The Planning Blog

Justine Greening, transport secretary

Greening has told the House of Commons that she expects to announce in January whether or not the High Speed Two London to Birmingham rail link will proceed. Whichever way it goes, her decision will be hugely controversial, either alienating conservationists in the Chilterns, or champions of big cities in the North and Midlands.

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Read on for our round-up of the 10 key dates to look out for in the first six months of 2012. Read More »

Reaction has been coming in from across the planning and property sectors on this morning’s publication of a parliamentary committee report into the government’s draft national planning policy statement.

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We’ve put together a list of ten people who we think made a name for themselves in planning over 2011. Find out if you’re on the list…

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If all you want for Christmas is an update on the latest CIL charging schedules to be published, then you are in the right place. News of boroughs’ concerns over the London mayor’s proposed Community Infrastructure Levy charges, new draft charging schedules and the latest contract wins feature in our festive CIL Watch update – the final update of 2011. Read More »

Reaction to the Portas review has been flooding in since the TV retail guru published her recommendations this morning. Click here to read our news story on the review, and here for Planning editor Richard Garlick’s verdict. Read on for the planning sector’s response to the review’s contents. Read More »

Retail guru Mary Portas’s review into the future of high streets is wide-ranging. She understands that the problems facing town centres are complex, and that the battle to support them needs to be conducted on many fronts. Among these are planning. She does not accept the Government’s contention that the draft National Planning Policy Framework maintains existing levels of protection for town centres, and calls for its wording to be made more precise “so it’s really clear that people and place come first and the policy is less vulnerable to legal disputes”. She calls for more research to understand the impact of retail developments on town centres, and a requirement for all large schemes to be given an “exceptional sign-off by the secretary of state”.

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In case you missed it, the first episode in a new series which follows TV architect Kevin McCloud in his battle to ‘reinvent the terrace’ aired on Channel Four last night. The surprisingly warts and all programme covered all the typical trials and tribulations of getting a housing project from the drawing board through to completion including, nimbys, global recessions and bad weather. It makes for interesting viewing.

Planning covered the scheme in our ‘How We Did It’ feature back in September.

You can watch first episode here and feel free to let us know what you thought of the programme.

Colin Marrs reports from the annual conference of the Town and Country Planning Association, which took place in London yesterday. Read More »

Movember, the annual charity moustache growing shenanigan, has come to an end and a couple of emails have come through to Planning HQ showing the results of this year’s efforts…
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