ROOF Blog

The Conservative party has finally published its long awaited planning green paper which includes proposing the scrapping of centrally-set housing targets and replacing them with a system of financial incentives for local councils to build. As expected, the green paper also includes introducing a presumption in favour of sustainable development at the base of the system, whilst giving neighbours the right to force the council to review a planning application. However the Tories said they will limit the right of residents or developers to appeal planning decisions once the decision has been taken, and will replace the planned introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy with a ‘tariff’.

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) has claimed that designing eco-towns to be more inclusive would cost no more if it was factored into the planning process early on, and has produced guidance on how to it. It says that eco-towns should provide for all inhabitants regardless of age, disability, faith or gender, and avoid creating barriers that prevent them from becoming part of their communities. A spokesperson for TCPA said it was essential for each town to be socially as well as environmentally sustainable.

A panel has been set up to ensure that new homes meet the needs of an increasingly ageing population. The housing our ageing population panel for innovation comprises of architects and specialists who will research good practice across Europe that will create housing for older people and improve the availability and choice of sustainable homes and neighbourhoods.

A new report has suggested that the European Commission could be asked to help deliver eco-towns in England. The report recognises that eco-towns in Europe have benefited from strong local authorities, who are ‘deeply committed to the sustainable development agenda’ over a long period, and the current credit crunch will add to delivery and implementation problems. The report concludes that a work programme is needed for the next three years which seeks to improve UK capacity and bring together public and private stakeholders who can work across sectors and boundaries.

A study by the North West regional design panel has found that quality design can help weather the economic storm, and could even add up to 20 per cent in rents and capital value.  The research urges planners and developers to pay greater attention to ‘cost-neutral’ aspects of good design, looking at the ‘whole life’ costs of a development, and ensure resources are targeted to add value. The study added that sustainability and energy efficiency were becoming increasingly significant factors in competitive markets.

The planning system must not become a ‘tool for promoting economic development’, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said, setting out its vision for the future of the English countryside. The CPRE describes the countryside it wants to see by 2026, its centenary year, as where urban regeneration contributes to green space, affordable housing, vibrant neighbourhoods and people-friendly transport. It expects more than two million ‘high quality homes’ will have been built and energy efficient buildings and low carbon communities would be commonplace. It also wants more planning decisions to be taken locally.

The Prince of Wales is expected to tell Britain’s leading architects that communities should be integral to their work, and the needs of locals should be put forward, as he speaks at this year’s Royal Institute of British Architects lecture tonight. He will suggest three principles that should be followed to achieve the goal – a grounding in precedent, better understanding of developments in the local community and incorporating the best of modern technology. A number of architects have called on the industry to boycott the lecture, after Prince Charles intervened in the Chelsea Barracks development in London.

Meanwhile, Wales has become the first part of the UK to enforce a national standard for sustainable buildings using the planning system. Housing developers will have to meet the code for sustainable homes level 3 in an attempt to cut carbon emissions and improve green standards of all new buildings.

The Homes and Communities Agency has appointed six industry experts to provide independent advice on design and sustainability. The group will provide an impartial annual review of how the HCA performs and how it can improve its policies and procedures in standards of design, including sustainability in development.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has launched a new initiative to highlight how going low-carbon can deliver affordable homes. The sustainable cities initiative aims to help local authorities create better places to live. It has published a series of proposals on sustainable neighbourhoods, energy performance and efficiency, planning for climate change and green infrastructure.