Monthly Archives: January 2010

Wiltshire Council has approved plans for new visitor facilities at Stonehenge The new centre, which is around 2.5km to the west of the stones, will not be visible from the monument. The centre will be linked to the stones by … Continue reading →

The introduction of planning appeal fees will also be put on hold. Healey claimed the move would save developers up to £23 million this year, providing a boost to investment. in new projects. Link to Planning Portal News Article

Local government expert Claire Bridges has accepted a one-year secondment as Director of Policy Engagement at The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO), the public body responsible for better local regulation. Claire has managed a variety of portfolios at the Improvement … Continue reading →

Housing and Planning Minister John Healey published new, independent research that shows inappropriate building on back gardens is not a widespread, national problem and is often linked to councils’ failure to have local policies in place. He told the small … Continue reading →

Following significant consultation with members of the professional bodies that are represented by the CIC, the process of applying for CSCS cards has become much simpler with two developments that will be introduced in early 2010; with a linked information … Continue reading →

It’s a map. With planning applications on it. Mash the State (http://www.mashthestate.org.uk/) is a campaign to make public data more available to, well, the public. With that in mind, Adrian Short has created an interactive map (http://pipes.yahoo.com/adrianshort/planning_applications_postcode) which allows people … Continue reading →

The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), the key professional body for built and historic environment conservation specialists, has announced the winner of its 2009 IHBC Gus Astley Annual Student Award.  This is the major award for the sector. The … Continue reading →

The Civic Society Initiative (CSI), set up to assess the demand for a national body for Civic Societies in England, is looking for volunteers to help chart the history of the movement from the early 1840s to the present day. … Continue reading →

The Crafts Council has launched a major research project into the economic and social value of craft, focusing on portfolio working craft makers who engage with other industry sectors and community and education contexts. Craft makers who apply their craft … Continue reading →

On Monday 18 January 2010 the Government published Unleashing Aspiration: The Government’s Response to the Final Report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions. The interactive web site launch carries responses under a link saying ‘no comments’. On … Continue reading →

The shortlist of winners for the 2010 Civic Trust Awards has been announced and includes 44 projects from across the UK, Republic of Ireland and Spain. The winners will be announced at a Ceremony at St George’s Hall in Liverpool … Continue reading →

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is once again on the lookout for potential RIBA Prize winners; closing date for entries: 19 February 2010. Following on from the success of the Maggie’s Centre in London, last year’s Stirling Prize … Continue reading →

In future the Government will put forward fewer sites for consideration by UNESCO, with a streamlined application system to help ensure success. The approach has been announced at the launch by Culture Minister Margaret Hodge of the competition to find … Continue reading →

The combined failings of three public bodies allowed illegal waste activities to go unchecked over a seven-year period with devastating effect, says a joint Ombudsmen report. Environmentally Unfriendly, a joint report by Ann Abraham, Parliamentary Ombudsman and Local Government Ombudsman, … Continue reading →

Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Culture and External Affairs, today announced the appointment of the new Chair of Architecture and Design Scotland, Karen Anderson. Karen is an architect and a founding partner of Anderson, Bell Christie Architects, Glasgow. She graduated from … Continue reading →

Planning consultant and planning inspector Ann Skippers has become President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) in succession to Martin Willey. Ann, who runs a planning consultancy with her husband, lives in Chelmsford, Essex, and is currently Senior Vice … Continue reading →

Hundreds of England’s village churches could be revived and up to 10,000 affordable homes built for local families if churches sold off land and buildings to housing associations, new research has proposed. That finding has been highlighted by the National … Continue reading →

The Planning Officers Society has written to planning minister John Healey to ask for specific financial help for councils involved with proposals for nationally significant infrastructure projects like power stations, motorways, ports and new reservoirs. The Society, which represents professional … Continue reading →

Planning authorities are being urged to take part in the second phase of a programme to pilot local development orders (LDOs). The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) said planning officers can use LDOs to help kick-start regeneration schemes. The orders … Continue reading →

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has withdrawn its old and historic building fund, worth £40 million, as one of a package of measures designed to meet government cuts to the higher education budget in 2010-11.  The fund … Continue reading →

Historic Scotland’s Bill Team has released its analysis of 2009 consultation on the Historic Environment (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. It concludes that: ‘The Consultation on the Bill generated a wide ranging and complex debate about heritage  protection legislation in Scotland and … Continue reading →

A High Court judge has quashed decisions to demolish an historic Victorian building in Belfast city centre and replace it with flats. The Northern Ireland Planning Service must now reconsider the future of the Nineteenth Century warehouse following the intervention … Continue reading →

The Secretary of State for Communities has approved proposals for the redevelopment of the former USAF base at Upper Heyford, including overturning refusal of 24 Conservation Area Consents. The fate of the site, near Bicester in Oxfordshire, had become a … Continue reading →

The farmer who secretly built a house designed like a castle and lived in it for four years while it was hidden behind bales of straw has lost a High Court bid to block its demolition. A judge ruled that … Continue reading →

Research by cost consultants has revealed that a new energy efficient replica of Buckingham Palace could be built for £320M. Faithful+Gould, a part of the Atkins group, undertook a technical assessment of the current Buckingham Palace as part of a … Continue reading →