1. home and garden

Planning and Environmental News from CPRE South East
Green Belt and Greenfield
CPRE research shows that more houses are planned for
green belt land than when the NPPF was introduced. The
report, Green Belt under siege: the NPPF three years on,
found that over 219,000 houses are planned for England‟s
Green Belt, 60,000 more than in August 2013. Paul Miner
said:
Ministers have quite rightly resisted the siren calls of
some organisations to relax controls over development in
the green belt. Yet, our new research shows that large
scale development is already planned - despite existing
protections, the availability of brownfield land and
community objections
London City Region. International architect Aecom has
drawn up a 10 point manifesto spelling out how London
might look in 2065
. It calls for a collaborative,
region-wide approach to tackle major challenges in
housing, infrastructure, transport and planning. It says the
London City Region, broadly an area within 60 miles of
the centre, is expected to grow to 30 million people by
2065. It recommends the creation of the London City
Region Board – with public and private membership – to
address challenges in infrastructure, planning, transport
and housing. It predicts a one-million-unit housing
shortfall before the mid-2030s “could cause social and
economic divide lasting generations.” It wants an
approach to planning that goes beyond London and
concentrates development on rail station catchment areas.
The company says the “reluctance to discuss a
comprehensive review of the Metropolitan Green Belt is
major obstacle”.
Undeveloped station catchments outside
Greater London (Aecom)
Brownfield adequate for London. The capital does not
need to expand beyond its existing limits into the green
belt and can meet all of its housing need on brownfield
sites, according to Sir Edward Lister, London‟s deputy
mayor for planning. He said:
We’re not arguing that we need to expand beyond our
borders – that’s not a London argument. We’re saying we
can meet our demand within London on our brownfield
sites. We believe fundamentally that we can build on the
38 opportunity areas. We do not need to do a green belt
review; we do not need to go outside of London. We
believe we can meet our needs within London.
Demystifying Green Infrastructure. A report from the UK
Green Building Council urges the property industry to
play a leading role in protecting and enhancing natural
features and biodiversity in towns and cities through green
infrastructure
. John Alker said:
We have to shed the image of green infrastructure as a
fluffy optional extra, an additional cost or an
unnecessary burden. There are a growing number of
clients and developers demonstrating that green
infrastructure is absolutely central to quality placemaking, and that there is a clear business case for it.
This has to become the norm.
Kilnwood Vale in West Sussex is among the case studies
in the report, along with Tadpole Garden Village in
Wiltshire, Trumpington Meadows, Cambridge and several
other rural and urban examples.
Green villages. Councils who agree to build garden
villages should be off-limits to developers seeking appeals
against housing refusals, according to report written by
Lord Matthew Taylor for the Policy Exchange. The
Garden Villages report says that over one million new
homes could be built over the next decade if each of the
353 councils in England built one garden village of 3,000
homes
.
Green Gaps Won & Lost
Cheshire green gap battle won. A high court judge has
ruled in favour of Cheshire East council and rejected a
planning inspector‟s approval of a scheme for 146 homes
in the green gap between Nantwich and Crewe. Justice
Lang said the council‟s green gap policy should not be set
aside simply because the council did not currently enjoy a
five-year supply of housing land. She drew a clear
distinction between housing policies, which become outof-date without adequate housing supply, and policies that
protect the countryside, which do not become out-of-date,
including those that protect green gaps. The appeal will
now be reheard
. Earlier, Eric Pickles threw out a
proposal from Gladman Developments for 300 homes in
the same green gap
.
Sussex green gap battle lost. A planning inspector has
allowed an appeal between Haywards Heath and
Cuckfield. His decision was made before the Cheshire
high court judgement and he ruled that a saved local plan
policy to protect the green gap was a policy for the supply
of housing. It was therefore out-of-date as Mid Sussex
does not have a five year land supply. The development
would intrude into the gap but would not lead to
coalescence of settlements. Landscape impacts would also
be local. The inspector concluded that the benefits of the
housing, 30% affordable, would outweigh any damage
caused
.
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Planning and Environmental News from CPRE South East
NPPF Changes Rejected
NPPF changes rejected. The government has discarded
most of the recommendations for changes to the NPPF
made by the select committee on local government before
Christmas (
; for a summary of the recommendations
see ). The government has said „no‟ to a tighter
definition of sustainable development and „no‟ to a rule
restricting development on ancient woodland to
exceptional circumstances. It was also „no‟ to introducing
a new section in the NPPF setting out responsibilities of
developers and to measures to strengthen protection of
town centres. Ministers rejected a recommendation that all
sites with planning permission should count towards five
year land supply but said they will consider amending
planning guidance to clarify the operation of the five-year
housing land supply.
Green belts. The government has thrown out
recommendations that neighbourhood plans should be able
to override green belt protection and that all local
authorities should review the size and boundaries of the
their green belts.
Local plans. The government has agreed to look at
clarifying the NPPF or planning guidance to encourage
local authorities not to produce lengthy local plans. It
rejects new legislation to place an obligation on local
authorities to produce a local plan within three years. It
also rejects a recommendation that neighbourhood plans
cannot be finalised until the local plan is adopted. The
government is clear it will not back down on permitted
development rights for office to residential conversions.
Sustainability. The select committee also made
recommendations on sustainability in planning practice
guidance. The government says the need to give equal
weight to each of the three dimensions of sustainable
development “is already clear”. It then adds in a somewhat
contradictory fashion: “The weight that is attached to any
particular pillar of sustainable development will depend to
some extent on the type and location of what is proposed.”
Reaction. Communities and local government committee
chairman Clive Betts described the response as
“complacent”
:
Our report didn’t call for an overhaul of the NPPF but
rather a series of changes aimed at ensuring it does the
job it is intended to do. By refusing to countenance these
changes, the government risks damaging the good work
that went into producing the NPPF and undermining the
confidence of communities across the country in both the
planning system and local decision making.
The Woodland Trust criticised the government‟s response
for suggesting that the NPPF offers strong protection of
ancient woodland
Household Projections
Households to grow by a quarter. The government‟s
estimates of household growth to 2037 have been
published
. There has been concern that this
would lead to a scramble to update housing numbers in
existing and emerging local plans. However, the
communities department has revised national planning
practice guidance to make clear that mean that housing
assessments are not automatically rendered out-of-date
every time new projections are issued .
Slower growth. The projections show a slightly lower rate
of growth from the 2011 estimates. New households will
grow faster than the population as the average occupancy
shrinks from 2.36 people to 2.21. The total number of
households in England is projected to grow from 22.3
million to 27.5 million by 2037 – an increase of quarter on
2012 (24%), equivalent to an average of 210,000
additional households per year. This is lower than the
previous estimate of a 232,000 increase predicted for
2008-2033.
South East. Households in Oxfordshire and Hampshire are
set to grow more slowly than the South East and England
average. The highest growth of households is expected in
Buckinghamshire, West Sussex and Kent. Slough will be
the fastest growing district outside London in percentage
terms, with a 42% growth in households by 2037. Milton
Keynes unitary authority will need to build homes for an
extra 36,710 households between 2012 and 2037; 1,468
dwellings a year; a growth of 37% from the base year of
2012 to 2027. No other council outside London will have
to build so many homes to keep up with population and
household growth. Full details by county and district.
28.6% 28.6% 29.0%
30%
23.5%
25%
20.1%
24.9%
26.0% 26.3% 26.6%
21.5%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Projected household growth 2012 to 2037 (%)
Oxford. In December, Oxford city council said that the
city will need to build between 24,000 and 32,000 homes
between 2011 and 2031. The government‟s statistics
suggest that only 7,687 new households will be created
between 2012 and 2032. Even allowing for catch up on
any shortfall from 2012 and for dealing with
overcrowding and hidden homeless, there is a big
disparity between the council‟s claims and the
government‟s projections.
Building shortfall. Despite a cut of 22,000 dwellings a
year from previous estimates, the current projection of
210,000 households annually is still far higher than the
145,174 new homes registered with the National House
Building Council last year .
Ap. The communities department has produced an online
application that displays population characteristics for
local authorities .
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Planning and Environmental News from CPRE South East
Housing
Green building. The Code for Sustainable Homes has
been dropped by the government, which claims it is
covered by planning practice guidance. The Building
Research Establishment has now replaced the code with
the Home Quality Mark, which awards up to five stars
depending on householder costs, impact on health and
wellbeing and environmental performance
. The
government has exempted schemes of 10 or fewer homes
from the „allowable‟ solutions element of the zero carbon
standard. These developments will not be required to
implement off-site carbon abatement measures. The
standard for zero carbon homes from 2016 has been set at
Level 4 of the former Code for Sustainable Homes
.
Support for building. Results from the British Social
Attitude survey showed 56% of those questioned support
new housebuilding in their area – 28 points higher than in
2010
. In 2010, 46% said they would oppose new
homes being built in their local area compared to 31% in
2013. This fell to only 21% in 2014. The majority of
respondents said a cash payment to households close to a
proposed development would make no difference to their
level of support (65%), whilst a significant minority at
16% would become more or much more opposed to
development. More than half, opposed office to residential
permitted development rights (52%). Rural dwellers,
homeowners and people aged 55-64 years were the most
likely to be opposed to new housing development.
Hastoe report. Rural affordable homes should be exempt
from the bedroom tax, the Right to Buy and 80% market
rents to protect rural communities, a report from the Rural
Housing Policy Review Group said. The report,
Affordable Housing: A fair deal for rural communities,
calls for a minimum of 13% of the affordable homes
programme to be built in rural areas. The group, chaired
by Lord Best, also wants the exemption from providing
affordable housing on small sites to be scrapped .
Councils should lead. In an independent report to the
government, housing association chair Natalie Elphicke
and Keith House, leader of Eastleigh council argued
councils should become housing delivery enablers. They
say councils should assess local housing needs and work
with businesses and housing associations to provide the
homes their residents want and need. The authors also
called for clearer NPPF rules on strategic housing market
assessments
. The government has accepted the
author‟s plea for the government to establish a privately
funded Housing Finance Institute to address the skills and
knowledge gap in delivering local authority housing .
Housebuilding. Housebuilding slowed marginally by
0.2% in the last quarter of 2014 . New build affordable
housing dropped by 4% last year .
Planning guidance strengthened. Last year, the
government controversially changed planning guidance to
exempt developments of ten homes or fewer from paying
a contribution towards affordable housing. This is being
challenged in the courts by West Berkshire council and
Reading council . Shropshire council has said its local
policies override national guidance . Now, the
communities department has changed national planning
practice guidance to emphasise that the affordable housing
exemptions are national and ministerial policy. The move
will make it harder for local councils to claim local
policies take precedence over ministerial dictats
.
Brownfield Starter Homes
David Cameron announced that the Conservatives plan to
make 200,000 homes available to first time buyers under
40 years of age at a 20% discount. This extends the offer
of 100,000 homes made in December. The 20% saving
will come from waiving S106 affordable housing
agreements on homes on brownfield land. The
government also plans to bring in legislation in the next
parliament to exempt starter homes from the community
infrastructure levy
. The
exception site policy encourages applications on underused or unviable industrial and commercial land that has
not been currently identified for housing. The starter
homes will be counted as affordable housing under the
NPPF. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis suggested the
scheme could be extended to greenfield sites:
We will also consider further how the development of
more starter homes can be encouraged through further
planning reforms, including the opportunity to use other
forms of land.
Guidance. The government has issued planning guidance
which allows local authorities to include small numbers of
market houses on the sites if necessary for financial
viability. It also says: “Local planning authorities will still
be able to seek other section 106 contributions to mitigate
the impact of development to make it acceptable in
planning terms, including addressing any necessary
infrastructure” .
Reaction. Birmingham City University planning professor
Alister Scott said the fees paid by developers usually
provide vital infrastructure that new houses need:
This is like a Ryanair approach to housing, reducing
basic services to a minimal level. It will likely lead to
more community disintegration and polarisation, as new
communities are not going to be serviced by resources
and services that homes and communities need.
Landscape Institute president Noel Farrer also sounded a
note of caution
:
Design quality needs to be at the top of the agenda for
starter homes. CIL and section 106 payments are often
used to create the infrastructure that makes a place
liveable as well as desirable. This will include schools
and health centres as well as parks, playgrounds and
other public amenities that make up a good
neighbourhood and a great place to live. The creation of
poor quality places is short-sighted. We have demolished
poor housing in poor housing areas across our cities that
have been built in the last 50 years. We need to avoid
making this mistake again.
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Planning and Environmental News from CPRE South East
Planning
Better use of brownfield. A research paper from CPRE
concludes that better data collection and community
engagement hold the key to advancing housing
development on brownfield land. It wants measures to
improve community engagement in planning, such as
citizen forums, and to increase custom and self-build
housing on large-scale brownfield sites
. The
government has released enough unused public sector land
to build over 103,000 new homes .
67 cities. The Future Spaces Foundation says garden cities
outside the green belt are not the solution to housing
shortages :
You would need 67 garden cities of 30,000 population to
address the projected shortage of one million homes in
London and the Home Counties over the next 25 years…
675km² of land – equivalent to 6.8% of unprotected and
unbuilt land within a 50 mile radius of London... We
should keep urban and non-urban areas clearly
separated, and densify the current cities and towns
rather than opening up new construction zones across
the countryside.
Eco towns policy cancelled. Planning minister Brandon
Lewis has cancelled the Eco Towns Planning Policy
Statement, with the exception of policies relating to NW
Bicester which remain in place until the Cherwell local
plan completes its examination . The TCPA said it is
dismayed by the move
. Cherwell councillor Barry
Wood of the district council had lobbied hard to ensure
that the Bicester section of the PPS was preserved .
Older people. The government has updated national
planning practice guidance to ensure councils plan
adequately for elderly people “to allow them to live
independently and safely in their own home for as long as
possible, or to move to more suitable accommodation if
they so wish.” The guidance promotes better availability
of bungalows, adaptations to existing properties and
additional supported housing
.
Local plans. The Planning Advisory Service has published
a briefing note which outlines examples of developments
that have been refused on appeal despite the local council
having an out-of-date local plan or lacking a five year land
supply . The high court threw out a bid by Gladman
Developments to get the housing targets in the Stafford
Borough Plan raised
. Local and neighbourhood
plans will no longer be able to set standards for
construction and performance of housing and, from
October, water efficiency .
Planners and scrutiny. The Institute for Fiscal Studies
said local authorities have cut spending on planning and
development departments by more than 50% in the last
five years . A House of Lords select committee on
placemaking and built environment policy is to be
established after the general election
.
Local enterprise partnerships. Localis has published a
review of the future of LEPs in the next parliament. It says
that “while the 39 LEPs have developed into substantial
operators – £18.5bn of public money has already been
allocated to them – many think LEPs are only halfway to a
success story, failing to reflect the localist rhetoric upon
which they were formed.” Localis says LEPs could boost
the English economy by £144 billion by 2020
.
Town centres. The Digital High Street Advisory Board
has issued five-year strategy to reinvigorate the high
streets in the UK, including four digital initiatives .
Kick start your high street is an online toolkit aims to help
retailers, councils and community leaders revive
challenging high streets
. The government has
extended permitted development rights to allow wider
changes of use between shops, financial and professional
services, including to restaurant or leisure use
Agricultural buildings. Between July and September 2014,
64% of applications to convert barns to housing were
refused by councils. Nearly 60 authorities refused all
applications. A lack of clarity in legislation is blamed .
The government has now issued new planning guidance
that clarifies and expands the rights that cover conversion
of agricultural buildings to schools or nurseries, dwellings
or flexible use. Flexible use includes shops, financial and
professional services, restaurants and cafés, business,
storage or distribution, hotels or assembly and leisure .
Neighbourhood Planning
Pickles protects plans. Eric Pickles has continued for the
most part to protect emerging neighbourhood plans by
rejecting appeals that would predetermine types and
locations of development. However, he allowed an appeal
for 28 homes on a reserve site in Leicestershire, saying the
neighbourhood plan was silent on the landscape value of
the site and the council lacked a five year land supply .
East Sussex. Mr Pickles rejected an appeal for the
construction of 18 homes around an area of open space in
Sedlescombe, East Sussex. The neighbourhood plan had
been submitted for examination at the time of the inquiry
and Rother council has a five year land supply. Eric
Pickles said that the plan conflicts with the core strategy
and the emerging neighbourhood plan: “Granting planning
permission for eighteen dwellings on the appeal site would
undermine the neighbourhood plan process by predetermining decisions about the location of housing
development that are central to an emerging plan”
.
Bucks, Winslow. Gladman Developments has failed again
to get planning permission for 100 homes outside the
development boundary on the east side of Winslow
.
Eric Pickles accepted that Aylesbury Vale lacks a five
year land supply rendering its local housing policies out of
date. He said the scheme‟s contribution to housing supply,
including 35% affordable dwellings, attracted substantial
weight in favour of approving the scheme. However:
The sharp transition from town to countryside,
particularly on the east of Winslow is a valued feature of
the town’s character, and that the proposed development
would appear as incongruous, intrusive and on the
‘wrong’ side of the most obvious and logical boundary.
Of Winslow‟s adopted neighbourhood plan, he said:
The secretary of state regards this purpose as more than a
statement of aspiration. He considers neighbourhood
plans, once made part of the development plan, should be
upheld as an effective means to shape and direct
development in the neighbourhood planning area.
Accordingly he gave “significant weight to the conflict
with the neighbourhood plan policies which designate a
settlement boundary, even though its policies relevant to
housing land supply are out of date.” He said: “This adds
to the already compelling rationale to dismiss the appeal.”
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Planning and Environmental News from CPRE South East
Bucks, Haddenham. Eric Pickles has instructed Aylesbury
Vale council not to issue planning permission for 280
homes on 22 hectares of farmland to the south-east of
Haddenham without his authorisation. Aylesbury Vale
council has recently consulted on the Haddenham
neighbourhood plan which allocated just 43 dwellings to
the disputed site
.
Campaigning and Communities
Historic changes. Sajid Javid, the UK culture secretary,
announced the final details of the future of English
Heritage. The organisation will be split on 1 April, with its
regulatory role going to a new body Historic England and
its properties to a charity keeping the name English
Heritage. He said the establishment of English Heritage as
a charity is a “revolutionary” development . Kate
Mavor will become chief executive
. Duncan Wilson
has been appointed the first chief executive of Historic
England, which will take on English Heritage‟s advisory
functions, including commenting on planning applications
and listed buildings . Geoffrey Lean asked whether the
new bodies will have sufficient funding for their work .
Rural communities. After signatures to a petition rose
above 10,000, Defra agreed to £2 million funding for
ACRE, which supports rural community councils .
Broadband. Internet connections in many rural areas still
languish at 20th-century speeds
. The slowest place
for broadband is in Romney Marsh, which has an average
download speed of 0.54Mbps. According to uSwitch, 34%
of the U K still struggles with sub 5Mbps speeds, while
23% makes do with speeds of less than 3Mbps .
Landscapes and Farming
Plans for the Glebe, Haddenham
Northants sprawl blocked. Pickles overturned his
inspector‟s recommendation to reject plans for up to 85
dwellings and public open space at Earls Barton,
Northamptonshire . Acknowledging the lack of five
year land supply, he said that the plans conflicted with the
emerging neighbourhood plan, which “has been
wholeheartedly embraced by the Earls Barton
community.” Mr Pickles said he considered that the
development would erode the open countryside abutting
the village boundary and would lead to loss of best and
most versatile agricultural land:
He gives significant weight to the combined harm from
the impression of sprawl, the reduction in visual amenity
arising from urbanisation of the public footpath through
the appeal site and the strong possibility of the loss of
some best and most versatile agricultural land.
South East referendums. In Buckinghamshire, residents
of Wing, Great Horwood and Chalfont St Peter voted in
favour of their neighbourhood plans (94% „yes‟; 91%;
79%). Further details are in the March Buckinghamshire
eBulletin . In Ardingly, Mid Sussex 88% voted „yes‟
, and in Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common, 92% . The
neighbourhood plan for Newick, Lewes was approved by
89% . At Denmead, Winchester the vote in favour was
66% . Voters in Milton Keynes will be voting on a
neighbourhood plan for the central business district on 7
May
. Residents of Bletchley will also vote on plans
to reinvigorate the Lake Estate .
Roundup. The government has launched a £22 million
fund to support neighbourhood plans
. The
communities department has published a short briefing on
the first 50 neighbourhood plans to be approved at
referendum . Lawrence Weston, an estate on the edge of
Bristol, has produced an animated film about its
neighbourhood plan .
Food. Environment secretary Liz Truss launched a second
round of Food Enterprise Zones
. Farmers are
warning that tighter water extraction rules will have a
major impact on food production .
Natural capital. In its final report, the Natural Capital
Committee said nature is in long term decline and a 25
year strategy is needed to restore it. The committee called
on the government to tackle air pollution, improve
farming‟s green track record and create new urban green
space and wetlands. The report has upset
environmentalists by backing biodiversity offsetting and
for supporting fracking providing the operations fund
improvements to the natural environment
.
Marine. Defra is seeking views on its proposals to
designate another 23 Marine Conservation Zones (purple
on map below) and to add additional features for
conservation to 10 existing MCZ. Fourteen sites remain
under consideration for later designation (blue). Closes
24th April .
5
Planning and Environmental News from CPRE South East
Fracking
Transport
U-turn on fracking in national parks. On 26 January, the
government was accused of a u-turn when it accepted
Labour driven amendments which would ban fracking in
national parks. Now it is being accused of another u-turn,
after energy minister Amber Rudd said preventing
fracking beneath AONBs and national parks would not be
“practical” and would “unduly constrain” fracking firms
. Amber Rudd told MPs:
There is a strong case that sites such as World Heritage
sites and the Norfolk Broads should be protected from
fracking taking place under them. In other cases, that
would not be so sensible. For example, in the case of
areas of outstanding natural beauty and national parks,
given their size and dispersion, it might not be practical
to guarantee that fracking will not take place under them
in all cases without unduly constraining the industry.
Energy companies will not be allowed to base fracking
operations in protected landscapes but will be able to
station their drilling rigs outside and drill horizontally
underneath. Details of the policy will be drawn up in
secondary legislation. CPRE energy campaigner Nick
Clack said ministers had “further eroded public
confidence”. Landowners will no longer be informed if
their land is to be fracked .
Celtique Energy has said it will not appeal the decision to
refuse planning permission to test for oil and gas at
Fernhurst, West Sussex
. The company blamed
recent changes in the Infrastructure Act 2015 and national
planning practice guidance restricting unconventional oil
and gas development for its decision: “One of the
exploration aims, namely the evaluation of the shale
properties, is no longer feasible.” The company also said it
was withdrawing its appeal against West Sussex council‟s
refusal for test drilling at Wisborough Green, just outside
the national park, because the appeal could not be
concluded before its exploration licence expires in June
2016
. Friends of the Earth South East campaigner
Brenda Pollack said:
This is a tremendous victory for common sense and yet
another blow to the coalition’s short-sighted fracking
plans. The withdrawal of their appeal at Wisborough
Green was completely unexpected. It is wonderful news
for local people in those villages and beyond who do not
want dirty drilling affecting their communities.
Cuadrilla said it is “perplexed and disappointed” by the
decision of Lancashire council to reject its application to
undertake seismic and pressure monitoring work at an
existing exploratory well in Singleton
.
Regulation. The government has rejected calls to allow an
independent panel to monitor shale gas exploration sites
. However, an industry task group has asked the
government to establish a regulator as soon as possible
after the general election. The Task Force on Shale Gas
said a regulator would boost public confidence in a
complex regulatory system
. The communities
department is consulting on permitted development rights
for drilling to monitor oil and gas drilling operations,
including rigs up to 15 metres high. Closes 16 April .
MPs report on Strategic River Crossings. The Commons
transport committee says a short-term approach to
planning key infrastructure projects has left many estuary
areas in the UK with inadequate transport capacity and
poor connectivity . The committee welcomed proposals
to build a package of new river crossings in east London
saying these developments are “long overdue”. The
committee calls on the government to make meaningful
progress on building a new river crossing in the Lower
Thames to alleviate pressure on the Dartford Crossing. It
criticises Kent and Thurrock councils for their attacks on
the Department for Transport. Louise Ellman said:
Congestion delays at this pinch point cost the economy
£15 million every year. Yet ministers have done little over
the past five years to build the kind of consensus between
local authorities that is required in order to reconcile
national transport objectives and respect local concerns.
Worse, they have now said no final decision will be taken
until as late as 2016.
The committee also called on the DfT to investigate what
lessons can be learned from the introduction of the Dart
Charge, following reports that 15% of users failed to pay
during the first month after implementation. It wants an
investigation into how to make free-flow technology
interoperable with other river crossings and road charging
schemes.
The North. The new Transport for the North (TfN)
initiative has published its first strategy report – the
Northern Transport Strategy
.
High speed rail. Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin
has said that the HS2 link to Heathrow will not be built
before 2033. He said: “I would now like to make clear that
we do not intend to build the spur as part of phase 1 or 2
of the HS2 scheme”
. The government will
consider speeding up Phase 2 of the scheme to support the
Northern Transport Strategy.
Western Access to Heathrow. Network Rail is consulting
on plans for the Reading Heathrow rail link
.
Airports Commission. In its submission to the
Commission, CPRE Kent said :
The Airports Commission appears to be ignoring the
fundamental issue of environmental capacity. Increasing
the indirect stress on water supplies, impacting heavily
on the environment, in particular wildlife habitats and
countryside leisure opportunities, and affecting
resilience to flooding in a future of uncertain weather are
all aspects that must be considered… The importance of
tranquillity cannot be overstated – it is the main reason
why people enjoy the countryside and can prevent stress
and aid people’s enjoyment of exercise and play”
Gatwick has issued a guarantee to the Airports
Commission that its plans for a second runway will be
privately funded with no need for public subsidy. It says
airport charges will be capped and it would bear the “main
risks” of the expansion plan. It will pay residents £1,000
towards council tax bills if they are affected by significant
level of aircraft noise. The airport also promised that air
quality targets will “always” be met
.
6
Planning and Environmental News from CPRE South East
Energy and Recycling
Berkshire
Navitus threat to heritage status. The public inquiry into
the Navitus Bay windfarm between the Jurassic Coast and
the Isle of Wight has ended . The leader of Bournemouth
council said: “Navitus Bay threatens to industrialise and
irrevocably damage the outstandingly beautiful and
natural Dorset coast”
. Culture Secretary, Sajid Javid
warned the planning inspectorate approval could cost the
Jurassic Coast its Unesco world heritage designation .
Windfarms. Eric Pickles continues to block most
windfarms. He rejected plans for three turbines in
Cambridgeshire near Kimbolton due to harm to the setting
of heritage assets
. A six turbine scheme in
Derbyshire was also blocked on heritage impact, including
on Bolsover Castle
. A single turbine in Lincolnshire
was rejected after MoD objections and concerns about
impact on the local landscape
. He dismissed
concern over landscape impact for another scheme for
nine turbines in Lincolnshire but said the windfarm would
make living conditions for residents unacceptable . He
approved eight turbines in northeast Lincolnshire
.
Solar farms. Eric Pickles said exceptional circumstances
justified approval of a 41Mw solar farm in the AONB at
the Science Museum at Wroughton Airfield, Wiltshire. He
agreed with the inspector‟s conclusion that “there is an
identified need which cannot be met by developing
outside the AONB or in any other way, and that the
proposed development would be in the public interest.”
Mr Pickles said the need for the solar array overrode the
less than substantial harm to Barbury Castle . Also in
Wiltshire, planning permission for an already constructed
22 hectare solar farm has been quashed by a high court
judge who said the council should have consulted the
owner of nearby Grade II* Gifford Hall and English
Heritage. The judge said Wiltshire council had failed in its
duty to have special regard to preserving the setting of
listed buildings and had carried out a flawed
environmental impact assessment. He also criticised the
developer for not complying with planning permission,
including using industrial style fencing against planning
conditions. Wiltshire council will now redetermine the
planning application
. A planning
inspector rejected an appeal for a 26-hectare solar farm at
Sudbury in Suffolk citing damage to the landscape and
heritage assets
.
Solar changes. On15 April, the government is increasing
the size of solar arrays that can be installed on industrial
rooftops from under permitted development rights from
50kW to 1MW, equivalent to about 4,000 modules or
8,000 square metres . Eric Pickles also sought to clarify
the rules on use of good quality agricultural land:
We… appreciate the continuing concerns… about the
unjustified use of high quality agricultural land. We want
it to be clear that any proposal for a solar farm involving
the best and most versatile agricultural land would need
to be justified by the most compelling evidence.
Tidal. Tidal Lagoon Power has submitted an Environment
Impact Assessment scoping report for a tidal lagoon
between Newport and Cardiff which would generate
enough electricity to power every home in Wales. TLP‟s
planning application for a barrage at Swansea is currently
being considered by the planning inspectorate
.
Maidenhead. Proposals to regenerate part of the town
centre have been submitted for planning permission. They
include green roofs and a central plaza .
Wokingham. Bloor Homes is finalising planning
applications for 2,000 homes on a greenfield site at
Sandleford Park that was inspiration for Watership Down.
The site is allocated in the core strategy . Elms Field in
Wokingham looks set to get more green space .
Buckinghamshire
Masterplan for Kingsbrook
Green infrastructure. Around half of Kingsbrook, a
development of 2,450 homes, new schools and community
facilities in East Aylesbury, will be green infrastructure.
Developer Barrett has linked with AVDC and the RSPB to
plan open space, orchards, hedgehog highways, tree-lined
avenues, newt ponds and fruit trees in gardens
.
More news in the March Buckinghamshire eBulletin .
Hampshire
Basingstoke. A planning inspector has approved 120
homes in Overton, saying that Basingstoke and Deane
council lacks a five year land supply. The scheme includes
40% affordable housing provision and 5.52 hectares of
neighbourhood park and ecological buffer. The site has
been included in the local plan since planning permission
was originally refused
.
Petersfield. A planning inspector has rejected an appeal to
build 230 dwellings at Causeway Farm, Petersfield within
the South Downs National Park . The site is a reserve
site and the inspector concluded that the site was allocated
for development “but that does not mean that any
development or layout would be satisfactory.” He said
there would be considerable impact on local views,
including from footpaths. The development would extend
into the countryside well beyond the site allocation in the
draft Petersfield neighbourhood plan. Hedges and
landscaping would not mitigate this. He concluded:
The proposed development would have a substantial and
harmful impact on the character and appearance of the
surrounding area and the South Downs National Park.
7
Planning and Environmental News from CPRE South East
Selborne. A planning inspector rejected an appeal for ten
homes, four affordable, at Selborne
. The site had
previously been excluded from the East Hampshire Local
Plan due to its high landscape value and the potential
impact on the conservation area. The inspector challenged
the way that housing supply is calculated in the national
park and concluded that it does not have a five year land
supply. But he said:
The plans would degrade the predominantly linear form
of Selborne, together with the loss of views of the
countryside from the High Street, would harm the
cultural heritage of the National Park… The proposals
would fail to conserve landscape, scenic beauty and
cultural heritage in the National Park and fail to
preserve or enhance the character or the appearance of
the Conservation Area.
Wellow. Residents are protesting against a new equestrian
centre claiming that its manège lights are causing light
pollution. The owners of the centre are seeking
retrospective planning permission .
Winchester. The £165 million redevelopment of the city
centre has been thrown into doubt after a high court judge
ruled that the council broke the law by not holding a
competition for the controversial scheme. The council had
agreed to drop all affordable housing from the project,
scrap a bus station and increase retail provision at the
developer‟s behest
. Council leader Robert Humby
resigned after the court judgement
. Developer Allies
& Morrison attacked critics of the scheme who have
labelled parts of it “truly awful”. But city councillor Kim
Gottlieb said: “Some of these buildings do not belong on
an industrial site let alone the centre of the ancient capital
and „birthplace‟ of England.” Allies & Morrison claimed
the scheme had received lots of support from local people
and heritage bodies .
Windfarms. EDF Renewables has submitted an appeal
against refusal of plans for a 14 turbine windfarm at
Bullingdon Cross . The 48MW Southwick Estate Solar
Farm in Hampshire is now the UK‟s largest solar farm
following its connection to the grid .
Recycling. A review of waste collection across Hampshire
shows that recycling rates are higher for fortnightly
collections and lower where bins are collected weekly .
Kent
Maidstone. Following “a significant number” of requests
from local residents, Natural England, the RSPB and local
MPs, ministers have confirmed that they will call in the
controversial planning application for the 5,000 home
Lodge Hill settlement
.
Chatham is one of many towns wondering how to secure
regeneration after Tesco cancelled plans to build a store in
the town. Dartford and Strood are also affected . List of
abandoned stores: .
Gravesham campaigners including CPRE Kent met with
the minister for housing and planning, Brandon Lewis, to
raise concerns about a proposed green belt review .
Campaigners failed to persuade a high court judge to
quash Gravesham council‟s decision last May to grant
planning permission for 300 homes and 12,000 square
metres of retail development in the heritage quarter. Urban
Gravesham said the decision was a damning indictment of
councillors, who “have sleepwalked their way into
agreeing an over-scaled scheme”
.
Fort Halstead. Outline permission is being sought for 450
homes on a former MoD site on the North Downs scarp
near Sevenoaks. Brian Lloyd of CPRE Kent said: “It
cannot be justified to build 450 homes in a remote area,
without services and facilities, to support them”
.
Pylons. CPRE Kent and Canterbury‟s MP are objecting to
50m high pylons from Canterbury to Richborough. It
wants the cables buried underground
. The
pylons also threaten ancient woodland .
Romney Marsh. Save Our Marsh Block Rural
Exploitation (Sombre) has launched a campaign to make
Romney Marsh England‟s 11th national park
.
Oxfordshire
Allies & Morrison plans for Winchester city centre
Developers say they are not “truly awful”
Worting. A planning inspector has allowed an appeal for
70 dwellings, partly in a conservation area, in a village of
28 homes near Basingstoke. He disagreed with English
Heritage that the development would cause substantial
harm to the significance of the conservation area and ruled
that the lack of five year land supply meant the benefits of
the new housing outweighed any harm
.
Port Meadow. A proposal to lower the height of Oxford
University‟s Castle Mill student flats complex has been
thrown out by Oxford University‟s congregation; 1,698
voted against the proposal with just 460 in favour.
Campaigners want six of the five-storey blocks at Port
Meadow to be lowered by a floor in order to restore views
of the Oxford skyline
Oxford Student Union opposed
the plan to reduce the impact of the blocks: “The students
of Oxford, will not standby quietly whilst the university
uses our money to remove family accommodation, push
rents up, and jeopardise graduate scholarships” .
Campaigners are considering a legal challenge .
Green belt. BBOWT‟s Matt Johnson argued: “It‟s wrong
to assume that green belt and an area rich in wildlife are
synonymous… Creating green networks could be more
important for people and wildlife in the long term than
protecting all of the green belt” .
Transport. Oxfordshire council is consulting on its Local
Transport Plan 2015-2031 until 2 April .
8
Planning and Environmental News from CPRE South East
Gladman rejected in Faringdon. Eric Pickles has
overturned a planning inspector‟s recommendation and
rejected plans for 94 houses in Faringdon, despite a lack
of five year land supply . The site is allocated in the
draft Faringdon neighbourhood plan as Local Green
Space. However, the examiner of the plan has
recommending deleting the LGS proposals and removing
a policy that blocked development outside the
development boundary. These recommendations are being
challenged and the plan may be re-examined. Because of
this, Eric Pickles gave little weight to the neighbourhood
plan policies. However he gave significant weight to harm
to the landscape:
The proposed residential development across a
prominent hillside would have a detrimental impact both
locally and in the wider landscape and would harm the
prevailing character and appearance of the North Vale
Corallian Ridge. The visual effect of the proposal would
be pronounced and significant for some views, resulting
in an urbanising influence on the landscape.
He also gave moderate weight to the protection of a
footpath and the amenity value of the field. Mr Pickles
concluded the development conflicts with NPPF policies
to protect and enhance valued landscapes (NPPF109) and
amenity land (NPPF74).
Oxford colleges are planning to build 500 homes, a
business park and a large hotel on a greenfield site in the
Northern Gateway
. Helen Marshall of CPRE
Oxfordshire said:
Traffic and air pollution in the area are already
atrocious and CPRE’s concern is that the proposed
development will make things worse, badly affecting Port
Meadow and other sensitive sites nearby and posing an
increased risk to human health. A planning inspector
previously made it clear that these issues should be
resolved by the Area Action Plan.
At the opening of the public inquiry into the Northern
Gateway, South Oxfordshire and Vale of the White Horse
councils said the scheme was based on outdated evidence
and should not go forward until the city has an entirely
new development plan. Citing last year‟s controversial
strategic housing market assessment, they say the area
should include more housing. The city council said taking
7.4 hectares from the green belt is insignificant .
South Oxfordshire is consulting until 2 April on its Local
Plan 2031 Refined Options, including a green belt review
. For the first time, it is considering allowing building in
the green belt south of Grenoble Road to honour the “duty
to co-operate” with Oxford city council. However, a South
Oxfordshire councillor has expressed doubts about the
controversial strategic housing market assessment that
claimed 32,000 homes are needed in the city by 2031 .
Surrey
Basingstoke and Deane council has agreed to build 700
greenfield homes opposite Basingstoke Golf Club after a
planning inspector recommended that the annual
housebuilding target is raised from 748 to 850 homes .
Epsom. Planning officers have recommended approval of
redevelopment of part the RAC estate at Woodcote Park
to create a motor heritage wing. They also said the
proposal should be referred to the secretary of state .
Croydon. A planning inspector has rejected plans by
Croydon council to expand Greenlawn Memorial Park
outside the borough into the green belt at Warlingham,
under the jurisdiction of Tandridge council. The inspector
said the usefulness of the extra burial plots “do not clearly
outweigh the harm to the green belt and to the character of
the area that would occur”
.
Guildford. English Heritage has rejected a plea to list the
grave of Admiral Sir James Stirling in St John‟s
churchyard. The Diocese of Guildford is planning to sell
the redundant western churchyard to raise funds for a
community centre . Guildford Parish Forum
representing 45 councils and resident‟s associations, has
objected to proposals for development in the green belt,
including at Wisley Airfield .
Wisley. Campaigners say that housing plans for Wisley
Airfield will leave the sewerage system unable to cope .
Reigate and Banstead council has given planning
permission for development of 94 hectares of greenfield
land after reaching agreement with a consortium of
developers to provide £40 million of infrastructure
investment to support the development of more than 1,500
homes, 25% affordable, to the north west of Horley
.
Runnymede council has published a study by Arup which
identifies several sites that might be taken out of the green
belt as part of the review for the local plan to 2035
.
Undershaw. The Victorian Society said it was
disappointed that Waverley council has given planning
permission to convert Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‟s former
home into a school
. A spokesman said:
As both the society and English Heritage have pointed
out, these damaging plans will cause substantial harm to
an important building which provides a unique insight
into the life and work of one of our greatest authors.
Sussex
Hastings. A planning inspector examining the Hastings
Development Management Plan has recommended that
Speckled Wood in the Ore Valley be designated as
protected open space . He also says: “The plan should
make it abundantly clear that matters of design are of
greater importance than figures of indicative capacity of
the various sites” .
Uckfield. Developer Welbeck Strategic Development has
submitted an outline planning application to Wealden
council for a 1,000-home urban extension on the outskirts
of the town. The site is identified for development in the
core strategy
.
The CPRE eBulletins
CPRE South East eBulletin is independently written and
edited by Andy Boddington: [email protected].
Views expressed in the eBulletin and its editorial approach
are those of its editor and not any part of CPRE.
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