IHBC NewsBlogs

The interim chief executive of the Planning Inspectorate has been announced as Steve Quartermain, current DCLG chief planner.

The Planning Officers Society (POS) writes:
Former POS President (2007/08) and current DCLG chief planner, Steve Quartermain is to take over as interim chief executive of the Planning Inspectorate as the existing chief executive, Simon Ridley, moves to a new role at DCLG, it has been announced.

John Silvester, himself a former POS President (2002/03) and the current Society Communications Manager, indicated that what has yet to be revealed is whether Quartermain will add this new role to his current portfolio or his current one will be dropped.

‘It’s a tough at the top of PINS’, Silvester commented ‘and it will be difficult to balance both jobs at once; but if anyone can it’s Steve.’ 

UPDATE 25th August:
Quartermain has since confirmed that the interim placement at PINS will only be for six months whilst PINS appoints a new CEO; and that his current duties at DCLG will be covered from within the existing team.

View the news release

A historic pathway in Islandmagee, Northern Ireland (NI), which was once as well known as the Giant’s Causeway has reopened, following major government and European investment into Gobbins Pathway and its visitor facilities.

Tourism Northern Ireland writes:
Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Jonathan Bell, has visited the newly refurbished The Gobbins Cliff Path preview event at Islandmagee today.

The project is part-financed by the European Union’s INTERREG IVA Programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.

Speaking during his visit the Minister said: ‘The Gobbins Cliff Path was built along the base of the Gobbins Cliff in Islandmagee in 1902 and in its heyday attracted more visitors than the Giant’s Causeway. I am certain the restoration of the historic coastal path and the development of the new visitor centre will help put this stunning coastline back on the tourist map. The newly developed pathway has the potential to attract upwards of 70,000 visitors annually to East Antrim becoming an internationally recognised visitor attraction and a significant contributor to the success of the Causeway Coastal Route.

‘I am pleased my Department was able to approve INTERREG IVA financial assistance in excess of £3.5million towards the refurbishment of this historic cliff path. With the creation of up to 21 full and part time jobs, this project represents a significant boost to the local economy, the tourism industry here in Larne, Islandmagee and the wider East Antrim Area.

View an Ulster TV article on the pathway, including historic images

View Discover Northern Ireland’s tourism site on the pathway

Tourism NI

Visit the Gobbins Path website

Images from historic sites in Wales have been released from archives in the US Library of Congress, aiming to highlight the importance of conservation.

CADW writes:
A series of images comparing historic Welsh sites today with how they looked at the end of the 19th century have been released to highlight the importance of conserving the historic environment.

The incredible images, also available as a video on Cadw’s YouTube channel, show the transition between recent photographs and images held at the US Library of Congress.

The remarkable ‘photochrom’ pictures were created by image-makers fascinated by Wales’s castles and landscapes – they were originally published by the Detroit Publishing Company.

They were created through a painstaking process where a picture would start life as a black and white negative and each new colour would be added using a different asphalt-coated lithographic stone.

Ken Skates, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, said: ‘It is fascinating to compare images of our historic sites today with those taken more than 100 years ago.

‘The images highlight the importance of protecting the rich historic environment that our country is blessed with.

‘Through vital conservation work, we aim to ensure these iconic sites will be around for future generations to enjoy and for people to look back on in another 100 years.’

View the press release and video

View CADW’s YouTube channel

The Local Government Association (LGA) has released a report which analyses the skills requirements for construction across English regions, and concludes that skills shortages are affecting the meeting of housebuilding targets.

The LGA writes:
A growing construction skills shortage threatens the Government’s pledge to build 275,000 affordable homes by 2020, councils are warning today.

New analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, reveals a growing mismatch between the construction industry’s increasing demand for skills and a falling number of people gaining construction qualifications.

While the construction industry’s forecasted annual recruitment need is up 54 per cent from 2013, there are 10,000 fewer construction qualifications being awarded by colleges, apprenticeships and universities.  The number of people gaining construction skills has been falling for some time. There were 58 per cent fewer completed construction apprenticeships last year than in 2009.

Meanwhile, industry has increasingly struggled to fill vacancies. Over half (56 per cent) of skilled trade construction vacancies are hard to fill, up from 46 per cent in 2011 and almost triple the proportion of skilled hard to fill vacancies across the economy as a whole.  Councils warn this increasing mismatch is leaving the construction industry stranded without the skilled employees needed to deliver on the Government’s ambitions for housebuilding.

Previous LGA research has highlighted that between 16 and 25 per cent of forecast economic growth could be lost up to 2022 if employers cannot recruit the skills and capabilities that they need, which could include up to £24 billion of output from the construction sector.  The LGA is calling on Government to work with the construction industry, councils and education providers to develop a national ‘Skills to Build’ strategy to solve this growing shortage, delivered locally through the devolution process.  Devolving careers advice, post-16 and adult skills budgets and powers to local areas, it would allow councils, schools, colleges and employers to work together to help unemployed residents and young people develop the vital skills to build.

Cllr Peter Box, Chair of the LGA’s Housing Board, said:  ‘For too long we’ve trained too many hairdressers and not enough bricklayers. Too few apprentices are getting the construction skills to build the homes and roads our local communities need and developers are struggling to recruit skilled labour to build new homes.  Industry is clear that skills gaps are one of their greatest barriers to building. If we are to see the homes desperately needed across the country built and jobs and apprenticeships created, councils must be given a leading role.  Skills demand will always vary significantly across the country. For example, the Northwest is desperate for bricklayers while the West Midlands have a higher demand for wood trades and interior fitters.  Councils are best-placed to understand the needs of their residents and local economies but have no influence over skills training and employment support in their area.  In return for increased funding and powers, councils, schools, colleges and employers could work together to reduce unemployment, close this widening construction skills gap and ramp up housebuilding.’

View the press release

Download the full report

Sheffield City Council announced it has submitted an outline planning application for the city centre’s so-called Sheffield Retail Quarter which aims to preserve historic buildings such as Leah’s Yard and The Citadel (Salvation Army building), as well as facades along Pinstone Street and of the old sunday school

View more information

See Planning Portal

An appeal by developer LTPH Properties over a major development involving 300 new dwellings, a 250-berth marina and 80 units of holiday accommodation at Torridge, Devon, has been dismissed because of its impact on a ‘valued landscape’.

The Planning Portal writes:
The site comprised a substantial area of undeveloped land between two settlements. The area was identified in an adopted plan as a local gap and this, concluded the inspector, meant it should be considered as a ‘valued landscape’ under paragraph 109 of the NPPF.

The inspector concluded that the marina was an acceptable use but was not viable without the associated development which would cause unacceptable harm to the area and local heritage assets.

See Planning Portal

A new rural productivity plan has been launched by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) which outlines measures to boost the economy and wellbeing of rural areas in England and includes new starter home rules.

DEFRA writes:
Villages and towns in England’s rural communities will be allowed to build starter homes for local residents as part of plans set out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, and Environment Secretary, Elizabeth Truss in the Government’s first ever Rural Productivity Plan.

The plan, announced as latest figures show thousands of people are moving to rural areas, will set out measures to boost the rural economy by investing in education and skills, increasing wages, improving infrastructure and connectivity, and simplifying planning laws for rural businesses and communities.

Measures covered by the plan include:

• Amending planning rules to allow Starter Homes to be built on Rural Exception Sites for the first time. This will allow local areas to allocate more sites for Starter Homes specifically for people who already live in the area, or have an existing family or employment connection to the area.
• Working with private sector providers to assess alternative solutions to deliver broadband further into rural areas.
• Improving rural transport connections by feeding the views of rural stakeholders into the second Road Investment Strategy for 2020 to 2025.
• Ensuring fairer funding for rural schools and work with schools and colleges that are currently underperforming or ‘coasting’ to ensure that, where appropriate, they are entering into collaborative arrangements and formal partnerships to raise standards.
• Encouraging rural Local Authorities and providers to make innovative early expressions of interest to deliver 30 hours of free childcare to working parents.
• Setting a new ambition to provide high speed broadband to businesses in all Enterprise Zones in rural areas.
• Considering proposals for increased devolution of powers and greater freedoms to maximise economic growth in areas across the country that put in place strong and accountable local governance.
• Improving connectivity by providing improved transport connections for businesses and passengers in local areas with fifteen brand new routes on the Regional Air Connectivity funding shortlist.

View the press release

IHBC NewsBlogs on rural issues

The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU) has revealed the most desirable places to live worldwide, based on their ‘liveability factor’; Melbourne is top place but Manchester features as number 1 city of the UK.

EIU writes:
Although it’s usually the top cities that warrant the most attention, the latest findings of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Ranking reflect a marked increase in global instability over the last 12 months.

The ranking, which provides scores for lifestyle challenges in 140 cities worldwide, shows that since 2010 average liveability across the world has fallen by 1%, led by a 2.2% fall in the score for stability and safety. While this may seem marginal, it highlights that 57 of the cities surveyed have seen declines in liveability over the last five years. Incidences of terrorist shootings in France and Tunisia have been compounded by civil unrest in the US and ongoing conflicts in Syria, Ukraine and Libya.

The suggested liveability scale

The survey gives an overall rating of 0-100, where 1 is intolerable and 100 is ideal.

View the EIU press release

View the MEN news article ‘Manchester named best UK city to live in – again!’

The Oil & Gas Authority has announced that 27 onshore ‘blocks’ of land will be offered to companies for oil and shale gas exploration, and a further 132 opened up (subject to consultation and assessment under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010), some of this further round include designated SSSI’s

View the OGA Press release

Planning Portal blog on the proposals 

The owner of a historic farm steading in Perth and Kinross has been ordered to rebuild it on a like for like basis following its demolition.

The Courier writes:
Cocklaw Developments’ Ken Thomson was refused permission to tear down an old outbuilding at Boreland Farm, near Cleish, in Kinross-shire.

The Fife-based firm’s bid was rejected by councillors in 2007 and then again following an appeal to the Scottish Government.

But a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council’s development management committee heard that Mr Thomson reduced the building to rubble without authorisation, amid health and safety fears.

The developer was accused of ‘driving a coach and horses’ through planning regulations.

Cocklaw Developments must now rebuild the steading exactly as it was, using the original stone. Councillors also agreed to grant consent for eight new homes at the site.

Read the article in The Courier

The owner of the Grade II* (GII*) listed property in South Wales, once home to Cecil Alexander (composer of ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’), has been prosecuted for unauthorised alterations to the building, being told by the court to pay £300,000 in fines and costs for unauthorised alterations to Listed property or go to prison.

The Natural Stone Specialist writes:
A property developer who carried out £1million-worth of work on his Grade II Listed sandstone manor house in Wales without consent has been told to pay £300,000 in fines and costs or go to prison.

Newport Crown Court heard how 60-year-old Kim Gregory Davies ripped out Georgian features of Llanwenarth House and replaced them with ‘mock Tudor’. He also installed a mosaic spa bath and used the 100-year-old headstones of children for wall decoration. Cut up gravestones were found in the back garden.

Prosecutor Nicholas Haggan QC told the court that a listed building specialist had described the alterations as being the ‘worst example’ he had seen during his 25-year career. He said the works had affected every part of the exterior and interior of the property.

The seven-bedroom Llanwenarth House is in the picturesque Usk Valley of Monmouthshire. It is where Irish composer Cecil Alexander wrote the lyrics to the hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’. It was one of the earliest properties to be Listed for its important historical character 60 years ago.

Judge Daniel Williams ordered Davies to pay a £60,000 fine by September 15. Davies will also have to pay £240,000 of the prosecution’s £440,000 bill. Those payments will be made in £40,000 installments over a six-month peroid. Davies said he did not have that much money but the Judge said if the fine was not paid in full Davies would get a 20-month prison sentence.

Davies had originally insisted he had done nothing wrong and claimed a since departed planning officer had given him verbal permission to carry out the work. He said he had saved the building from ruin as it was falling down when he bought it in 2007 for £675,000. But he pleaded guilty in court, having faiied in a succession of applications to have the prosecution halted.

After Davies had carried out the work, officials from the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority (BBNPA) received an anonymous tip-off that unlawful renovation work was being carried out. They visited and tried to gain access to the property several times but were refused entry by Davies, who locked the gates to keep them out.

Eventually planning officers discovered that changes had included replacing old doors with modern ‘Tudoresque’ ones, installing ceiling spotlights and turning a bedroom into a bathroom. A coach house and courtyard had been changed and old cobblestones had been torn up and replaced with flagstone paving.

And the prosecution said Davies had used hard cement for the renovation work instead of lime mortar.

Judge Williams said Davies had turned a precious and beautiful building into a ‘hidden palace of an iron curtain dictator’.

Natural stone specialist on the case

Article in the Guardian

View images of the house and alterations on Wales Online

View previous IHBC NewsBlog on this case

The winning design has been chosen in the architectural competition for Preston’s iconic bus station and new Youth Zone Plus.

New York-based John Puttick Associates was chosen from the five anonymous shortlisted entries by the judges.

This was the same design chosen by people as their favourite in the public vote.

The plans will see a multi-million pound investment in the Grade II listed bus station site, to create a vibrant public space and a home for the new Preston Youth Zone Plus – while preserving the building’s unique brutalist architecture.

The architectural competition was run by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), on behalf of Lancashire County Council and Preston Youth Zone.

The public voted for their favourite design in July, at a special two-day exhibition held in the bus station and online. A total of 4,215 votes were cast by people choosing their favourite design for a new youth zone.

The votes by the public were taken into consideration by the judges, as well as architectural considerations.

Jennifer Mein, leader of Lancashire County Council, said: ‘We always knew that the bus station had a global appeal, and the fact that the winning firm comes from New York reinforces this.

‘We’re delighted that a strong design has been chosen for the new Youth Zone Plus and we’ll now be working hard to get it built.

‘This is a significant investment in one of Preston’s most well-known buildings, which will bring exciting new facilities for our young people, for this generation and for future ones.

‘It’s an exciting time for the city, with improvements taking place on Fishergate and the first steps in the redevelopment of Preston Market. These plans are all part of the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal, which is creating new job opportunities, providing new housing and making it easier for people to get around.’

John Puttick, the architect behind the chosen design, said: ‘The Preston Bus Station development is an important opportunity to create a destination that makes a genuine difference for both visitors and the local community.

‘The three components of the project – the revitalisation of the modernist bus station, the new OnSide Youth Zone, and a large outdoor public space – offer a rich mixture of uses and the challenge of sensitively introducing contemporary design to the existing setting.

‘We are delighted to have been selected as the winners of the competition and are excited to develop the design with the client and stakeholders. We hope to play a game of football on the roof once the project is complete.’

The county council and Preston Youth Zone will now work with the architects, John Puttick Associates, to agree on the final design, with the planning application submitted later this year.

Planning approval will be required for the Youth Zone Plus, as well as listed building consent and approval from Historic England, before building work can start.

Find more details…

Background info via IHBC NewsBlogs

The House of Lords Select Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment has also published a transcript from an evidence session on Thursday 16 July 2015.

The session heard evidence from the Head of Heritage at DCMS, Gill Graham, the Director of Planning at DCLG, Ruth Stainer, the Chief Planner at DCLG, Steve Quartermain, and Bob Ledsome, Deputy Director for Building Regulations and Standards, DCLG.

Questions in the evidence session included: how the government is taking forward the recommendations of the Farrell Review, how the government intends to take forward its new proposals for prioritising the development of brownfield land, what effect will new proposals to allow additional stories to be added in London without planning permission, whether England should have a spatial plan, and the benefits of moving the responsibility for architecture and design from DCMS to DCLG.

For this Select Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment see the website

Read the transcript

The biggest national nature reserve designation in the UK was approved by the Board of Scottish National Heritage this month.

The RSPB writes:
The UK’s newest and largest National Nature Reserve (NNR) – The Great Trossachs Forest – took a step closer to reality today (13 August), after it was approved by the Board of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

The Great Trossachs Forest NNR, which lies at the heart of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, is home to magnificent wildlife in an area within an hour’s drive for 80% of Scotland’s population.

Speaking after the Board meeting, Ian Ross, the SNH chairman, said: ‘I’m delighted that our Board has today given the go-ahead to the new Great Trossachs Forest NNR. Covering 16,500 hectares it will be Scotland’s largest reserve, with a variety of wildlife, habitats, and landforms, including some of national or international importance such as ancient woodland, wet woodland and upland wood pasture.  However, as well as being such an ecologically important site, The Great Trossachs Forest NNR clearly displays the key features associated with a NNR – it is nationally important, well managed and is inspiring and accessible to the public, offering a host of attractions for visitors to experience, savour, and enjoy. This stunning location is an inspirational backdrop for people to responsibly enjoy Scotland’s outstanding natural heritage.’

Scotland’s newest reserve covers a swathe of land from Inversnaid on the east bank of Loch Lomond, through Loch Katrine and Glen Finglas and almost as far as Callander.

View the press release

A historic chapel in Pembroke Dock and a Tabernacle Baptist Church in Newbridge are among those benefiting from a £1.6 million Community Facilities Programme fund.

The Welsh Government writes:
The Community Facilities Programme provides capital grant funding of up to £500,000 for community and voluntary organisations to help mitigate the impact of poverty, through creating and improving local facilities.

The Minister has awarded £154,852 to Bulldogs Boxing and Community Activities in Port Talbot to extend its current gym so it can be used by the wider community, including disabled users and amputees. The extension will also create smaller rooms, allowing the team to offer counselling for people suffering post traumatic stress and peer mentoring sessions, as part of a successful armed forces veterans support scheme.

Faith in Families is set to receive £500,000 to relocate the Penplas Family Centre in Swansea to larger premises. The family centre offers a range of services for children, such as school and holiday clubs, speech and language services, access to children’s mental health services and a library. Moving the centre to St Teilo’s Church is set to increase the number of children able to take part in the after-school club annually to 140, with 250 children able to benefit from holiday play schemes.

Bethel Chapel in Pembroke Dock has been awarded £48,705 to refurbish unused parts of the chapel to create a drop-in coffee shop, a meeting/training room, a Trussell Trust food bank and a debt counselling service. The Chapel already runs coffee mornings, a parent and toddler group and a low cost weekly lunch service for vulnerable people, such as the elderly, isolated or homeless.

The Minister has also approved funding for two churches in Caerphilly – the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Newbridge and St Dingat’s in New Tredegar. The Tabernacle will receive £498,460 to renovate its upper school room in order to extend its current community services. The funding will enable the church to hold more training and youth activities, establish a food bank in partnership with the Trussell Trust, and take part in the Night Shelter scheme where churches provide a place for homeless people to shelter in winter months.

The Parish of Bedwellty and New Tredegar will benefit from £400,000 to refurbish and extend St Dingat’s Church, which is the base for the Rhymney Valley Food-bank. The Church works closely with the local Communities First Cluster and hosts a variety of local services, including the Citizens Advice Bureau, and the Local Authority Housing Benefit and Social Services teams. The funding will enable the Church to accommodate even more community groups, develop a social enterprise selling crafts, floristry and food, and increase the number of people using the building by at least 140 a month.

View the press release

IHBC newsblogs on funding

The Peak District National Park Authority is to sell a number of woodlands with six initial sites selected.

Jane Chapman, assistant director at the Peak District National Park Authority, said: ‘Following a review of our properties, we have identified six woodlands to be sold now, with a similar number to follow later in the year.

‘Having established or improved these woods – often by reclaiming former rubbish tips or quarry sites – then protected and maintained them over many years, we have fulfilled our primary objective as a national park. We now want to return these natural assets to the community, as we are reducing our liabilities at a time of budget reductions and would like to make the best possible use of the resources we have.

‘The sales will allow us to focus on the protection, improvement and maintenance of our remaining woodlands.’

The Authority currently manages 120 woodlands, covering approximately 443 hectares of land. The portfolio has been acquired since the designation of the national park, with the aim of securing important landscape features, rescuing woodlands which were deemed to be under threat or in need of restoration. They were also acquired as part of major estates.

Peak District NPA news

The deadline for the The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) apprenticeships, which helps support artisans of all age, is 28 August

The Royal Warrant Holders Association writes:
Last year QEST piloted the Apprenticeship Scheme in a bid to support new talent in the craft world, as well as to address the nationwide issue of youth unemployment. We are very pleased to report that our pilot year was a success, having sponsored 6 QEST Apprentices in 2014, as well as 4 QEST Apprentices at the start of 2015. So far we have received extremely positive feedback from both apprentices and employers, who are enthusiastically taking part in training up the next generation of craftspeople working in Britain, and subsequently carrying forth the nation’s valuable skills.

We have now launched our second round of QEST Apprenticeship applications this year, with a 28 August deadline and interviews w/c 16 November. Going forward QEST will be holding Scholarships interviews each spring, with Apprenticeship interviews taking place each autumn.

Find out more about QEST 

View the press release

English Heritage (EH) has published a short history of the blue plaque scheme on their website, together with links on how to propose a blue plaque and information on how the design came about.

View the blog