Planning Policy Guidance Research Articles

Reburial in the context of development: Approaches to reburial in the English planning process

Rescue archaeology in England is now firmly embedded in the planning process, following the introduction by the UK government of Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 in 1990 (PPG 16; Departmentof the Environment. Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 — Archaeology and Planning. HMSO, London (1990)). The basic premise of PPG 16 is a strong preference for in situ preservation of nationally important archaeological remains. This often includes reburial of archaeology prior to construction activity, once it has been exposed in test-pitting (‘evaluations’) or full excavation. Reburial strategies are often prepared by civil engineers and there appears to be an overemphasis on consideration of the potential physical impacts on the archaeology. These strategies usually include the use of geotextiles and sand, or other graded material, chosen for its particular particle size/shape characteristics. A greater awareness of the chemical and physical characteristics of a burial environment is now required to ensure that reburial is effective. Archaeologists and conservators are beginning to consider both the natural and, increasingly, the ‘man-made’ (industrial, domestic and agricultural) changes to the soil chemistry of an archaeological site. More use needs to be made of the potential information ‘locked up’ in the artefactual material retrieved from evaluations and excavation nearby. An assessment of the degree of preservation of material should be an integral component for the design of a reburial strategy.

PLANNING FOR FLOOD RISK IN THE FENS

ABSTRACTThe fens of eastern England rely on flood defences for their existence, and planning for flood risk has always had a high priority. A new focus was given with the issue of Planning Policy Guidance 25, and this paper presents experience from a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment of South Holland District, in Lincolnshire. The assessment pioneered the examination of fenland flood risk in terms of risk zones related to flood hazard and standard of protection. Methods for evaluating the risk zones are described; they consider flooding from embanked rivers which are subject to tide locking, internal drainage systems, tide level and wave action. The methods would be appropriate for many lowland areas of the UK where conventional flood analysis cannot be used.

Social Housing and Planning Gain: Is This an Appropriate Way of Providing Affordable Housing?

The current mechanism for providing affordable housing through the planning system in England is based on negotiation within the framework of Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 and Circular 6/98. In this paper the authors examine three groups of questions. First, on the development of the policy, they look at how the need for affordable housing is assessed, how the policy evolved, and how it is currently operated. Second, on the principles and potential outputs of the policy they look at how the approach fits into the principles of betterment taxation, what the results are likely to be ‘on the ground’ in terms of price and output of housing, and whether these are consistent with taxation principles. Third, they examine what the evidence is so far on the impact of planning obligations on affordable housing provision. Finally, the authors develop a typology of likely outcomes, particularly regarding who pays for affordable housing.

The re-timing of English regional planning

The argument presented here is that the new regional planning regime incorporated in Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) Note 11 creates a new geometry of pressures which can rebalance the play of interests and debate. This rebalancing may work against the weaker interests in each region. In particular the implications of changes in time dimensions of the process are explored as a perhaps neglected, but in some respects central, feature of the system. Evidence is taken from a study of two regional planning processes, that in the South West, which was undertaken partly under pre-PPG 11 arrangements and partly afterwards, and that in the West Midlands, which was fully in the PPG 11 era. Some use is also made of information on progress in the South East, East Anglian and East Midlands regions

Using accessibility measures to integrate land use and transport policy in Edinburgh and the Lothians

To ensure more effective integration of development and transport planning, new national planning policy guidance in the UK requires greater consideration of accessibility issues. Although quantitative accessibility analysis is common in research, the practical application of these techniques in land use planning has been rare, and assessment has been restricted to qualitative considerations. The strong policy focus on accessibility increases the need for robustness, but practical quantitative techniques are still evolving. This paper describes a structured approach to accessibility analysis, as part of the development of a new structure plan for Edinburgh and the Lothians, and demonstrates how an ‘integration index’ can be developed from accessibility measures to help compare alternative approaches.

Power, policy networks and planning: the involvement of major grocery retailers in the formulation of Planning Policy Guidance Note 6 since 1988

This paper explores a neglected issue in the study of retail strategy and store location by considering the nature of policy networks operating at the interface between retailers and central government. It argues that informal networks, coupled with the economic power of retailers and the legitimization of their activities with reference to the 'consumer interest', have served to provide retailers with an influential avenue through which they can exert power over the nature of the regulatory environment within which they operate. The paper considers the limited extant 'evidence' of the operation of such networks before moving on to outline the results of a case study. The case study reflects on new store development in the UK grocery sector since 1988 as a backdrop to an analysis of the form of policy networks operating at the interface between government departments and retail organizations. It also explores the role of other stakeholders in this process. The existence of a number of such networks is described and their role explored with reference to the involvement of retailers in the formulation and evolution of Planning Policy Guidance Note 6 on retail development.

Adaptive re-use of offices for residential use

Planners and politicians increasingly have to find solutions for development pressures that consume less land, generate fewer private car miles, use existing urban resources and conserve energy. One solution advocated by policy makers is to increase the number of homes within city centres as an integral tool of regeneration and sustainability policies (Department of the Environment, 1995. Our Future Homes: Opportunity, Choice and Responsibility — the Government's Housing Policies for England and Wales, White Paper, 27 June. HMSO, London; Department of the Environment, 1997. Planning Policy Guidance note 1: General Policy and Principles, February. HMSO, London; Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 1998. A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone. HMSO, London; Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 2000a. Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: Housing. HMSO, London; Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 2000b. Our Towns and Cities: the Future: Delivering the Urban Renaissance, White Paper, 16 November. HMSO, London.). Equally, dealing appropriately with the physical legacy of the recent past is a challenging problem. Changes to existing towns and cities, however, open up the opportunities for entrepreneurs to exploit obsolete buildings to meet the needs and aspirations of the present. Indeed, Jacobs (Jacobs, J., 1961. The Death and Life of Great American Cities: The Failure of Town Planning. Random House Inc., New York.) identifies that: “time makes the high building costs of one generation the bargains of a following generation. …time makes certain structures obsolete for some enterprises, and they become available to others.” This paper examines the background and process of the conversion of obsolete post-World War II office buildings to residential use. A comparative study of North America (Toronto) and Europe (London) will focus on the experiences of two cities where conversions have registered a significant impact in terms of new homes created and had a positive impact upon the respective city centre.

The Identification, Recording and Management of the More Recent Archaeological and Architectural Heritage of Essex

This paper presents the results of an on-going survey into the standing and buried remains of the more recent archaeological and architectural heritage of Essex. Initiated by the County Council Archaeology Section it comprises both extensive and intensive survey, the latter taking place within the framework set out by Central Government Planning Policy Guidance Notes. Having briefly outlined the purpose of the project, the methodologies are described together with appropriate case studies; this is followed by an examination of the way in which recent theoretical models can be implemented within the planning process in order to examine broader social issues on use of space, surveillance and hierarchy.

The Identification, Recording and Management of the More Recent Archaeological and Architectural Heritage of Essex

This paper presents the results of an on-going survey into the standing and buried remains of the more recent archaeological and architectural heritage of Essex. Initiated by the County Council Archaeology Section it comprises both extensive and intensive survey, the latter taking place within the framework set out by Central Government Planning Policy Guidance Notes. Having briefly outlined the purpose of the project, the methodologies are described together with appropriate case studies; this is followed by an examination of the way in which recent theoretical models can be implemented within the planning process in order to examine broader social issues on use of space, surveillance and hierarchy.

Changes in planning and transport policy: Impact on leisure property

This paper reviews recent changes to planning policy guidance notes that relate to transport issues and are likely to influence the decision-making process of selecting a suitable site for a leisure development. The likely impact of these changes is then examined in more detail, identifying potential opportunities they could offer to the leisure developer, and referring to good practice examples from the author's own experience. Finally, an operational leisure development, which meets many of the requirements of these changes, is reviewed.

Power, policy networks and planning: the involvement of major grocery retailers in the formulation of Planning Policy Guidance Note 6 since 1988

This paper explores a neglected issue in the study of retail strategy and store location by considering the nature of policy networks operating at the interface between retailers and central government. It argues that informal networks, coupled with the economic power of retailers and the legitimization of their activities with reference to the 'consumer interest', have served to provide retailers with an influential avenue through which they can exert power over the nature of the regulatory environment within which they operate. The paper considers the limited extant 'evidence' of the operation of such networks before moving on to outline the results of a case study. The case study reflects on new store development in the UK grocery sector since 1988 as a backdrop to an analysis of the form of policy networks operating at the interface between government departments and retail organizations. It also explores the role of other stakeholders in this process. The existence of a number of such networks is described and their role explored with reference to the involvement of retailers in the formulation and evolution of Planning Policy Guidance Note 6 on retail development.

Planning policy, policy guidance and technical advice

An increasing interest has recently emerged in Britain in the organisation, character and development of planning systems within the 'Celtic periphery' (MacDonald and Thomas, 1997). This interest has been promoted by the Government's programme of devolution and a consideration of the implications of devolution for the operation of planning systems (Lloyd and Illsley, 1999; McEldowney, 1999; Tewdwr-Jones, 1999; Thomas, 1999). The planning system in Wales forms part of this review and continues to face a series of considerable challenges and opportunities that emerged during the 1990s (Tewdwr-Jones, 1997b). There are few detailed accounts of the development of the contemporary planning system in Wales and there exist even fewer accounts that assess in detail the various policy and advice instruments that have developed as part of that system. This account is concerned with one of the most recent planning instruments to be introduced as part of the planning system in Wales, Technical Advice Notes (Wales) (TAN[W]s or TANs). TANs were introduced in 1996 to accompany the revised format for the publication of planning policy in Wales in a single document. Planning Guidance (Wales): Planning Policy. The formal relationship between the TAN series and the unified policy document is described as one in which the policy document ?is supplemented by a series of Technical Advice Notes' (Welsh Office, 1999a, para. 1.1). The focus of this paper is to explore in further detail and in practical terms the role and function of the TAN series. Following a brief introduction to the legislative and administrative context for planning in Wales, an account is provided of the development of the modern British planning policy framework and the evolution during the 1990s of a separate policy framework for Wales. This account identifies the fragmentation of the unified policy framework for England and Wales, resulting ultimately in the system of Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs) being replaced in Wales by a singular policy document supplemented by a series of TANs. The paper proceeds to define the terms ?policy' and ?advice' in order to assess the TAN series by an analysis of the function and content of the series.The legislative and administrative context for planning in Wales1One of the consequences of the wider programme of devolution and its effect on planning systems is that the singular reference to ?the British planning system' is becoming a less precise and valid term. It may be successfully argued that the term has always been ill-defined and used more out of convenience than as a proper description. The term has often been used in a practical sense to refer to the planning system as it has operated across England and Wales and testifies to the joint development of the planning system in the two countries. England and Wales have, for almost the entire history of the modern planning system, shared a common legislative, administrative and policy framework. Of these three elements, it is now only the legislative basis for the operation of the planning system that remains substantially intact and shared between England and Wales.2The administrative context for planning in Wales has been dramatically reshaped during the past five years. The first notable change in the context for planning was the establishment of unitary local government in 1996 to replace the former two-tier administrative system of counties and districts (Harris and Tewdwr-Jones, 1995). The introduction of a pattern of unitary local government is considered to have seriously undermined the capacity for strategic planning in the various sub-regions of Wales (Tewdwr-Jones, 1998). Dissatisfaction has also been expressed with the efficacy of the voluntary jointworking arrangements which are encouraged by current policy to address strategic issues (Welsh Office, 1999a, para. 3.7). The second fundamental change in the administrative context for planning has been the creation of the National Assembly for Wales. …

Special landscape areas

The concept of assigning special treatment to valued areas is part of the human psyche, particularly with regard to landscape matters (Gold and Burgess, 1982). Its roots in Britain can be traced back to the nineteenth century with the emergence of the Romantic Movement and writers such as Shelley and Wordsworth (Pepper, 1996). The British experience of landscape planning stems from a series of reports commissioned during the 1930s and 1940s which enabled three pieces of primary, post-war legislation-the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, the Agriculture Act 1947 and the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (Cullingworth and Nadin, 1997). The outcomes of these Acts were instrumental in the creation of two separate forms of countryside planning-resource planning and development control planning (Curry, 1992). While resource planning involving agriculture and forestry was largely exempt from many planning restrictions, development control was exercised over all other activities, primarily to protect the countryside from inappropriate development. Curry and Owen (1996) have argued that this led to a 'no development' ethic for the countryside and fostered the neglect of countryside issues in planning circles. Indeed, this is evident within contemporary Planning Policy Guidance (DOE, 1992; Welsh Office, 1999).Such a narrow focus on rural planning resulted in a countryside substantially dependent on agriculture, with a growing number of protected landscape designations reinforcing policies of restraint in the open countryside (Owen, 1994). According to some commentators this approach devalued the very landscapes they were designed to protect. As Bowen-Rees (1995, 41) lamented, 'so great a proportion of Wales is protected that the coinage of designation has already been debased'.This research critically questions the use of non-statutory designations with specific reference to special landscape areas (SLAs).1 Drawing on previous work assessing landscape designations, SLAs are analysed within the Ceredigion local authority area to examine their impact and role using development control data.Methodological issues in development control studiesDuring the 1970s and 1980s a variety of studies examined the operation of statutory landscape designations in the town and country planning system. Development control data were analysed and compared with similar undesignated countryside (Gregory, 1971 [Green Belts]; Anderson, 1981 [AONBs]; Brotherton, 1982 [National Parks]). These studies revealed important findings about the value of landscape designations. Gregory's (1971) Green Belt and Brotherton's National Park studies found that decisions closely followed the restrictive policies of the designation with a larger number of planning refusals. However, the case of AONBs was far less clear cut. Researchers cited in Curry and McNab's (1986) review revealed diverging trends, with Blacksell and Gilg (1977) finding more refusals outside the AONB than within it. Conversely, Anderson's (1981) results found the reverse picture to this trend. Such studies serve to remind the reader that particular case studies have limited applicability and demand special caution in their interpretation, since planning decisions are not made in a vacuum and are derived from a unique set of circumstances (Gilg and Kelly, 1996). Moreover, evaluations of planning designations using such data are fraught with methodological issues and problems (Brotherton, 1982; Curry and McNab, 1986; Preece, 1990; Sellgren, 1990).While it is the view of some researchers that the total number of applications gives a reliable measure of development pressure, the possibility exists that developers may enter into preliminary, informal negotiations with planning authorities or other specialist advisors prior to application, or not even apply at all in areas perceived as 'no win'. Accordingly, a low refusal rate may not signify that the designation is failing (McNamara and Healey, 1984; Curry and McNab, 1986). …

'Euroscepticism', Political Agendas and Spatial Planning: British National and Regional Planning Policy in Uncertain Times

Over the last 10 years, European Union interest in planning has increased significantly. Although land use planning remains a function of each member state, the legal obligations imposed by the EU in the fields of environmental law, structural funds, the Common Agricultural Policy, and Trans-European Transport Networks, have all impacted upon the context of the operation of the British planning process. Many of the EU initiatives have had to be transposed into domestic legislation, while others form an important-if oft-times uncertain-framework for British policy-makers. This paper examines the relationship between the European Union's policies and initiatives as they have potentially impacted upon the British planning system and the contents of Britain's national and regional planning policy guidance to local planning authorities in the assessment period 1988-1997. But the Conservative governments adopted a 'Eurosceptic' approach to their relations with Europe and, as demonstrated within this paper, also towards spatial planning issues that caused uncertainty in practice. The research indicates that although the EU has impacted upon British planning, particularly at the local level of government, this has not been reflected at the national and regional levels in planning policy documentation, mainly because of the 'Eurosceptic' attitude of the government. Policy-makers at both the national and regional levels in England, Scotland and Wales are now recognizing the need, however, to keep apace with changes occurring simultaneously with regard to enhanced European integration, and the approach of the Blair government since 1997 has re-focused the relationship between the EU and UK over spatial planning.

Archaeologists, Architectural Historians and the Planning Process: Whose Agenda?

This paper looks at the issue of archaeological remains as a constraint to development within the modern land-use planning system. It examines the application of current national policy guidance found in Planning Policy Guidance Notes PPG15 and PPG16. It also discusses a number of issues raised by the current practices of professional archaeologists (and architectural historians involved with archaeological issues) within the development control process. It concludes that their increased professional involvement requires, in turn, a greater responsibility by those individuals, as expert witnesses, to ensure not only for the content of their letters and written reports but also for the consequences of their recommendations, which all have increasing significance, legally as well as commercially. Furthermore, if quality and reasonableness are to be maintained in balance then the relevant professional bodies will need to review, more carefully, their professional practices and responsibilities.

Using Land-use Planning to Manage Transport Demand: A survey of Scottish experience

Recent concerns surrounding the growth of mobility and associated increases in journey length and number of motorised journeys for an increasingly diverse pattern of trips have placed demands on the planning system in terms of the need to consider the land use-transport interaction. This paper first provides a review of relevant national planning policy in Scotland in particular. It then goes on to report findings from a recent survey which highlights the attitudes held by Scottish planning professionals to managing transport demand through land-use planning. The paper outlines the trade-offs encountered in practice between competing policy objectives. In Scotland there is no planning guidance equivalent to Planning Policy Guidance Note 13, which applies to England and Wales, around which there has been much debate on its impact on development control decisions and planning strategy. Draft guidance for Scotland was produced in 1996 for consultation and again in 1998, but at the time of writing has yet to be finalised. The findings from this study are timely in that they enable an assessment of the extent to which the planning system is being used to manage transport demand. Recent local government reorganisation in Scotland has resulted in significant changes to ways in which strategic planning and development control policy are likely to proceed. The paper focuses on the extent to which local authority policy emphasises the need to reduce travel through planning.

Windfall Sites for Housing: An Underestimated Resource

The current government has stated that at least 60 per cent of the projected 4.4 million new houses required between 1991 and 2016 should be built on 'brownfield' sites. Many of these sites will be 'windfall' sites—i.e. sites which unexpectedly become available for redevelopment during the plan period. Current government planning policy guidance in both England and Scotland places a significant restriction on the allowances that might be made by local authorities for windfall sites when preparing their strategic land-use development plans and their housing land audits. The effect of this policy restriction is to pressurise local authorities into releasing larger areas of open countryside for housing development than is mathematically necessary. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the allowances for windfall sites made over a 12-year period by the former Grampian Regional Council for the Aberdeen area of north-east Scotland and contrasts this against actual levels of windfall development. It concludes that far more open countryside has been allocated for development than has actually been required and recommends the adoption of a more incrementalist and cautious approach to land release.

Design control—bridging the professional divide, part 2: A new consensus

In Part 1 of this paper the new framework for design control in England in the form of (revised) Planning Policy Guidance Note 1: General Policy and Principles (1997) was examined alongside a reformulation of the established critiques of design control in the UK. From the analysis the implications of the new framework for the key actors in the design control process was considered and the extent to which the guidance addresses the key themes of the design control debate reviewed. In Part 2, the rare opportunity is taken of reviewing a snapshot of opinion on design control from across the full range of actors in the design/development process. This is achieved through a detailed comparative review of the responses of 20 key (development, professional and amenity) respondents to the consultation exercise held on the revised government guidance on design. From the analysis, a series of eight key consensus positions are identified; positions it is argued that provide a potential basis from which to bridge the cross‐professional design divide. To confirm this the consensus positions identified in Part 2 are used as a means to revisit the established critiques of design control examined in Part 1. Finally, some tentative conclusions are drawn on developing the broad consensus, with a particular focus on the issue of design skills—the major concern of the key actors to avoid consideration in the new framework provided by (revised) PPG1.

Design control — bridging the professional divide, part 1: A new framework

The design quality of development in new and established environments frequently represents the clearest outward expression of planning effort and the means through which local populations most readily evaluate the role and success of the planning and development process. With support for local authorities to pursue more interventionist and proactive design agendas coming from central government in the UK, local authorities and the populations they represent may less readily stand for the laissez‐faire approaches to design control necessarily adopted in the past. In this new context, Part 1 of this paper explores the new framework for design control in England. It begins by identifying the established critiques of design control, which are subsequently used as a means to examine the recent changes in government advice in the form of (revised) Planning Policy Guidance Note 1: General Policy and Principles (1997). In Part 2 the responses of the full range of development, professional and amenity bodies to the guidance are examined in detail. The analysis is undertaken as a means to explore whether the about‐turn in government thinking on design has infused through all the key players in the planning/development process, or whether the age‐old inter‐professional antagonisms on this subject are still alive and well. Part 2 concludes by drawing out any cross‐professional common ground, and by comparing the established critiques of design control identified in Part 1 against the consensus positions suggested by the analysis in Part 2.

Understanding Store Development Programmes in Post-Property-Crisis UK Food Retailing

This paper contrasts conflicting interpretations of the UK food store development process in the late 1990s. In particular, an attempt is made to unpack critical dimensions of the debate which surrounds the Department of the Environment's Planning Policy Guidance Notes 6 and 13 and the so-called ‘Gummer effect’ which is seen as having actively discouraged green-field out-of-town development and provided a mandate for reinvestment in town centre retail development. By exploring new evidence on the changing economics of superstore development, the impact of tightened land-use planning regulation, and shifting patterns of capital investment, I provide a conceptual framework in which to understand a radically transformed retail development picture.