tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12228873014072763232024-02-20T05:22:58.386-08:00alsop verrilltown planning and development consultancyalsop verrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725394927757354372noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222887301407276323.post-67254686833852783262014-03-28T04:12:00.002-07:002014-03-28T04:15:03.777-07:00A Critique of the Decision to Scrap the Link between Hs2 and the Continent <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sir </span>David Higgins, the man tasked with
the delivery of High Speed 2, released his first report into the vital yet
sadly controversial project last week (HS2 plus, DofT, 2014). We have been
ruminating on this, with an eye on the reportage in the media.</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">While much of the associated headlines
have lauded his proposals to extend Phase 1 up to Crewe as offering proof of
the government’s commitment to the North (<i>HS2 benefits to north could be
delivered six years earlier, says Sir David Higgins, Guardian 17th March</i>),
the decision to scrap the proposed link between the new line and the existing
High speed 1, was met with some murmurings in the media, but no real upset. It
was endorsed immediately by the
Transport Secretary Patrick McLaughlin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">As MP for the Derbyshire Dales, one
would hope that he would be more alive to the positive economic implications of
the link for his constituents.– Another decision by an increasingly London-centric
government affirming its ambivalence towards anything outside the M25 – an
ambivalence shared by the national media.<span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WJLw2grGNig/UzVVtpP750I/AAAAAAAAAQg/SGeSA96KNRE/s1600/Transport+Sec.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WJLw2grGNig/UzVVtpP750I/AAAAAAAAAQg/SGeSA96KNRE/s320/Transport+Sec.png" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Patrick Mcloughlin MP</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">Why is this connection so Important?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">A link between High Speed 2 and High Speed
1 connecting Euston and St Pancras Stations would provide (conditional tense,
we won’t write it off…yet) the potential
to run direct trains from the Northern Cities to Mainland Europe directly,
giving these cities and their city regions better access to a huge market. To
scrap the link ensures that all trains from Mainland Europe will go direct into
London, re-enforcing the capital’s dominance over the regions and effectively
relegating High Speed 2 into a branch line. </span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">So why is it to be scrapped</span></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">Camden Council has waged war against the HS2 / HS1 link since the proposals were
first announced. The route itself, as is
shown in the maps below, would have involved widening the existing railway link
between St Pancras and Euston. Camden Council believes the process of
construction would have resulted in ‘<i>a decade of disruption’</i>, threatening
the viability of the legendary market
and making the area unattractive to tourists. A single look at plans (alongside
a Google Earth image for comparison) corrects the misinformation - with the new
track running atop the existing viaduct alongside track used for London Overground
services. </span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tBTmdHcOzq0/UzVXRaxHu0I/AAAAAAAAAQw/Pg8a5wmqz3s/s1600/Camden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tBTmdHcOzq0/UzVXRaxHu0I/AAAAAAAAAQw/Pg8a5wmqz3s/s1600/Camden.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Plan illustrating a
section of the proposed route through Camden<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">It has also been argued by Sir David,
the Transport Secretary and others that there isn’t enough demand for direct
services between the likes of Manchester and Leeds and Paris and Berlin to
justify the cost of the link, yet without the link in place it is difficult to
assess the demand. Plenty of people fly from our northern cities to mainland
European cities and it is mad folly to deny them a more sustainable
alternative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">It has to be remembered that Manchester
and Leeds will not be connected to the network until 2030 at the earliest, so
we are talking many years into the future. To write off these cities now shows
a worrying lack of foresight especially as London overheats. Just to re-cap, we
have been persuaded to spare Camden ‘a decade of disruption’ so that our great
northern cities NEVER have direct train links to their continental
counterparts. Sounds like a great deal!</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">How much would this Link have cost?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">The link would have cost an estimated
£700 million, from George Osborne’s overall budget of</span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">£42.6 billion
a paltry saving of 1.6%, especially when one considers the potential economic
boost such a link would have provided to the North of England.</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">How much will it cost to rebuild Euston
Station?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">Sir David also recommended that Euston
Station be redeveloped (estimated at
£1.2 billion (er, only twice the ‘saving’). Jumping onto another bandwagon, the Transport Secretary effused;</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">‘It is a significant opportunity to
maximise the economic potential of the line and regenerate a site that has been
neglected. It is also a significant opportunity to generate private sector
investment that can reduce the overall burden on the taxpayer’</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">If Mr McLoughlin feels the area around
Euston is in urgent need of regeneration, he quite obviously has never left Zones
1 and 2.</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">The ironic and sad fact of this is that
the £700 million invested into the link would have had a much greater long-term
economic return than the £1.2 billion to spruce up Euston Station, while based
upon evidence elsewhere in both the UK and on Mainland Europe the presence of
the High speed rail station in itself would have attracted substantial private
investment into the area anyway.</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">So what can we conclude from all this?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">Camden already has High Speed 1 on its
doorstep, this enables it to attract new investment and substantial numbers of
tourists as well as enabling its well-heeled and -connected residents (amongst
whose number includes Stanley; Dad of Boris and prominent anti High Speed 2
campaigner recently quoted as saying all HS2 will do is enable <i>Young
female jihadists to get down from Birmingham 20 minutes quicker, London Evening
Standard, 5th February 2014</i>) to get a train to Paris or
Brussels quickly and efficiently.</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">London already gets 1 and a half times
the annual spend from foreign tourists than the Rest of England as a whole – we
should be spreading wealth and investment around the country, not stimulating a
Primary City of a scale and importance associated with the third world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">That the Transport Secretary is
prepared to let the economic future of Camden Lock Market trump the likes of
Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham and in turn effectively isolate the rest of
the country from other European cities for the benefit of a few well-influenced
North London luvvies says all that needs to be said about the stranglehold
London has upon the rest of the country. </span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;"><i>John</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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alsop verrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725394927757354372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222887301407276323.post-88714806310825857682013-06-18T02:59:00.001-07:002013-06-18T02:59:59.591-07:00Design and Access Statements get a Haircut<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Design and Access Statements are the latest part
of the planning system to receive a snip from the Government’s red tape scissors.</span>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">As of 25th June, in non-designated areas, a
Design and Access Statement will only be required for major applications* and listed
building applications. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In designated
areas, such as conservation areas, the threshold for requiring a Design and
Access Statement will be lower - one or more dwellings, or more than 100 square
metres or more.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Good news
or bad? </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">We have often found the validation process
frustrating, with local authorities insisting on the submission of a document
or report that we know will not materially influence the decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such a rigid approach to validation can place
unnecessary financial burdens on applicants.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oS3Sn16_aiM/UcApj888JrI/AAAAAAAAAN8/VChAJX8QWCo/s1600/edge+hill.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oS3Sn16_aiM/UcApj888JrI/AAAAAAAAAN8/VChAJX8QWCo/s320/edge+hill.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The change to the requirements for Design and
Access Statements puts into practice the requirement, contained in both the
National Planning Policy Framework and the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013,
that the documents to be submitted with applications should be proportionate to
the nature and scale of the development, and material to the application.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Whilst we welcome the Government’s drive to
introduce more flexibility and pragmatism to the validation process, we do not
believe this should herald the end of Design and Access Statements for minor
developments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just because they are not
required by statute does not mean they are not needed to secure planning
permission, as design can be a significant issue in all scales of development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result, we anticipate that there will be
cases when we will be advising our clients to submit a statement, even where
there is not a statutory requirement for one.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Even though there has been a change in when the
statement is required, there has not been a weakening in the importance of good
design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The
promotion of good design is one of the 12 core principles of the </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">National Planning Policy </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Framework – it emphasises that permission should be refused for
developments of poor design that fail to take the opportunities available for
improving the quality and character of an area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QdRqGnhOiIc/UcAp_rULLJI/AAAAAAAAAOE/TJdnArcCkQ4/s1600/studio+5215+november+2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QdRqGnhOiIc/UcAp_rULLJI/AAAAAAAAAOE/TJdnArcCkQ4/s400/studio+5215+november+2010.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In
this policy context, it is essential that the design approach is properly
explained and justified, especially given the subjective nature of design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>W</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">e have found that, when done right, Design and
Access Statements can be an excellent means to communicate the merits of a
development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is often the first, and
sometimes only, document that people will look at, especially those less
familiar with the planning system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
this way, they can help to sell a scheme to local residents and councillors who
will play a part in the application process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This also applies to planning and design officers, who without the
benefit of the narrative provided in a Design and Access Statement, may be less
likely to support the particular design approach proposed.</span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In making this change, the Government has passed
responsibility down to applicants, who will need to decide on a case-by-case
basis whether design considerations are sufficiently material to warrant the
submission of a Design and Access Statement, and to local authorities, who will
need to ensure that design is properly assessed even in those cases where a
statement has not been submitted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
continue to believe that the submission of a well prepared Design and Access
Statement enhances the prospects of planning permission.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">*Major developments are 10 or more dwellings,
buildings of more than 1,000 square metres; or a development on a site of more
than 1 hectare.</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">(Simon Roberts for Alsop Verrill Ltd)</span></i></div>
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alsop verrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725394927757354372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222887301407276323.post-38513022577367720652013-03-12T06:10:00.000-07:002013-03-12T09:01:37.646-07:00The Setting of Heritage Assets: High Court Ruling<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-21712536" target="_blank">A recent High Court ruling emphasises the importance of undertaking a proper assessment of the effects of a development on the setting of a listed building, conservation area, or other ‘heritage asset’.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is no longer something that applicants can pay lip service to; the
failure to follow the proper procedures can result in refusal of planning
permission for what would otherwise be considered ‘sustainable development’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please get in touch if you would like to talk
to us about Heritage Assessments and how they can benefit your project.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">On
Friday 8th March 2013 the High Court upheld a legal challenge against the
decision of the Planning Inspectorate to grant planning permission for four
wind turbines within a mile of Lyveden New Bield, a Grade I Listed Elizabethan
Lodge, and its Grade I Registered Historic Park and Garden, said to be one of
the most important Elizabethan landscapes in the country, amongst other
heritage assets.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">The
challenge was made by East Northamptonshire Council with the support of English
Heritage and the National Trust who were concerned that the allowance of the
development would set a harmful precedent in relation to similar development
across the country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Mrs
Justice Lang, in quashing the decision, stated that the Inspector had ‘‘erred
in law’’, by failing to fulfil his duty under section 66(1) of the Town Planning
(Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act (1990) and failed to give proper
effect to it in the balancing exercise as a consequence of not applying
‘‘considerable weight’’ to the value of preserving the setting of heritage
assets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also concluded that the
Inspector failed to properly follow the relevant policy procedure which
therefore compromised the balancing exercise and failed to give adequate
reasons for his decision.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">This
comes in the light of other recent post-NPPF appeal decisions which have
reflected on the issue of the setting of heritage assets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two appeals come particularly to mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In May 2012 a large mixed-use residential-led
redevelopment of a site at Bunhill Row, London,
was dismissed by the Inspector who concluded:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">‘‘</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The appeal site is
previously developed land in a highly sustainable location, close to facilities
and public transport. There is no doubt that the scheme would be deliverable
and contribute to the local housing stock, provide affordable housing,
including family homes, create jobs, provide community floor space, and improve
biodiversity and promote sustainable construction, design and travel patterns.
Allowing this appeal may also ensure that the timescale for the provision of
60% affordable housing with grant funding could be achieved.’’</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"> </span></i></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">However, the Inspector found that the
proposal would also cause substantial harm to the setting of important heritage
assets and on that basis refused an application which clearly in all other
regards was very sustainable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
demonstrates the importance of setting to planning decisions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">The
setting of heritage assets was considered within the decision of the Planning
Inspector, referred to and upheld by the Secretary of State, to grant planning
permission for a large urban extension of up to 800 new homes on land west of
Shottery, Stratford-upon-Avon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Council had refused the application,
partially on the grounds that it would harm the setting of Anne Hathaway’s
Cottage (Grade I Listed) and its Registered
Park and Garden (Grade II
Listed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">In
considering the impact upon setting the Inspector had found that English
Heritage had erred in its assessment of the settings of the relevant heritage
assets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In doing so, English Heritage
had analysed setting as if it was a heritage asset in its own right, rather
than relating it back to the significance of the heritage asset itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this light, the Inspector found that ‘‘the
evidence and judgements of the appellant’s heritage expert should be
preferred’’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The appeal was allowed when
the Inspector concluded that there would be minimal impact upon the relevant
heritage assets.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Therefore,
what is increasingly apparent is that the setting of heritage assets is very
important to the consideration of planning applications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Applications and appeals will be won and lost
on this basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, further to this,
what is even more apparent is that you get the assessment of setting wrong at
your peril.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Undertaking an analysis of
the setting of heritage assets is more an exact science than ever before and a
visual assessment carried out by landscape architects, urban designers or
architects will often be insufficient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It requires the proper thought and assessment of those concerned with
historic environment conservation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">(Ben Eley for Alsop Verrill
Ltd)</span></i></div>
alsop verrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725394927757354372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222887301407276323.post-67332073542813078402012-12-18T10:06:00.000-08:002013-01-03T10:02:42.607-08:00Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oq3cwNliXqE/UNCvi-eU9II/AAAAAAAAALo/s7VUUOIofAA/s1600/Summer+Palace+II.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oq3cwNliXqE/UNCvi-eU9II/AAAAAAAAALo/s7VUUOIofAA/s640/Summer+Palace+II.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 18.0pt;">from
all of us at Alsop Verrill</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This year instead of sending Christmas cards,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Alsop Verrill will be supporting the following three charities:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">The Royal Hospital
for Neuro-disability, Putney</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.rhn.org.uk/support-us/ways-to-donate/"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span title="http://www.rhn.org.uk/support-us/ways-to-donate/">http://www.rhn.org.uk/support-us/ways-to-donate/</span></span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">The St
Martin-in-the-Fields BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.smitf.org/christmas"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">http://www.smitf.org/christmas</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Médecins sans
Frontières</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://supportus.msf.org.uk/support_donate"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span title="http://supportus.msf.org.uk/support_donate">http://supportus.msf.org.uk/support_donate</span></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">We wish you all a
very Merry Christmas!</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="color: #0d0e00;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u><i><b>Please note that our office wil be closed from F<span style="color: #0d0e00;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">riday 21st Dec (5pm) to <span style="color: #0d0e00;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thurs 3rd <span style="color: #0d0e00;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">January 2013 (830am)</span></span></span></span></span></span></b></i></u></span></span></span> </div>
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alsop verrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725394927757354372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222887301407276323.post-35368834966317162052012-12-11T08:32:00.002-08:002013-01-03T09:46:41.938-08:00Dundee and the Sequential Test: A Question of Suitability<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">You have
probably heard about an important judgment handed down by the Supreme Court that
has significant implications for the sequential test for main town centre type
development, like retail, offices, and leisure. It is so important to what you
do, that we wanted to remind people about it and clarify its main points.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In short, it means that a
sequentially preferably site must be suitable to accommodate the development as
proposed (with due regard to flexibility), <span style="color: blue;">rather than
being suitable for the development for which there is an acknowledged ‘need’</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is that a local planning authority
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">We have
summarised the Judgment below - please get in touch with us if you would like
to discuss how this could affect your development proposals.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">The Decision</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">In Tesco
Stores Ltd v Dundee City Council [2012] UKSC 13, on the 21st March 2012 the
Supreme Court rejected Tesco’s challenge to Dundee City Council’s decision to
grant planning permission to an Asda store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The case hinged on whether, in making its decision, Dundee City Council
had misunderstood one of its policies relating to the sequential test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The judgment established two important
principles relating to interpretation of planning policy generally, and the
sequential test specifically.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Firstly,
it established that, contrary to popular belief, <span style="color: blue;">decision
makers cannot interpret planning policy in any way they choose</span>, subject
only to the limits of rationality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rather, the interpretation of planning policy is a matter of law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">The
second principle follows on from the first, in that it established the
objective interpretation of the sequential test within planning policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The key question was, when assessing whether
a ‘suitable’ town centre site was available, whether ‘suitable’ meant suitable
for the proposed development, or <span style="color: blue;">suitable to meet
identified deficiencies in retail provision in the area</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was concluded that the natural reading of
the policy is that the word <u>‘suitable’ refers to the suitability of sites
for the development specifically proposed.</u> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">The
Dundee Judgment reinforced the views expressed by Lord Glennie in Lidl UK GmbH
v The Scottish Ministers [2006] CSOH 165.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lord Glennie said a site would be suitable in terms of policy only if it
was suitable for, or could accommodate, the development as proposed by the
developer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question was whether the
alternative town centre site was suitable for the proposed development, <span style="color: blue;">not whether the proposed development could be altered or
reduced so that it could fit into it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Whilst
the Dundee Judgment related to the application of Scottish planning policy, the
judgment and statements hold true for planning policy in England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A natural reading of paragraph 24 of the National
Planning Policy Framework is that ‘suitable’ refers to suitability for the
proposed development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: blue;">To say that ‘suitable’ refers to suitability to meeting an
identified need would be to attribute a meaning to the policy which is not
contained within the policy wording</span>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Dundee</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">
in Action</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">In
granting outline permission at appeal for an out-of-centre foodstore in Newport, Shropshire, the
Appeal </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Inspector’s comments on the sequential test support the Dundee
Judgment that the suitability of sites should be assessed against the proposed
development rather than ‘need’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Inspector
noted that, in a previous appeal case, two sites near the town centre were
found by an Inspector to be suitable, but that this was in the context of a
proposal for a smaller retail unit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Inspector stated “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">even allowing for some
flexibility it is difficult to see how either site would be suitable in terms
of its configuration and size<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><u>for
the type of foodstore being proposed</u> in the present appeal</i>”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Demonstrating Flexibility</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">The
Dundee Judgment also made important statements upon the need for applicants to
demonstrate flexibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The emphasis is
on both flexibility and realism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lord
Reed referred to R v Teesside Development Corporation, ex parte William
Morrison Supermarkets plc and Redcar and Cleveland
BC [1998] JPL 23, 43, and stated
that</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">“to refuse an out-of-centre
planning consent on the ground that an admittedly smaller site is available
within the town centre may be to take an entirely inappropriate business
decision on behalf of the developer”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Lord
Hope emphasised the need for the sequential assessment to function in the real
world, stating </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">developments of this kind are generated by
the developer’s assessment of the market that he seeks to serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they do not meet the sequential approach
criteria, bearing in mind the need for flexibility and realism to which Lord
Reed refers in paragraph 28, above, they will be rejected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But these criteria are designed for use in
the real world in which developers wish to operate, not some artificial world
in which they have no interest doing so”</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Dundee Judgment
confirmed ,that a flexible approach must be <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>adopted towards development proposals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Asda did not confine its assessment to sites
which could accommodate the development in the precise form in which it had
been designed, but examined sites which could accommodate a smaller development
and a more restricted range of retailing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: maroon; font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Our Advice to You: Whilst you will
need to demonstrate a degree of flexibility, this does not mean you have to
compromise on the form and scale of development you consider to be necessary,
based on your assessment of the market</span></b><span style="color: maroon; font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: maroon; font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
alsop verrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725394927757354372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222887301407276323.post-41490113323236818142012-12-04T12:35:00.003-08:002013-01-03T09:52:40.213-08:00Planning and Heritage in Post-Conflict Kosovo <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ben Eley of
Alsop Verrill is a heritage planner who was lucky enough to be offered the
opportunity - courtesy of the EU and a combination of PEM Consult and Swedish
NGO ‘Cultural Heritage without Borders’ - to take part in the first ever
Beledije Regional Restoration Camp in Prizren, southern Kosovo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This took place in the first Regional
Cultural Heritage Centre in the Balkans.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Having
declared independence on 17th February 2008, the new generation of the world’s
youngest country, Kosovo, probably have bigger issues - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>such as the small task of building the
infrastructure of a peaceful society in the aftermath of ethnic conflict - than
political wrangling over the merits of express permission for first-generation
‘super conservatories’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Closer to home, the Post-Big Society agenda has
its own unique tensions as local communities are set to become divided along lines of
outlook, privacy and right to light; yet this is somewhat put into context when
compared with the enormous economic, social and environmental re-build faced by
the newly crowned 'Kosovars'.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FCVQZydv0mo/UL5aC4-GXEI/AAAAAAAAAJI/m6KHISr-VVI/s1600/Kosovo+Group+Shot.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FCVQZydv0mo/UL5aC4-GXEI/AAAAAAAAAJI/m6KHISr-VVI/s320/Kosovo+Group+Shot.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Beledije Regional
Restoration Camp</span></i></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Firstly, in the likelihood that you have never
considered a trip to Kosovo before, Prizren is a beautiful city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an ecclesiastical smorgasbord; a real
melting-pot of east meets west where the minarets and church towers of the
Ottoman and Orthodox townscape compete with the wider renaissance architecture
of pastel colours and terracotta roofs. All of this may be appreciated from the
imposing medieval fortress which overlooks it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The course introduced young architects, planners,
craftspeople and historians to the holistic nature of heritage planning: from
the theory and philosophy first espoused by the </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), to contemporary theory
in planning for the historic environment which has been developed, over time, by
institutions such as English Heritage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It combined seminars with work on site and
left a new generation of young professionals ready to champion the cause of
planning for better places.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Notwithstanding the much broader ‘place-making’
issues of building a new country; the provisional Kosovo Assembly took action
soon after the 1999 war when they passed the ‘Law on Spatial Planning’ (Law
number 2003/14) and adopted it for the purpose of:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">‘‘ensuring rational spatial planning and
development, achieving balance between development and preservation of open
space and protection of the environment and bringing the spatial planning
regime of Kosovo into consistency with European and International standards.’’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Under Article 14, all Municipalities are to
prepare Urban Development Plans for all urban areas within their territories
and these are to be strategic, multi-sectoral and determine long-term development
projections and management of urban areas.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">It all sounds very familiar.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Prizren Conservation and Development Plan is
a rather comprehensive document encompassing everything from strategic vision
to socio-economic profiling including very detailed matters of land-use and
urban design (such as the type of use acceptable and the length of fascias on
individual buildings).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite multiple
issues in actually implementing this plan, the intention is clear – that there
is a desire for town planning and a realisation from above (rather than from
below) of its importance to the future sustainable growth of Kosovo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Restoration
in process</span></i></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">As one perambulated around the town one observed
recent (largely UN, EU and US funded) initiatives of urban regeneration proudly
indicated on signs erected by the Ministries of Culture and Urban
Planning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a very Mediterranean
feel, with vital and seemingly viable shops spilling out onto the streets and
squares and a general ambiance which, I for one, did not expect from a place
emerging from deeply rooted ethnic conflict.</span><span style="background: white; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Despite this, at the time of writing, the
unemployment rate in Kosovo is 45%, the highest in the Western Balkans; 37% of
the population live in poverty and 17% in extreme poverty. Additionally, ethnic
tension is again raising its head in Mitrovica, a region in the north with a significant
Serbian minority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rglv7PVXnWs/UL5Z8HTxSOI/AAAAAAAAAI0/XjioKEJJOX8/s1600/Kosovo+2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rglv7PVXnWs/UL5Z8HTxSOI/AAAAAAAAAI0/XjioKEJJOX8/s320/Kosovo+2.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">However, it is becoming evident, and it was my
experience, that there is a genuine belief that planning and heritage will be
fundamental to driving future growth and investment into the new State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are those within the built environment
profession and in Government who, rather than seeing their inherited legacy as
a hindrance to the need for economic growth, in fact, see it as part of the
answer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">There has been much good come about through
planning in Britain;
we have been at the forefront in both the consideration<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;"> </span></span> and the conservation of
the historic environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Countries,
such as Kosovo, look in our direction for guidance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, should they look today, they may be excused in thinking that sustainable growth owes more to the unimpeded proliferation of over-sized U-PVC conservatories and attic extensions.</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br /></div>
alsop verrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725394927757354372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222887301407276323.post-57411593227930350762012-10-08T03:40:00.000-07:002012-12-11T03:30:08.275-08:00Sustainability and Viability: Lessons from Scandinavia<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I recently attended the Town and Country Planning
Association’s Scandinavian Study Tour. From
<st1:city w:st="on">Copenhagen</st1:city> to <st1:city w:st="on">Malmo</st1:city>
to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Stockholm</st1:city></st1:place>,
we saw examples of pioneering environmental technologies and sustainable city
planning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dJa4_BgGY3A/UHKsI36YL2I/AAAAAAAAAGM/id0PcxKBJcc/s1600/TCPA+Scandanavia+II.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dJa4_BgGY3A/UHKsI36YL2I/AAAAAAAAAGM/id0PcxKBJcc/s320/TCPA+Scandanavia+II.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Integrated energy,
waste and water systems<br /> in Hammarby Sjostad, Stockholm</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Automated
vacuum waste collections in <st1:city w:st="on">Malmo</st1:city>’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Western</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Harbour</st1:placetype></st1:place> mean that streets do not
need to be designed to accommodate refuse vehicles. The result is a tighter-knit pattern of
development, with pedestrian friendly streets and reduced collection costs
for the local authority.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In
Hammarby Sjostad in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Stockholm</st1:city></st1:place>,
the co-ordinated management of energy, waste and water systems on a
community scale has led to greater levels of efficiency.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Copenhagen</span></st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> is fulfilling its
desire to be the world’s best city for cyclists by design the city around
the bike, with priority traffic signals, customised street furniture, and
even bridges just for cyclists.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
run down 1950s housing estate in Augustenborg, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Malmo</st1:city></st1:place> has been transformed with the
addition of energy efficient cladding, green roofs, solar panels and a new
storm water drainage system. The
involvement of the local community in this project has helped to reduce
some of the social problems previously experienced.</span></li>
<br />
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">These are examples of the kind of sustainable
development that the National Planning Policy Framework aspires to deliver. So how are they able to do this and why isn’t
it happening more often in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region>?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Much is made of the so-called ‘win-win’ relationship
between the environment and the economy, with greater efficiency leading to
lower costs. However, this ignores the
important element of timing. Creating
developments with a high environmental performance tends to require greater
costs in the design and construction phases.
In the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
these costs are borne by the developer, who needs a relatively quick payback
period in order to pay off loans and incentivise development. In contrast, the financial benefits tend to
be long-term in nature, and shared between the occupants of the development,
the local authority and the developer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In isolation, strong policy requirements for high
environmental performance only place greater financial burdens on the developer
in the design and construction phases. The
requirement in the National Planning Policy Framework for local authorities to
ensure that policy burdens do not threaten viability means that, in the current
economic climate, environmental performance will inevitably be compromised to
ensure the delivery of development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In <st1:country-region w:st="on">Denmark</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sweden</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
the role of government, at city and national levels, goes way beyond the setting
of policies. They are the driving force
behind these developments: setting targets, subsidising technologies, financing
infrastructure and, in some cases, acting as the landowner and client. Private developers build on the foundations
set by government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Major
transport infrastructure projects in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Copenhagen</st1:city></st1:place>
are being financed through the selling of publicly owned land and through
taxes. This means that the fares do
not have to re-coup the costs of construction; they only have to cover the
running costs, making them low enough to be an attractive alternative to
the car.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In
Hammarby Sjostad in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Stockholm</st1:city></st1:place>,
workshops were held to discuss how private companies could deliver the
targets set by the city government.
As the landowner, the city created the demand and the market was
left to respond to it.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Solar</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Malmo</st1:city></st1:place>
is developing cheaper and more efficient solar energy technologies, but
the national government still subsidises 60% of the investment cost.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt;">By
and Havn is a privately run, but publicly owned, company which makes use
of architectural competitions to raise standards in the redevelopment of
the publicly owned Inner and Southern Harbours in Copenhagen.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r_0dDuwX4cs/UHKsI4Qk2kI/AAAAAAAAAGI/IVesbsT_QrY/s1600/TCPA+Scandanavia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r_0dDuwX4cs/UHKsI4Qk2kI/AAAAAAAAAGI/IVesbsT_QrY/s320/TCPA+Scandanavia.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Pedestrian and cycle
friendly streets in Western Harbour, <br />Malmo</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region></st1:place> is a long way off the
Scandinavian model. Even in cases where
the government is the landowner, the overriding objective tends to be to achieve
best value (just like a developer) rather than to achieve higher standards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;">As long as there is sufficient public support,
governments have a degree of freedom from short-term economic constraints that
private developers do not. However, it
is unclear whether there is the will, within government or the public, to incur
the short-term costs necessary to deliver the kind of sustainable development
on show in <st1:city w:st="on">Copenhagen</st1:city>, <st1:city w:st="on">Malmo</st1:city>
and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Stockholm</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">(Simon<st1:personname w:st="on"> Roberts</st1:personname> for Alsop Verrill Ltd)</i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
alsop verrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725394927757354372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222887301407276323.post-90177731409437103832012-10-02T08:05:00.002-07:002012-12-04T13:07:29.005-08:00Centre for Cities 1901<div>
<b style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Research and Policy institute Centre for Cities
launched ‘Outlook 1901’ on the 12th July 2012, which aimed to analyse whether
we could or indeed should look to the past to help rebalance regional
economies.</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This article highlights some of the main areas of discussion; speakers included Peter
Hall (UCL), Tristram Hunt MP (Stoke Central) and Tony Travers (LSE).</span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">1901 marked a turning point for many of </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">England</st1:country></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">’s
once great regional cities. In the early 19</span><sup style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">th </sup><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">C the likes of </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on">Manchester</st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">, </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"> and
Liverpool were challenging </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on">London</st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"> for supremacy,
yet by the turn of the century </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">
had once more begun to reassert its power. Today, the gap between the capital and once
powerful regional centres is at an all time high</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">History has demonstrated that there are</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">3 key components to a successful
city, they are: a skilled workforce;</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">improved connectivity and a diverse economy.</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To help re-balance the picture and ensure that
regional centres become more attractive places for business and for residents,
we will consider each of these components in turn.</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A Skilled Workforce <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The
ability of a city to attract a skilled workforce is dependent upon its ability
to attract high paid and stable jobs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Swindon</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Wiltshire) grew in the
mid 19<sup>th</sup> C as a result of the expansion of the railways. The town
developed a strong and highly skilled engineering based economy following the
establishment of the Great Western Railway locomotive works in 1841. Although
the works eventually closed in 1986, the town’s strong engineering heritage and
the skills base this entitled ultimately attracted the car industry to <st1:place w:st="on">Swindon</st1:place>, with Honda and BMW currently having significant
manufacturing operations in the town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The
presence of high paid jobs therefore leads to increased aspirations, more
opportunities and higher levels of disposable incomes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Improving Connectivity </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The
lack of comprehensive public transport networks within <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country> cities has
long highlighted not just the divide between themselves and the capital, but
also the increasing gap between equivalent regional centres on the European
mainland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oUk-8XxNw_w/UGnJWvoRmSI/AAAAAAAAAD4/gkBLzhi0wDA/s1600/Graph+1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oUk-8XxNw_w/UGnJWvoRmSI/AAAAAAAAAD4/gkBLzhi0wDA/s320/Graph+1.bmp" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Source:
Urban rail.Net</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<o:p></o:p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">According
to Sir Peter Hall, France currently have approximately 100 new tram lines under
construction. By comparison, the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">UK</st1:country></st1:place> has just 1 and ½. In <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">France</st1:country></st1:place>
such schemes are seen not just as long term investments but also as marketing
solutions to attract new businesses and highly skilled residents. This building
boom of public transport networks is a result of cities having greater fiscal
autonomy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">In
the </span><st1:country -region="-region" style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on">UK</st1:country><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"> all major decisions
have to go via </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on">Whitehall</st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"> in </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"> which, as Tony Travers explained,
contributes to the lack of investment in the regions. </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">
meanwhile, continues to benefit with continued investments to an already superior
network.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">"In the past
those in the regions will have seen the need for extra capacity on the
railways, need for a tramlines etc and acted on it, now they have to go to
Whitehall where the civil servants making the decisions to allocate funds do
not ‘see’ the need. </span></i></span><i style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">They do however ‘see’ the need for extra capacity in
London because they will be using such networks every day, leading to funds
focused upon one place, where the civil servants live and work"</span></i></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">The
investment </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">
has received in transport infrastructure projects over a sustained period of
time has made the city a more attractive place for a diverse range of
businesses and workers. As more workers descend on the capital the demand for
more infrastructure therefore increases. The opposite could perhaps be said of many
of our regional equivalents.</span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Preston (Lancashire) is a good example of a city
outside of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>
that has benefitted from transport infrastructure investment. The city has grown to become one of the
stronger centres in the <st1:state w:st="on">north west</st1:state> of <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">England</st1:country> largely due to the construction of the
town’s by-pass, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Britain</st1:country></st1:place>’s
first motorway in 1958. This was an astute and pioneering move by the town’s
forebears in the 1950’s and was the initial stage of a wider <st1:place w:st="on">Lancashire</st1:place> motorway network initiative in which the final
stages (M60 Manchester By-pass) were completed only as recently as 2000 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcYhezLmzMk/UI_OX81ANTI/AAAAAAAAAHw/-_WjSUPSOjw/s1600/Graph+2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcYhezLmzMk/UI_OX81ANTI/AAAAAAAAAHw/-_WjSUPSOjw/s320/Graph+2.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WLTQ9TTu7SU/UGnTkmWp7VI/AAAAAAAAAEg/OpZeFA5M2s0/s1600/Graph+3.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WLTQ9TTu7SU/UGnTkmWp7VI/AAAAAAAAAEg/OpZeFA5M2s0/s320/Graph+3.bmp" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">As the hub of this motorway network. </span><st1:place style="font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on">Preston</st1:place><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
has indeed prospered, enjoying access routes from all across the country .</span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">Additionally, Peter Hall emphasized the importance of
developing high speed rail sooner rather than later, noting that cities within
2 hours of </span><st1:city style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">
were traditionally more successful.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A Diverse Economy</span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">It is important that a city does not become overly
reliant on a particular sector and is able to adapt quickly and attract new
industry.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Swindon</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> was particularly successful at doing this, despite its reputation as a
railway town. Through strong leadership in the 1970's and 1980's and with railway
jobs under threat, the council devised a pro-active marketing strategy aimed at</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt;">American electronic and pharmaceutical companies.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d9G-dwdCofY/UGnWsVDCQgI/AAAAAAAAAFc/03oac2FFtaE/s1600/Graph+4.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d9G-dwdCofY/UGnWsVDCQgI/AAAAAAAAAFc/03oac2FFtaE/s320/Graph+4.bmp" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Source (ONS Census 2011, IPPRNORTH</span>)</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As a result, during the 1979 – 83 recession, and despite the phased closure of the railway works manufacturing, employment in the town grew by 3% compared with a 11% drop nationally. Additionally, service sector employment grew by nearly 9% as a result of the spin off industries. The town today has a diverse and highly skilled economy</span><!--EndFragment-->
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Additionally, Peter Hall emphasized the importance of
developing high speed rail sooner rather than later, noting that cities within
2 hours of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>
were traditionally more successful. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Conclusions</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">The
capacity for local business and local political elites to make decisions has
significantly reduced since the 19</span><sup style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; text-align: justify;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;"> C as power has
transferred to </span><st1:place style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Whitehall</st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">.
This has dis-empowered our regional cities in the decision making process.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Centre
for Cities conclude that the government should sustain investment in skills and
in infrastructure. They should work with local authorities to identify targeted
investment opportunities and devolve major transport scheme funding to
functional economic areas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Short
term cuts in expenditure on the key drives of economic success are ultimately
to result in a larger long term bills. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All
in all the debate was lively and interesting and could be a springboard for
future dialogue in revitalizing regional economies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i>(<st1:personname w:st="on"><st1:personname w:st="on">Jo</st1:personname>hn Ainsworth</st1:personname>
for Alsop Verrill Ltd)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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