News Round-up - 25 May 2006
Park authority told to monitor wildlife centre
The Peak District National Park Authority has been criticised for taking more than four years to resolve breaches of planning control at a wildlife centre which was regularly attracting more visitors than allowed and generating parking problems.
Following a complaint from a couple living near the centre, the Local Government Ombudsman found maladministration causing injustice.
The watchdog recommended that the authority pay the couple £750 in recompense and report back to its officials within three months explaining how it plans to monitor planning conditions in the future.
New power plans for estuary
Severn Power has applied to the government to build a new combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station next to its existing Uskmouth plant in south Wales, which uses coal. The site is close to Newport overlooking the Severn estuary.
View further information here.
Street markets boost local economy and community
Markets create twice as many jobs as supermarkets and food is half the price, according to research by the new economics foundation (NEF).
This study of Queens Market in east London, threatened with redevelopment, has highlighted the local economic benefits of the market.
Guy Rubin, senior researcher at NEF, said: "Because the value of markets has not been quantified until now, planning decisions are being taken around the country which are undermining the small enterprises that can stop us becoming a nation of clone towns."
View further information here.
Water wars over capital city's supply
The public inquiry into Thames Water's plans to build a desalination plant at Beckton in east London has begun.
On the opening day the company insisted the £200m project was vital to the capital's water supplies.
London mayor Ken Livingstone claimed the scheme was an energy-guzzler and unnecessary, provided the company improved its performance on leaks.
View further information here.
Housing plans for former sporting ground
Proposals for nearly 700 new dwellings have been unveiled in Swansea.
Some 500 homes are earmarked for the old Addis factory site overlooking the River Tawe.
A further 120 are planned for the site of the old Vetch football ground.
Insurance plans for capital's Square Mile
Insurance giant Legal & General has unveiled plans for a 970,000 square foot redevelopment of its headquarters in the heart of the City of London.
The scheme, known as Walbrook Square, is close to the Bank of England.
The firm is planning to relocate from the Bucklersbury House site on Queen Victoria Street to another area of the city.
View further information here.
New president for Planning Officers Society
Surrey County Council's planning manager Hilary Herbert has been elected the new President of the Planning Officers Society.
She succeeds Graham Jones, director of strategic planning at the London Borough of Harrow.
View further information here.
Study ordered into impact of giant warehouse
Hart District Council has postponed a decision on a plan for a 1.6m square foot warehouse complex at Farnborough following widespread local opposition to the joint-venture by Prudential and Astral Developments.
The council is commissioning an independent report into the impact of the planned warehouse and distribution store while the developers continue to discuss details with the planning authority.
Croydon Compulsory Purchase Order inquiry
A Compulsory Purchase Order inquiry into Minerva's £1m square foot Croydon shopping scheme opened this week amid claims the project would need a re-design to satisfy changing retail requirements.
DCLG ministerial roles confirmed
Ministerial responsibilities in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) have been confirmed.
Phil Woolas MP will be local government and community cohesion minister. Yvette Cooper MP remains as minister for housing and planning, she will also handle urban policy, the growth areas and Thames Gateway, the Building Regulations and planning casework for east Midlands and the Eastern region.
Parliamentary under secretary of state, Angela Smith, will take on climate change and e-government. Colleague Meg Munn MP will be responsible for Gypsies and Travellers and planning casework in the growth areas, west Midlands, the South West, North east and the North West.
Baroness Andrews will handle DCLG business in the Upper Chamber as well as planning casework for Yorkshire and Humber, the South East (excluding Brighton and Lewes) and London.
View further information here.
Clean-up for former coke works
English Partnerships has given the go-ahead for the clean-up of the former Avenue Coking Works near Chesterfield, claimed to be the most contaminated site in Europe after decades of coke and chemical production.
New CABE guidance on design backed
The Planning Inspectorate has backed new guidance from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment on dealing with design in planning appeals.
CABE chief executive, Richard Simmons, said the report, entitled Design at Appeal, "sets out to puncture the myth that design-based refusal will not be upheld at appeal".
View 'Design at appeal: Advice on dealing with design issues within planning appeals' here (PDF 326 Kb).
'Radical reform' needed for rules on minor developments
Town and Country Planning Association director Gideon Amos has called for a "radical liberalisation" of rules on minor, typically householder development.
He said these issues "clog up the planning system with inconsequential debate."
View further information here.
Planning service prospects 'uncertain', says audit
The planning service provided by St Alban's City and District Council is "fair" but prospects for improvement are "uncertain", according to a report from the independent Audit Commission.
View further information here.
Fears raised over brown field back garden development
A debate has been sparked between the government and the Conservatives over how much brown field residential development is taking place on back garden plots.
Greg Clarke MP, the Conservative member for Tunbridge Wells, took up the issue, highlighting in parliament that 15 per cent of all new dwellings are built on existing plots.
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said: "The proportion of new homes built on non-residential brown-field land such as industrial and derelict sites has increased substantially since 1997 and the proportion built on residential sites is now far lower than in 1985 when the definition of brown field land was established."
Deadline for Beacon Status Approaches
Local authorities have just one month left to apply for a scheme which identifies excellence and innovation in local government.
The Beacon Scheme exists to facilitate the sharing of excellent practice so that best value authorities can learn from one another.
Each year, authorities apply for beacon status in a variety of themes. This year, for the first time in seven years, there is a planning theme - promoting sustainable communities through the planning process.
Benefits awarded to authorities that achieve Beacon status include; the chance to learn from and form relationships with other Beacon councils, opportunities to pilot new initiatives, boosting staff morale and access to funding streams reserved only for Beacons.
The closing date for Beacon status applications is 23 June 2006 at 5pm.
Roger Milne
25 May 2006
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