IHBC NewsBlogs

Historic England (HE) is inviting you to help shape its proposals for ‘Enhanced Advisory Services’ by completing a short survey online, with a deadline for responses of 8 May. 

Historic England writes:
The Enhanced Advisory Services will offer greater speed, clarity and engagement from Historic England.

Alongside our existing free planning and designation services, Historic England is now consulting on proposals for four enhanced services that will give greater certainty to complex or time sensitive development projects. The four services are:

• Fast-track Listing
• Listing enhancement
• Extended pre-application advice
• Screening service

Historic England will recover the cost of these services from our customers, thereby ensuring our core work is unaffected. We welcome your views on the proposed services.

If you would like to help shape the services complete a brief survey

For the new HE website see: http://www.historicengland.org.uk

View the news release

Six regeneration projects in Wales are to collectively receive almost £2 million to help address local problems tying in with the national regeneration agenda, such as issues with housing supply and lack of community facilities.

The Welsh Government writes:
Communities and Tackling Poverty Minister, Lesley Griffiths, has yesterday announced £1,997,000 for six regeneration projects across Wales.  The Vibrant and Viable places funding will be used to help to create jobs, tackle poverty, increase housing supply and improve community facilities.

The £2 million will be shared between Newport, Neath Port Talbot, Blaenau Gwent, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Vale of Glamorgan and Wrexham councils to fund key regeneration projects. These include:

• £485,000 to bring empty properties back into use on Commercial Street in Newport, which is currently falling into disrepair
• £500,000 to help purchase a piece of land in the heart of Pontypridd Town Centre to be developed into shops and new homes
• £168,000 to create free WIFI hotspots and install 24 CCTV cameras in key areas across Wrexham town centre
• £500,000 towards the major redevelopment of Burrows Yard, a 4 acre piece of land just outside Port Talbot town centre
• £200,000 for Blaenau Gwent Council to establish a recyclable loan scheme to encourage owners to improve empty and substandard properties in Tredegar. The council will also receive £50,000 to extend a fuel poverty project which will install new boilers and improve the fuel efficiency of properties in Tredegar
• £94,000 towards the major regeneration project underway in Barry.

Lesley Griffiths said: ‘This substantial additional funding is further evidence of how the Welsh Government is committed to regenerating Welsh towns and cities and providing opportunities for the people of Wales.  These projects will make a real difference to their communities. Many of the projects focus on the regeneration of town centres, which is about a lot more than filling empty shops. It is about creating diverse and vibrant town centres which are an attractive place to live, creating jobs and helping to build a strong local economy.’

View the news release

IHBC newsblogs on funding

New changes in planning regulations that allow the installation of ‘click and collect’ delivery boxes without Planning Permission (PP) come into force in mid-April.

Government writes:
High streets across the country will be better equipped to meet the needs of their customers under measures announced today (25 March 2015).

From 15 April shops and other retailers will be able to install ‘click and collect’ lockers without the bureaucracy of getting planning permission.  The move will encourage more shoppers to their high streets, enabling them to visit more shops to collect their online purchases.  The UK is the biggest user of click and collect services, with use expected to double within 3 years.

Today’s measures are part of a wider package to support the Great British high street, helping to breathe new life into communities and grow local businesses.

Today, the government confirmed a feasibility study will be conducted for a one-stop-shop offering advice to local retailers, councils and trading groups on how to compete on the digital high street.  The study will be led by Google’s UK Sales Director Peter Fitzgerald, and will look at the technology, training, advice, skills and infrastructure that smaller traders need to adapt to the new way people shop and use their town centres.

Ben Dowd, Business Director at O2 and Martin Butler, IBM’s Vice-President of Retail will co-lead a workstream on the ‘High Street Digital Health Index’ to help local authorities and businesses understand how they can improve their digital capabilities.

Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis said: ‘Far from threatening the high street, online shopping offers a new opportunity. How we shop is changing radically and I want to help our high streets thrive from online competition.  Today’s measures will mean even more retailers can offer ‘click and collect’ services, encouraging shoppers to visit their businesses and pick up their purchases at a time that suits them.  It’s just one of a range of measures we’re taking to boost the Great British high street, encourage shoppers to the town centre and get shops to grow and thrive.’

High Streets Minister Penny Mordaunt said:
‘We know digital is the way forward for our high streets and initiatives like the digital index will help traders and businesses to compete more effectively.  I am delighted these industry experts will take forward this work and am sure their advice, training, expertise and support will allow local retailers to reach their full potential.  High streets contribute billions of pounds to the economy and the government is committed to supporting them as part of our long-term economic plan to create jobs and boost local communities.’

View the news release

IHBC newsblogs on town centres

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles has issued a statement to parliament giving an update on planning reforms.

The statement covers updates on the following areas:

• solar energy
• brownfield land
• green belts
• unauthorised developments
• parking
• streamlining the planning system
• short term lets
• the accessibility of the planning system
• permitted development and changes of use
• zero carbon homes
• housing standards
• the deregulation bill 2015 regarding plan changes
• decision taking (transition)

View the full written statement

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation Think Tank has published a report investigating the effects of austerity measures on communities, concluding that the most deprived areas have had the largest government funding cuts (with housing and planning services being worst affected). 

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation writes:
Research published yesterday by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that the most deprived areas of England have seen the largest cuts in funding since 2010.

‘The cost of the cuts’ report finds that local authorities have been able to protect front line services by finding new, innovative ways of working, but that capacity for further efficiency savings is fast running out. There is still scope for many councils to save money by redesigning the way services are run or working in partnership with bodies like the NHS. But the current pace of the cuts risks making this more difficult. Many local authorities will struggle to invest in and remodel services to lower costs in the medium term, while still meeting residents’ needs and balancing their budgets. 

Analysis of local government expenditure data reveals that the poorest English authorities have seen reductions of £182 more per head than the most affluent; breaking the historic link between the amount a local authority spends per head and local deprivation levels. In 2010/11, the most deprived councils had an extra 45% of expenditure per head to cope with additional needs. By 2014/15, this had been reduced to 17%.

Services such as housing and planning have been worst affected across the country, seeing cuts of around 40%.  Social care has been relatively protected, but while the most affluent areas have seen a social care spending rise of by £28 per head (8%) spending in the most deprived areas has been cut by £65 per head (14%).

Alongside this systematic national analysis of local government spending, researchers at the Universities of Glasgow and Heriot Watt have worked, since 2011, with four local authority case studies across England and Scotland.  This in depth case study research analyses how local authorities have dealt with growing budget gaps of between 7% and 11% per year.

The report highlights an important difference between the situation in England and in Scotland. Direct comparisons are difficult to make, but on one estimate the Scottish reduction is 11% in net terms in contrast to the 27% reduction in England.  The slower pace of cuts in Scotland may have given local authorities more room to invest in preventative measures, which could drive down costs in the medium term by reducing the need for services in future years.

Professor Annette Hastings from the University of Glasgow said: ‘Local councils find themselves in an incredibly difficult position. At a time when the agenda is about how to make public services work better, particularly for those that need them the most, councils are being subjected to year on year funding cuts.  Their capacity to deliver positive change is being reduced just when it is needed the most. The cuts are only half way through and it is clear that the cuts to come will have major impacts. Some of these impacts will be very damaging – and this is much more likely when funding cuts are so severe and so rapid.’

Josh Stott, Policy and Research Manager at the JRF said: ‘The cuts have forced the pace of local service reform and there have been some positives, in terms of service redesign and new ways of working.  However, we are now beginning to see the impacts of the cuts filter through on to the quality of local services. There is a general consensus that we are only half way through the cuts and, if we continue on this course, it seems inevitable that the poorest people and places will be even harder hit.  We need to rethink the pace of the cuts to allow local government the time and capacity to develop long term solutions geared towards supporting people out of poverty and reducing demand on their services.’

To maintain effective services in deprived areas, JRF recommends:

Extending the timetable of cuts to local authorities to allow them to implement public service reforms and invest in prevention measures, driving down costs over the medium term in a sustainable way.  Multi-year funding settlements from central government would provide the security to manage the reductions more effectively and support prevention measures which would deliver cost savings over the extended funding period.

A new framework for the sharing of risks and cost savings between local services would incentivise multi-agency interventions and wider public service reform.  Further devolution of fiscal responsibility to local government needs to take place with a fairer system of funding which makes sure that poorer areas are not disproportionally affected.

View the news release

Download the report

IHBC NewsBlogs on austerity

The Scottish Government’s (SG) Community Empowerment Bill (CEB) will now allow people to have more say in local decision making, due to changes approved by the Local Government and Regeneration Committee. 

The Scottish Government writes:
More community involvement in the decisions of public bodies will strengthen democracy, Community Empowerment Minister Marco Biagi said today.

A change to the Community Empowerment Bill, agreed by the Local Government and Regeneration Committee last week, encourages public bodies to promote and facilitate participation with people and communities in decision making and budget setting.  The move follows huge participation in last year’s independence referendum.

Ministers will also have powers to require public bodies to engage if they fail to do so.  Speaking at the Community Development Alliance Scotland conference in Glasgow, Mr Biagi said: ‘Involving people and communities in decision-making unquestionably makes for better decisions.  As the referendum demonstrated, people will get involved when they understand the issues at stake and know that they can make a difference. It’s my job to ensure that enthusiasm continues and make it clear that people know their voice matters.  Participation is about more than consulting, it is about empowering communities to shape decisions and have a say on how ideas are delivered.  18 Scottish councils have taken up the Government’s offer of training and support for participatory budgeting projects, giving communities the chance to have their say on local budgets. That helps build community capacity while ensuring the public sector understands local needs and priorities and can target budgets more effectively to improve services.  More participation brings fresh perspectives, strengthens democracy and will help build a fairer Scotland.’

Fiona Garven, Chair of Community Development Alliance Scotland said: ‘CDAS welcomes the changes to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill which will pave the way for communities to be involved in meaningful decisions about how public money is spent.  We are encouraged that the legislation will also require processes to be put in place to support communities and community organisations to engage with public bodies to raise awareness of local issues and to contribute to more effective shaping and delivery of local services.  Such support will be important to encourage the involvement of a diverse range of communities in local democratic processes and achieve a rebalance of power across all sections of Scottish society.’ 

View the news release

More information on the Community Development Alliance Scotland (CDAS)

IHBC newsblogs on the community empowerment bill 

A six turbine wind farm in Derbyshire has been refused on appeal by the Communities Secretary due to the likely harmful effects on three adjacent conservation areas, and listed buildings of St Leonards Church, Hall Farmhouse and Hardwick New Hall.

Download the decision letter

With the recent news on the reinterment of King Richard III following the discovery of remains in a Leicester car park, one blog has suggested where else in the UK might represent ‘the best car park archaeology’.

View the DigVentures blog entry on car park archaeology

BBC news on King Richard III

Channel 4 coverage of Richard III

Leicester Mercury coverage of the events 

IHBC NewsBlogs on archaeology 

New research into HLF funding has revealed some exciting headline statistics which help quantify the value and importance of heritage.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) writes:
New research by BritainThinks puts heritage at the heart of improving quality of life across the UK over past 20 years.  To coincide with 20 years of investment into the UK’s heritage amounting to over £6billion, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) commissioned BritainThinks to conduct in-depth research in 12 towns and cities representative of the UK population. The aim was to better understand the public’s view of that National Lottery investment and to see to what extent it had made places better to live and work in or visit.

Key findings:

• 80% think local heritage makes their area a better place to live
• 64% think heritage has improved in recent years in terms of how well it is looked after and what it has to offer
• 50% answered 7 or more out of 10 when asked to rate the impact local heritage sites have on their personal quality of life
• Strong support for heritage investment with 76% of regular Lottery players rating the HLF projects in their area a good or excellent use of Lottery funding
• Heritage plays a powerful role in bringing people together and helping to improve perceptions of quality of life
• Benefits of heritage seen as both transactional and emotional, encouraging local pride and fostering social cohesion

The research tells us why heritage matters to people:

• People see heritage as having benefits that directly relate to the things they consider important to improving local quality of life. 93% think it is important to the UK, 85% think it is important locally and 81% think it is important to them personally. We are told this is because heritage :-
• delivers economic benefits, drives tourism and creates good jobs
• makes places more visually attractive
• provides leisure activities and things to do, particularly for families
• instills local pride and encourages better social cohesion
• Nearly everyone (95%) living in small urban areas (eg Shrewsbury, Durham, Exeter in our research) agree their place is a good place to live
• 84% agree from very large urban areas (eg Glasgow, Manchester, Lewisham/South London) and 87% agree in rural towns (Pontypool, Newark, Armagh)
• The least content are those living in large urban areas (eg Bradford, Peterborough and Portsmouth in our sample) where 72% agree

Heritage inequality challenge:

• The research reveals that public parks, townscapes and those heritage projects which involve people in activities can be used to appeal to wider audiences and different social groups and work well to improve the quality of life of those people
• When heritage does reach DE social groups (who are traditionally less involved), it can be more important for their personal sense of identity than to AB social groups
• The research highlights the need to continue to strive to marry local heritage to local needs and aspirations to achieve the greatest impact on quality of life

Seona Reid, Interim Chair of HLF,commented: ‘This research is reassuring but also throws out some big challenges for us all. At this 20-year milestone, we wanted to hear people’s views about what difference our investment was making. It is heartening that the research shows heritage playing an important role in improving places for people, but it also uncovers the need to invest more in the kinds of heritage projects that bring people together and contribute most to well-being and quality of life.  It’s given us a great steer for the next 20 years.’

Helen Grant, Minister for Tourism, said: ‘Britain has such a rich and proud heritage – it is synonymous with our national identity and who we are. It’s great to hear that our iconic buildings and fantastic cultural attractions also have a positive effect on our wellbeing too, making people happy. But not only does it make us proud Britons happy but it also puts smiles on faces of millions of overseas visitors too who are coming to experience the best of Britain in record numbers, boosting local economies up and down the country.’

View the press release 

Download the full report

Explore each of the 12 places and view a video highlighting the importance of heritage on the HLF website

IHBC newsblogs on funding

The new websites for English Heritage and Historic England are now live, ahead of their formal launch on 1 April 2015.

Visit Historic England’s website

Visit English Heritage’s website

IHBC newsblogs on heritage reform

The Scottish Government evaluation of the ePlanning portal which allows online submission of planning applications estimates that the system has resulted in a £71 million saving for businesses and members of the public by reducing ‘red tape’.

The Scottish Government writes:
Over 100,000 people and businesses have saved an average of £241 by submitting online planning applications to the ePlanning Scotland website, since its launch in 2009.  By 2019, the site that was designed to modernise the planning system is forecast to save members of the public and businesses over £71 million.  It provides an easy-to-use online system to complete and send in planning applications and appeals across all Scottish planning authorities.

More than 60 per cent of all applications and appeals are now being submitted online as opposed to using traditional paper based postal applications.  Speaking ahead of his keynote address at the Cosla annual conference in Crieff later this morning, Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil said: ‘A modern and efficient planning system plays a crucial role in helping drive Scotland’s sustainable economic growth.  For years, members of the public and the business community across Scotland were mired in red tape. Filling out paperwork was laborious and costly.  ePlanning Scotland has improved the overall performance of the planning system by encouraging online applications, which has simplified the process and saved money.  It demonstrates the Scottish Government’s continued commitment to supporting high quality public services in partnership with local government.  These figures demonstrate that good progress is being made, but there is more to do to make planning much more user friendly.’

Edinburgh-based architect David Blaikie said: ’ePlanning has led the way and as a practice, we find the service easy and effective to use.  The design of the on-line portal – the selection of the correct form, information about the required drawings and options for payment method – all makes the submission of an application straight forward. Rather than printing drawings and filling in forms, the digital ePlanning system provides a submission system that fits in with the way we work.’

View the news release

Access the e-planning Scotland portal

The Welsh Government has announced that funding will continue to be available for housing enabler projects for rural areas, and celebrated the success of the initiatives implemented to date. 

The Welsh Government writes:
Minister with responsibility for housing, Lesley Griffiths, has approved funding to continue the good work of rural housing champions in communities across Wales.

Rural Housing Enablers (RHEs) work closely with communities to develop affordable housing projects – providing homes for local people and sustaining rural communities.  The lack of affordable housing is one of the most serious issues facing communities in the countryside. The Welsh Government recognises good quality, affordable housing is fundamental in tackling poverty and helping these areas to thrive.

Rural Housing Enabler projects have been responsible for 200 new affordable homes, with approximately 200 more in the pipeline. Yesterday’s announcement of £200,000 over the next two years will ensure this innovative work continues.  Lesley Griffiths made the announcement at the Rural Regeneration Conference in Newtown, Powys organised by Crew Regeneration Wales and Community Housing Cymru (CHC). The Minister said: ‘The lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest problems for people living in rural Wales. Good quality, affordable housing is fundamental to ensure people are able to stay in these areas, sustaining the communities for generations to come.

The work of RHEs in Wales is vital. They are strong champions for rural communities, producing evidence of the need for affordable homes in specific areas, identifying suitable housing sites, engaging with the community and assisting with local planning and housing policy. Ultimately, through working closely with partners and the community, they provide much-needed homes for local people.  It is for this reason I am pleased to be able to announce the continued funding support from the Welsh Government for the RHEs’ important work across Wales.’

Group Chief Executive of CHC Stuart Ropke said: ‘Housing is the lifeblood of any sustainable rural community. A lack of affordable housing means a lack of people, which means a decreasing need for rural services and local amenities. We welcome this funding and will continue to support RHEs to provide much needed homes and in doing so, tackle issues such as rural poverty and rural fuel poverty.’

At the conference, the Minister set out the action taking place across the Welsh Government to ensure rural Wales is vibrant and prosperous, and updated delegates on the progress made on providing affordable homes across Wales.  The Minister added:

‘This Government set an ambitious target of 10,000 affordable homes during this Assembly term. We are making excellent progress on this target, with almost 6,900 additional affordable homes delivered so far. This is incredibly encouraging. Housing associations and other key partners have made a very significant contribution to this achievement and I would like to thank them for their continuing work to provide safe and secure homes for people across Wales.’

View the news release

IHBC newsblogs on housing

The Chairman of Natural England (NE) has highlighted the important role of conservation covenants in conserving and enhancing the appearance of the natural environment over generations. 

Natural England writes:
Conservation covenants could allow landowners to protect their environment in perpetuity says Andrew Sells, Chairman of Natural England. 

The importance of this country’s treasured landscapes to our economy, our health and our sense of identity is perhaps greater now than it has ever been. And yet protecting our natural heritage is often seen as a long-term investment made unaffordable by society’s more pressing day-to-day needs.  I believe there is a way forward that can help landowners and communities to protect the many benefits of the environment for generations into the future.  By using an agreement known as a conservation covenant, landowners in England and Wales could, for the first time, protect their environment not only during their tenure but in perpetuity if they wished.  For example, the owner of some woodland enjoyed by the local community may wish to leave the land to her children. She wants to ensure that the woodland is maintained for public enjoyment but doubts that future generations would share her priorities. A conservation covenant would achieve her aims.

A scheme for conservation covenants in England and Wales was recommended by the Law Commission in June last year. A conservation covenant is a voluntary, private agreement between a landowner and a conservation body – such as Natural England or a local wildlife trust – to do or not do something on their land for a conservation purpose. Made in the public interest, it continues to be effective even after the land changes hands. Conservation covenants operate in other countries such as Scotland, USA and Canada, but not yet in England and Wales.  As Chairman of Natural England I have had the privilege of visiting some of our finest landscapes and wildlife sites and have been struck by the generosity and hard work of people who look after these special places for the greater good of mankind and wildlife. Most of them I’m sure would love to know that their endeavours provided a lasting legacy beyond their lifetime.

Of course legal protection of our cherished landscape is nothing new, the biggest stride for conservation in this country coming with the establishment of the National Parks system in 1949. Further legislation, environmentally-friendly farming schemes and the designation of Sites of Special Scientific Interest have all moved things forward. Conservation covenants would augment these essential protections. They would give more conservation powers to those closely connected with the landscape.

Consider the farmer who has successfully created a species-rich meadow, but fears that later generations might return the land to production – a conservation covenant would avoid this. Such people can identify sites that would otherwise struggle to receive statutory protection, be it a tiny patch of land or a larger area close to a nature reserve; the kind of small link in a bigger chain that helps to create ‘wildlife corridors’, as envisaged by Sir John Lawton in his excellent report ‘Making Space for Nature’. This is grassroots decision-making at its best, providing a community-led approach to conservation.

One thing I keep asking myself is ‘how do we protect farmland, which has delivered environmental gains in return for public money, once that funding ends’? At present these agri-environment schemes provide benefits, such as winter food for birds or wildflower habitat for bees and butterflies, over the course of 10 years. If the landowner wanted to create a longer-term legacy, they could enter into a voluntary conservation covenant and see these benefits run beyond the term of the agri-environment agreement.  Conservation covenants could also be used as alternatives to land purchases by conservation organisations (or used to protect sites when they sell land). They can help the local economy, perhaps by enabling a flood-hit business community to pay a landowner to plant woodland upstream to reduce run-off.

There must, of course, be checks and balances in place, along with some flexibility. If a site can no longer fulfil its original conservation purpose then the current landowner and conservation body could agree to modify or terminate the covenant. And if an area of land covered by a conservation covenant were to be overwhelmingly needed for some other purpose by the community or nation then it could be subject to compulsory purchase.

Conservation covenants are a compelling concept, ensuring that future generations can reap the rewards of our investment in the natural environment.

View the news release

IHBC newsblogs on conservation covenants

During 2016 (to coincide with the 300 anniversary of Capability Brown) VisitEngland are to promote a ‘Year of the English Garden’ and are currently inviting event submissions.

The Heritage Alliance writes:
What to send VisitEngland:

• Capability’ Brown events – please include the event name, garden, location, date (if available), short description (75 words max), website and ideally a high res image. Send to amanda.sillito@visitengland.org
• Private ‘Capability’ Brown gardens opening to the public in 2016 – please include garden name, location, opening dates, short description (75 words max), website (if available) and ideally a high res image. Send to amanda.sillito@visitengland.org
• Images – VisitEngland is also creating a gardens gallery on VisitEngland Images – their free image library for media, travel trade and editorial use. If you have any fantastic, high quality images of ‘Capability’ Brown gardens that you’d like to include, please contact michelle.wood@visitengland.org who will provide more details on how to supply images.

There is an initial VisitEngland submission deadline of end April 2015. For more information see the Capability Brown website at www.capabilitybrown.org.

IHBC NewsBlogs on historic gardens and landscapes 

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has dismissed an appeal over developer Thornhill Estates’ 400-home development proposed for Farsley in west Yorkshire which Leeds City Council had failed to determine in the prescribed period.

Planning Portal writes:
The planning inspector who held the initial appeal inquiry recommended the outline scheme should be allowed. However, the Secretary of State intervened and requested the inquiry should be reopened to consider housing issues.

By the time this was held the council’s Core Strategy had been found to be sound. The inspector subsequently recommended the appeal should be refused, a stance agreed by the Secretary of State.

Pickles agreed with the inspector that the scheme would result in an adverse impact on the character and identity of the local areas as well as involving the loss of a key site for the local bat population.

Pickles’ decision letter concluded he was satisfied that the council [has] now identified a five year supply of housing land in an up-to-date core strategy without the appeal site, so the presumption in the [National Planning Policy] Framework in favour of sustainable development does not apply’.

‘Furthermore the adverse impacts on local character and identity count against the proposed scheme and the Secretary of State considers it appropriate for the council to proceed to identify the most sustainable sites through the preparation and adoption of its site allocations plan.’

Read the full decision letter

Search Planning Portal

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has delivered his last Budget of this parliament offering little hope for the infrastructure of heritage management or its role in sustainable development, though outlining some relevant changes, with headline changes that include:

• allowing public spending to grow in line with national income in 2019-20, ending the public spending cuts a year earlier than planned
• extending the City Deal model to Aberdeen, Cardiff and Inverness – City Deals being agreements that allow the city to take responsibility for decisions that affect its area, including helping businesses grow, creating economic growth and decide how public money should be spent – and to expand a number of Enterprise Zones
• consultations that could affect the heritage: on the reform of the compulsory purchase regime, to support the government’s commitment to improve the consenting programme for support brownfield development, and on the reform of the Landfill Communities Fund to accelerate the spending of funds on community projects, reduce administrative costs and simplify administrative processes
• that the Government will provide a further £40 million to the Listed Places of Worship – Roof Repair Fund to support vital roof repairs in 2015 to 2017
• so-called capacity funding to support Bicester’s ambition to become a garden town and £1m funding to allow the London Land Commission to produce a database of public sector land and map all brown field land in the capital
• confirming proposals to devolve planning powers over sightlines and wharves to the Mayor London.

Compulsory purchase regime consultation

Consultation on the Landfill Communities fund

Roof repair schemes

Search Planning Portal

Full details of the budget

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has changed his stance and approved planning permission for Lark Energy’s proposed 24 megawatt solar farm on Ellough Airfield in Suffolk originally refused by Waveney District Council and initially blocked by him.

The scheme, originally a 30MW array, was refused by Pickles against the advice of the inspector who held the recovered appeal hearing.

However, a subsequent High Court ruling quashed the Secretary of State’s decision and a second inquiry took place.

In the meantime, the solar developer obtained planning permission from the local planning authority for a 14MW solar farm on the northern part of the former airfield. That scheme is currently operating.

This time round the Secretary of State agreed with the inspector that the benefits of the scheme outweighed the limited adverse impact on the settings of nearby listed buildings and the local landscape.

His decision letter said: ‘The significant benefits of the proposal outweigh the limited harm to the character and appearance of the countryside.’

In a separate move, Pickles has dismissed an appeal over a 6.2MW solar farm proposed for a site at St Erth, near Hayle in Cornwall. The scheme had been refused by Cornwall Council. The inspector who held the recovered appeal also recommended refusal.

Pickles agreed with the inspector that the impact of the scheme on nearby homes would be so ‘visually oppressive and overbearing’ that the dwellings would become unattractive places to live in.

Suffolk case details

Cornish case details

Search Planning Portal

The National Association of Local Councils, CPRE and Civic Voice have teamed up to call for political parties to include the community right of appeal within their manifestos.

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) writes:
A new powerful alliance of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and Civic Voice has called on all political parties to make a firm manifesto commitment to introduce a community right of appeal into the planning system.

The alliance believes that all political parties should support local ambitions by introducing a limited community right of appeal in areas where a development is non-compliant with a neighbourhood plan or local plan. Currently parish councils and other community groups have the power to produce neighbourhood plans, but no scope to stop developers overriding this by putting in speculative planning applications for approval by the district council. Budget cuts within local authorities mean that they are under increasing pressure to allow large developments, even when these are not in line with the community’s aspirations for the future of its area.

The call was made on 14 March 2014 at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference where the three organisations have joined together with Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham Martin Horwood aMP to hold a debate on the benefits of such a right.

Martin Horwood said: ‘the introduction of a Community Right of Appeal could be triggered when a high threshold of community opposition was reached. Grounds for appeal could include insufficient infrastructure, non-compliance with government guidance and non-compliance with a local neighbourhood plan. We can all think of examples across Cheltenham when this right could have been used and there must be thousands across the Country.’

CPRE chief executive, Shaun Spiers said: ‘The planning system needs to be rebalanced to give communities the right to stand up to bullying developers and appeal against planning decisions which ignore local or neighbourhood plans. The grounds on which developers can appeal should be restricted and a limited community right of appeal introduced. The vast majority of planning applications would be unaffected by such measures, but they would provide important safeguards to ensure communities can resist unsustainable development proposals.’

Freddie Gick, chair of Civic Voice said: ‘At present, the only recourse for the public against poor planning decisions is judicial review. A right of appeal would give local people a real opportunity to have a say and would rebalance the planning system and help deliver true localism.’

NALC chairman, Cllr Ken Browse said: ‘The voice of local people through the local (town and parish) councils should always be at the heart of planning. To some extent this is being achieved through the statutory neighbourhood plan. But communities via local councils feel that their planning demands are being ignored and there is still the potential for developers to try and ride roughshod against the neighbourhood plan. So a ‘right of appeal’ would stop this planning injustice.’

The three organisations have published their own individual manifestos and are each calling for a community right of appeal within them.

Search Planning Portal

View the news release

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has published its responses to recent consultations on the use of planning conditions, the consent process for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) and changes to statutory consultee arrangements.

Planning Portal writes:
As a result DCLG, has decided to amend secondary legislation so it can introduce an additional requirement for local authorities to justify the use of pre-commencement planning conditions. It has also confirmed it will reduce the time limit for fee refunds in respect of confirmation of compliance with planning conditions from 12 to eight weeks.

However, it has decided for the time being not to go-head with its proposal to require councils to share draft planning conditions with applicants before deciding major planning applications.

Under the regime for NSIPs developers can ask the Government to make a single development consent order (DCO) for large infrastructure projects, removing the requirement to obtain other planning authorisations.

Under changes just announced applicants will have the choice to include in any DCO consents which involve discharges for works purposes and trade effluents without first obtaining agreement from the relevant consenting bodies.

Similar provision would be made for obtaining European protected species licences for the construction phase of NSIPs, DCLG said. This would take place ‘early in the next Parliament, when a suitable legislative vehicle is identified’.

The department said that the streamlining of consents for flood defences, water abstraction, water impoundment and ground water investigation would follow ‘between 2015 and 2017’. It has not yet decided whether these consents would form part of the DCO process or the environmental permit regime.

In addition, DCLG has now agreed changes to statutory consultee arrangements in respect of lead local flood authorities in respect of major planning applications with surface water drainage implications.

In addition, it has agreed the removal or alteration of a number of statutory consultation requirements affecting the Environment Agency.

The department has also signaled it plans to go-ahead with moves to make water companies statutory consultees in respect of shale oil and gas developments. This includes fracking.

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