Monthly Archives: February 2012

Kirkwells to speak at Planning Summer School 2012

Posted on February 24, 2012 by MichaelWellock

Kirkwells Director Mick Wellock has been invited to speak at this year’s Town and Country Planning Summer School. This annual event brings together 250-300 delegates from across the country. Mick, will be speaking on Housing-led regeneration with Meshwork’s Director Jackie Mason. Mick said: “We are delighted to be invited to speak at such a prestigious event. The Planning Summer School attracts delegates from across the country and always has a quality line-up of speakers and workshop leaders. We are looking forward to sharing our expertise and knowledge on housing regeneration with colleagues from across the country.” The Planning Summer School runs from 14th to 17th of September 2012, and will take place at Liverpool Hope University.    

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Dwellinghouses, Houses in Multiple Occupation and Article 4 Directions

Posted on February 13, 2012 by MichaelWellock

Aside from other regulatory services controlling and licensing houses in multiple occupation (HMO), in April 2010, an amendment to the Town & Country Planning (Use Classes) Order split the C3 (dwellinghouses) class, into two separate classes:  1. Class C3: Dwellinghouses – this class is formed of 3 parts:  C3(a): those living together as a single household as defined by the Housing Act 2004 (basically a ‘family’); C3(b): those living together as a single household and receiving care, and C3(c): those living together as a single household who do not fall within the C4 definition of a house in multiple occupation. 2. Class C4: Houses in multiple occupation (3-6 occupants) – in broad terms, the new C4 class covers small shared houses or … Continue reading

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Plan for the Future of Your Town – Portas Town Team Pilots

Posted on February 7, 2012 by MichaelWellock

Twelve lucky towns will receive a share of £1 million in government funding for their town centre or high street. This follows on from Mary Portas’ review of the high street. One of the key recommendations in this report was that town’s should form town teams. These teams would bring together all the key players with an interest in a town centre. Town teams would be: “visionary, strategic and strong operational management teams for high streets” Bids are now invited from towns that would like to pilot the town team initiative. Bids should include a short video. Funding of up to £100,000 is available for each bid to be successful you will have to have, or be able to demonstrate: … Continue reading

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CPRE: Protecting the wider countryside

Posted on February 6, 2012 by MichaelWellock

Today CPRE published a report on the implications of the Draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for the English countryside. The report finds some 55% of the English countryside would not be protected by the Draft NPPF. This falls to some 33% when local designations are included, such as those in Local Plans. With a number of areas in the process of preparing Local Plans this figure will fall further. Commenting on the report David Hortin at Kirkwells said: “Clearly, these figures give some cause for concern. Particularly in areas without an up to date local plan. For these areas local planning authorities need to be making as much progress as they can. The alternative is that if they don’t, … Continue reading

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Getting to Grips with Localism Part 2: New Freedoms and Flexibilities for Local Government

Posted on February 1, 2012 by MichaelWellock

One of the key aims of Localism is to devolve power to local people and their elected representatives. To do this the Localism Act will introduce a number of new freedoms and flexibilities for local government. General power of competence – currently local authorities can only do what the law says they can. The Localism Act turns this on its head. The Localism Act will give local authorities a “general power of competence”, freeing up local authorities to do anything provided they do not break other laws. Abolition of the Standards Board – at the moment all local authorities must adopt a national code of conduct and a standards committee. This oversees the work of councillors and handles complaints. The … Continue reading

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