News Round-up - 24 November 2005

ODPM publishes antenna circular

The government has published a new circular updating the permitted development rights for antennas.

Circular 10/05: Permitted Development Rights for Antennas, gives guidance on the permitted development rights for antennas found in Part 1, Class H and Part 25, Class A and Class B of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (the GPDO).

This Order was amended by Statutory Instrument 2935/2005, and comes into force on 25 November 2005.

The amendments follow extensive consultation about the changes considered necessary to reflect the changes in antenna technology and perceived future demand for such technologies.

View 'Circular 10/05: Permitted Development Rights for Antennas' here.

Cooper calls for better community awareness of planning applications

Planning minister Yvette Cooper has reminded Parliament that although the regulations on publicity for planning applications give local planning authorities discretion over the level or type of publicity to be employed and do not define "vicinity" they should nevertheless "go beyond the minimum legal requirement when inviting local people to comment".

Authorities should make use of their websites, insisted the minister (Written answer Hansard 7 Nov column 192W).

Government to consult on advertising regime

Planning minister Yvette Cooper has confirmed in Parliament that the government will consult on amended regulations on outdoor advertisement control later this year.

"We expect the new regulations to be introduced in 2006," she told the Commons (Hansard 14 Nov 2005 column 1043W).

Tropical rainforest planned for motorway location

The architects behind Cornwall's Eden Project are working up a £150m project which could see a derelict area of land, possibly near St Hellions and close to the M6, turned into a tourist attraction featuring a tropical rain forest environment heated by energy from waste.

Westminster consults community on LDF involvement

Westminster City Council has begun lobbying its residents for suggestions about the best way of involving them in the London borough's new strategic plan.

The planning authority has posted a questionnaire on the council's website in a bid to find out who wants to get involved - and how - in the preparation of the Local Development Framework.

View further details here.

Nottingham launches master-plan for city centre

Nottingham City Council has launched a city centre master-plan which establishes a blueprint for development over the next decade.

Featured are plans for the redevelopment of the Old Market Square and proposals for a dozen new public spaces; the implementation of the Station Masterplan, which will pave the way for the ambitious Meadows Gateway scheme; the expansion of Broadmarsh; a projected Centre for Contemporary Arts on Garner's Hill and a major regeneration scheme on The Island site, designed to kick-start the transformation of the City's Eastside area.

View the masterplan here (PDF 8.3 MB).

Green city awards for four UK towns

Four UK towns and cities have won international awards for innovative environmental management projects under a United Nations scheme. The quartet is Dungannon, Coventry, Gateshead and Stockport. Each was successful in the 2005 LivCom Awards.

View further details here.

Anti-clutter campaign gathers support

The Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have endorsed a conservation group's campaign to reduce "street clutter" and superfluous street signs.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England has also reported that transport ministers are keen to protect the character of the countryside and villages and country towns.

View further details of the campaign here.

LDA issues compulsory purchase order for Olympic site

The London Development Agency (LDA) has issued a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) so it can assemble the land needed to deliver the regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley in East London and enable the development of the Olympic Park for 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

View further details here.

Home Information Packs mandatory from 2007

The government has announced that Home Information Packs, designed to reform the home buying and selling process, will become mandatory from 1 June 2007.

Among the key information provided in these packs will be material on the house's planning background.

View further details here.

‘Tallest' turbines planned for Powys site

Plans for the tallest wind turbines in Wales have been proposed for a wind farm in Powys. Gamesa Energy UK wants to build ten 363ft-tall structures. Its proposal includes 40 solar panels.

ODPM and Defra plan waste management seminars

The ODPM together with Defra is holding a series of joint regional seminars on implementing the new planning policy statement on waste management strategies (PPS 10).

A feature of this exercise is a "living draft" of the companion guide that is under development to support PPS 10.

Invitations to the seminars can be obtained from defraevents.planning@enviros.com.

View further details and the draft guide here.

Roger Milne

24 November 2005