News Round-Up - 11 October 2007
Milestone for Coventry regeneration scheme
A landmark agreement has been signed which signals the green light for the £360m regeneration of north east Coventry.
The scheme will see some 3,500 homes built over the next 12 years in Wood End, Deedmore, Henley Green and Manor Farm.
The document, in the form of a master agreement, commits the developers (Bovis Homes, Keepmoat Ltd, Persimmon Homes and Whitefriars Housing Group) to delivers plans drawn up in consultation with local residents and the planning authority, Coventry City Council.
The community regeneration project has been selected as a Government Mixed Communities Pilot Scheme and is the first in the country to reach this milestone.
Gypsy family win Dorset enforcement appeal
A Dorset district council is reviewing its decision to take legal action over a Gypsy family who stationed a mobile home on land it owns at Stoke Wake near Blandford three years ago without planning permission.
North Dorset District Council served an enforcement notice on the development which the family failed to comply with.
The re-think has become necessary now an independent planning inspector has granted the family a temporary planning permission for four years, chiefly on the grounds that the parents suffer from health problems and their daughter acts as a carer.
Download the North Dorset District Council press release
Cambridgeshire settlement inquiry opens
An inquiry has opened into plans for a new 5,000 settlement in east Cambridgeshire between the villages of Wilburton and Stretham. The scheme is opposed by Cambridgeshire City Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council.
Village green victory
Campaigners at Croxley Green in Hertfordshire have won a lengthy battle to register 28 acres of green belt land as village green.
Hertfordshire County Council's decision to approve that designation means the woodland cannot now be developed.
Landowner London Underground Ltd had earlier applied to build a track replacement depot on part of the land – a proposal withdrawn after fierce opposition from local people.
Eco-village plan falters
Planning officials from Pembrokeshire County Council are recommending that plans for a small eco-settlement at Glandwr near the Preseli mountains should be refused as the scheme, by a green co-operative called Lammas, does not comply with the council's new 'low impact development' policy.
The project has the backing of the Countryside Council for Wales but is opposed by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and some local residents.
Read Planning Portal story from 7 June 2007
North London estate regeneration plans mooted
Plans to regenerate two north London housing estates involving over 900 new homes and community facilities have gone out for consultation in Edgeware. Barnet council and its partners Barratt Homes and the Family Mosaic housing association are keen to create a new neighbourhood at the Stonegrove and Spur Road estates at a cost of around £200 million.
Read Barnet council press release
Ally Pally plans stalled
Proposals for the £55 million redevelopment of Alexandra Palace, a north London landmark, are back in the melting pot after a High Court judge ruled that the consultation carried out by the owners, the Charity Commission, over its decision to grant a 125-year lease to a developer, Firoka Ltd, was flawed. Mr Justice Sullivan said lease details were not given in time for public consultation, so the whole consultation process must be reopened.
Devon wind farm approved
Energy minister Malcolm Wicks has approved plans for a 22-turbine wind farm in north Devon at Fullabrook Down between Braunton and Ilfracombe.
Read Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform press release
Green light for canal marina project
Proposals for the UK's largest canal-based marina at Willington have been approved by South Derbyshire District Council. The 585-berth project feature a gastro-pub and 18 holiday log cabins.
Residential college wins top design award
Portland College in Mansfield, a residential college for people with disabilities designed by Patel Taylor, has won this year's RIBA Inclusive Design Award, sponsored by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.
More flood cash urged
The Association of British Insurers has urged the Government to spend more to counter the risk of flooding after claiming that the current plan to increase spending by £200 million over the next three years is inadequate.
Chancellor Alistair Darling has said the Government would keep the amount of money allocated for flood defence and flood management "under review".
Big screen passed
Europe's biggest media screen will be built in Liverpool for the city's Capital of Culture year. The structure – like similar screens in Times Square, New York and Piccadilly Circus, London – will cover the existing car park at the St Johns shopping centre and has won a five-year temporary planning permission from the city council.
Row over river view
Newcastle City councillors are poised to decide the fate of a 13-storey apartment block proposed by George Wimpey which opponents claim will threaten one of the city's most famous river views enjoyed by drinkers at the Free Trade Inn. More than 1,000 pub-goers have signed a petition against the housing scheme. The inn, on the Ouseborn Valley, overlooks the River Tyne's regenerated quayside and famous bridges.
Building control e-plan
Communities and Local Government has begun consulting on proposals to enable some building control transactions to be carried out on-line without signatures.
Roger Milne
11 October 2007
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