I spotted this story in a local paper and thought you may be interested.
Stephen Brooks an architect based in Bath is working with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to realise an unbuilt FLW design in Wraxall near Bristol.
Self-proclaimed biscuit-loving architectural design practice Challinor Hall Associates of Eastbourne tweeted this week that they submitted a Householder Application via the Portal in just seven minutes.
In your face, paper submission!!!
Can you beat that?
Many agents are reluctant to pay planning application fees on clients’ behalf at the same time as submitting online because it is widely believed that billing clients for those fees later is subject to VAT.
So the preferred method for most agents remains asking the client to provide them with a cheque for the fee, which is posted to the LPA.
And one of the most common reasons LPAs are unable to register and validate applications is that the cheque is either held up in the post, or does not include the Portal reference and cannot be reconciled with the application – a waste of time and effort for everyone
But these fees need not be subject to VAT. Read more…
So the kids are back to school, the roads are full and the weather is about to break. I guess that’s Summer done then.
I’m sorry I’ve been a little quiet over the last few weeks (blessed relief I hear you cry!) but it’s not because the team and I have been soaking up the sun. In fact quite the opposite – it’s been very, very busy.
You can’t have helped but notice that we launched the Beta version of the website for the National Planning Practice Guidance and NPPF over the summer.
In addition, we’ve also been working on lots of changes to various elements of 1APP forms and PD processes to be announced over the coming weeks.
We’ve achieved lots despite various members of the team almost hacking off limbs, spraining ankles, having babies and various other completely avoidable incidents.
For myself I’ve either been driving around the country talking to potential future partners (business not personal!) or I’ve been head down in spreadsheets and documents preparing to respond to DCLG’s call for responses regarding the privatisation of the business. It’s been a slog and I’m not sure which is going to conk out first, me or the car.
Well the deadline for responses is upon us and our proposal is good to go.
Hopefully there is now a work-free weekend ahead before it all begins again.
Watch this space for lots of important notices in the next few weeks including information on Conservation Area consents, handling disbursements, Smarter Planning and PINs role in determining planning applications.
We have now updated the CIL additional information form on the Portal.
The form and accompanying guidance notes have been amended to take account of changes to the CIL regulations and comments received from a number of authorities using the form.
The main changes to the form include:
- questions in relation to minor material amendment (Section 73) applications
- including summary information on non-residential floorspace
- changes to the questions on retained and demolished floorspace
The revised CIL form has been published and is now available from the Portal.
The form and guidance both have unique URLs (web links). This ensures LPAs can easily reference them on their websites and in any other communications.
CIL additional information form
CIL additional information guidance
To date, 19 LPAs have introduced a CIL as detailed below and all London Boroughs administer the London Mayoral CIL.
- Barnet
- Brent
- Bristol
- Broadland
- Croydon
- East Cambridgeshire
- Elmbridge
- Fareham
- Greater London Authority
- Havant Borough Council
- Huntingdonshire
- Newark & Sherwood
- Norwich City
- Redbridge
- Plymouth
- Poole
- Portsmouth
- Shropshire
- Wandsworth
- Waveney
- Wycombe
Thanks again to our good friends in Wandsworth for their help in coordinating this work and to all those that provided feedback to improve the form and guidance.
The need for further changes to the form will be assessed following the publication of the amendments to the CIL Regulations expected later in 2013.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has urged local authorities to clamp down on illegal encampments and unauthorised traveller sites.
His call came as the Department for Communities and Local Government published a new guide detailing the range of powers available to local authorities to remove unauthorised traveller sites, protest camps and squatters from both public and private land. The guide has been sent to the leader of every English local authority.
Pickles said: “I want all councils to be ready to take action straightaway to stop illegal camps and unauthorised sites starting in the first place. Decisive action early on saves money and unnecessary upset for local residents.
“We’ve strengthened councils’ powers so they have the confidence to take decisive action. Too often, council officers wash their hands, and say nothing can be done. This is not the case.
“The public want to see fair play, with planning rules enforced consistently, rather than special treatment being given to certain groups.”
The measures highlighted include:
- more powerful temporary stop notices to stop and remove unauthorised caravans
- pre-emptive injunctions that protect vulnerable land in advance from unauthorised encampments
- possession orders to remove trespassers from land;
- police powers to order unauthorised campers to leave land
- powers of entry onto land so authorised officers can obtain information for enforcement purposes
- the right to demand further information on planning works to determine whether any breach of the rules has taken place
- enforcement notices to remedy any planning breaches
- ensuring sites have valid caravan or tent site licences.
Read the Department for Communities and Local Government news release.
Roger Milne
16 August 2013
Please note that Portal news articles normally appear on the main site. They’ve been published on the blog due to a technical issue.
An important milestone has been reached in plans for thousands of new homes and jobs for south east London, now a section 106 agreement has been agreed for revised proposals for the development of the Greenwich Peninsula site.
The final stage of planning consent, to build almost 3,000 homes on the 190-acre site, the majority of which is owned by the Greater London Authority, has been secured by development partner Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration Ltd (GPRL), a joint venture between Knight Dragon and Quintain.
The overall development will eventually deliver around 10,000 new homes – including approximately 3,270 affordable homes for rent or part-rent – along with 600 student bedrooms and some 3.5 million sq ft of commercial floor space. The scheme is set to transform what was once the site of a gas works into a major new residential, business and leisure district.
Construction work on the southern quarter of the site will begin by the end of the summer to deliver the next phase of residential development, comprising 704 homes.
Councillor Chris Roberts, leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: “After nearly 10 years of delays in bringing forward this phase of the housing, this approval is therefore extremely good news.”
Read the Mayor of London press release.
Roger Milne
16 August 2013
Please note that Portal news articles normally appear on the main site. They’ve been published on the blog due to a technical issue.
The Government has launched a consultation exercise into plans by nine councils in and around Sheffield to set up a new combined authority designed to deliver greater economic growth.
The nine councils of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales and North East Derbyshire want to work together through a new combined authority to boost the prosperity of the area.
The new body would have responsibility for transport, economic development and regeneration, and replace the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority. It would not have statutory planning powers. But it would have powers to set the area’s growth, economic and investment strategies and establish a co-ordinated approach to inward investment.
Three further areas are also seeking to establish combined authorities – West Yorkshire, the North East and Merseyside.
Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis said: “Looking at strategic decision making in this way recognises that an area’s economy, its roads and its rail don’t stop at a local authority boundary.”
A pioneering combined authority was established in 2011 in Greater Manchester. Among other achievements it has secured the major refurbishment of Bolton and Rochdale railway stations, a ‘Revolving Infrastructure Fund’ worth £30m per year and a commitment to a programme which will see between 5,000 and 7,000 new homes built by 2017.
Read the Department for Communities and Local Government news release.
Roger Milne
16 August 2013
Please note that Portal news articles normally appear on the main site. They’ve been published on the blog due to a technical issue.
Proposals for an out-of-town, mixed-use business park involving 3,500 sq m of office floor space and a 100-bed hotel in Warwickshire have been approved by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.
His decision was in line with the recommendation of the planning inspector who held the call-in inquiry earlier this year.
The three-hectare application site is located to the south of the Leicestershire village of Burbage, adjacent to Junction 1 of the M69 motorway where it crosses the A5. The land is close to the administrative boundaries between Leicestershire and Warwickshire and the neighbouring Rugby and Hinckley and Bosworth borough councils.
In his decision letter the Secretary of State agreed with the inspector and the local planning authority (Rugby BC) that there was a need for additional office floor space in the form of the proposed campus-style business park.
The minister said he was satisfied that no other site had credibly been suggested as being suitable or available to meet that need and that the proposal “would not undermine the spatial strategy for Hinckley or the vitality of Hinckley town centre”.
He added that the scheme would contribute to the economic prosperity of the area and create a high quality built environment while securing overall biodiversity enhancements.
Roger Milne
16 August 2013
Please note that Portal news articles normally appear on the main site. They’ve been published on the blog due to a technical issue.
Two-wheel boost
The Prime Minister announced what is claimed to be the biggest single injection of cash to boost cycling provision and make roads safer for two wheelers.
The £77m expenditure will be divided between Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford and Norwich, while the New Forest, Peak District, South Downs and Dartmoor will each share a slice of £17m funding for national parks.
With local contributions, the total new funding for cycling is £148m between now and 2015.
The announcement includes a commitment from the Government to cut red tape that can stifle cycle-friendly road design and to encourage changes to the way roads are built or altered. Councils will be expected to deliver infrastructure that takes cycling into account from the design stage.
Also highlighted were proposals for a feasibility study to look into creating a new national cycleway broadly following the route of the High Speed 2 rail line from London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, linking communities and rail stations to work, schools and shops as well as countryside and tourist attractions along the way.
Read the Prime Minister’s Office news release.
Morpeth Bypass accepted for examination
The Planning Inspectorate has announced that the application from Northumberland County Council for the proposed Morpeth Northern Bypass scheme has been accepted, by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles for examination as a nationally significant infrastructure project.
The application is for construction of a single carriageway 3.8km long extending from Whorral Bank on the A197, to the north east of Morpeth, westward to the A1 trunk road to include a separate cycleway/footway, and a new roundabout to be created at the intersection of the bypass with the existing A192 at Lane End.
Find out more on the National Infrastructure Planning website.
Cheers as pubs are safeguarded
Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis has revealed that 100 community pubs have been listed as assets of community value – a move which will help safeguard their futures.
The Community Rights to Bid measure gives communities the opportunity to nominate an asset to be included on a list of assets of community value which delays the sale should the designated local asset be put up for sale.
This gives communities time to put in a takeover bid of their own.
Read the Department for Communities and Local Government news release.
BBC announces second TV series on planning
The BBC has confirmed plans for a second series of its fly-on-the wall documentary programme about the planning system.
It will return with a new title – Not In My Back Yard – and some new planning officers grappling with recent changes to the planning regime “not to mention over-ambitious developers, misguided home-owners and furious residents”, the broadcaster said in a statement.
One episode in the new BBC 2 series will return to some of the most memorable disputes and decisions featured in the first series, called ‘The Planners’, to discover whether the decisions have become bricks and mortar reality.
Executive producer Pam Cavannagh said: “The Planners struck a chord with the audience by showing the process of planning across the UK. Not In My Back Yard will continue to do the same as we follow more great characters in Britain’s planning offices.”
Louth urban extension proposed
A consortium of developers have submitted outline plans for a sustainable urban extension at the Lincolnshire town of Louth
Developers Gladman and AR and MA Prigeon have proposed a scheme involving up to 970 homes as well as a primary school, a local neighbourhood centre and public open space.
The site, predominately farmland, is on the south-eastern flank of the existing built-up area of the town.
Capita takes on Barnet planning
Barnet Council in north west London has signed two outsourcing contracts with public services company Capita, one of which involves a ten-year, £154m joint venture covering the council’s development and regulatory services which includes building control, land charges, planning, trading standards and licensing.
Read the Barnet Council news release.
Minister reviews Watford allotment move
Watford allotment holders have welcomed Communities Secretary Eric Pickles’ decision to review his earlier decision to allow the borough council to appropriate their plots at Farm Terrace to make way for a major redevelopment scheme.
The Secretary of State has acknowledged that he did not justify his decision according to the requisite criteria. The allotment holders were due to go to court over the issue.
Zero carbon homes consultation
House builders and developers have welcomed Government proposals, now out for consultation, to allow the industry to meet the target that all new homes from 2016 will be ‘zero carbon’ by permitting some of the requirement to be met by off-site measures.
Various forms of carbon offset measures are now under consideration. Builders could be allowed to buy carbon offsets from third parties (including councils). Other options include connecting the property to a renewable heat network or paying into a nationally managed scheme, based on the Green Investment Bank model, which would then invest in carbon abatement measures.
Supermarket rejected
Scottish Planning Minister Derek Mackay has accepted the recommendation of a Scottish reporter that an appeal by Sainsbury’s over a planning application for an edge-of-town 93,000 sq ft supermarket and petrol station in Motherwell should be dismissed.
The proposal had been rejected by North Lanarkshire Council and Sainsbury’s appealed that decision.
Northern Ireland claims first for urban stewardship guide
Northern Ireland Environment Minister Mark Durkan has launched what is claimed to be the UK’s first ever consultation on an urban stewardship and design guide. The document titled ‘Living Places’ treats urban stewardship and design as equally important.
The minister said: “This design guide is a common sense approach to planning which Northern Ireland is leading the way on. This brings together planning and design but looks beyond to see how this will work on the ground in the management and maintenance of our towns and cities.”
In a separate development, the minister gave the go-ahead for a new hotel and offices in Newry. Newry and Mourne District Council had endorsed the proposal for a 120-bed hotel, above a 22, 000 sq ft office development, with landscaping and car parking. The scheme is due to be built on a former garage site in Downshire Road.
Read the Northern Ireland Executive news release.
Maidenhead redevelopment approved
Major redevelopment proposals by Sorbon Estates and Shanly Homes for the Chapel Arches area of Maidenhead – one of the Berkshire town’s key ‘opportunity areas’ – have been given the green light by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
The Chapel Arches scheme is designed to transform a substantial part of the town centre with more than 200 new apartments, shops, restaurants, cafés and offices, built around the York Stream which is due to be given a new lease of life under plans by the Maidenhead Waterways Restoration Group.
Read the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead press release.
Brixton fire station scheme allowed on appeal
Blackrock Workspace Property Trust proposals for a mixed-use conversion scheme at the site of the former Brixton Fire Station in South London did not have to provide affordable housing, a planning inspector has concluded after allowing the project which had been refused by Lambeth Council. The plans involved three new flexible commercial units as well as nine flats.
Energy-from-waste legal challenge fails
Campaigners opposed to an energy-from-waste project in North Yorkshire have lost their High Court bid to get the planning permission overturned.
A judge ruled the county council did not act unlawfully when it gave the go-ahead for the project earmarked for a site at Allerton Park, near Knaresborough, last October.
Truro development sees off court move
A major development in Cornwall – the Truro East scheme involving a Waitrose store, nearly 100 new homes, a Cornish food hall and a waste and recycling centre – has seen off a legal challenge by Truro City Council and some traders who objected to the permission granted by Cornwall Council for the proposals earmarked for farmland owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.
Conservationists go to court over Fort Augustus turbine plans
Conservation group The John Muir Trust has decided to mount a legal challenge over a decision by Highland Council to raise no objection to a 67-turbine wind farm near Fort Augustus.
SSE Renewables had proposed a wind farm with up to 83 turbines at Stronelairg, near its Glendoe hydro electric scheme.
Councillors voted not to oppose the project if certain conditions were agreed, including a reduction in size. The trust has lodged a petition in the Court of Session for a judicial review of the decision.
Gateshead demolition plan on hold
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has issued a notice temporarily halting plans to demolish 291 homes in Gateshead as part of a major regeneration scheme.
Developer Sovereign Land has submitted an outline planning application for a £200m scheme to redevelop Telford town centre. The proposals will see the existing Telford Shopping Centre expanded with a net increase of almost 400,000 sq ft of retail floor space and 250,000 sq ft of restaurants, cafés, bars and other food outlets well as a cinema, hotel and public transport improvements.
Pirate-theme scheme becalmed
A family who built pirate-style buildings and created an island at a lake formed from a former quarry on their own land have been forced to apply for retrospective planning permission by South Cambridgeshire District Council.
New chair named for English Heritage
Sir Laurie Magnus has been appointed chairman of English Heritage by Culture Secretary Maria Miller. Sir Laurie has 35 years’ commercial experience and is currently deputy chairman of the National Trust, a position that he will relinquish shortly after his chairmanship of English Heritage begins.
He takes over from Baroness Kay Andrews who has held the position since July 2009.
Read the English Heritage news release.
Roger Milne
16 August 2013
Please note that Portal news articles normally appear on the main site. They’ve been published on the blog due to a technical issue.
Planning Portal Blog 