We’ve responded to the government’s consultation on planning application fees. While the proposal to set a National Default Fee Schedule at 90% of estimated costs is a step in the right direction, we argue that it’s too blunt an instrument. London’s planning costs are significantly higher than the national average — due to heritage requirements, high-density development complexity, and staffing costs — yet the consultation lacks transparency about how the funding shortfall is distributed across local planning authorities (LPAs).… Read more...

On the Royal Parks website there is an article about the creation of a new garden in The Regent’s Park to commemorate the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

“The garden has transformed disused plant nursery into a beautiful tranquil two-acre garden, with significant benefits to nature. Where disused glasshouses once stood, a beautiful new garden now takes its place within one of London’s finest landscapes.”… Read more...

Martyn Evans in an article published in Building Design writes “There is a growing sense among younger architects that the profession they trained so hard to join may not offer a viable long-term career. Institutions like RIBA must step forward to challenge the norms that have led us here”.

He points out that architects are often asked to redraw, rework and rethink schemes multiple times as funding assumptions by developers shift or costs rise. However, fees rarely stay at the same level as the original job.

The Government has issued additional Planning Practice Guidance on responding to suspected breaches of planning control including unauthorised encampments and failure to build out approved developments. 

It explains what options are available to local planning authorities to tackle them, including stop notices.

By Ben Derbyshire, chair at HTA Design, former RIBA president, and President of the London Forum.

I don’t generally play for laughs, but I got one anyway at Design West’s Arnolfini conference on Labour’s then-new housing plans when I urged the audience not to hold their breath waiting for the twelve promised new towns. We still haven’t finished the ones Richard Crossman began in the 1960s. As it turns out, we needn’t have worried because of the seven finally announced, all but one are not new towns at all, but much more sensible urban extensions.… Read more...

The Old Kent Road was designated by the Mayor in 2016 as an Opportunity Area.

It is the subject of two videos by Urban Design Learning which provides support to local authorities on design and examines development schemes.

In one video, Colin Wilson introduces Southwark Council’s Old Kent Road Action Plan. In another video he explains the issues in regeneration of an area with existing clusters of small businesses, some thriving, and the council’s ambition to add employment as well as housing.

Three hundred luxury flats in the Friary Park development in Acton remain unoccupied. Sean Fletcher, a local resident, criticises in his latest video (below) the marketing of these flats to overseas investors rather than local families. He highlights the contrast with the 12,000 Ealing households in need of social housing. Multiple assessments deemed the Friary Park development “not viable” but Ealing Council’s planning committee approved plans.

The development was initially approved to include 45% affordable housing but subsequent applications expanded the number of flats and reduced commitment to affordable housing.… Read more...

The London Forum has issued a scathing response to the Government’s recent consultation on Planning Committee reforms.

The proposals were branded as authoritarian and anti-democratic

Despite claims that these changes will focus committees on complex cases, the draft regulations actually prevent many significant, contentious applications from ever being seen by elected members.

Under the new “Schedule 1” and “Schedule 2” system, the overriding assumption is that almost all applications will be decided by officers. The Forum is particularly concerned that conservation areas have been excluded from special consideration, and that major phased developments—which can impact communities for decades—will lose essential public scrutiny.… Read more...