architecture planning urban design conservation

Planning

IntroductionThe statutory planning process, which operates through County and District Councils, as Local and Planning Authorities

affects all significant proposals for change in the built and often the natural environment.

Since the first Planning Act was introduced in 1948, the scope of interest of the statutory planning process has gradually

increased as our society has sought to protect and control the influence that change can have on the environment and

people’s lives, and has been expressed through environmental protection legislation of one kind or another.

Whether you are a Local or Regional Authority wanting to promote a new airport, a house builder seeking to see land allocated

for housing or a householder wanting to extend your house, you will interface with the planning process. This may be by

formally seeking to influence emerging planning policy, or by the submission of a Planning Application, a Listed Building

Application or what is known as Conservation Area Consent where changes can affect the character of a conservation area.

Additional statutory regulatory procedures exist for specific circumstances and are explained in more detail here.

Planning policies exist at National, Regional and Local level and the decisions

Planning Authorities make through their offices and planning committees are

guided by a wide range of governmental advice on a huge variety of subjects.

Any proposals for change need to be developed in the light of these policies.

Increasingly to administer the process, Local Planning Authorities need, and

are empowered to ask for, specialist information on a proposal so that the

true impacts of a proposed change can be assessed against many areas of

specialist interest.

How Nash Partnership can help

In a complex society the statutory planning process is an essential tool in how

society regulates itself and how it protects what it has come to value. We believe

in the planning process and what it seeks to do. But we are well aware of its

shortcomings and how frustrating it can be for applicants to engage with it.

Through our experience in dealing with a large number of Planning Authorities

throughout the region, the key individuals within the Planning Authorities, their

policies and their status within the ever changing planning policy development

process, we can steer applicants towards the schemes most likely to obtain

planning permission and optimise the prospects of an application’s success.

We can call on relevant experience of a particular type of use or within a

particular sector of a Local Authority in order to create a measure of confidence

in particular proposals. Clients often rely very substantially on our judgement

of the prospects of planning permission and how a case should be processed

towards a successful outcome.

In some circumstances even small planning applications can require specialist consideration of any of the following areas and it should be noted that the list is not exhaustive.

ArchaeologyOn sites where archaeological interest is suspected the Planning

Authority will need what is known as a PPS 16 Archaeological

Desk Study quantifying the prospect of underground archaeology

being present and advising what level of investigation (either pre

or post planning application) might be necessary to quantify such

risk and put in place ways of avoiding harm to such deposits.

ContaminationIn some cases the ground beneath the building or around it could

contain chemicals which could be harmful to human health or the

health of those involved in the construction process. Sometimes

a site can be leaching contaminants into watercourses and the

prospects of this happening can be greatly enhanced during

the construction process. It is increasingly common, even on

small applications, for a specialist report to be needed following

both desk based and ground based investigations, to establish

whether such hazards exist and to put in place conditions

for dealing with them appropriately through the construction

process.

EcologyAs a consequence of the urgent need to protect

biodiversity and ensure appropriate habitats for wildlife

of all kinds are perpetuated, even for minor planning

applications officers need some evidence of the wildlife

that might inhabit a site involving both flora and fauna. If

specifically protected species are found to be present this

can sometimes prevent development. More commonly,

measures are needed to mitigate the loss of habitat by the

promotion of new habitat areas or the creation of nesting

facilities. Often the presence of wildlife such as bats,

newts, slow worms or reptiles can only be established at

limited times of the year since legislation is particularly

geared to protecting breeding sites. The relocation of

protected wildlife is an uncertain process and sometimes

a season or two can be lost before development of a

protected site can be allowed. Frequently for example,

development cannot take place in bird nesting seasons.

TreesAvoiding the loss of significant trees is taken very seriously by the planning process particularly in areas, such as conservation

areas, where their presence can be a major contributor to urban character. In such areas all trees generally have automatic

protection, but elsewhere only the most significant or more established trees are given the individual statutory protection

of Tree Preservation Order status. Even where trees are not individually protected it is quite common for protection to be

put in place the moment development is first mooted, a process that can be instigated by anyone where the status of the

trees in question merits this. Therefore it is quite common for even modest development to need advice from a qualified

arboriculturalist who will judge the long term health and relative value of trees and guide the designers on the proximity to

which development might be allowed to come to a particular tree. Where this process does not preclude development it

is necessary for the acquired planning permission to be supported by conditions which require particular elements of tree

protection during the construction process, and monitoring thereafter.

Traffic and Sustainable TransportExperience shows that nothing raises public concern about a

proposed development more than its perceived implications for

creating additional traffic. A Local Highway Authority will be

consulted on all planning applications and will make an assessment

themselves on whether a proposal will create potentially adverse

traffic consequences which might need mitigating. Many otherwise

acceptable proposals are refused planning permission on Health

and Safety grounds as a result of the additional traffic that might be

generated, particularly if the roads servicing the development are

sub-standard in width, have blind bends or lack pavements. It is

very important in the early stages of a proposal to come to a view

on whether such traffic issues are likely to be fundamental to an

application’s prospects and consider what can be done to reduce

this risk through reducing traffic speeds by traffic calming, improving

exit visibility etc. Specialised consultants advice is often needed.

Increasingly, Local Planning Authorities are expecting a development

which does have traffic impacts to be supported by a programme

of measures to discourage vehicular access in favour of alternative

methods such as public transport, walking or cycling. Larger

development invariably has to be accompanied by a Green Transport

Plan, which will oblige the applicant to undertake a series of measures

to encourage a workforce or visitors to minimise the use of the private

motorcar through Planning Section 106 Agreements.

Air QualityIn some areas of the country traffic or industrial pollution

have created situations where the quality of the air residents

breathe is poor and additional traffic or activities could make

this unacceptable. Where this risk is high it is necessary to

seek specialist advice from an Air Quality Consultant who will

assess the likely impacts of the proposal and advise ways in

which this might be mitigated.

NoiseIn recent years the increasing levels of traffic on the roads,

and the noise generated by railways or airports, have been

taken more seriously in the light of the reduction they cause to

peoples’ quality of life. Where a development is proposed on

a busy road it is often necessary for it to be accompanied by

a qualified Sound Engineer’s report illustrating the sound level

across various frequency ranges that would be experienced

within habitable rooms. Where these standards are judged

to be unacceptable, planning conditions may be set in place

that would, for instance, require double glazing to be fitted or

sound absorbing ventilation systems.

Historic Buildings

In the late 1960s public concern about the loss of valued historic

buildings led to a number of protection measures, which have

since subsequently affected the planning process. Perhaps

best known of these is the ‘listing’ of buildings deemed to be of

historic, architectural or social importance.

However, while a listed building enjoys a measure of protection

(and is subject to a number of controls) wider protection can be

given to entire swathes of land by designation as a Conservation

Area. Powers also exist to protect Ancient Monuments and

conserve archaeology through the planning system.

Local Authority Conservation Officers are employed to assess

whether proposals for change either to listed buildings, their

settings or conservation areas are acceptable. Generally loss

of any historic fabric is frowned upon and much care is taken to

avoid eroding what is judged to be an historic building’s relevant

setting, or the key elements of an area’s character, from buildings

to trees. Control over works to Scheduled Ancient Monuments

is carried out by the Secretary of State (Department of Culture

Media and Sport), and archaeological control is exercised

through planning departments, with input from publicly funded

archaeologists, usually at county or unitary council level.

Making fine judgements on matters of heritage often requires specialist experience, and at Nash Partnership our staff include a number of former Local Authority Conservation Officers and Architects with years of historic buildings expertise, as well as former planning department case officers. Planning authorities now require a considerable depth of information to accompany applications affecting heritage users, such as historic evaluation, description and justification, usually expressed in a ‘Design and Access Statement’. Finding acceptable solutions where development proposals appear to conflict with heritage considerations often involves detailed negotiation and it helps to speak the same language.

A successful scheme needs a close liaison between designers (usually architects) and conservation experts (often planners). Here at Nash Partnership, our planning team is an independent fee-earning arm, thereby ensuring competitive quoting and value for money. However, in practice staff from both architectural and planning teams work alongside each other to ensure that the quality of a scheme is optimised, and abortive works avoided. This synergy between design and the planning process enables us to test and develop client’s proposals for planning viability. This gives us an excellent first time success rate for applications to the LPA and good record of success at

appeal.

The Planning Process

The foregoing commentary illustrates something of the range of interest of Planning Authorities when considering the planning or alternative application. But what of the process itself?

Local Planning Authorities and their officers evaluate an application for its compliance with a large number of written planning policies as they appear in their set of planning policy documents. Latterly those Planning Authority documents have been a combination of the Regional (Structure) Plan and the Local (Local Planning Authority) Plan. But currently Local Authorities are at various stages of preparing and adopting what are known as Local Development Frameworks (LDF). So at any one time reference may need to be made to a series of policy documents and it is not until a new LDF has been formally adopted by a Planning Committee and supported by a Government Inspector that it becomes an up to date relevant planning policy.

For a potential applicant the interface with the local policy

framework can occur in a variety of ways:

Influencing the LDF Process

A local Planning Authority’s Local Plan process (now known as the LDF process) is reviewed on average every ten years in a rolling programme. On each such occasion the plan might be modified to reflect areas of national interest such as inequalities in housing provision or climate change. Many aspects of a Local Plan or LDF framework require the Local Planning Authority to issue maps allocating various uses or policies to distinct areas. At regular intervals National Government issues targets for the regions for the supply of housing, employment land, etc through what is known as the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS )process. Presented with those targets Local Planning Authorities are obliged to indicate, through the allocation of land uses, how such targets can be delivered in their planning area over the plan period.

A landowner with an interest in promoting the creation of value or a particular use of a piece of land can influence the LDF process through putting the land forward with a good reasoned argument to the policy formulation process. We are experienced in such procedures and are able to advise the critical dates for these procedures in any UK Planning Authority Area.

Making a Planning Application

Generally planning applications are judged against adopted and, to an extent emerging policy. The planning policies are written in very general terms and some, when read and taken at face value would appear to conflict. The process in fact has a large amount of room in it for individual planning case officers to weigh the merits of proposals against one policy or another. Generally, as a result planning officers are looking for the applicant to put forward as sound and robust an argument as possible about why a proposal should be supported by reference to one policy or another or how much weight should be given to each such argument.

Each planning application now has to be supported by a document known as a Design and Access Statement which explains the principles behind its design. It is common practice for applications also to be accompanied by a Planning Report which brings together all the relevant planning policies and presents a reasoned argument why this particular application should be supported, especially if on face value it is seen to breach one or other policy.

Although many applicants will find the planning process frustrating and difficult to understand, its objectives are sound; but the system is far from perfect. Local Planning Authorities are often chronically short staffed and those staff have an enormous workload to get through. The process relies on officers assimilating and absorbing specialist inputs from many quarters and working to a very strict timescale which often leaves them very little time to make sound judgements. We have learnt to present our reports in ways that make processing applications as easy as possible for case officers. We consider carefully what information planning officers and specialist consultees will need in order to come to a sound view about, for instance, the impact of a scheme on the character of a conservation area, sometimes preparing perspective drawings, computer models or statistical data to help officers come to a balanced view on a particular topic.

In the past, once a planning application had been made, Local Planning Authorities could sometimes take many months to come to a decision. Local Planning Authorities are now put under considerable pressure by central government to turn planning applications around within a fixed period of time, generally eight weeks for small applications and thirteen weeks for larger ones.

Local Planning Authorities are incentivised to do this

by experiencing financial penalties in the event that

significant numbers of their case-load overrun. As a

result applications are often at risk of being refused

for lack of time, particularly where a Local Planning

Authority is short staffed.

Although planning officers are obliged to offer potential

applicants pre-application advice, in practice their

busy caseloads often make this extremely difficult to

obtain and often officers are reluctant to give such

advice before they have in front of them detailed

observations from specialist consultants. At Nash

Partnership we are very experienced in judging

planning applications using the criteria the Local

Planning Authority themselves are likely to apply,

borne out of many hundreds of applications made to

a great range of Local Planning Authorities.

As a result of our experience we can judge very quickly what

the most critical issues on any site are likely to be, invite the

specialist consultants’ inputs necessary to create maximum

confidence, ensure a design is pursued that will achieve the

best possible prospect of success and then present it to a Local

Planning Authority and other interested parties so that its virtues

and compliance with policy are well established. Bringing such

focus to the application process is important because much

time can be lost and high levels of fees expended if relevant

issues are not taken seriously enough from the start.

In many Local Planning Authorities officers are delegated power

to make planning decisions themselves, relying on their own

judgement of planning policy. Each Planning Authority will have

its own rules for the circumstances in which an application will

or can be brought to Planning Committee. But ultimately the

planning process is a political process in which a committee

of elected councillors might make a final planning decision.

They will often be substantially influenced by the views of local

residents. Increasingly applicants are expected to consult and

then demonstrate that they have given adequate consideration

of the views of interested parties within a community in what is

known as a Community Consultation Statement.

Where local planning officers have not supported an

application, or sometimes in the face of their support

an application that goes to Planning Committee is

refused, applicants will want to consider making an

Appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, a second tier

of planning consideration administered by Central

Government. There are three ways of pursuing a

Planning Appeal:

l Written representations

l A public hearing

l A planning inquiry

Each Appeal process has its advantages and

disadvantages and where it has not been possible

to secure planning permission at local level we can

advise on the most appropriate method to employ in

any particular circumstances with a view to saving

both time and cost. The judgemental framework

within which a planning decision is made does vary

according to whether it is made by a case officer

with delegated powers, a Planning Committee or an

Inquiry Inspector. Each will view the arguments in a

different way. Presenting the case afresh to each such

judge requires a different presentation of the evidence

and the argument.

The General Development Order

Relatively minor works involving extensions, alterations

or constructions of various kinds within the grounds of

a property can in fact be undertaken without resort to

planning or Listed Buildings applications. The scope of this

concession is spelt out in the General Development Order.

Against this document we can advise grounds on whether

the proposals do require planning permission.

Expert Witness

Where an application does need to go to Planning Appeal it

is often helpful to the process to be able to offer specialist

advice on aspects of the judgement a Planning Inspector will

have to make. Our Senior Partner, Edward Nash, has been

called upon many times to offer expert witness advice on

matters of building heritage and the appropriateness of new

designs within historic areas and has also acted for a large

number of national and international companies or Local

Authorities in this regard.

architecture planning urban design conservation

Nash Partnership23a Sydney BuildingsBath, BA2 6BZ

www.nashpartnership.commail@nashpartnership.com

T (01225) 442424F (01225) 442484