News Round-Up - 29 May 2008

Paving permission changes mooted

Junior planning minister Iain Wright has confirmed that the Government plans to amend the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development Order) 1995 shortly so that householders will only be able to pave over their front gardens without planning permission if the surface provided is permeable. The promised amendment should come into force in October.

Commission 'working by 2010'

The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) is expected to begin determining applications in 2010 with the first appointments to the commission anticipated in the spring of 2009, local government minister John Healey has told Parliament.

He also explained that the suite of National Policy Statements would comprise "an overarching" document covering key elements of energy policy related to infrastructure provision.

In addition, this new regime would involve statements encompassing different forms of energy generation such as fossil fuels, renewable energy, electricity networks and gas infrastructure. There would also be statements for: aviation; ports; the strategic highway and rail networks; water supply and waste water and nuclear power.

Read the Commons Hansard report (14 May, column 1636W)

Planning Portal publishes business plan

The Planning Portal has an agreed business plan for 2008-11 which is available as a PDF download.

The plan sets out:

• The programme of developments for the next three years
• The relative priorities of those developments
• The requisite funding for the period
• The proposed governance arrangements
• The arrangements for delivery of core business

View the Planning Portal Business Plan 2008-11

Euston redevelopment mooted

The company which owns four office blocks at Euston Station in central London has unveiled ambitious £3bn plans for the redevelopment of the site and its surroundings including remodeling and enlarging the station, adding a hotel and providing up to 1,500 homes.

Architects' drawings of the scheme, for Sydney & London Properties' subsidiary Euston Estate Partnership, have just been published.

Visit the Sydney & London Properties Euston estate web pages

Power behind the Throne

Npower Renewables has submitted a revised planning application to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead for a small-scale hydro-power scheme at Romney Weir on the river Thames designed to supply electricity to nearby Windsor Castle.

Read the npower Renewables press release

Bail hostel debate

The Government has resisted a call from Andrew Mackinlay MP to amend planning legislation to provide that bail hostels with fewer than five units are deemed to constitute a separate planning use and require planning permission.

Junior planning minister Iain Wright told Parliament that bail hostels were likely to fall into Class C2: residential Institutions or to be considered 'sui generis' under the Town and Country Planning Use Class Order) 1987 as amended.

He pointed out that when the UCO was given a major revision in 2005 the status of bail hostels was unchanged.

He added: "If a local planning authority considers a bail hostel to be a sui generis use, then planning permission would usually be required for a change of use to a bail hostel. The key test is whether planning permission is required and whether a material change of use has occurred or would occur."

Read the Commons Hansard report (14 May, column 1637W)

Housing goes to the dogs

One of London's most iconic landmarks - Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium - has been acquired by a consortium involving L&Q, yoo Capital and KW Linfoot Plc which has signalled plans to turn the 8.1 acre site into a mixed tenure residential scheme offering a range of affordable homes. The consortium says it intends to submit a formal planning application soon.

Councils lose aircraft noise legal case

Three local authorities whose residents live under flightpaths to Heathrow have lost their High Court claim that the Department for Transport had failed to deal with the "intrusive and disturbing" effects of aircraft noise at night.

The judge ruled that Wandsworth, Richmond and Windsor and Maidenhead councils had wrongly tried to resurrect issues which had been dealt with years ago.

Quarry permissions revoked

Some 11 old and dormant quarries in the Brecon Beacons National Park have had their planning permissions revoked following action by the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority. It submitted Prohibition Orders to the Welsh Assembly Government, now confirmed, in order to revoke the rights to reopen quarries scattered across the National Park. Most had not been worked for many decades and their owners had given no indication of any intention to reopen them.

Roger Milne

29 May 2008