Monthly Archives: February 2010

BGS is working on a national Mining Plans Portal –  www.bgs.ac.uk/nocomico – a searchable online map and database is regularly updated. It’s another way to dig for information. There are many who would argue that Great Britain was built on … Continue reading →

The Homes and Communities Agency and Regeneration & Renewal magazine have joined forces to create an awards scheme – the Homes & Communities Awards. Entry Deadline: 30 April 2010; Awards Night: 23 September 2010. Here are this years categories: •Flourishing … Continue reading →

Cut the VAT group says up to 24,000 construction jobs could be created if VAT was cut on home improvement work More than 50,000 jobs could be created in the construction and associated industries if the government cut VAT on … Continue reading →

Following a national recruitment campaign the Scottish Civic Trust has appointed a successor to Terry Levinthal, who is moving on to the NTS after 10 years of service. John Pelan, who will take up the post on 1 April, is … Continue reading →

Terry Levinthal, former Director of the Scottish Civic Trust and IHBC member, has taken up his post as Director  of Conservation Services and Projects at the National Trust for Scotland.

On 10 February the National Trust launched its new strategy Going Local. At the centre of the new strategy is the concept of NT properties functioning as community spaces, to involve local residents more in the daily life of the … Continue reading →

This new award for the North East, part of the Constructing Excellence in the North East Awards, seeks to recognise schemes which may include conservation, improvement and enhancement which has significantly improved the aesthetic quality of the building/project, the repair … Continue reading →

The historic clipper Cutty Sark will be restored to its former glory following news that the final parts of the £46 million funding package are now in place. Conservation of Cutty Sark will be finally completed at Greenwich next year. … Continue reading →

Empty town centre shops in Taunton and Blackburn will be transformed into creative and learning centres to actively involve local people and encourage people into informal learning. Empty town centre shops in Taunton and Blackburn will be transformed into creative … Continue reading →

A new 3D city mapping service called Skape, designed for architects, planners, local authorities and surveyors, is now available from Infoterra, a  provider of geographic information products and services. Skape enables users to manipulate urban landscapes online by combining high … Continue reading →

A property owner and a company were today fined a total of £21,000 at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court for demolishing a number of buildings after a Building Preservation Notice had been served. Keith George Trotter, owner of the Former Market Yard, … Continue reading →

The 2010 Planning magazine features list is now out. The list includes: August: Regeneration 13th; Conservation 27th October: Sustainable Design and Construction including Ecotowns 29th December: Planning Law 10th; Wall Planner 17th http://www.planningresource.co.uk/aboutus/

Conservatives today unveiled a major new policy paper to reform England’s ‘broken’ planning system. It outlines proposals to use ‘open source’ democracy and neighbourhood involvement to encourage sustainable development. Whitehall targets and unelected quangos will be scrapped, to be replaced … Continue reading →

Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council has been heavily censured by the Local Government Ombudsman over the way it dealt with proposals to demolish a listed Victorian schoolroom and build new houses on the site in a conservation area, noting also the … Continue reading →

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has criticised the master plan for the redevelopment of the former Terry’s Chocolate Works in York to provide more than 300 homes, office and leisure activities use. CABE’s design panel said … Continue reading →

Developers, house builders, local authorities and professional planners have welcomed publication by the Government of the amended regulations for the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), the new development charge due to be introduced in April. CIL is a new power that … Continue reading →

On Wednesday 10 February the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), launched its General Election 2010 manifesto Make the Countryside Count. The publication of the manifesto comes following the launch of CPRE’s vision statement in May last year, 2026 – … Continue reading →

Leading housing and planning charity the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) today announced that Kate Henderson will be its Interim Chief Executive. The news follows Gideon Amos’s departure to join the Infrastructure Planning Commission at the beginning of March. … Continue reading →

Leading housing and planning charity the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) today announced that Kate Henderson will be its Interim Chief Executive. The news follows Gideon Amos’s departure to join the Infrastructure Planning Commission at the beginning of March. … Continue reading →

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is calling for entries for this year’s RIBA President’s Awards for Research with deadline of 7 May 2010. This is the fifth year of the awards, which are presented annually to reward and … Continue reading →

IHBC director Seán O’Reilly warmly welcomed the decision to establish a new focus for civic interests in England, the Civic Voice, which will be launched on 17 April. Seán O’Reily said: “We’re delighted that this new organisation, Civic Voice, will … Continue reading →

Buildings in Wales with a ‘social or cultural significance’ should have new laws to help campaigners protect them, say Assembly Members. The assembly’s petitions committee cited the campaign to save Victorian-era Cardiff pub The Vulcan Hotel as an example of … Continue reading →

IHBC Director, Seán O’Reilly, welcomed English Heritage’s new funding programme, ‘Developing Historic Environment Records for the 21st Century’, for the contribution it will make to modernising conservation processes in planning. Seán O’Reilly said: “We’re delighted that this significant block of … Continue reading →

Three thousand more apprenticeships could be created if all local councils simply performed at the average level according to new snapshot findings Communities Secretary John Denham said recently. On a visit to Barking the minister meet some of the 100 … Continue reading →

The Environment Agency and Natural England have become the first regulators to be given new civil powers that will give them greater flexibility to enforce environmental law. The range of new civil powers given under the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions … Continue reading →