for grow and support work as the job market is very strong. jobs then we need “They may once have left because the some new road quality of life and education was better elseconnections as well” where, but those have got better in London and are now ‘pull factors’.

“That affects how people move around as we have both a bigger and different population, which imposes different pressures on the transport network.”

Unlike the rest of UK, London has seen falling numbers travelling by car and a shift to public transport, walking and cycling.

“We’ve invested heavily in public transport so there is a bigger, better, bus service that is more reliable, we’ve got easier ticketing, like Oyster and contactless, that makes it easy to move around different parts of the network, and the congestion charge has reduced the ability of some people to drive into central London,” says de Cani. “With population growth, the need to accommodate more trips on public transport is ever greater.”

Beyond the centre and some older Victorian areas London is still quite low density for a large city.

“Planning for a population of 10 million will mean we have to look at the land we have available for development, and at higher densities and how we can integrate the planning of new homes with the transport capacity, because the key relationship in London is where people live and how they access jobs,” says de Cani. “Proximity and availability of transport is abso-

C V

HIG HL IG HT S

R I C HA R D DE C A NI Born: 11 January 1970 Education: Graduated from the University of Newcastle with an degree in town planning

lutely key to making the city work.”

TfL cannot, of course, plan its new roads, rail lines and bus routes in a vacuum. As part of the Greater London Authority, it is bound by mayor Boris Johnson’s London Plan, which sets out how the capital will grow, and in turns binds the 32 boroughs to produce conforming plans, while allowing room to react to local conditions.

“All the policies and proposals we need to accommodate the London Plan are on a common evidence base and it’s the boroughs’ responsibility to interpret at borough level,” says de Cani.

“Modelling with a city of this size and complexity, it’s really important to have a good handle on how things are changing.

“We have a series of strategic transport models to help develop policies, informed by annual monitoring research and data collection to capture these changes on the ground so we have an accurate perception of what is going on. The quality of strategic modelling at TfL is something we are proud of.”

Crossrail 2: north-south Housing pressures created in London could cause conflict with adjacent planning authorities expected to help meet demand, but de Cani says: “We are not seeing resistance to housing demand generated by London yet, though clearly it could be an issue to watch for. The duty to co-operate has largely worked.”

The largest piece of London infrastructure nearing completion is the Crossrail line, 21 kilometres of twin-bore tunnels from Paddington to Whitechapel that will enable mainline trains to run beneath central London from Shenfield or Abbey Wood in the east to Heathrow airport or Reading in the west.

Timeline: 1993

2015

1993 1994 1994 1998 2001 2002 2008 2015 Graduated from University of Newcastle in 1993 with a town planning degree that included a year’s placement with London Transport planning

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Completed master’s degree in transport engineering, also at Newcastle

Joined Ove Arup and Partners graduate programme as a transport planning consultant

Joined Docklands Light Railway as a planning and liaison officer, rising to senior planner.

Worked on four extensions, a major upgrade, and works for the Olympic Games

Joint initiatives manager at The Prince’s Foundation, on secondment to English Partnerships

Head of development and planning, DLR (in 2006 wins London planning award for best public sector planning organisation)

Director of major projects, Transport for London (TfL), then director of transport strategy and planning for the Olympics (2012) and works on the mayor’s transport strategy

Becomes managing director of planning, TfL, in February

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Underground, overground, transport is key

That will transform the development potential of swathes of the capital, but TfL is already planning for Crossrail 2 – a line intended to do a similar job on a north-south axis from Wimbledon to the Upper Lea Valley.

Add in the planned Northern Line branch to the Nine Elms regeneration site, a London Overground extension into the 11,000-home Barking Reach area and a possible south-east extension of the Bakerloo Line and there will potentially be a lot areas opened to housing development.

“Crossrail 2 will link the Upper Lea Valley, a major opportunity area, through central London to the south-west, where there are crowded train lines,” says de Cani.

“The route we have for it now can unlock large amounts of new homes.”

Economic activity is spilling over from the traditional centre into areas such as Shoreditch, Aldgate, London Bridge, Waterloo, and Kings Cross – but the bulk of growth will come in East London.

“You have still more to go into Canary Wharf when Crossrail comes on steam, and huge residential developments farther south on the Isle of Dogs with some very tall buildings, and then developments at the Olympic Park, Stratford and the Greenwich Peninsula”, says de Cani.

Farther east, Barking Reach and tracts of both Rainham and north Bexley will see housing added to what have long been employment areas.

This in turn has raised the vexed question of additional Thames Crossings, ideas for which have been several times mooted and abandoned.

De Cani says: “East London is where the large sites are, but you need additional transport investment to support development.

“While we want as many people as possible to travel by public transport, if London is to grow and support jobs then we need some new road connections as well, particularly for business servicing and freight.”

Tunnels and bridges New crossings would “stitch together” what would otherwise be developments split by the river and “the sum of those parts is more powerful”, he says.

Crossings are under consideration for a tunnel from Greenwich to the Royal Docks, to relieve the obsolete Blackwall tunnel, from Thamesmead to Gallions Reach and from Belvedere to Rainham.

The latter two could be bridges or tunnels.

“If they are bridges they have to be quite tall because of the requirement for shipping and a tunnel could unlock more housing as “We are not seeing resistance to housing it takes less land,” says de Cani. demand generated In West London Old Oak Common is set to

by London yet, be “one of the UK’s best-connected places” at though clearly it the interchange of Crossrail and the High could be an issue to watch for’ Speed 2 line from London to Birmingham, and

One way of using rail to open up London for housing requires a largely political – rather than civil engineering – solution.

Transport for London has since 2007 taken over a number of rail services formerly part of National Rail, rebranded as London Overground, with a vast increase in ridership.

It could pull off this same trick for under-used surface lines mainly in South London, says de Cani.

But this has run into some opposition from councils beyond the capital that object to TfL managing their areas’ services.

De Cani says: “Overground has provided a huge new range of new journey opportunities that have not existed before.

“We’ve built some new connections, invested in the rolling stock, staffed the stations and it has transformed the geography of those parts of London.”

Once cumbersome journeys are now quick with “not only new opportunities with an economic impact in terms of jobs and housing but also more use of the asset”, he says.

“We think we could do the same with other lines and that there is a huge uplift in capacity to be gained by operating the network differently in South London.

“It’s an active conversation with government on how to get the best out of them.”

a development corporation is already working on plans for “tens of thousands of new jobs and homes”.

One other possibility for accommodating London’s growth would be to rebalance it with more jobs in outer London, so reducing commuting.

This has stumbled on there being “certain sectors that will locate in central London but not anywhere else in the UK because their other choices are Paris, New York and Hong Kong”, he says.

“It’s the attractiveness of a critical mass of sectors so we have this incredible clustering of services in London whether it’s tech, financial services, the legal profession or creative industries because of the value of agglomeration.

“Outer London has a critical role, but a complementary one, increasingly supporting larger populations with retail, leisure and local jobs.”

De Cani has one of planning’s biggest jobs, but backed by an integrated transport authority and regional plan he enjoys some weapons other planners might envy.

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STRATEGIC PLANNING IS ABOUT TO UNDERGO A RENAISSANCE IN WALES. MAJOR REFORMS HAVE REACHED THE STATUTE BOOK AND A BATTERY OF OTHER LEGISLATION WILL CHANGE THE FACE OF PLANNING, REPORTS HUW MORRIS 26

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The changing face of planning legislation

RO I S I N

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W IL L MO T T

“Projects are more likely to be approved by communities if they are given the opportunity to have informed conversations with developers”

arl Sargeant sees the Planning (Wales) Bill as “a gift from me to you”. The minister for natural resources told an audience of RTPI members in May “to ensure a clever Wales, we need a clever planning system”. Now that the bill has completed its passage through the assembly, how will the new Welsh planning system shape up?

The development management system will be frontloaded with mandatory pre-application discussions for major projects. “This should result in more certainty for developers and communities alike if done properly,” says RTPI director of Wales and Northern Ireland Roisin Willmott. “Projects are more likely to be approved by communities if they are given the opportunity to have informed conversations with developers about proposals and influence how they take them forward.”

Development management will have a new hierarchy and policy framework. A National Development Framework will be in place by Spring 2018, with a redraft of Planning Policy Wales due at the same time. Strategic Development Plans (SDP)

A battery of legislation is changing the face of the Welsh planning system. The challenge, most commentators insist, will be how the different components knit together.

Sitting alongside the Planning (Wales) Bill are two other pieces of legislation – the Environment (Wales) Bill and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

The bills aim to promote sustainable use, management and development of Welsh resources.

The environment legislation, which is expected to reach the statute book next year, aims to ensure that evidence of “key risks and opportunities associated with the management of Wales’s natural resource inform the planning process”. Natural Resource Wales will publish a report on the country’s ability to respond to pressures and adapt to climate change.

Ministers will publish a national natural resources plan to “optimise economic, social and environmental benefits”.

This will help to support the NDF outlined under planning legislation. Natural Resource

will be introduced for areas with complex boundary issues but not across the country, with Cardiff and Swansea the chief candidates. Local Development Plans (LDP) will still play an important role and the legislation allows ministers to direct planning authorities to produce a Joint LDP. “A national development plan document is very much welcomed to set the overall direction of travel to enable development to deliver economic and social benefits,” says RPS operational director Darren Parker. “Contrary to England strategic planning is about to enjoy a renaissance in Wales, which is long overdue.

The distinction between and therefore necessity for SDPs, for Cardiff and Swan-

Wales will also produce area statements to inform plans, programmes and strategies.

Public bodies will be obliged to report on their actions to promote ecosystem resilience and improve biodiversity.

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act requires public bodies to ensure when making decisions that they take into account the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of people. Public bodies are obliged to work together better, involve people reflecting the diversity of communities, look to the long term as well as focusing on today’s issues and to take action to stop problems getting worse or happening in the first place.

Elsewhere, the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill strengthens enforcement powers, making it more difficult for individuals to escape prosecution for criminal damage to a monument by claiming ignorance of its status or location. The bill will require local authorities to create and maintain Historic Environment Records to inform planning decisions and creates an independent panel to provide the ministers with expert advice on policy and strategy affecting the historic environment.

sea only, and the power to direct LPAs to produce a Joint LDP is a little unclear. The key issue will be boundaries. The boundaries within which a regional population live, work and shop rarely match local authority administrative boundaries.

Strategic planning needs to reflect how the sub-region functions. The governance of strategic planning is a major hurdle to overcome.

“Given its location between Cardiff and Bristol, Newport is perhaps a surprising omission from the SPDs envisaged. The ongoing regeneration of the city centre and the Gwent valleys, the new M4 to be completed by 2021, the recently approved Wales International Convention Centre at the Celtic Manor and the attractiveness of

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Monmouthshire is a strategic opportunity to grasp.”

Culture change Yet significant clouds on the horizon remain for strategic planning. The debate over reform of Welsh local government is well under way and this feeds into the challenge of culture change to meet demands for housing, transept and infrastructure, says Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners senior director Gareth Williams.

“The key point is not the way the bill is structured, but the need for clear leadership and culture change,” he adds. “Having visionary members and officers who

The Celtic Manor Resort is progressing plans for its new Wales International Convention Centre in Newport

Planning legislation highlights

{

1

National Development Framework for Wales

2

The bill requires ministers to produce and keep up to date a National Development Framework (NDF), which will replace the Wales Spatial Plan. The NDF will set out the Welsh Government’s land use priorities and support Strategic and Local Development Plans. It will focus on development and land use issues of national significance. (It will have a fixed time period at the end of which it will cease to have effect as a development plan.)

Strategic Development Plans Strategic Development Plans (SDPS) will cover issues that cut across a number of planning authorities such as housing demand, strategic employment sites and transport infrastructure. Ministers have decided that universal coverage of SDPs across Wales is not necessary and although the bill does not specify where they should be prepared they are likely to focus on Cardiff and Swansea.

“A national development plan document is very much welcomed to set the overall direction of travel to enable development to deliver economic and social benefits”

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Developments of National Significance The bill introduces a category of Developments of National Significance (DNS). This covers energy projects of between 25-50 megawatts, airports, rail links, rail freight interchanges, gas storage and terminal projects, dams and reservoirs, major pipelines, wastewater treatment plants, hazardous waste facilities, water transfer schemes and power plants. Such applications will be submitted to ministers in the first instance, who will be required to determine them and publish an annual report on their performance.

Such proposals will be subject to pre-application notification and consultation to resolve any issues before the application is made. The move aims to ensure that national priorities and local concerns are fully explored. The Welsh Government is consulting on how the new regime will work, on thresholds for such schemes and how secondary consents may be submitted alongside an application for a DNS.

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show leadership and make brave decisions is as important as the structure of the planning system.

“We need to have a significant increase in housing provision, particularly in south-east Wales. Not only do they need to be the right homes distributed in the right areas, but to get this agreed at a sub-regional level rather than local authorities. This will be the right framework provided members and officers are prepared to bite the bullet.”

Another problem is the issue of resources for planning departments.

Cuts are in the pipeline and there is anecdotal evidence of experienced

4

Poorly performing planning authorities

planners leaving the sector.

“Local authority budgets are under significant pressure, and with some services such as social services and education largely protected from budget cuts, the pressure on other frontline services is even greater,” says Planning Officers’ Society for Wales chair Mark Hand. “Regrettably, these cuts seem to be continuing at a time when there are clear signs of economic recovery. Planning departments are seeing an increase in the number and scale of development proposals submitted.”

Elsewhere, Barton Willmore director Mark Roberts welcomes the defeat of one

5

More than 90 per cent of applications are granted across Wales with the bulk of planning authorities determining more than 80 per cent of applications with eight weeks. But ministers acknowledge that there is “significant variation” in performance among authorities.

The bill empowers ministers to designate a planning authority as poorly performing, allowing applications for major development to go straight to them. Ministers also have the power to revoke a poorly performing designation.

“There is a potential contradiction between the emphasis on positive outcomes and some of the proposals for measuring performance couple with the threat of being designated a poorly performing authority and having planning powers removed, or the requirement for statutory consultees to provide a meaningful reply within a set deadline,” says Hand. “Hopefully, the focus will be firmly on outcomes and not obsessed with meeting performance indicator targets. I doubt anybody ever visited a new development and said: “Wow, I bet that was approved in less than eight weeks!’”

Welsh language The bill formally makes the Welsh language a material consideration when applications are considered and will particularly affect those areas where it is the mother tongue. Language issues are most likely to be relevant to larger sites.

“If you have a small Welsh-speaking community and there is a plan for large extension of housing relative to the settlement, is there a risk to the community of non-Welsh speakers moving in?” says Willmott.

proposal in the bill and the survival of another. A move to introduce a community rights of appeal, which to the alarm of the development industry would have made applications subject to a third-party right of appeal and put Wales at a competitive disadvantage to England where no such provision applies, was narrowly defeated in the assembly.

However, the bill retains design and access statements for major applications despite a threat to scrap them.

“It would have been a shame for design to slip down the pecking order,” he adds.

“Surely now we need to focus on the quality of places we are creating.”

6

Planning Advisory and Improvement Service The Welsh Government has created a Planning Advisory and Improvement Service (PAIS) with the aim of raising standards and identifying best practice across the planning system. Chaired by former chief planning inspector Peter Burley, this comprises an advisory group for ministers, but PAIS will not be a freestanding body. “The rationale behind that decision seems to be a desire to ensure improvement and culture change is delivered from within the various planning stakeholder groups, rather than by an external body,” says Hand. “That is fine in theory, but provided that the various groups are properly resourced to be able to commit to working together to improve.”

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DISASTER RECOVERY

BUILDING UP EARTHQUAKES IN NEPAL IN APRIL AND MAY DESTROYED ENTIRE COMMUNITIES AND CLAIMED THOUSANDS OF LIVES. DR KISHAN DATTA BHATTA OF NEPAL ENGINEERING COLLEGE CONSIDERS WHAT PLANNERS CAN DO TO LIMIT THE TOLL OF FUTURE NATURAL DISASTERS

Planners must address the key issue of rebuilding settlements so that they don’t turn into slums

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The recent devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale and subsequent aftershocks, including a powerful tremor of 7.3 on the Richter scale, caused serious damage to Kathmandu Valley and the surrounding rural settlements.

More than 9,000 people died, 22,000 were injured, 750,000 houses were damaged or destroyed, and eight million people were reportedly affected.

The earthquake not only destroyed rural settlement, but also Kathmandu Valley’s centuries–old urban heritage and monuments. Traditional temples, stupas, towers, gates, and squares have been severely damaged or collapsed.

The government of Nepal, along with international agencies and local organi-

sations, is providing humanitarian assistance. But this is yet to reach the most affected and poorest group of people in the remotest regions.

There are still quake victims hoping for shelter, food, medicine and other emergency services. The monsoon is approaching and people living in temporary shelters may be affected by high rainfall and landslides, as well as shortage of money, food, and proper sanitation.

Following rescue and immediate medical treatment, it is now necessary to provide relief materials and basic services such as shelter, food and clothes – as soon as possible. Then there is the reconstruction of quake-affected settlements, an operation that needs long-term vision and planning.

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tims have not received relief materials and basic services, whereas people in urban areas received them quickly. The prevailing planning process, policies, and capacity of government to respond to disaster on this scale is very poor.

Donor agencies are vital to support people and start a sustainable reconstruction process. It’s now essential that stakeholders consider some of the key planning issues before carrying out the reconstruction and resettlement in affected areas. A range of issues need to be need to be dealt with together to enhance development process in an appropriate way.

holistic approach to (1)Asettlement planning The systematic planning of settlements had been properly emphasised neither in national plans nor in local development programmes. The planning process in Nepal has failed to address the need for resilience and risk management in settlement planning.

Although there were some urban planning attempts in the past, cities are not fully planned and developed to respond to the predictable disaster and risks. Accessibility and availability of open spaces and community awareness and preparedness towards disaster risks seem very poor.

The devastation and casualties in the recent quake are actually because of the failure to incorporate risks and resilience into the long-term planning of settlements. Now we must think to plan responsible settlements that could produce a safe environment for the population, and they should have access to safe shelter, as well as utilities, infrastructure and employment opportunities.

Laying foundations The planning process, on one hand, needs to address the key issue of reconstruction of the quake-hit settlements. On the other, temporary shelters must be resettled properly in appropriate locations. As we have seen in Haiti, such settlements have the potential to develop into slums unless properly managed. This is a big challenge for planners and civic institutions.

Nepal has a gross domestic product of less than US $700 per capita. It has faced more than 10 years of internal conflict and lack of elected local government. The reality is that the current government has failed miserably to respond properly to the post-disaster crisis.

There are rural villages where quake vic-

“The de evasta atiion and cassualtie es in n the recent quake are e actua ally y because e of the failu ure to in ncorrpo ora ate rissks and ressiliience in nto o the e longte erm m pllan nnin ng of settle emen nts”

of proper (2)Implementation design guidelines and standards Nepalese towns and cities have experienced rapid migration from rural areas in recent years. This increases urban densification, causes rapid growth in informal settlements and creates haphazard development.

Lack of proper planning and design standards and their weak implementation has resulted in poorly designed and constructed buildings. These are in fact the real catastrophe, rather than the earthquake.

The ability of the Nepalese government to enforce standards and regulations for the systematic planning and construction of buildings is relatively weak. Multi-storey buildings, poorly engineered structures,

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DISASTER RECOVERY

over-reliance on concrete and the loss of local knowledge and technology that helped to protect previous generations are also responsible for the recent destruction.

The earthquake has been very selective, and has mainly damaged or collapsed the low-cost, weaker and informal buildings.

Although the technology and skills exist to reduce the scale of fatalities, these did not reach to the poorest section of the community who need them most.

The earthquake has disproportionately affected the poorest in the community, and made them even poorer. Earthquakes and disasters are not just natural crises; they reflect a poverty crisis, too. So proper guidelines and standards for the different types of buildings and structures should be prepared with specific reference to the geological, structural, and local context.

Their appropriate implementation would make settlements and structures safer and more resilient.

trained planners, (3)Employing engineers, and contractors in the (re)construction process Most Nepalese build their buildings without employing trained planners, architects, engineers, and contractors. In the recent devastation, well-planned and engineered buildings did not collapse or were not damaged severely.

But poorly designed and engineered buildings were badly affected – and most of the traditional buildings that had not received regular maintenance were also damaged.

We should not construct buildings and infrastructures in an ad hoc manner, but employ trained professionals and experts in the design, construction, and repair of buildings.

good governance (4)Delivering through efficient planning institutions Well-prepared plans and designs are effective only when implemented and monitored through efficient institutions. Since Nepal’s first Five Year National Plan in the 1960s, several attempts have been made to create the environment for systematic development of cities and settlements.

However, such plans and policies failed to achieve their goals. One of the major reasons is weak coordination among planning institutions such as the Ministry of Urban Development, the Ministry of Local Development, the Department of Urban

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“Donorr agencies are vita al to o su upportt people e and start a su usta ainable e recon nsttru uctio on processs”

Development and Building Construction, Municipalities, District Development Committees, Kathmandu Valley Town Development Authority, Town Development Fund, and other local institutions.

Each is responsible for promoting sustainable development. But conflicts between their policies and plans delay planning and development. Strong cooperation mechanisms among stakeholders are crucial to carry out resettlement and reconstruction.

Deficient planning and weak institutions have hindered the systematic development of settlements and society, and their resilience to disaster. Capacity building of local institutions through professional staffs and proper funding mechanisms is crucial.

Donor agencies and NGOs have a vital role to play in providing financial assistance, as well as technical expertise in development, reconstruction, heritage management and disaster preparedness.

Local communities, institutions and political leaders could also have a significant role in the reconstruction process. But for more than a decade there has been an absence of elected and accountable local government.

Both central and local government responses towards risk management and preparedness are disastrously sluggish. There is an urgent need for local and national capacity building, strong political commitment, and awareness programmes to respond to disasters and provide long-term resilience.

community/ (5)Promoting local strategies for long-term resilience and sustainability Resilience and sustainability will also depend on the behaviour and activities of local people and relevant institutions.

As the prevailing institutional and legal framework regarding development and construction has discouraged local communities from actively participating in the planning process, it is essential to make communities more aware of the issues of proper construction, resource use, heritage conservation, development, and local rights.

International and local organisations and community networks could play a pivotal role in managing community discussions, encouraging participation and promoting community-based strategies for disaster risk management and resilience.

Indigenous knowledge and the skills of local people would help to better withstand natural disasters. The planning approach therefore must be holistic and community–based. It should consider community needs and views with the highest priority, and the plans and policies should encompass proper land use, roads, open spaces, greenery and emergency relief services in order to endure future disasters.

The way forward As the government is now planning for massive reconstruction, emphasis should be given to address both managing displacement and guiding a sustainable rehabilitation and reconstruction process.

This needs to consider the specific context of the affected areas, as well as the evolving crisis situation – and we can learn lessons from post-crisis settlement planning and reconstruction programmes in other countries such as China, Haiti and Japan. Such programmes should ensure that we make buildings, communities and settlements more resilient and sustainable in the long run.

In addition, we should discourage individualistic approaches to settlement development while emphasising community-oriented settlement development. Comprehensive land use policy, plans, maps and participatory planning are needed to plan quake-hit settlements sustainably.

Above all, the professional experts along with the donor agencies and Nepalese community should work together to fight against crisis, and to better withstand natural disasters and future risks.

Dr Kishan Datta Bhatta is an assistant professor at Nepal Engineering College, and a consultant architect/planner at the Research for National Development Centre in Nepal

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A D V E R T I S E M E N T F E AT U R E

l PLANNING

AT H O R S H A M D I S T R I C T C O U N C I L

Horsham builds a new generation of planners When Horsham District Council set out on a new strategic plan, it led to a new look at its planning strategy. The result is a comprehensive and imaginative way forward for the community and an exciting environment for its visionary planning team.

The Horsham District Planning Framework will include a target for Horsham to create 750 homes a year.

In addition, the development management teams handle 2,500 planning applications a year, ranging from standard residential projects through to large urban extensions.

The district covers both urban and rural areas, so the planning department’s work includes a rich mix spanning housing and retail, agriculture, commercial and infrastructure. In recent years the council has been through a phase of upheaval that resulted in a reliance on agency team members who lacked in-depth knowledge of the district, resulting in a fall in customer satisfaction and staffing concerns.

To address these issues, last August the council appointed Dr Chris Lyons to the new role of director in charge of the combined services of Planning, Economic Development and Property – a service shaped to create a high-quality, agile and responsive department.

Helen Sissons Aidan Thatcher has a career in both public and private sectors, latterly at Brighton & Hove City Council. He joined Horsham in an interim role several months ago to lead one of the

development management teams. He has now been promoted to development manager in a permanent role.

He says:“Since Chris’s appointment, a great deal has been done to stabilise and improve the structure of the team. Contract and interim staff have been gradually phased out to bring in a new structure of permanent, highly engaged, customerfocused planning specialists.”

The strategy is to create planning experts with a broad knowledge of every facet of planning. This helps the team to deliver a more consistent service to customers, but it also gives team members more variety, broadening their expertise and enhancing their CVs.

Helen Sissons

“I have gained a far better insight and become a more valuable resource”

Helen Sissons MRTPI, Senior Planning Compliance Officer, is a perfect example of the council’s commitment to provide an outstanding career environment. Helen was originally with Horsham, but left to join a neighbouring authority. She rejoined Horsham two years ago to expand her knowledge of enforcement and other aspects of planning. Helen has since worked across all areas including development management, planning compliance and strategic planning, gaining a higher profile and a much broader expertise of the wider work of the council.

“As a result of the additional exposure I received across all elements of our planning work, I have gained a far better insight and become a more valuable resource to the department.

This is being replicated among my colleagues, allowing the department to keep on improving.”

As well as having a new management structure in place, with an inspiring vision and lots of motivation to drive the department forward, the council has also brought planning salaries up to date to compete favourably in the current market. The team recently

Aidan Thatcher

“A great deal has been done to stabilise and improve the structure of the team” moved into new offices in the centre of Horsham, which the district council shares with West Sussex County Council. These are modern, open-plan offices and the culture is equally progressive.

Each team member has wireless access to log on to the network at home or in the field, giving ultimate flexibility on time and task management. The council also supports career and work development and a good work/life balance.

Horsham is a heritage-rich place and is consistently listed in the top 10 places to live and work in the UK. All that was good about Horsham 10 years ago still applies, and its future looks even better.

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CITY REGIONS

R E F L ECT IO N S O N CI T Y R EG IO N S DIGITAL DIAMONDS:

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT TO CITIES ARE CREATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONNECTIVITY, INNOVATION AND GROWTH ACROSS ENTIRE REGIONS, ARGUES DR ALFONSO VEGARA

Cities enable complex and interconnected economic clusters

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For the first time in history, most of the global population lives in cities. The world has never been so urban.

This presents new planning challenges, and creates the opportunity for competitiveness via the optimisation of regional resources and social capital. As the new motors of the global economy, cities enable the most complex and interconnected economic clusters of our generation.

Studies from UN-Habitat have revealed that the 40 largest ‘supercities’ occupy a minuscule fraction of the Earth’s habitable area, yet they host 18 per cent of the world’s population, 66 per cent of the world’s economic activity, and 85 per cent of global scientific and technological innovation.

The expansion of cities and metropolises is setting the stage for new processes of regional integration. Territorial agglomerations, sometimes referred to as

‘supercities’ or urban ‘diamonds’, are the new engines of the world economy.

These polycentric urban structures are formed through the interaction of geographically or digitally interconnected urban areas. The strength of these areas results not only from their dimensions, but also from internal interaction and international connectivity and, above all, from economic synergies and complementarities.

Digital Diamonds ‘Diamond’ is a metaphor for the polycentric urban structures that are revealed across a region when we consider that cities can be represented as points, the infrastructure that connects them as lines or edges, and the large landscapes in between as faces. Conceptually, the region takes the shape of a diamond.

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The digital diamond strategy is a model for dialogue between physical and digital space

This massive area embodies a diverse and ample set of opportunities as the true gateway for Colombia to connect to the dynamic region of the Grand Caribbean and the rest of the world.

A polished diamond

nents of the regional areas, including major infrastructure, urban systems, rural landscapes, coastal spaces, ecological corridors and digital platforms. It implies not only dimension, but also interaction of complementary components, thus requiring an alliance for cities to work together.

‘Digital diamonds’ are characterised by their economies of scale, strong internal interactions and by inter-connectedness with the rest of the planet through communication infrastructure and cultural openness.

These territories are noted for their economic and cultural diversity at the urban core, but throughout the urban to rural transect they demonstrate the ability to host countless organisations, infrastructure, people, and resources.

Multifaceted urban regions The configuration of a Diamond is much more complex than the expansion of the urban footprint into the rural hinterlands.

Urban diamonds spur additional connections and interactions, and they create new forms of cooperation between smaller settlements.

The diamond requires advanced infrastructure, economic strategies, and schemes for environmental protection.

These are aspects of the 21st century city that go beyond traditional administrative boundaries. High-speed rail, airports, regional transit systems, logistics platforms, and digital infrastructure strengthen the economic ties between cities and help to articulate the type of cohesive structure that positions the 21st-century city to be

globally competitive.

The challenges of global economic competitiveness are best addressed at a new territorial scale. The ideology of the digital diamond enables a holistic regional strategy for achieving sustainability and competitiveness by taking advantage of synergies between the various urban systems, medium-sized cities, rural environs and natural resources. The strategy also becomes a model for a dialogue between physical and digital space.

Cutting the rough in Colombia Microsoft and Fundación Metrópoli have organised the Next CITIES LAB as a think tank with the operational capacity to design ‘intelligent territories’ at the intersection of the physical structures of cities and the latest digital platforms that are becoming decisive in their organisation.

Next CITIES LAB is developing a pilot diamond project for the Colombian Caribbean and Santanderes regions, an initiative sponsored by FINDETER (Colombia’s national development bank) and Colombia’s national government.

Seventy-five per cent of Colombians live in cities. In the Caribbean and Santanderes Diamond of Colombia, the articulation of a regional diamond in the north of the country to organise the relationships among cities and rural areas is essential for the economic development of the country.

The Caribbean and Santanderes region contains 10 of the nation’s 20 largest metropolitan areas and presents the highest potential for rail, highway, and river transport to connect the inland agglomerations with the main national maritime ports.

The Caribbean and Santanderes diamond project recognises the need to make cities more innovative, competitive, sustainable, synergetic, and humane. It places talent, education and creativity as the main driving forces for inspiring this transformation.

To achieve competitiveness, each territory in the region must identify its role and its development strategy within this new interrelated dialogue and synchronise efforts to become a more diverse and attractive place.

Such role definitions require the coordination of national, departmental and municipal governments and the contribution of civic society through forums of citizen participation to identify the crucial themes of the territory and facilitate the selection of the region’s strategic projects.

In the Caribbean and Santanderes diamond project, consensus has helped define initiatives such as Cartagena’s Digital Bay, Barranquilla’s 4.0 Atlántico District, Santander’s LIFE and, Monteria’s Argotic – all strategic projects that validate the Diamond as a regional strategy for the whole territory, but at the same time provide ‘acupuncture’ projects to boost the global competitiveness of its cities.

Dr Alfonso Vegara is president of the Fundación Metrópoli in Madrid and will be delivering the RTPI Yorkshire annual lecture in Leeds on 23 July, on the theme of ‘Connecting People and Places Across the World’. http://bit.ly/1e2yyNG

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INSIGHT

DiF { D

DECISIONS IN FOCUS

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

Canal marina plan halted (1 SUMMARY Enzygo Limited’s appeal – against a decision by Daventry District Council – for the construction of a 200 berth marina adjacent to Oxford Canal including 85 car parking spaces, landscaping and associated facilities; a change of use of agricultural dwelling and barn to mixed use for chandlery, reception and storage for marina use – has been dismissed.

(2 CASE DETAILS An original site visit by inspector Keith Manning saw him travel along the Oxford Canal by narrowboat from Braunston Marina to Wharf Bridge, Hillmorton, in order to assess the canal, its environs, and “the nature and location of existing and planned marinas within the Braunston Pound”.

The proposal included an evolution (by submitted changes from the initial proposal) for a marina with 144 berths and 60 car parking spaces on a 4.22 hectare site to the development described above on a 7.9 hectare site.

When the council originally screened the application it determined that an Environmental Impact

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Inspector Keith Manning’s site visit took him up the Oxford Canal

Assessment (EIA) was not required. At an aborted hearing it was put to inspector Manning that the change in the scale of the application, reflected in the changed description, was material and that the council’s original opinion was therefore in respect of a substantially lesser proposal. Manning now thought it possible that EIA would be required and referred the matter to the secretary of state for a screening direction.

The secretary of state confirmed that the EIA was required and the appellant

agreed to undertake the necessary work, including collation of technical work previously undertaken in respect of the original, smaller, proposal for incorporation in a formal EIA in respect of the enlarged proposal. The EIA was then submitted to the secretary of state. On 29 October 2014 he issued a request under Regulation 22 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations 2011 for further information deemed to be necessary.

This was submitted on 23 December 2014 in the form

of an addendum to the EIA. The main issues included whether the proposed development accords with the intentions of the development plan and relevant national policy with particular reference to: the location of the proposed development; landscape impacts; heritage assets; and biodiversity.

(3 CONCLUSION REACHED Objectors to the proposed development submitted that the Environmental Information, in the form of an environment statement for the purposes of the EIA

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Regulations, including cursory examination of alternatives, was inadequate to the task of informing the inspector, as decision-maker, as to the likely environmental effects of the proposal. On that basis alone, it was submitted, planning permission should be withheld.

Manning concluded that the proposed development would conflict harmfully with the intentions of the development plan and relevant national policy in a number of respects. Despite efforts taken to naturalise the design of the marina, inspector Manning concluded that the development would still appear as a large and artificial addition to the landscape. The inspector also said he was obliged under Section 72 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, “to pay special attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of the conservation area”.

Appeal Ref: APP/ Y2810/A/13/2200749

HOUSING

Court rejects developer’s neighbourhood plan challenge (1 SUMMARY The Court of Appeal has rejected Larkfleet Homes Ltd’s challenge over inclusion of site allocation policies in a neighbourhood development plan.

(2 CASE DETAILS Larkfleet Homes’ interest was in land on Ayston Road

in Uppingham. In its core strategy document of 2011, Rutland County Council identified Uppingham as a potential location for sustainable new development.

Versions of the document’s related site allocations and policies development plan document (SAPDPD) listed the land on Ayston Road as a potential site. However, this was not in the version published for consultation in April 2013 and submitted to the secretary of state for public examination in July 2013, because Uppingham Town Council had put in motion a process for making a neighbourhood development plan pursuant to the regime introduced by the Localism Act 2011.

Larkfleet objected to the omission of allocations relating to Uppingham from the SAPDPD, but these representations were rejected by the inspector and there was no material change to the document as adopted by the council in October 2014.

The initial draft of the Uppingham Neighbourhood Plan (UNP) allocated three sites for housing development in Uppingham – including certain differences from the previous SAPDPD provision.

The three sites were retained in a revised draft consulted on later in the year, and in the final draft approved

by Uppingham Town Council in December 2013.

A referendum on the UNP took place in July 2014 and produced a strong majority vote in favour of the proposal.

At each stage of the UNP process, Larkfleet made submissions that adoption of the UNP would be unlawful.

The UNP was put “on hold” pending the determination of the proceedings.

(3 CONCLUSION REACHED Larkfleet’s claim was for a judicial review of Rutland County Council’s decision to proceed to a referendum on the UNP. This claim was dismissed in the High Court last year. Permission to appeal was then granted on two grounds: that pursuant to section 17(7)(za) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 as amended, site allocation policies may be contained only in a local development document adopted under section 17, not in a neighbourhood development plan made under section 38A of the 2004 Act; and that the decision not to carry out a strategic environmental assessment in respect of the UNP was legally flawed by a failure to consider whether the plan was likely to have significant positive effects on the environment.

Lord Justice Richards dismissed the appeal, stating that Section 17 the Planning

and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 has nothing to do with neighbourhood development plans, falling instead within a part of the 2004 Act dealing with local development and the functions of local planning authorities.

Lord Justice Richards noted that the power in subsection (7)(za) to make regulations prescribing ‘which descriptions of documents are, or if prepared are, to be prepared as local development documents’ relates to what a local planning authority may or may not do as regards its planning policies, in particular what it must include in local development documents – thereby limiting reliance on supplementary planning guidance which has not gone through the full formal process.

Case Details: http://www.bailii.org/ ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2015/597.html

The initial draft of Uppingham’s neighbourhood plan zoned three sites for housing

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INSIGHT

LLegal landscape PLANNING FOR NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT HOUSING PROJECTS The housing crisis will continue to grow for as long as exclusively local approaches to planning fail to meet the needs of our growing nation. We need to think bigger.

Housing is a basic need for society to function. It serves UK plc as much as roads, rail, utilities and telecoms.

Building a larger number of affordable homes was one of the Conservative Party’s core manifesto commitments.

But our planning system does not recognise housing as one of the types of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) that can be consented centrally; 16 types of such projects are specified in the Planning Act 2008 and since 2013 nationally significant commercial and business projects can also be taken down the NSIP route by the Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Housing is omitted from both these lists. Garden cities and major urban extensions will be delayed because of this anomaly.

It is not only the residential sector that suffers from this limitation of the NSIP regime.

Take-up of business and commercial NSIPs has been low since it was extended to accommodate them in 2013.

Only one such project has been notified to the Planning Inspectorate in the first two years, London Paramount in Kent. This is mainly due

38

Marcus Bate to the last government’s decision to prohibit inclusion of any amount of housing in commercial/business NSIPs. The last government said housing decisions were best made at local level.

The centralised, top-down architecture of the NSIP regime sits uncomfortably in this political context. Such thinking is flawed and we hope it will be reviewed. It is based on a misunderstanding of how the NSIP regime operates in practice. Rather than excluding local authorities, the Planning Act embeds local authority engagement at the centre of the NSIP process from start to finish. The strategy for community consultation must be discussed with local

“THE LAST GOVERNMENT SAID HOUSING DECISIONS WERE BEST MADE AT LOCAL LEVEL’

Robbie Owen

authorities early, with preapplication consultation with communities and the local authority itself a mandatory requirement, unlike under the current planning regime for housing.

The local authorities’ views must be set out in local impact reports that have a particular legal status in the decision-making process, alongside local plan policies. The relevant local planning authority, in most cases, retains control over all approvals of details postconsent and is responsible for enforcement decisions.

It also assumes that councils would not want big housing schemes to be consented locally. But councils can welcome central government taking decisions on large housing schemes with full local involvement, as the NSIP regime provides for. They will often be the first to see the benefits the NSIP process and the resulting Development Consent Order offers – its one-stop-shop approach to all the main consents required, including compulsory purchase powers, fixed timetabling

for processing and decisionmaking within 18 months, the ability to include in the consent all infrastructure needed for the development, and necessary governance and delivery mechanisms analogous to New Town Corporations and UDCs. The simplest option to extend the NSIP regime to housing would be to replicate the approach for commercial NSIPs. Promoters of large nationally significant plans should be able to apply to the secretary of state for designation of the scheme as an NSIP. Regulations or guidance would specify the minimum threshold for the qualifying types of housing scheme. A DCLG policy statement would set out what the secretary of state would take into account when deciding whether to give housing NSIP directions.

This would allow applicants and councils to respond to market opportunities and would avoid the need for nationally prescriptive spatial designations or blanket scale thresholds. Local engagement could be maintained, and the secretary of state could consult councils on each application for a housing NSIP direction before deciding whether to send a scheme down the NSIP route.

The regime’s benefits are that appropriate weight is given to national need and CPOs and non-planning consents can be wrapped up in the Development Consent Order authorising the NSIP. And there is greater certainty on the timescales to securing development consent.

Significant housing projects deserve such benefits.

Robbie Owen and Marcus Bate, Pinsent Masons

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B LO G S It isn’t always a simple case of ‘win or lose’ in statutory challenges, and how wind generation schemes are being blown off course at appeal

L E G I S L AT I O N S H O R T S Statutory challenges – High Court’s powers of discretion Caroline Bywater

The recent case of Wiltshire Council v SSCLG, Heron Developments Ltd, Gallagher UK Ltd and Gallagher Estates Ltd is interesting because it highlights the court’s powers of discretion when considering appropriate remedies in statutory challenges, and reminds us that it is not always a simple case of ‘win or lose’.

The case concerned a residential planning application that was granted consent by PINS on appeal.

The High Court challenge arose because between the inquiry and the issuing of the decision notice a revised housing needs assessment was published and sent to PINS by the planning authority, with a request for the document to be put before the inspector.

By that stage, the inspector had sent his decision notice to the PINS Dispatch Department and, for one reason or another (the court found the administrative procedures at PINS to be, on this occasion, not fit for purpose), the housing needs assessment was not passed on to the inspector before his decision notice was issued.

It was agreed by the court that there had been a failure to take into account a material consideration, and that the developer defendants would be put at a significant disadvantage if the decision was quashed and they had to go back to an inquiry with a new development plan and a different housing situation.

In these ‘most unusual’ circumstances, Patterson J listened to the defendants’ submissions that a declaration should be made instead of a quashing order and decided that issues of fairness had indeed arisen.

A declaration was therefore found to be the most appropriate remedy, to recognise the public interest and that PINS had acted unlawfully, while the planning authority had acted in accordance with guidance and the defendants were clear of fault.

Caroline Bywater is senior solicitor specialising in planning law at Mills & Reeve LLP. This is an abridged version of an item published to the company's blog, www. plan-it-law.com/case-law

Wind generation appeals update Gemma Tuck

2014 was not the best year in terms of wind generation appeal decisions.

Has the first quarter of 2015 been any more fruitful, or are we continuing in the same direction as last year?

Unfortunately, it appears that we seem to be following the same path.

During the first three months of 2015 there have been 61 wind generation appeals.

The breakdown of the above appeals is as follows: • Single turbine schemes made up 80 per cent of the appeals, and have resulted in only a 24 per cent success rate; and • Schemes of two turbines or more are responsible for the remaining 20 per cent, with a higher rate of success at 40 per cent.

This is a low success rate of only 26 per cent. Given overall approval rate for wind generation appeals in 2014 was about 38 per cent, things seem to be going from bad to worse.

Gemma Tuck is an associate with Squire Patton Boggs. This is an edited version of an item published to http://www. ukplanninglawblog.com/

Trump loses Scottish wind farm fight Donald Trump’s latest legal challenge against an offshore wind farm project close to his Scottish golf resort has failed.

The 11-turbine scheme off the Aberdeenshire coast was approved by the Scottish Government in 2013.

Trump says the scheme would spoil the view from his golf course on the Menie estate.

The government did not hold a public inquiry into the application and so the Trump Organisation went to Edinburgh’s Court of Session for this and the final approval to be reviewed.

The petition was dismissed in February 2014.

Lord Gill ruled that the decision was legally made.

He said in his judgment that the “considerations founded on by the petitioners comes anywhere near to supporting the petitioners’ suspicions”.

Lord Gill proposed that the motion be refused.

Shell Centre scheme challenge refused The Court of Appeal has refused a legal challenge against the £1.3 billion redevelopment of the Shell Centre on London’s South Bank.

As reported in previous edition of The Planner’s Legal Landscape, writer and activist George Turner led the challenge against the mixed-use proposal, supported by local residents, Westminster Council, English Heritage and the Twentieth Century Society.

Originally approved in June 2014, the project was put together Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar.

Appeal judges Lord Justice Longmore, Lord Justice Davis and Lord Justice Sales supported the decision by the High Court in February when Turner’s case was dismissed.

They decided that there was no possibility that Turner’s claim that a local government inspector who led a public inquiry in 2013 and recommended planning approval was biased.

Works will see most of the centre’s buildings demolished and replaced by eight new buildings for shops, office space, restaurants and homes.

No local plan tweaking needed for green belt development The Court of Appeal says development in the green belt does not require amendment to a local plan and can be permitted in “special circumstances”.

In June 2014, Central Bedfordshire Council granted outline planning permission for a 5,150home development on green belt farmland north of Houghton Regis,. The site was also identified in its local plan for removal from the green belt and redevelopment. The circumstances were deemed special by the council and justified by paragraphs 87 and 88 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

Luton Borough Council had also promoted the site for removal from the green belt and redevelopment in an abandoned draft joint core strategy with Central Bedfordshire Council. Luton Council then applied for a judicial review of the decision to grant approval for the development but its challenge was rejected by the High Court in December 2014, and recently a subsequent appeal was dismissed by judges Lord Justice Sales, Lord Justice Tomlinson and Lord Justice Longmore.

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22/06/2015 11:59

INSIGHT

Career { D E V E L O P M E N T C GETTING THE MOST OUT OF CONFERENCES

With the annual RTPI Planning Convention about to happen and other conferences throughout the year, we look at how you can get the most out of attending these events

T

wo of the RTPI’s big conferences are coming up – the Planning Convention (7 July) and the Young Planner’s Conference (9-10 October). The RTPI and many other built environment organisations host dozens of events relevant to planners each year.

Typically, they’re based on a single overarching theme and they take place over a full day – or more. They attract delegates through the quality of keynote speakers, but also offer expert presentations, panel discussions, Q&A sessions and workshops. But are they really worth attending in these days of social media, live blogging and web replays?

The conference delegate: Marianne McCullum Mariane McCullum is an associate director at Turley

(1) Why attend a conference?

It’s a good environment to meet fellow planners and related disciplines to keep up to date with planning practice and share knowledge.

(2) Can’t you do this without having to go to an event?

You can keep up to date with changes to the planning system and practice through reading, but at a conference you get the opportunity to hear a discussion from experienced practitioners and pick up some of the nuances that you may not have come across and the opportunity to seek clarification.

(3) What do you expect from organisers to help you achieve that (before, during, after)?

A relevant programme offering both technical and practice examples – the Yorkshire and Humber’s RTPI Conference Annual Planning Law Update always provides a good mix 40

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offering relevant updates by experts.

Sharing the speakers’ notes after the event is the best way to disseminate information to colleagues.

(4) What sort of preparation would you do for a conference?

I check the list of attendees and review the programme to see if there is any crossover with a particular issue I am dealing with.

(5) What makes a good conference or a good part of a conference?

At the start of my career I was fortunate enough to get a free place on the TCPA Planning conference. This was a great opportunity to network with established planners and join in debates covering a wide variety of subjects as well as go on study tours.

More recently, the RTPI’s Yorkshire and Humber Branch Annual Planning Law update is always a good place to mix with other planners.

(6) And what makes a poor one?

Poor organisation and speakers who don’t know the subject well or who can’t present well.

(7) Does your employer expect you to provide any sort of feedback or share information with colleagues?

At Turley we are encouraged to share what we learnt with our colleagues in the form of a brief feedback session or more formal CPD seminar, as well as

circulating any literature in the office and on the company intranet site.

The conference organiser: Lucy Seymour-Bowdery Lucy Seymour-Bowdery is a planner with West Sussex County Council and chair of the RTPI South Coast young Planners’ Network. She’s helping to organise the next Young Planners’ Conference on 9-10 October

(1) Why attend a conference?

Conferences are a fantastic way to meet those working in a similar field and share knowledge in a dynamic setting.

They provide you with the opportunity to obtain up-to-date information on legislation and learn from examples of best practice. You are able to both learn and interact outside of your everyday working environment.

(2) What do you feel is the point of attending one?

One of the key purposes of attending a conference is to engage in debate and challenge your opinions and practices.

For young planners, this is crucial to personal development and will assist with career progression. You may be able to obtain information without attending a conference, but your depth of understanding will be far better with the personal interaction.

(3) What are your priorities for your attendees?

Our priority is to ensure that delegates have great value for money. The quality of plenary session speakers I M A G E | AW O R A N

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A good conference should provide delegates with the right balance of learning and socialising with peers

and variety of workshops and study tour choices will provide excellent personal development opportunities.

We also want delegates to enjoy themselves!

(4) How do you ensure that attendees get what they came for?

The Young Planners Conference is organised by young planners who understand the needs of their peers.

We have responded to feedback from delegates who attended in previous years to ensure that we deliver on expectations. Attendees need to embrace the whole experience, including the social events.

(5) What makes a good event/ conference?

A good conference will have the right balance of learning and socialising with peers. You should come away from it and look at your day job in a new way.

(6) What do attendees need to know ahead of an event?

Save the dates! These are Friday 9th October, Saturday 10th October.

For details on how to book tickets, please visit the website and Facebook page: n www.rtpi.org.uk/ypc n www.facebook.com/ YoungPlannersConference n You can also follow on Twitter #YPconf2015

(7) Are you planning to do anything different from the ‘norm’?

This year we are able to showcase successful places on the South Coast, including a boat tour of the Port of Southampton, one of the UK’s key trade gateways.

The speaker: Graham Marshall Graham Marshall is director of Prosocial Place at the University of Liverpool and principal of MAXIM urban design

Like the Welsh and club rugby, why go out on a rainy night when you can sit at home or in the pub to watch it on the telly – and get a better opportunity to watch every detail of the game?

We are all players and should be out there participating. I attend many conferences and usually get a lot out of them. But I am usually a speaker and so have an opportunity to collect my thoughts in preparation and to get feedback on my work. The big hit I get out of them is the other speakers in providing a context for my own work.

The networker: Charlotte Morphet Charlotte Morphet is senior consultant knowledge and information for Turley, chair of RTPI London, a board trustee for the RTPI and co-founder of the Women in Planning networking group. Here are her top five networking tips

If you’re attending the planning convention you may not only be looking to increase your knowledge but also to expand your networks.

(1) Find out who’s going to be there

You should always receive a delegate list for a conference, with the names of attendees and the company/ organisation they work for. If you haven’t received one, ask the organisers.

(2) Reinforce and build on your existing network You’ll see familiar names from university, previous jobs, networking events and client work on the delegate list. Find out from them what’s going on in the wider industry.

(3) Start conversations Introduce yourself to people when you are getting a drink. Ask them if they are enjoying the conference or from where they have travelled. Remember, you usually already have the common ground of working in the same professional sphere.

(4) Introduce people to each other It’s important to introduce your existing contacts to new ones made at conferences, particularly if you know they have a common interest. This demonstrates that you have listened to and are interested in your contacts and it helps to widen your network.

(5) Exchange contact details Ensure you have business cards (or a smartphone) to swap contact details with the people you meet. Remember to follow up with contact soon after the event to touch on areas of common ground and to reinforce the relationship.

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INSIGHT

Plan ahead P

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

Treading the boards This year’s RTPI Planning Convention will feature a study tour of theatres around London Victoria led by Ross Anthony, planning adviser for The Theatres Trust. He explains the trust’s statutory planning role, and its involvement in the regeneration of the area.

London Victoria is home to the St James Theatre, the Victoria Palace, and the Apollo Victoria Theatre – three of the 52 major theatres that make up London’s Theatreland, and which contributed more than £97 million in 2013 in VAT to the Exchequer.

In our role as the national advisory public body for theatres and a statutory consultee, the Theatres Trust is integrally involved in the planning, restoration and redevelopment of all of these theatres and many others across the country.

Theatres are unique buildings and important cultural facilities. They provide access to the arts and entertainment, attract visitors, generate trade for restaurants, hotels and car parks, deliver

“THE EXCELLENT PLANNING REGULATIONS OF THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER ALSO CAME INTO FORCE – THEY REQUIRE A REPLACEMENT THEATRE TO BE BUILT ON THE SITE OF ANY THEATRE THAT IS BEING DEMOLISHED” 42

The stage of the Victoria Pa Palace Theatre, London

identity and meaning to new developments, and give communities a sense of place and wellbeing.

Starting with St James On 6th July our study tour will start outside the new 312seat St James Theatre, which opened in 2012 and replaced the former Westminster Theatre on the same site. The theatre, with its associated 120-capacity studio theatre, bar and restaurant, was funded by a Section 106 agreement. An escrow account ensured that the theatre was built before residential flats could be sold.

The excellent planning regulations of the City of Westminster also came into force – they require a replacement theatre to be built on the site of any theatre that is being demolished. In addition to our statutory work we were also involved in preparation of the S106 and monitoring progress, ensuring that London’s thriving theatrical economy would not be diminished by the loss of a theatre in such an important location.

Once it had opened, Entertainment Theatres Ltd, the owner of St James, also negotiated start-up funding for its first five years of operation through a separate S106 agreement with the developer

of nearby Cardinal Place, Land Securities. The developer was seeking to change the use of an ineffective community space that was not working, and the funding agreement enabled the developer to continue to support culture in SW1. This was as required by the original agreement for Cardinal Place, while reusing the community space for commercial purposes.

A perusal of the Palace On the other side of Bressenden Place, as part of the negotiations for the upgrade and redevelopment the London Victoria Transport Interchange, the developer also agreed to provide the Grade II* listed 1,550-seat Victoria Palace Theatre with a new and enlarged stage house, which will incorporate a six-metre strip of land at the rear of the stage from the adjacent development site.

Designed by celebrated theatre architect Frank Matcham, the Palace opened in 1911. It’s owned

by Delfont Mackintosh Theatres and currently presents Billy Elliot The Musical.

Plans for the redevelopment around the theatre started back in 2006. The planning obligation now compensates for the impact of construction under and around the theatre and ensures that the theatre remains competitive and viable in the short term. We’ll go inside the theatre, stand on the stage and see what is planned for the back of house and stage house works that will start once the London Underground works are complete.

Appeal of the Apollo The final theatre on the tour, the 1,524-seat Apollo Victoria Theatre, was built as a cinema and once seated 2,700 people.

It was converted to a musical theatre in the late 1950s and currently presents Wicked.

The Apollo is owned and managed by Ambassador Theatre Group, which looks after 40 theatres throughout the UK. We’ll go into the building and representatives from ATG will be on hand to share their views on operational issues related to the various developments in the vicinity of Victoria Station and experiences they have had with neighbouring developments adjacent to their theatres in Liverpool and Manchester.

You can find out more information about the trust’s planning role, and theatres across the UK from the trust’s extensive Theatres Database on www.theatrestrust.org.uk

T H E AT R E S T U D Y T O U R Book your place!

Details how to book can be found on the Planning Convention website at www.theplanningconvention. co.uk/page/study-tours

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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 7 July – RTPI Planning Convention 2015: The new politics for planning Following the UK election and with other elections across the UK and Ireland due in 2016, this will reflect on changes going on in terms of shifting powers and responsibilities, and provide attendees with intelligence on how these are likely to affect planning policy and practice.

Keynote presentations and plenary sessions will range from local and neighbourhood planning, sub-national strategic planning and cooperation, to the changing relationship between the nations and regions.

Venue: 155 Bishopsgate, London Details: www.bit. ly/1JJm49j 9 July – Enforcement of planning decisions This briefing and workshop is designed to provide an informed and practical guide that focuses on the successive key stages from enforcement decisionmaking and time limits, through drafting the relevant documents and evidence gathering to ensuring ultimate compliance.

Venue: The Hatton (etc Venues), 51-53 Hatton Garden, London Details www.bit. ly/1GrsVTM

SOUTH EAST 10 July – Planning Sans Frontiéres 2015 Boyer Planning hosts an American-themed Planning Sans Frontieres!

This year’s games will include: Super Bowl, Cowboys & Indians, Hail Mary and Presidential Vote. Dinner, disco and optional camping will follow the games.

Venue: Newbury Rugby Ground, Newbury, West Berkshire RG14 7RW, UK

Details: www.bit. ly/1F7NQpA 16 July – Post election neighbourhood planning event Perspectives on neighbourhood planning, followed by a lively debate about what the next four years hold for the ‘localist’ level of planning policy. Representatives from Milton Keynes Council, consultants, and community planners provide their views.

Speakers include: David Bainbridge, partner, Bidwells; James Corbet Burcher of No5 Chambers; and Anna Rose, planning and transport, Milton Keynes Council.

Venue: The Chrysalis Theatre, Japonica Lane, Willen Park South, Milton Keynes MK15 9JY Details: www.bit. ly/1L14fnY

SOUTH WEST 14/15 July – Viability twoday event These Planning Advisory Service sessions seek to increase delegates’ knowledge of viability and its relevance in planning, and what viability evidence is required to fulfil their planning role. It is aimed at local authority managers or planning officers in the planning service. Up to two representatives per authority, please (unless you are a large unitary authority then additional delegates may be accepted).

Venue: Mercure Bristol Holland House Hotel and Spa, Redcliffe Hill, Bristol BS1 6SQ Details: www.bit.ly/1f2Iqaz

EAST MIDLANDS 13 July – Viability: Who pays for development?

The event will be chaired

by Andrew Pritchard of EMC and chair of EMRTPI and led by David Codling,

DON’T MISS RTPI Yorkshire Annual Lecture The internationally renowned Alfonso Vegara, president of Fundación Metrópoli in Madrid, will deliver this year’s lecture. (Read his feature on p.34.) Alfonso has an impeccable reputation for the theory and practice of city planning across the globe. An active thinker and practitioner in the field of planning, architecture and the built environment, he promotes city-region development within a European planning perspective and successfully argued for devolved regional powers to the Basque/Bilbao region of northern Spain. He is also a fellow of the Eisenhower Foundation for inspiring international leadership.

The lecture, sponsored by DWF LLP and O’Neill Associates, will be facilitated by Tom Riordan, chief executive of Leeds City Council, and Janet Askew, RTPI president, will also attend. It will be followed by a networking reception.

Last year’s event attracted 200 delegates and we expect demand to be high this year, so please book early to avoid disappointment!

Date: Thursday, 23 July Venue: Banqueting Suite, Civic Hall, Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 1UR Details: www.bit.ly/1e2yyNG

director of property for Peter Brett Associates. The key objectives will be to gain a better understanding of the issues of viability facing planning authorities and developers with a mix of technical information, debate and practical exercises.

Speakers include Dave Codling, Mike Hase of Derbyshire Dales District Council, and John Acres of Turley.

Venue: Pera, Nottingham Road, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE13 0UL Details: www.bit. ly/1MnIv2W

WEST MIDLANDS 13 July – Regenerating Coventry through urban design This full-day event explores the role of urban design in regeneration and how simple schemes can transform the character, feel and prioritisation of an area. Speakers will discuss the role of design in the urban environment, the need for regeneration in Coventry and how urban design has given the city back to pedestrians and cyclists. A walking tour of Coventry city centre is included.

Venue: St Mary’s Guildhall, Bayley Lane, Coventry, West Midlands CV1 5RN Details: www.bit.ly/1JJp5G

YORKSHIRE 7/8 July – Viability twoday event These PAS sessions seek to increase delegates’ knowledge of viability and its relevance in planning, and what viability evidence is required to fulfil their planning role. The courses look at the context of viability in terms of guidance and legislation, the language and terms used, the practical application of residual valuation models, and the appeal and examination experience.In addition, guest speakers will share their perspectives on this topic.

Venue: Novotel York, Fishergate YO10 4FD Details: www.bit.ly/1IviiyP 15 July – Economic growth: are we ready?

This conference will explore growth strategies and fostering growth in the UK. The overall strategy for economic development will be debated, as well as consideration of how planning supports growth through the preparation of local plans, the role of strategic planning and development plan preparation.

Venue: Sheffield Details: www.bit. ly/1L13n2Q

16 July - Effective use of S106 This series of Planning Advisory Service seminars for authority planners focuses on legislation, guidance and case law including the relationship with other developer payments, existing good practice and practical approaches to the drafting and implementation of s106. The seminars may be relevant to others working in local authorities.

Venue: Holiday Inn Royal Victoria, Victoria Station Road, ‘Assembly room’, Sheffield S4 7YE Details: www.bit. ly/1JJVPzE

EAST OF ENGLAND 16 July – Countryside and landscape This one-day conference will discuss the challenging issues involved in managing the social pressures posed by people visiting ecological ‘honeypot‘ sites in the Broads wetlands and the sensitive coastal habitats on the Norfolk coast. How can development be reconciled with the environment and its protection?

Venue: Yare House, Broads Authority Offices, 62-64 Thorpe Road, Norwich NR1 1RY Details: www.bit. ly/1MnJJuW

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22/06/2015 11:52

NEWS

RTPI {

RTPI news pages are edited

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

Time to make a difference?

THE RTPI IS HOLDING ITS ANNUAL ELECTIONS. OUR STRENGTH COMES FROM MEMBERS’ INVOLVEMENT AND WE HOPE YOU WILL GET INVOLVED IN THE GOVERNANCE OF THE INSTITUTE BY CONSIDERING STANDING AND USING YOUR VOTE IN THIS YEAR’S ELECTIONS SAYS ANDREW TAYLOR, CHAIR OF THE RTPI BOARD OF TRUSTEES Could you help to lead our profession – maybe one day as our president?

Do you believe you have what it takes to make a difference? What do you think the RTPI should be doing to change perceptions of planning and to improve the different systems?

This is your opportunity to get involved or encourage someone you know to.

Standing for election will give you the chance to work with a wide range of colleagues and give you the chance to contribute to the big discussions, debates and decisions that impact on the profession.

What are we looking for? A range of different life and work experiences, diversity, a zest for new ideas, and a desire to make a contribution and a difference. Involvement may also help your career development as you become actively involved with a body that enjoys a strong national and international reputation. You may already have experience of RTPI activity, perhaps been active with one of the networks or be a Planning Aid volunteer. Initially you may wish to consider standing for General Assembly, the body that debates the current and future issues facing the profession, and which elects the RTPI Board of Trustees.

As chair of the RTPI Board of Trustees,

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I have been passionate about raising both the numbers of people standing for election and those who vote. I want the widest possible range of RTPI members active in our governance structures.

Our centenary last year unleashed a wave of renewed enthusiasm for the institute at all levels and I hope we can encourage some of you to stand for election and for as many of you as possible to vote.

The following places will be subject to election this year. The elections are for a two-year term (2016 and 2017):

b

The election timetable: b b b b b b

b b b b b b

b

Vice-president for 2016 (will become President in 2017) Board of Trustees – 3 places for Chartered members Board of Trustees – 1 place to represent Regions and Nations Board of Trustees – 1 place to represent Young Planners General Assembly – 14 places for Chartered Fellows or Chartered Ordinary Members General Assembly – 3 places for

Student or Licentiate Members General Assembly – 1 place for Legal Associates or Legal Members

Friday 19 June – Nominations open Monday 3 August – Nominations close Tuesday 01 September – Voting opens Wednesday 30 September – Voting closes Friday 2 October – Notify candidates of results October – Candidates asked to express interest in serving on a RTPI Committee for 2015 October/November – Induction for elected candidates (date to be advised)

n If you would like further information about the elections, please visit www.rtpi.org.uk/about-the-rtpi/ governance/rtpi-elections/ or contact the RTPI’s Governance Officer, Susannah Glover, by e-mail: susannah.glover@rtpi. org.uk, or telephone 020 7929 8172

V I E W S O N R T P I I N V O LV E M E N T “For me the advantages of being actively involved arise from being able to shape the future of the professional body. I am keen on Policy and Research programmes and how they can drive new ideas within the profession”

“It gets me involved in planning issues which wouldn’t normally cross my desk, and enables me to meet and keep in touch with planners outside my own field. Most of my role has a national remit, at a macro level, so it is an opportunity to gain an understanding of issues at a regional and local level. It is useful as CPD”

“The benefits to my employer are my increased knowledge and awareness of the wider debates and issues around planning and the challenges and opportunities these present. It is a way of engaging in CPD to benefit my own knowledge, which I can disseminate to my colleagues. It is also a way of building networks within the profession for future work opportunities”

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Editorial E: rtpinews@rtpi.org.uk

RTPI (switchboard) T: 020 7929 9494 F: 020 7929 9490

Registered charity no.

262865 Registered charity in Scotland SCO37841

3 POINT PLAN Planners explain how they would change the English planning system

Panyun Chow Senior Planning Officer LAMBETH COUNCIL Planning authorities should have the opportunity to charge for the time taken to determine one application over another. Given that applications are considered on a case-bycase basis, the time taken on applications varies. Small applications can be more time-consuming than big developments. While residents should not have to pay the large sums that developers may, the time taken to process an application should reflect its cost. Time and money are also wasted where developers get stuck in judicial reviews. Uncertainty in the planning process is a common criticism of the profession. Democratic decisionmaking should continue, but it should be less easy to needlessly frustrate development. This cannot be the intention behind giving neighbourhoods more say in the process. If a residential extension matches its neighbours, why consult? Officer time, cable ties and string are decreasing resources. If the government is serious about removing barriers that are arbitrary in the planning process, it needs to attack planners less and use the tools in its hands to aid them to get the job done sooner.

YOUR INSTITUTE, YOUR QUESTIONS ANGELA MOORE, SENIOR PLANNING OFFICER Planners’ workloads are increasing. Recruiting and retaining qualified planning staff is of the utmost importance. How can the RTPI urge more young people to choose planning as a career?

ANDREW CLOSE, HEAD OF CAREERS, EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Planning is the fourth best course for obtaining a job upon graduation. By accrediting degrees across the UK, Ireland and internationally, the RTPI promotes high professional standards and ensures a strong pipeline of planners. Through Our Future Planners campaign, member volunteers are engaging young people in schools. But we are aware that some employers struggle to fill posts and are addressing this.

The technical apprenticeship is a fresh entry pathway to widen access to the profession. A degree apprenticeship is under consideration, targeting students who may prefer to earn as they learn. An RTPI master’s level bursary to attract graduates from other disciplines has gone live and a ‘Become a Planner’ web resource has been launched. n www.rtpi.org.uk/bursary n www.rtpi.org.uk/becomeaplanner

1 ] Let planning authorities charge their own application fees

2 ] Amend the judicial process for planning applications.

There should be no right to appeal after the first judicial review has been dismissed at the high court

3 ] No press/ site notices on residential applications.

With prior approvals for residential, remove neighbour consultation and require ‘tests’ to lead plans to approval/ refusal

POSITION POINTS

BUILDING REGULATIONS CONSULTATION IN IRELAND Joseph Kilroy, Policy Officer The recent consultation on building regulations (Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014) in Ireland is aimed at addressing the ‘cost burden’ of the rules for single-dwelling developments. But it is worth considering that the aim of the current regulations is to ensure there would be no repeat of the widespread failures during the boom years, characterised by low-density sprawl and the hollowing out of cities and towns. From a sustainability point of view, development would ideally happen on fully serviced existing sites in towns and cities. Relaxing these rules may invite a return to the one-off isolated developments that characterised the building boom of the ‘Celtic tiger’ era (1995 to 2008).

RTPI TREASURY’S PRE JULY BUDGET 2015 CONSULTATION ANALYSIS Harry Burchill, Planning Policy Officer The RTPI responded to the Treasury’s pre-budget consultation, highlighting the significant impact that cuts in central funding to local authorities have had on planning departments. The response emphasised how planning is key to delivering the government’s aims such housing and economic growth. But if planners continue to struggle with resourcing, the ability to deliver these objectives will be significantly curtailed. The RTPI recommends that as a short-term measure planning fees should be increased in line with the rate of inflation, pre-application and planning performance agreements should be more formalised, and that the idea of locally set planning fees should be explored.

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n

NEWS

RTPI {

RTPI SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNIVERSITIES

THIS IS THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF STORIES ABOUT RTPI MEMBERS WORKING AROUND THE WORLD

Dale Bristow team leader Strategic gic Planning and Sustainability MAROONDAH CITY COUNCIL MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA Residing in arguably the world’s most liveable city, I supervise a team of seven in undertaking reviews and development of council’s strategic planning and sustainability frameworks. In doing this, I am achieving what attracted me to the profession – protecting and enhancing the environment.

I have seen and heard many examples of planning resulting in excellent project outcomes and really enjoy the opportunity to work alongside some inspirational planners.

However, in Victoria (planning is a statebased responsibility) planners arguably need to become more strategic, visionary and multi-disciplinary in our approach. There needs to be a much greater emphasis, and regard to, strategic and regional planning,

complemented by a much-simplifi ed h simplified planning system. We need to address wider spatial planning matters and not be so focused on statutory land use controls.

Strategic planning is a relatively new function and is yet to command the influence and resources, as in the UK, I have heard it said, “things occur despite the plan”. The influence and freedom of councils to undertake planning is much more limited than in the UK as councils are controlled by state governments, which can stifle innovation and responsive solutions.

There are pressures on local councils, but the financial pressures are seemingly not as acute as in the UK. While we’ve got great food, coffee and access to world-class sporting and cultural events, my local area is transitioning from a largely suburban form (detached dwellings, car-oriented) to a more sustainable pattern of land use (more bike infrastructure, open space, mixed use and accessibility). We need to be providing greater diversity in housing choice but still protecting the tree canopy and leafy neighbourhood character.

Despite the initial shock of moving to the other side of the world and adjusting to 40°C temperatures, the move abroad has been a positive experience providing both great professional and lifestyle opportunities.

q According to recent reports,

planning is now one of the top 10 university courses for getting a job within six months. This is good news for the profession and the institute in maintaining education and professional standards and promoting planning as a career.

The RTPI currently accredits 31 planning schools and an annual meeting takes place between the university and the RTPI careers and education team.

This ‘Partnership Board’ is an opportunity to talk to students, reflect on good educational practice and performance and ensure that the university and the RTPI support those teaching the next wave of planners. These boards could not run without expert advice from members who volunteer to sit on the board as practitioner or academic representatives. Information on volunteering opportunities can be found at www.rtpi.org.uk/ getinvolved Looking forward, the institute looks to influence the development of highquality planning education internationally in particular with new universities applying for RTPI accreditation. Its Learning and Practice Needs project will result in a series of guidance notes on key topics for both practitioners and students.

Universities can also benefit from the RTPI small projects research fund.

An exciting new bursary scheme is available to students, which is part of the RTPI Future Planners campaign to increase the pipeline of planners. The aim is to have more undergraduates including from related disciplines such as law and geography going on to study planning at master’s level in 2015. Each bursary will be worth £1,000 and be administered by the host university. n More details here: www.rtpi.org. uk/futureplanners/bursary

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I M AG E | G E T T Y

22/06/2015 11:18

RTPI Y ACTIVIT E PIPELIN Current RTPI work – what the Institute is doing and how you can help us LOCATION OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECT Many of our towns and cities are experiencing a significant demand for housing, however, there is little analysis on how the scale and location of new housing developments impacts upon the broader sustainability of settlement patterns.

The RTPI is commissioning a project that examines the spatial distribution of new housing developments in some of the UK’s fastest growing city-regions, and looks at the implications for commuting, land use and infrastructure provision. The project will run until the end of 2015. n For more information please contact james.harris@rtpi.org.uk

PLACE, POVERTY AND INEQUALITY RESEARCH PROJECT The RTPI is developing a research project looking at the role of place-based factors to address inequality and poverty issues. Where people live affects people and their life chances – through access to services, affordable housing or different transport options, which planning can shape.

This project will look at the outcomes of past area-based initiatives and regeneration in the UK and internationally and show how planning can play an important role in addressing inequalities and social justice. We would welcome involvement from practitioners, policymakers and others in the form of case studies. If you would like to contribute to the project please email Victoria Pinoncely, Research Officer. n For more information contact victoria.pinoncely@rtpi.org.uk, or visit www.rtpi.org.uk/knowledge/research/projects/place,-poverty-and-inequality/

PLANNING FOR THE GROWTH OF TECH AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING To compete nationally and internationally cities need knowledge infrastructure, well-educated people, technological infrastructure and connections to the global economy. Planning is key to providing these resources. The IT or ‘tech’ and advanced manufacturing sectors are among the main drivers of growth in metropolitan areas today. This growth means the tech and advanced manufacturing footprint is increasingly evident in cities, which raises the question of how cities should respond. This project investigates how planning is crucial to ensuring that the conditions are in place for the flourishing of tech and advanced manufacturing firms in cities, and that that the benefits of the accompanying growth are distributed equitably across the metropolitan population. n For more information contact joseph.kilroy@rtpi.org,uk or visit www.rtpi.org.uk/knowledge/research/projects/planning-for-the-growth-oftech-and-advanced-manufacturing/

STARTING IN PRIVATE PRACTICE GOOD PRACTICE GUIDE UPDATE The RTPI is updating its Good Practice Guide, designed to support members who are considering private practice, or who have recently set up as a planning consultant.

It covers the key issues – professional, financial and personal, to consider when making the move to working for yourself, before going on to cover marketing, fees, accounting and networking. We are keen to hear about the first-hand experiences of RTPI members who have made this move. What do you wish you had known when you were starting out? What are your tips for success? How do you use social media to grow your business? What are your vital sources of information and support? n Please contact practice@rtpi.org.uk by 31 July if you would like to be involved. The guide is due to be published in September

RTPI SHORTS

RTPI LAUNCHES NEW MEMBER BENEFIT The RTPI and Idox have come together to offer RTPI members an exclusive rate of £179 (plus VAT), which is a 30 per cent discount, on an individual subscription to the Idox Information Service. The Idox Information Service informs the UK’s leading planning organisations and consultancies about issues affecting the profession, the latest research, opinion and good practice. For details of the Idox offer visit www.rtpi.org.uk/idox.

RTPI membership confers a wide range of valuable benefits, the most important of which is that it represents a standard of professional competence and integrity which gives confidence to employers and the public. The RTPI is with you at every stage of your career and offers a range of benefits including: b Discounted subscription to Planning Theory and Practice journal b Access to publications and news services, including The Planner magazine b Member-only resources on the RTPI website b RTPI events at member rates b Member forums and online CPD on RTPI Learn For more detail on the range of benefits available visit: rtpi.org.uk/memberbenefits n Visit www.rtpi.org.uk/memberbenefits or contact membership@rtpi.org.uk or on 020 7929 9462 MEMBER DEATHS It is with great regret that we note the deaths of the following members. We offer our condolences to their families and colleagues.

c Edwin Burr (South-East) c John Chadwick (North-West) c James Colley (South-East) c Valerie Davies (West Midlands) c Stanley Denney (Scotland) c Philip Errington (Yorkshire) c Harvey Fairbrass (East England) c Lindsey Gilpin (East England) c Kenneth Grimes (South-East) c Michael Hewling (South-West) c Christopher Holland (London) c Robert John Juster (Overseas) c William Lyddon (Scotland) c Niall Meagher (Overseas) c Benson Olaseni

(London) c Ewart Parkinson (Wales) c Anthony Pettitt (South-East) c Stanley Procter (South-East) c Gordon Reeds (South-West) c Colin Sackett (South-West) c James Stamper (South-East) c Ronald Stewart (East England) c Roger Stow (South-West) c Betty Tetlow (Wales) c Sum Tsang (Overseas) c Roger Tweedale (West Midlands) c David Waugh (Scotland) c John Wells (South-East) c Edwin West (East England)

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Recruitment { Senior Planner or Associate

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Ealing Council is able to provide planning professionals with one of the most exciting and dynamic professional landscapes in which to develop, hone and progress your career. If you want a rewarding future full of opportunities and challenges within a diverse and exciting west London borough, then Ealing is the place for you.

With a range of urban/suburban environments and open space, the third largest London borough in terms of its population and is one of the most ethnically diverse communities in the country, it has a strong and dynamic economy with excellent transport links with London and the rest of the UK. Five Crossrail stations are planned for opening in 2019 providing increased transport capacity and faster journey times to London and to Heathrow Airport.

In Ealing you will Ă&#x20AC;nd some of the most exciting commercial, housing and infrastructure projects within the Capital which are attracting considerable interest from developers, as such there are a range of exciting opportunities and challenges ahead.

48

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This is a tremendous opportunity for a dynamic planning professional who can combine a strong technical background in planning with an innovative approach to enabling growth and inspirational leadership qualities to lead and direct our Planning Service. We are looking for someone to act as the Boroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead advisor on planning and to drive forward a customer focussed and high performing culture in the planning department.

For an informal discussion regarding this post, please contact Marek Dobrowolski of Berwick Partners on 0121 654 5912 or marek. dobrowolski@berwickpartners.co.uk

The role progresses through the career grade or planners who are committed to providing an excellent planning service and who can efĂ&#x20AC;ciently manage a caseload of applications, appeals and provide preapplication advice, within deĂ&#x20AC;ned targets.

Principal Planning OfĂ&#x20AC;cers ÂŁ40,218 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ÂŁ44,766 We are looking for experienced development management planners to play a signiĂ&#x20AC;cant role in achieving high quality developments.

You will have experience of working on complex and major developments and be able to demonstrate experience of delivering positive outcomes for customers.

The roles also include managing up to 5 planning ofĂ&#x20AC;cers.

Planning Process Team Leader ÂŁ40,218 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ÂŁ42,030 For the new post of Planning Process Team Leader we are looking for a for a customerfocussed individual experienced in managing staff who can drive forward and shape new ways of providing technical support for the Planning Service. You will need to be a highly motivated team player, who has initiative, a Ă exible and adaptable approach to work, excellent communication skills, and expert in IT. Trainee Planning OfĂ&#x20AC;cer ÂŁ18,327 - ÂŁ21,552 This role provides an exciting opportunity to begin a career in Planning and become a fully qualiĂ&#x20AC;ed Planning OfĂ&#x20AC;cer, whilst gaining practical experience working in our busy planning department.

For further details and to apply please visit: www.ealing.gov.uk /jobs Closing date: 17th July 2015

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ADVERTISEMENTS

Planning Opportunities Sevenoaks is situated in West Kent, has excellent links into London and boasts historic towns and beautiful countryside with good schools and leisure facilities. It also faces substantial development pressures and a key challenge for planning is to provide for new development while continuing to protect the environment. In terms of Heritage, Conservation in Sevenoaks offers great opportunities and challenges with over 2,000 listed buildings and more than 42 Conservation Areas covering town and village environments.

Sevenoaks Council is a high performing authority with an enviable track record of providing excellent services. Our Investors in People feedback noted that staff were ‘universally proud to work for the council’ and we are pleased to offer the opportunity for a suitably qualified planner to join us, working with our Development Control teams.

We are looking for candidates with enthusiasm, an ability to deliver quality work efficiently and a commitment to good customer service.

Planning Officer – £17,945 - £38,978 plus an essential car user allowance

We are expecting to make an appointment to someone with, or working towards an RTPI recognised qualification, who is able to consider a range of applications. You would be expected to manage your own caseload of applications and pre application enquiries dealing with matters ranging from the routine to the more complex. Starting salary will be dependant upon skills & experience.

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS MANAGER

Conservation Officer (2 year contract) – £31,551 - £34,430 plus an essential user car allowance

This is an exciting time for Ipswich and its Council. This is a new role that brings together the Borough’s town planning, design and conservation and building control teams into one group.

You will be able to provide expert advice on listed buildings, conservation aspects of planning applications and help provide a Conservation and Design evidence base for the Local Plan including Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans. You will possess a relevant qualification and will have developed a specialist expertise in conservation with relevant experience in heritage conservation, preferably including experience of working in local government planning.

Salary c. £45,000

Neighbourhood Planning Officer (2 year contract) - £26,013 - £34,430 (Subject to Job Evaluation)

Be part of Ipswich’s future

We are looking to appoint someone to guide and support communities wishing to progress Neighbourhood Plans through all plan making stages to adoption. In addition the postholder will assist with other plan making work of the planning policy team.

Go to ambitionipswich.com

To informally discuss these posts please contact please contact Antony Lancaster, Strategic Planning Manager, on 01732 227326 or Mark Turner, Development Manager, on 01732 227361.

Closing date for applications: 5pm on 6th July 2015

Our staff benefits package includes generous annual leave, flexible working arrangements and excellent training and development opportunities. Closing date: 12th July 2015 (for all posts).

Interviews date: TBC

■ SENIOR PLANNING OFFICER - Ref: JD CE0403

£26,264 – £31,802 p.a.

37 hours per week

This is a key role in helping to deliver the Three Rivers Local Plan and delivering many of the Community’s aspirations including more sustainable development, affordable housing and local jobs.

You will assist in taking forward our Local Plan and help deliver our Community Infrastructure Levy and a range of Supplementary Planning Documents covering design and other planning standards.

Your key tasks will include analysing a range of data, carrying out research and monitoring, helping to draft new policy and providing policy advice.

We are looking to appoint a town planner with at least 3 years experience in a planning policy environment with good project management skills. In addition some knowledge or experience of strategic transportation, economic development and building conservation would be an advantage, although not essential.

For further information on this vacancy including details on how to apply visit http://www.threerivers.gov.uk/Default.aspx/Web/ JobVacanciesatThreeRivers

As an RTPI Learning Partner, Smart Planning recognises the merits of practical experience.

Through our long established Graduate Intern Programme we develop high calibre individuals who are looking to establish a career in planning.

The successful candidate will become involved with various planning matters and our free weekly Client Surgery. The programme presents opportunities to enhance your professional knowledge, employability and skills whilst gaining experience in the private sector.

Smart Planning operates a simple scheme of progression and we provide an accelerated programme by integrating graduates into our Planning Support Team and Principal Director’s sub-team of Planning Consultants. The Graduate Intern Programme is ideally suited to those with an RTPI accredited degree in Town Planning or related disciplines.

working with If you think you may be interested in our Graduate Intern Programme, please email your CV and cover letter to the email address below, or visit our website for more information.

Closing date: 3rd July 2015.

Interviews: Week commencing 13th July 2015.

Strongly committed to equality of opportunity in employment and in service. We encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

Non-smoking offices.

J U LY 2 0 15 / THE PLA NNER PLANNER RECR JuLY15.indd 49

49

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INSIGHT

Plan B P MORE POWER TO YOUR (UGLY) ELBOW New energy secretary Amber Rudd has made a conspicuous start to her Cabinet career. Having stressed the urgency of addressing climate change, she nevertheless vocally backed the energy bill that could kill onshore wind and divert investment into fossil fuels through fracking.

She started to earn her credibility back by promising a “solar revolution”, pressuring energy providers to cut bills and bravely suggesting she’d take on arch climate-change sceptic Nigel Lawson (although one suspects he’d eat her for breakfast – probably cooked on full gas).

And then she told the media that if we want nuclear power stations (and other energy infrastructure) to be more palatable to Joe and Josephine Public, we should make them look, you know, prettier. Oh. “These big infrastructure projects – that are part of climate-change adaptation or energy generation – are an integral part of our lives and I think we should make them more attractive to the public,” the energy secretary said. She did, she said that.

Of course, no one wants to gaze upon an eyesore, but surely it requires a more substantial argument than ‘As long as it looks pretty, we needn’t worry about the pollution/noise/visual interference/increase in traffic, yada, yada, to persuade Mr and Mrs Public to accept a giant reactor at the end of their street or on the old school playing field?

Or perhaps Plan B is overestimating the critical faculties of our fellow citizens. Perhaps the Henry effect really will make a difference. You know Henry, right? Smiley-faced Henry who made vacuum cleaners cute and cuddly (though still quite noisy).

Would it make nuclear power more acceptable if we were to paint smiley faces on the reactor domes of Hinkley Points A, B and C and rename them

I M AG E |

C O R B I S / E D F E N E RGY

THE FUTURE IN 3 DIMENSIONS?

Through a 3D printer darkly: a home for everyone – just copy apartment blocks

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Andy (or, indeed, Amber), Billy and Charlotte?

And why stop there? Let’s deal with visual and acoustic objections to wind turbines by plastering Princess Di portraits on them and having them play Elton John’s Candle In The Wind every time a breeze picks up. What right-minded country dweller could possibly object to that?

Alternatively, we could stop patronising the public and concede, for example, that one person’s ‘ugly functionality’ is another’s marvel of engineering form and function. We could also credit people with the intelligence to listen to the actual arguments for and against different kinds of energy production. After all, most people do actually understand that energy is not a luxury.

But what the hell does Plan B know? Have you seen the pretty turbine? It looks just like a sunflower. All together now – Aaaaahhhh.

We love a bit of futurology in The Planner office. The latest to make us stroke our beard while ‘hmming’ sagely, is ‘research’ produced by the UKTV series Impossible Engineering (obviously, nothing they feature on the programme is actually impossible, otherwise they couldn’t feature it).

The programme-makers asked architects, engineers and assorted ‘urbanists’ to predict the future form of places where people will live and work. Then they invited Joe and Josephine Public to vote on which of the suggestions they thought most likely to happen. Or something.

Despite the completely open brief, there wasn’t much you couldn’t have seen in a Dan Dare strip 60 years ago (you know, like smiling power stations). According to the experts and the Great British Public, we can

expect future cities to feature: b

b b

b b

Vast multi-level basements full of offices, homes, theatres, pubs, parks and stuff Floating cities connected to the mainland by ‘giant roads’ Rooftop city farms, with cows and sheep grazing happily atop skyscrapers. Yeah, right.

Spaceports to the moon and Mars 3D printed homes.

Ironically, the least voted on was the one that is already happening.

Yup, they’re printing 3D apartment blocks in China right now. It’s not known whether there are plans to graze farm animals on their roofs, but we doubt it.

So there you have it – the future is unlikely. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

n More predictions for future cities? Tweet us – @ThePlanner_RTPI 22/06/2015 11:19

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Closing date: 20 July 2015 at noon.

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