English planning needs to re-establish importance of land use

The recent publication of a National Planning Policy Framework for consultation has brought charges from conservation and environmental groups that this will encourage “urban sprawl”. At the same time, what might be described as “the urban sprawl option” for Worcester’s expansion, as part of the wider South Worcestershire Development Plan, is also up for consultation. The fields shown here on left, beyond the city’s southern by-pass road, are identified for a further urban extension, notwithstanding that earlier plans identified this area as strategically important agricultural land.

Spatial Heritage, Local Distinctiveness and Sustainable Planning

The Lido at Droitwich Spa in Wychavon District is a fine example of how a unique local asset, in the form of underground inland brine water streams, can engender distinctive spatial heritage which fulfils the modern principle of sustainable planning.

First opened in the 1930s, with the aim of providing a bathing facility of the same temperature as the Mediterranean, this English Heritage-listed Lido was threatened with re-development by the local authority (which now runs it again) but was saved through a campaign appropriately called “SALT” (Save A Lido Today).

The facility is easily accessible to local residents and also has very good transport links to a wider area, including  regular trains services to South and North Worcestershire as well as the West Midlands conurbation. The Lido at Droitwich provides an excellent day out or swim only visit at a reasonable price.

Crookbarrow Farm – English Heritage Schedule of Ancient Monuments

A map showing the location of  the Crookbarrow Farm Scheduled Ancient Monument can be found @ HLE_A4L_NoGrade.xml_HLE_A3L_NoGrade

The “motte castle, moated site, and medieval agricultural remains at Crookbarrow Farm ” have Entry List Number: 1014900

This ancient monument was first scheduled on 10 August 1923, and the most recent amendment of the Schedule occurred in 1997.

The following extracts are taken from the Schedule:

“Crookbarrow Hill is a natural knoll c. 3km south east of Worcester, which rises roughly 20m above the Severn Valley. Such a prominent feature in the landscape would have provided a focus for the area’s earliest inhabitants, and a Neolithic scraper found near the site in 1886 indicates that it has seen activity since prehistoric times.  In the medieval period the motte was formed by enhancement of the summit of the knoll through artificially steepening the upper parts of its naturally steep sides, an effect which is now most clearly visible on the north face of the mound. The resulting material was used to create a roughly oval summit c. 75m…A terrace along the north and west sides of the mound, just below the summit, is probably the site of a palisade or walkway around the motte…”

“The motte at Crookbarrow Hill is associated with large areas of ridge and furrow, linear earthworks resulting from prolonged ploughing in the medieval period…Agricultural activity has also resulted in the upcast of a substantial earth bank, or lynchet, at the foot of the knoll, which has been planted with trees and which acted as a field boundary in the post medieval period. This lynchet is most prominent around the west and south sides of the monument, where a now disused trackway runs inside it at the base of the knoll. Parts of the track, lynchet, and the ridge and furrow are included in the scheduling….”

“At the foot of Crookbarrow Hill, on the north east side, are the remains of a sub-rectangular medieval moated site…” which is also scheduled.

Government to conduct environmental assessment of RSS abolition

According to a parliamentary answer by Planning Minister Bob Neill earlier this week, the Coalition Government is to “voluntarily” conduct an environmental assessment of the proposed abolition of Regional Spatial Strategies. Commentators have said that this will be a complex exercise – those of us who questioned whether the previous administration’s approach to RSS was compliant with Strategic Environmental Assessment can only agree. Nevertheless, the move is to be broadly welcomed, and will hopefully contribute to a more sustainable approach to strategic planning.

The Crookbarrow in Darkness and Light – Autumn and Winter 2010

Like these images, the strategic planning context in recent months has brought both darkness and light, confusion and clarity. A court case challenging the Secretary of State’s powers to abolish Regional Spatial Strategies is still ongoing and the status of regional planning unclear. However, the local planning context has seen the demise of the South Worcestershire Joint Core Strategy and its replacement with a South Worcestershire Development Plan.

Planning & The Law – The Cases of HS2 & RSS

I realise that the title of this post may appear as rather cryptic to some: HS2 refers to High Speed 2, the proposed new high-speed rail link between London and the Midlands/North of England; RSS refers to Regional Spatial Strategy, a subject covered in my previous post. Having intended to tackle the subject of HS2 this week, yesterday’s decision by the High Court that the Government’s “revokation” of RSSs earlier this year is unlawful is a clear and strong reminder of the importance of the law in planning decision-making. The way in which the HS2 proposal has been progressed also opens this to potential legal challenge: something I will cover in a future post. In the meantime, the following report from “Planning Resource” covers the RSS situation, about which the Government is due to write to local authorities.

Michael Donnelly and Huw Morris, PlanningResource, 10 November 2010

The High Court this morning ruled that communities secretary Eric Pickles acted unlawfully in unilaterally revoking the system of regional strategies in England.Pickles revoked all Regional Strategies with immediate effect on 6 July and CALA Homes became the first house builder challenge the revocation in August, claiming that Pickles had acted outside his powers by removing a key plank of the planning system.

Today’s judgment supports the two distinct grounds of challenge advanced by CALA, namely that the secretary of state acted outside his statutory powers in circumventing the need for parliamentary scrutiny of such a fundamental change to the planning regime; and that the environmental effects of removing regional strategies have to be considered, in line with European law.

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The full ruling can be read here

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Ian Ginbey, head of planning at Macfarlanes LLP, who acted for CALA Homes in the claim, said: “The High Court has recognised that the secretary of state’s unilateral revocation of regional strategies was unlawful and premature.

“Unfortunately, the decision left a policy vacuum, caused confusion throughout the industry and directly resulted in proposals for tens of thousands of new homes being abandoned. 

“Those housing proposals will now need to be revisited prior to the passage of any primary legislation.  It is important that the house building and construction industry – which has a major role to play in delivering the economy from recession – does not suffer as a result of the secretary of state’s actions.”

However the government has defended its position. Junior planning minister Bob Neill said: “The government remains firmly resolved to scrap this layer of confusing red tape. Instead, we will work with local communities to build more homes.

“This was a commitment made in the Coalition Agreement and in the general election manifestoes of both coalition parties. We intend to deliver on it.”

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The full DCLG response can be read here.

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The HBF has described the decision as a “wake up call for the government to put in place clear transitional arrangements for the move from the old planning system towards its proposed localism based system.”

Planning director Andrew Whitaker said: “HBF and the industry remain keen to work with government to ensure that changes to the planning system are introduced in a clear and methodical way. Everyone involved in the delivery of housing, both private and public sectors, has been struggling with the policy vacuum caused by the revocation of Regional Strategies.”

National Housing Federation (NHF) head of neighbourhoods Cameron Watt said the existing planning system should not have been abolished without a new system being in place to replace it.

He added: “The government should now ensure proper transitional arrangements are put in place before the introduction of the new localist system.”

BNP Paribas Real Estate head of planning Andrew Thomson warned of further confusion: “Quite where this leaves us is unclear and it will be very interesting to see how the government and Local Planning Authorities react.

“We will be monitoring the situation as events unfold however this decision can only lead to further confusion and it will be interesting to see how Pickle’s responds.”

CB Richard Ellis director of planning Alison Tero said: “In essence, whilst Cala has been successful, the decision only allows a temporary window of opportunity for schemes which are very progressed.

“The government is still very much committed to the abolition of RSS and have been clear that they will be bringing forward the appropriate legislation which is due to be in place by the end of 2011.”

Barton Willmore senior partner Ian Tant said the government’s mistake has been to move too fast and too quickly with its planning reforms. “The reinstatement of Regional Spatial Strategies will hopefully provide the time needed for a more orderly and planned switch from the ‘top down’ approach to the localism approach, allowing Local Planning Authorities, landowners and developers to make the adjustment in a more considered manner.   

“I note that the government currently has no plans to appeal the judgement. I believe this is right: energies will be better devoted to putting in place an orderly transition to a workable new planning system.”

Pinsent Masons head of planning Richard Ford added: “The implications of this are very significant in the immediate term as it will probably cause more delay whilst RSS is abolished again in a proper fashion and Local Authorities are loathe to grant schemes whilst that is happening.

“However, in very short order, new guidance will no doubt be rolled out by the secretary of state as to what Local Authorities should do.”

ABOLITION OF REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGIES INQUIRY

Following a submission to the House of Commons West Midlands Select Committee’s Inquiry in to “Planning for the Future” earlier in the year,  a summary of my memorandum to the Department for Communities and Local Government Committee current inquiry into the Abolition of Regional Spatial strategies is set out below.

SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATIONS – A “LESS IS MORE” APPROACH TO STRATEGIC PLANNING

1. A “less is more” approach to strategic planning is called for at the present time, rather than the complete dismantling of regional policy infrastructure implied in the Coalition Government’s current proposals.

2. This memorandum recommends the establishment of local authority-led regional forums, possibly based on the former SERPLAN – South East Regional Planning Conference – model to replace the former Leaders’ Boards

3. The main purpose of these would be to advise the Secretary of State on the contents of Regional Planning Guidance (RPG)

4. It also recommends the retention of Government Offices for the Regions to manage the RPG process and monitor the compliance of local plans with this and national policies.

5. A partnership between the Government Regional Offices and the Standing Conferences should manage strategic research.

6. One of the partnership’s key roles should be to develop data sets for different growth scenarios and development options at the sub-national, regional and sub-regional levels to inform local planning.

7. Government incentives should encourage location appropriate sustainable development and area regeneration in particular. 

8. A continuing role for House of Commons Regional Committees is also identified.

Communications, Communications, Communications

Two interesting things happened yesterday, I received my first e-newsletter from the now not-so- new Infrastructure Planning Commission and I attended the first “oral evidence” meeting of the House of Commons West Midlands Committee “Planning for the Future” Inquiry held at Worcestershire Cricket Club. Infrastructure should be a key issue for this inquiry, incidentally : please see my previous post.

It was, however, only a chance meeting in Worcester’s Foregate last week which reminded me of the HoC Inquiry. I could find no current news about this on the parliamentary website, and confirmation of the hearing came not through formal notification but in a reply to my email sent to another respondent last Friday, who happened to be giving evidence yesterday. 

Given the rather grand venue, very few people attended yesterday’s hearing, and those who did were mostly of  remarkably similar demographic. There is some irony in this as one of the main drivers of change for this and other regions are projected significant changes in demography, yet very few of the people supposedly representing such changes seem to appear at meetings to discuss them.

From my point of view, yesterday’s meeting was very useful and I’m glad to have found the opportunity to attend. However, an opportunity to engage, for instance, young people – of which Worcester has a great many – in the political process was again lost. It seems that in what might be described as “The Age of Communications”, much good old-fashioned interaction has disappeared for some reason.

At the end of the meeting, the Committee had to rush back to London for parliamentary business. Dr Richard Taylor, the well-known Independent Member for Wyre Forest, wryly commented to those in attendance that he and his colleagues could have stayed longer had the train service between Worcester and the Capital been better. I have to say that my laugh was rather loud at this point.

House of Commons West Midlands Committee Inquiry – Planning for the Future

The House of Commons West Midlands Committee has recently invited submissions for its Fourth Inquiry – Planning for the Future : Housing and Economic Development in the Wes Midlands. Below is a summary of my submission

“GETTING THE REGION BACK ON ITS BIKE”

SUMMARY: SPECULATION, SPECULATION, SPECULATION

This submission asks the Select Committee to support the 4 key aims of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (WMRSS) which refer to:

• URBAN RENAISSANCE
• Rural Renaissance
• Economic Development
• Sustainable Transport

It also asks for the concept of “Urban Renaissance” to be strengthened with reference, in particular, to sub-regional and other significant centres outside the Major Urban Areas (MUAs), such as Worcester, and given an enhanced economic development role.

Investment in Sustainable Transport is key to Urban Renaissance both within and beyond the MUAs, and it is submitted that this is currently one of the weakest links in the present and future development of the West Midlands region.

Current and emerging policies for housing and economic development appear to diverge from the WMRSS commitment to Urban Renaissance and this is leading to excessive speculation which will undermine sustainable regeneration if allowed to continue.

The Committee should also have regard to Rural and Semi-Rural Areas within the region, and, in particular, the need to support land uses associated with food production, and the sustainable management of natural resources and historic environmental assets.

For a full version of my submission please email : consult@crookbarrow.com

This House of Commons Regional Committee Inquiry follows publication last September of the Planning Inspectorate Panel Report on the proposed WMRSS Phase 2 Revision Examination in Public. The Government response to this is currently awaited, but may not be available until after the General Election.

WMRSS Draft Phase 2 “Revision”* – Need for More “Polymorphic”** Spatial Option

The WMRSS Draft Phase 2 “Revision” Examination-in-Public (EIP) opened properly at the end of April and is due to conclude its sittings in the next couple of weeks.

During the ”Revision” the polycentric structure of the West Midlands region has been re-iterated. However, the Preferred Spatial Option (PSO) proposed by the West Midlands Regional Assembly (WMRA) is overly-simplistic in seeking to impose the concept of  “Settlements of Significant Development” (SSD)  onto an existing spatial strategy which focuses development in the Major Urban Areas (MUAs), as a means of accommodating growth outside these.

A report for the Government Office for the West Midlands (GOWM) by the consultancy Nathanial Lichfield and Partners (NLP)  is helpful in some respects (if not in others), in putting forward a broader set of spatial options for accommodating development in the period 2006-2016, albeit with the aim of promoting even more unsustainable levels of housing-based growth outside the MUAs.

It is questionable, however, whether the work on Sustainability Appraisal (SA) undertaken for either WMRA’s PSO or NLP’s report for GOWM, has fulfilled the requirements of the European Union Directive on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)*** – albeit that the SA process is supposedly ongoing – in respect of the selection of alternative options, and in the case of the GOWM/NLP report, public consultation.

As the changes to the existing WMRSS proposed in both the WMRA and GOWM work go beyond, in the Crookbarrow view, the scope of a Revision, and constitute instead a Part or Full Review of the Regional Spatial Strategy, we suggest that the EIP Panel recommend that the Government proceed with an actual Review, already effectively underway in the work on a new Single Integrated Regional Strategy (SIRS).

Such a Review needs not only to embrace the existing polycentric structure of the West Midlands region – both within and outside the MUAs – but also to recognise that not all “major” and significant” centres have equal scope for sustainable development and regeneration  in the future. Thus the approach to assigning development quantum should be “polymorphic”. In short, a more pluralistic RSS, particularly outside the MUAs, is required.

* In fact more of a Part or Full Review

** Polymorphism (from the Greek meaning “having multiple forms”)

*** See also http://janetmackinnon.wordpress.com for more on SEA issues