Architects Archives - Page 7 of 8

Understanding Use Classes Order reform

30th November 202219th August 2020 by Gary Stringer

The government have recently announced some profound changes to the way in which use of land and buildings is categorised – the 2020 Use Classes Order amendments. The reforms will bring in three new land use classes, which are broad in nature, and will replace several of the more narrow and prescriptive elements of the previous system.

In essence, the reforms have been designed to offer landowners a greater level of flexibility to change between the various uses within the new classes. The most noteworthy change in the pooling of shops, offices, restaurants and cafes, together with business uses. Following the change to the legislation due on the 1st September a landowner owning any of these types of property will be able to change the buildings use to any other falling within that category without the need to apply to the local authority.

This is going to have a particularly interesting impact on the high street, and retail centres in general. The emergence of internet shopping and out-of-town shopping centres have caused a huge downturn in the number of people travelling into town centres, issues which have been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. The rationale behind the new changes is to give landowners and business operators’ additional flexibility to respond to demands in the market. There are still some questions about the level of influence Authorities will have to push back on these flexibilities. The picture will undoubted become clearer over the next 6 months, and we will certainly be keeping our clients updated on the situation but these are certainly the most notable changes to the land use system since its creation in 1987.

At a time of significant change for the English Planning system we outline in detail the new permitted development rights that have emerged as well as the changes to the Use Classes Order in this briefing note.

Comprising town planners, architects and architectural assistants our staff bring a wealth of experience from a range of backgrounds and various parts of the UK. Our planners have worked in the public & private sectors, and have excellent working relations with Local Planning Authorities.

For further information and clarification on the amendments to the Use Classes Order, Rory Bradford from our Planning team explains the changes being made, and the impacts they may have for landowners and business operators in the following short video.

If you have further questions, or to discuss a specific building or site please don’t hesitate to contact us for a free 30 minute consultation to discuss your project.

Please click here to download the slides that accompany this video.

You can also download a summary of the 2020 Use Classes Order amendments here.

Main Image: Thanks to Cactus Images

Planning permission for new bungalow, Dalbury Lees

30th November 202219th August 2020 by Gary Stringer

We recently received Planning Permission for a new bungalow in the area of Dalbury Lees, a small village in Derbyshire.

We originally gained outline planning approval for a bungalow and garage on this plot, and the clients came back to us to apply for the reserved matters application.

The site is on the main road through Dalbury Lees from Long Lane towards the south. The plot sits between two other bungalows to the north and south and was granted outline consent as an infill plot. The site had a number of constraints to deal with which included; a large tree to the north of the plot which has a Tree Preservation Order and root protection zone, a sloping site to the south east, a narrow site access with tight visibility splays, an irregular triangle shaped plot, and limitations on the eaves and ridge heights which relate to the existing properties heights to the north and south of the site.

The brief from the clients was for a dormer bungalow with 3 bedrooms, separate living area, large kitchen and dining area, a garage linked to the house, maximising the amazing views over the fields to the East and a specific request for private spaces separate from the main social and entertainment space.

The concept of the building is a H shaped floor plan which follows the shape of the triangular plot and looks towards the east. Sitting back from the main road and sitting slightly lower into the ground using the sites topography the new property has a low impact. The entrance drive leads to garaging and parking, the covered entrance is set back enclosed by two wings of the house which creates a focal point, for the entrance. The H shaped floor plan encloses a rear private courtyard space creating an outside room enclosed on three sides with open views on the fourth. The low profile of the building ensures that this rear space catches the sun while maximising privacy and outlook. By having the entrance in the centre, the hall connects the north wing as the main living areas and the south wing for the bedrooms and private spaces. The central entrance also draws your eye to the private patio/courtyard area and then to the vast field view beyond. The change in levels across the site allowed us to create an upper floor above the ground floor bedrooms to provide two further loft bedroom spaces with bathroom facilities.

During the planning application process there was a stipulation from the Local Authority regarding the street scene view of the proposed scheme. They requested that the view from the street scene of the proposed to be viewed as a single storey bungalow, with higher eaves and ridge heights towards the rear of the site. So we amended the scheme only slightly to accommodate this aspect, we did this by dropping the front bedroom facing the road into a single storey element with the higher eaves and ridge further away towards the rear of the site for the other loft bedrooms.

Following this change a planning approval was granted with conditions.

The design is appropriate in terms of its context and will provide a fine family home.

Our approachable and experienced team comprised of architects, architectural assistants, designers and technicians, offer a comprehensive design service through all the RIBA work stages from concept through to completion. We can help you to establish your brief and work through your design ideas, whilst bringing solutions to make your building a successful place to live or work in. To discuss a project, please get in touch.

Tina Humphreys, Part II Architectural Assistant, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Cycling networks in cities | Seville as a case study

30th November 202218th August 2020 by Gary Stringer

During my years studying Architecture and urban planning in Seville, I witnessed the radical changes that a new cycling network brought to the city. Following the recent government initiative to boost cycling in the UK, I would like to share some of the outcomes of the Seville cycling network.

Cycling network | Seville

180km (112 miles)of bike paths created around the city at a cost of €35,000,000 or €194,000 per km.
Bike use prior to 2003 was 0.6% of all trips made, by 2011 this increased to 9% (a 15-fold increase).
Daily bike trips across the city reached 72,500 by 2011 (Seville has a municipal population of 700,000 people and a well-developed public transport network with underground, trams and buses).

UK government | May 2020

“Far more people will be cycling and walking thanks to plans to boost greener, active transport, launched today in May 2020 by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

In May government pop-up bikes lanes with protected space for cycling, wider pavements, safer junctions, and cycle and bus-only corridors will be created in England as part of a £250 million emergency active travel fund – the first stage of a £2 billion investment, as part of the £5 billion in new funding announced for cycling and buses in February. Following unprecedented levels of walking and cycling across the UK during the pandemic, the plans will help encourage more people to choose alternatives to public transport when they need to travel, making healthier habits easier and helping make sure the road, bus and rail networks are ready to respond to future increases in demand.”

This incentive should also mean that not only public transport trips are reduced, but also private transport trips. If we use the Seville case as an example, a whopping 72,500 potential daily car journeys were avoided, which seems a very positive outcome.

The weather factor is also something to consider, with Seville obviously boasting a far warmer climate than the UK, but seeing how commuters in cities like London ride their bikes in all weathers this should give us some reassurance that this is possible across the UK.

I have begun to ride to work recently and, apart from the added health benefits, I was very surprised to see that door to door my journey can be less time consuming than using the bus service (which at rush hour can turn a 20 minute journey into 45 minutes). In addition, the cost to the commuter is less when cycling, or even when taking your bike onto the train for part of the journey (£5/day for a return ticket compared with £7/day on the bus). Whilst riding my bike has, of course, been free and has taken me around 40 minutes for a lovely 8 mile bike ride through the Derbyshire hills between Belper and Derby.

It will be interesting to see whether some of the government’s £2 billion investment can be applied to key commuter routes within Derby and to and from its surrounding settlements.

Fernando Collado Lopez, MArch (Seville) ARB, Architect, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Main Image: Seville Traveller

Building on our International Architectural Expertise

19th June 202315th July 2020 by Gary Stringer

Planning & Design Practice Ltd are excited to announce new additions to its architectural team, as we look beyond lock down, embrace the “new normal” and the opportunities that this may present for our homes, high streets and workplaces.

Our approachable and experienced team comprises architects, architectural assistants, designers and technicians. Our architects have true international expertise having worked on large scale projects in Russia, Germany, Spain and the United States as well as across the UK.

We offer a comprehensive design service through all the RIBA work stages from concept through to completion.

Planning Design believe in good architecture, to improve our quality of life, create real value and to drive sustainable development, creating robust, resilient homes and buildings to face the challenges of climate change.

Joining our team is Senior Architect Siegfried Doering (Dipl.-Ing. Architecture, AKH, ARB, RIBA). Prior to Planning & Design Siegfried was Senior Architect/Project Design Manager as part of a team of 25 architects and engineers, and also Quality Manager in the department for a company offering technically sophisticated and customized infrastructure, mobility and transport solutions internationally.

Siegfried’s personal philosophy is to practise and understand architecture as a creative compromise between budget, function, quality and aesthetics – all tailored to the client’s needs.

Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director of Planning & Design said:

“We are pleased that Siegfried has joined an expanded architectural team at Planning Design. He is an experienced architect with 35 years of professional practice working in the UK, Middle East and Europe including Germany, and Russia. He has worked on an enormous variety of projects from single dwellings, apartment blocks, conservation, education, care homes, office buildings, data centres, industrial, retail, and railway infrastructure through to major logistics centres and has the on-site experience that will ensure that projects can be delivered on time and on budget.

His experience and professionalism will be invaluable to our collaborative team and to our clients and will allow us to deliver a wider range of architectural projects here in the UK. His appointment is part of our ambition to create a leading architectural practice which combines the skills of a the conservation architect, the knowledge of low carbon design, the flair of creative minds and the practical experience of delivering projects at any scale. We believe that our mix of skills and experience sets us apart from other practices here in the Midlands and South Yorkshire in delivering both excellence and creativity.”

Also joining Planning Design, we are pleased to welcome Architectural Technologist Joseph Cattmull. Studying the built environment at Cambridge Regional College and then graduating from The University of Derby in the summer of 2018, Joseph brings an interest in listed and traditional architecture and how they can be modernised.

Siegfried and Joseph join a team that includes Lindsay Cruddas, a RIBA accredited Specialist Conservation Architect, of which there are currently only 122 in the country. In addition they join ARB registered architect Fernando Collado Lopez, who qualified at the higher School of Architecture in Seville and also studied at the Fakultät für Architektur und Landschaft in Hannover, Germany and Part II Architectural Assistant Tina Humphreys, a graduate of De Montfort University in Leicester with a Master’s in Architecture, and who is now working towards becoming an RIBA Chartered Architect.

At Planning Design we believe that good design is a crucial part of the planning process. Getting the design of a project right is critical to gaining a successful planning consent and avoiding unnecessary delay and costs.

Our team of RIBA Chartered Architects and Architectural Assistants have a wealth of experience working with homeowners, developers and the public sector, both here in the UK, across Europe and the United States.

We can help you to establish your brief and work through your design ideas, whilst bringing solutions to make your building a successful place to live or work in.

Our architectural team are based across Derby, Matlock, Macclesfield and Sheffield. For more information, or to discuss your dream project please get in touch.

Top Image: Bespoke New Dwelling, Darley Dale, Matlock

Engaging with NDSA

30th November 202215th July 2020 by Gary Stringer

As current office holders of the NDSA, we are committed to providing a progressive, inclusive platform through which we can positively engage the architectural profession and broader community. We hope that by directly involving our membership with key stakeholders within our industry, we can stimulate critical and constructive debate to ultimately make meaningful contributions towards the betterment of the places we all live.

We have been working towards realising these goals by developing a number of mechanisms around active contributors of The Committee, drawing on intellectually engaging guest speakers with local connections. We have reviewed, replaced and reinvented some established NDSA traditions along the way.

This has manifested itself in a number of ways, some of which are outlined below.

NDSA – Digital presence

We have expanded our social media presence, with a distribution of responsibilities across various Committee members. We are currently expanding our outreach capabilities by working with proven online platforms in an effort to deliver quality content. Please like, share, connect, subscribe or follow our profiles and content wherever possible, it directly helps us to grow our audience and fulfill our mission to promote local talent. We also readily welcome contributions from our membership, so if you would like to write an article, present a project or something else, please get in touch. We are currently active on the following platforms:

YouTube
LinkedIn
In stagram
Twitter

Urban Room

This is a critically useful facility used by the NDSA for a range of functions throughout the year. Through a local partnership (involving Nottingham City Council, English Heritage, Historic England, University of Nottingham & Nottingham Trent University) we make use of Nottingham’s Urban Room, an initiative derived from The Farrell Review (http://www.farrellreview.co.uk), a blueprint for a successful civic space, the goals of which are to help further progressive surrounding urbanism through community engagement. As designers we utilise this space to challenge the consequences of our role in the development of, and participation in, our Urban Realm.

For the Website of the Urban Room please visit https://www.38carringtonstreet.org.uk

Exhibits

NDSA Chair Joshua von Fragstein hosted the inaugural Derby Architecture Celebration (link). The event was well attended with many guests bracing the terrible weather and traffic chaos from the sudden closure of Clifton Bridge in Nottingham. Hosted at the Derby Museums and with guest speakers travelling nationally to deliver presentations on their exceptional Derby & Derbyshire based projects, the evening set a new standard for the NDSA. We aim to build upon the success of this exhibition to host more like it in the future

A snapshot article of the event can be found here on our website:

Student Awards

The NDSA Committee agreed to discontinue the £300 one off cash prize traditionally handed out annually to a student at UoN & NTU each year, replacing it instead with an annual event centred around winning students, chosen from a Values & Principles based selection criteria.

The proposal was successful in being awarded RIBA Local Iniative Fund finances to host. It took the format of a set of presentations of winning projects by successful students, accompanied by local, regional or national intra-industry professionals whose expertise and areas of research interests have clear cross overs with the themes within the winning projects.

The presentations were followed by a period of networking, affording the students the opportunity to meet with and speak to the industry wide professionals invited to the event.

The event was successful in bringing together the students at the conclusion of their studies, with professionals from complementing disciplines who provided positive, progressive feedback on the projects. The students obtained an extended avenue of professional advice and support with digital records of their presentation being hosted online by the NDSA.

Education Officers Michael Hodgson & Ayesha Batool worked tirelessly with the supporting Work Group members Joshua, Rory and myself to shortlist the end of year projects from multiple courses across both Nottingham Based Universities and coordinate the subsequent event.

A brief clip capturing reflections from our Guest Panelists can be found here.

History

Work is under way to digitally archive the full history of the NDSA. Chinzia Russo, Mark Jermy & Josh von Fragstein have begun a long term effort to catalogue and make freely available the history of the Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Society of Architects. This archiving exercise has doubled as a research project, with Michael Hodgson unearthing notable NDSA officers and the respective roles they had in society. This work will be hosted and maintained on the NDSA website.

Solvency

Committee member Rory Wood has worked hard to reconnect the NDSA with construction industry partners, enabling us to obtain the necessary finances to maintain operations. A Summer BBQ was held, acting as a kick starter for the new committee. Many society members and industry partners met to offer suggestions and pledge their support. Sponsorship’s for forthcoming events were a key indicator of the successes from this event. Having started out this tenure with no capital surpluses and only minimal reserves, the work of Rory has been instrumental in securing the functionality of the NDSA. We offer sponsorship opportunities for our events, publications and online platforms in order to secure the short, medium and long term future of the NDSA. While the NDSA is run on the goodwill of volunteers, who give up their time to be part of something bigger than themselves, there are resource costs that need to be met annually. Please get in touch with us if you would like to sponsor the NDSA.

Considerable contributions from Andrew King and Thomas Dichmont in particular were key to laying the groundwork for much of the above.
We encourage you to reach out, get involved and become empowered to positively influence the development of our environment. If you have ideas for events, seminars, lectures or articles then we are here to work together to help take them forward. To stay up to date with the NDSA please subscribe to our mailing list here https://www.ndsa.org.uk/join-us

Paul MacMahon
Honorary Secretary NDSA

The Planning System and Covid 19

25th March 2020 by Gary Stringer

Writing for the Architects Journal, Tom de Castella has set out how the planning system is just one of many parts of life in the UK struggling to keep operating with the partial shutdown caused by the coronavirus.

A number of local authorities, including Carlisle City Council, have already cancelled their planning committees. Many say they are continuing as normal, but this will undoubtedly change as the government gets tougher on social distancing.

In Glasgow, council meetings have been suspended, with the chief executive and senior officers taking over the decision-making process. A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said its chief planning officer would assess time-critical decisions anticipated over the next three months. In Aberdeen, planning development committees are one of the few committees to continue working and its meetings will take place as scheduled. Likewise in Cardiff, the planning department is ‘continuing as normal’ although all services will be reviewed in the light of new government guidelines, according to a council spokesperson.

The Architects Journal sets out the mixed responses from many different planning authorities across the UK. I am writing this at a desk at home, with all the Planning and Design team working from home until the crisis is over.

We ourselves spoke to twenty LPA’s on the 23rd March. All were continuing to operate a planning service, albeit many planners were working from home and all planning committees were suspended. For most, urgent decisions will continue to be made, through delegation or though consideration by chief officers and members of planning committees remotely. For example, some forms of prior notification have fixed time limits which if breached lead to an automatic permission. These will be decided by planning officers. Decisions on key development sites will either be put on hold or decided by officers and committee members working remotely. This may call into question the validity of decisions made on controversial sites because the objectors or supporters of a site or development will not have their say, so councillors will not be able to consider all the views that might otherwise be expressed.

By the end of this week we should be in a better position to understand how the system will operate as the restrictions continue to apply. I will provide all our readers with an update on individual councils once they have an agreed protocol moving forward.

Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Mitigating flood risk – Rain water management

11th March 202011th March 2020 by Gary Stringer

In a natural landscape, rain water is naturally absorbed and soaked into the ground, feeding water streams and rivers, supporting trees and vegetation as well as regulating ambient temperature by surface evaporation.

Construction and developments alter the water cycle, changing how, when and more importantly where our rain goes by increasing surface runoff and washing off pollution from our roads and hard surfaces. As the flow of water increases and drainage capacity is compromised, the risk of flooding is also higher. Permeable surfaces help to slow down water flow allowing watercourses to deal with excess water better decreasing the risk of flooding with the added benefit of proving better water quality to our watercourses.

Permeable surface can include:

Permeable paving
Rain gardens
Green roofs
Tree pits
Swales
Bio retention areas
Wet basins and Ponds
Dry basins
Wetlands
Underground water storage

Using permeable surfaces allow rainfall to soak into the ground, rills, channels and bio retention areas slow the flow, treat the water and store the rain. Vegetation also increases surface water runoff capture, providing biodiversity and ecology networks.

All of the above can be integrated into any project providing a great opportunity for the creation of great spaces for the community that are resilient and are able to adapt to a changing and challenging climate. A good example of this is the Strutts Centre and their Rain Garden retrofit project in Belper, which has no doubt helped to improve the local environment.

As we come to the spring and summer, if you are a keen gardener like me, you will be used to hearing about hosepipe bans and water restrictions in parts of the UK. A topic perhaps less discussed around here, is water demand in our developed environment. Just to bring an example from across the pond, in the western USA in years of normal rain fall, landscape irrigation can account for up to 43% of all residential water use, and perhaps closer to the UK, up to 26% in the wetter eastern USA.

Perhaps we all, architects, planners, designers, gardeners, citizens in general should open our eyes to a better water management approach from the outset on every project, however small they are and as simple and common as a new driveway.

Fernando Collado Lopez, Architect, Planning & Design

Top Images: With thanks to the Strutts Centre – Brick rain channel and linear rain garden in front of the old caretaker’s house.

Construction of a New Country House

13th January 2020 by Gary Stringer

Planning & Design are delighted to receive planning permission for the construction of a new country house, out-buildings and the conversion of two stone barns to form two dwellings.

The proposals were developed for the client by Matthew Montague Architects and we worked with the client to deliver the planning permission as Agents and planning consultants.

In design terms the new house will reflect the building traditions of the area and in its location it is an appropriate design for the existing parkland setting.

The scheme is located in rural Derbyshire and will see the remodelling of an existing farmstead with the replacement of the existing farmhouse with the new country house. A number of dilapidated buildings in the farmstead will be removed with the remaining stone barns retained and converted in to separate accommodation. The property is to be built in stone supported by a steel frame. The country house accommodation will be set over three floors with the ground floor and front terrace accessed via steps from the front access and parking area. For the family parking will be in the basement with a separate entrance for the owners and their family.

Getting approval for such a large house was a challenge and there were extensive negotiations with the Local Planning Authority. It took nearly 2 years.

This is the first substantial new country house to be built in this area for a very long time. It will exemplify the best traditions of rural county house design with a further planning application for a new lake and alterations to the access expected to be submitted later in the year.

Sheffield Council planning jobs under threat?

8th November 2019 by Gary Stringer

It is believed that around 40 jobs are under threat at Sheffield City Council as part of a restructure of the council’s planning & development department.

The jobs thought to be under threat include access officers, members of the urban design team, conservation officers, landscape architects, as well as others.

At the last full council meeting, Councillor Bob Johnson, cabinet member for development, was asked about the job losses and said he was in dispute about what was going to happen.

He said: “Unfortunately we are still in a collective dispute with the planning service following the restructure so it would be really difficult and probably ill-advised for me to comment publicly until such time as that dispute has been resolved.”

Among the jobs under threat are two part-time access officers. Disability Sheffield has launched a petition to save the roles.

Councillor Douglas Johnson, Green Party leader and City ward representative, said the role of the specialists was vital to making Sheffield an attractive, safe and accessible place for the public and said the proposals could weaken planning regulation.

Commenting on the proposed losses Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director, Planning & Design said,

‘It is important to the smooth delivery of planning permission that the council has enough skilled and competent planning officers and those who support the planning team in specialist roles. Good conservation officers and urban designers can be very effective in helping to deliver development and it is important for us as consultants that we can meet and discuss development proposals with council officers at the pre-app stage as well as during the application process. One of our problems is the lack of specialist staff in most councils which limits pre-application advice which can lead to abortive planning applications and delays in getting planning permission. We do not want this situation to develop in Sheffield so we are concerned that the cuts will lead to the loss of skilled professionals, a reduction in the level of service available to the development industry and delays in the planning process.’

Planning & Design Practice Ltd is a multi-disciplinary team of Town Planners, Architects, Architectural Assistants and Design Professionals. We have extensive knowledge about the policies and procedures of individual councils and the approach taken by planning officers and Councillors.

Please contact Michael Bradford, Associate, if you require assistance with planning applications, appeals or local plan representations or require advice on lawful development certificates or development appraisals, michael.bamford@planningdesign.co.uk or telephone 0114 221 0618.

Backing Becketwell

16th May 202230th October 2019 by Gary Stringer

At Planning & Design we are pleased to see our peers amongst the business community, together with stakeholders such as Marketing Derby, providing their support to the redevelopment plans for the Becketwell area, a site which has been crying out for revitalisation for a long time, having been earmarked for development in the Local Plan since 2006.

This recently submitted planning application for a £200m mixed use development covering the former Debenhams store, Pennine Hotel, NCP Car Park and Laurie House at Becketwell is the culmination of many years of hard work and the council should be congratulated for its work in acquiring over 200,000 square feet of land in various different ownerships to make this whole project possible.

Phase one of the ambitious regeneration scheme comprises plans for 342 Build to Rent apartments and a new public square on the site of the current United Reform Church, bringing new professionals and footfall to the city centre.

The residential development will comprise of two buildings, the tallest of which will extend up to 19 storeys in height. This building will contain 246 apartments above a ground floor café and restaurant that overlooks the new square. The smaller building will house 96 apartments with a convenience store at ground floor fronting Victoria Street.

The outline planning application is supported by a request to include a range of other complementary uses of the site, including up to 25,000m2 of new grade A offices, innovation centre and leisure to complement the apartments and a planned multi-storey car park, with a smaller courtyard public square called Summerhill Yard that reflects that part of the site’s historic street name.

“The problems of the high street are well documented and Derby will only thrive as a city if more people can be attracted to live and work in the city centre. The Plans for the redevelopment of the Becketwell area of the city centre will allow well designed modern buildings to sit alongside some of our fine old buildings, champion good architecture and will help Derby compete with other cities, both within the UK and around the world,” said Richard Pigott, Director of Planning & Design.

“It is also worth recognising the benefits that the development will bring to the wider area. Surrounding historic streets like Victoria Street and Macklin Street, which have fine old buildings in need of investment, will also benefit. I would encourage anyone with an interest in the scheme to view the application documents on the council’s website and register your views.” The planning application reference number is 19/01245/OUT and a decision is due by 21st November 2019.

The scheme includes £8.1 million in Local Growth Fund investment from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and received 89% support in a recent public consultation, demonstrating the public’s appetite to transform this derelict area which has stood as a symbol of neglect for decades.

Planning & Design have worked on numerous commercial projects which have involved changing the existing use of buildings located within the city centre. The long-term vitality of town centres is an important planning concern and diversifying the uses of retail and leisure units can make significant contributions to the street scene and the local economy. For more information or to discuss your development proposals please get in touch.