Microsoft Archives - Planning Design Ltd

Planning success powers up Microsoft

17th May 202321st March 2023 by Gary Stringer

Planning & Design Practice is pleased to announce that planning permission has recently been secured for the installation of Solar PV panels at the Microsoft Research Building, Cambridge.

The development will provide a significant contribution to the energy requirements of the building and the fixed handrails will provide suitable sufficient safe access for future maintenance of the PV panels.

**Figure 1:** Microsoft Cambridge Building

The development includes 153 flat roof and vertical roof solar PV panels (60 cell 335W Polycrystalline panels) to the roof of the Microsoft Research Building with an aggregate size of 51.22 kW, which will generate an annual output of approximately 40,499 kWh.

**Figure 2:** Approved plans (solar PV panels shaded light blue).

National planning policy strongly favours small-scale renewable energy developments, such as adding panels to existing buildings. Section 14 ‘Meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change’ of the National Planning Policy Framework (2021) sets out key considerations in respect of climate change, highlighting the government’s opinion that sustainable development should encompass social and economic issues as well as environmental.

Paragraph 152 of the NPPF states

“The planning system should support the transition to a low carbon future in a changing climate, taking full account of flood risk and coastal change. It should help to: shape places in ways that contribute to radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, minimise vulnerability and improve resilience; encourage the reuse of existing resources, including the conversion of existing buildings; and support renewable and low carbon energy and associated infrastructure”

Planning & Design Practice advised that a case could be made for the development, although located within the Conservation Area, Microsoft Research Building is a modern office block located within an area which has undergone extensive redevelopment.

In terms of development, careful consideration was given the location of the panels and railings which are set in from the edge of the roof and can’t be seen from public vantage points at street level. There is minimal impact on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area.

It was successfully argued that the development provides renewable energy generation to contribute towards reducing Microsoft’s overall CO2 emissions, therefore, providing a valuable contribution to the mitigation of climate change impacts and representing a sustainable proposal.

The Planning Team at Planning and Design Practice, on behalf of our client successfully liaised with key stakeholders in the preparation, submission and management of the planning application up to successful determination. The team of Chartered Town Planners are well versed in understanding and promoting renewable energy developments for all stakeholders to ensure the best possible case if put forward.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch for a free no obligation consultation to discuss your project on 01332 347371 or enquiries@planningdesign.co.uk.

Andrew Stock, Associate Director (Chartered Town Planner) – Planning & Design Practice Ltd.
Megan Askham, Graduate Planner – Planning & Design Practice Ltd.

Microsoft Rare – Discharge of Conditions

28th November 202221st March 2022 by Gary Stringer

PDP_Microsoft Discharge of Conditions, Microsoft Rare Planning Consultants

Planning & Design Practice have successfully discharged the conditions attached to planning permission we helped secure in May 2021, for 1250 m2 of new office space to house Microsoft Rare’s latest expansion at Manor Park, Twycross, the purpose-built headquarters and design studio for the software developer.

For those who aren’t aware, Rare Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Xbox Game Studios based in Twycross. Rare are known for their games spanning many generations and genres. Some of their most popular titles include GoldenEye 007, Sea of Thieves and Donkey Kong.

The new office building is set to be one of the country’s most sustainable buildings with careful consideration having gone into every element of the design from the carbon footprint of the materials used (including the distance travelled to import them to the site), through to the new solar array which will generate renewable energy to power the building.

The building has been designed by London based Architects LOM Architecture and Design working as part of a collaborative team of consultants led by Seven Partnership involving RKD, RPS Group, Cundall, 3 Sphere, EPS and Atelier Ten and Planning & Design Practice as the Planning Consultant.

Each ‘Barn’ building on the site accommodates a game based on different platforms and are therefore kept entirely separate and insulated from one another to avoid cross over between games and ideas. The new barn will provide workspace for one or more game development teams on two floors.

Planning & Design were involved with the project from start to finish, from the early concept stages and the pre-application enquiry, right up to post-submission and we are excited to see the development progress in the coming months.

Planning & Design have a wealth of experience in designing and securing planning permission for commercial projects.

We have the required skills to design both small and large scale schemes in-house and tailor the design to the client’s unique specifications. If you are unsure of your site’s potential, we are also able to provide our professional opinion on the planning potential of your property at the outset.

We can support your development aspirations through the various stages of the planning process, including (but not limited to): feasibility studies, site promotion through the local plan, pre-applications, outline & full planning applications and appeals. Contact us for a no obligation consultation to find out more about how we can help.

2021 – a year in review: Looking ahead to 2022

28th November 202215th December 2021 by Gary Stringer

As 2021 draws to a close, Richard Pigott, Director of Planning & Design Practice looks back to review what has certainly been an interesting year, and looks ahead to the opportunities of 2022.

It’s been another eventful year in the world of the built environment and, closer to home, for Planning & Design itself. The appetite to develop land and buildings or, for many people, make better use of what we have has led to continued strong demand for planning and architectural services.

The Planning White Paper, published in August 2020, promised the biggest shake-up of the planning system since the Second World War. However, there has been a re-think following the Tories’ Chesham and Amersham by-election defeat where planning dominated the campaign, with the electorate concerned that the proposed changes would make the planning system less democratic with less opportunities for communities to participate. There is a general consensus that the system needs to change but a good place to start would be to better fund local planning departments. They have struggled to cope with the perfect storm of ever-tightening purse strings, Covid-related impacts on working schedules and practices and a significant upturn in numbers of planning applications, meaning decision timescales are impossible to predict.

After the pandemic in 2020 (and, alas, this seemingly never-ending story has a few more chapters to run), perhaps the biggest news story of 2021 has been the climate emergency. Whilst we, in the UK, are not on the frontline of extreme weather it is affecting our lives right here, right now. The debate reached a fever pitch when the UK hosted the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in the autumn. But how did the conference perform? Is 1.5 (degrees) still alive? And do we now have reason to be optimistic on climate change? According to the general consensus, some significant gains were made but they were not as game changing as many hoped for. This is perhaps not surprising when the leaders of two of the biggest emitters, China and Russia, did not even attend the conference. As COP26 drew to a close, warming of under 2 degrees is potentially in reach, and almost 90 per cent of global emissions are now covered by a net-zero target.

At a policy level, whilst some local planning authorities are adopting their own supplementary planning documents on tackling climate change, Local Plans are often weak or sometimes even silent on the matter and its disappointing to see how little the revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) addressed the climate emergency when it was published in July. This is out of step with public opinion – latest opinion polling by Opinium shows that 66% of people are in favour of connecting planning rules to climate change targets, so that all new development needs to pass tests to make sure they are environmentally friendly. Furthermore, first-hand experience tells me that local councillors are now considering the issue in virtually every decision they make. So, there are clear signs that the political will to ‘do something’ at the local level is gathering momentum even where the policy justification lags behind.

On another positive note, the Environment Act 2021 has recently been passed into law and this will, amongst many other things, from November 2023 require all planning permissions larger than householder permissions to deliver 10% biodiversity net gains (BNG) in as part of the overall development. If there is no scope to provide the relevant net gains on-site, then developers will be able to deliver off-site compensation through local habitat creation.

Again, many local authorities are not prepared to wait another 2 years for this to happen and we are encouraging our clients to deliver 10% BNG wherever possible.

For PDP, we have had an eventful year and more details can be found on the News page on our website. Particular highlights for me include the successful appeal for the extension to Denby Hall Business Park. This was a lengthy public inquiry, and we were able to demonstrate that very special circumstances did exist for development within the Green Belt, including the economic benefits of significant job creation and retention. At Ashbourne Airfield, work on the construction of the new link road is nearly complete, paving the way for the development of around 8 hectares of employment land and hundreds of new homes in phase 1 alone. Also, on the outskirts of Ashbourne, Callow Hall opened its doors again following a £7 million investment which we helped to achieve planning consent on over 2-3 years. Such has been the success of the project that it was awarded the Sunday Times Hotel of the Year for 2021.

On the subject of awards, we were thrilled to be Highly Commended in the recent RTPI East Midlands Awards for Excellence in Planning Delivery 2021 for our work on the Chase Farm scheme in Ambergate. A trio of our clients – Wildhive, Chevin Homes and Morley Hayes were also celebrating awards successes; the first venture for Wildhive, Derbyshire hotel Callow Hall was crowned the UK’s best place to stay by Sunday Times, Chevin Homes won ‘Residential Development of the Year’ at the East Midlands Business Link ‘Brick Awards’ 2021 for Chase Farm, and Morley Hayes carried away two awards at the 13th Derby Food and Drink Awards.

We can also celebrate the continued growth of the architectural team, reinforcing our ability to offer the complete service from concept to completion on a range of projects including bespoke Class Q barn conversions, city centre office-to-residential conversions and large-scale new housing schemes. The Sheffield office also continues to grow and consolidate its position within the Yorkshire region.

Looking towards 2022, lets hope for something a little more ‘normal’, whatever that means. We will continue to strive for ever more sustainable development and hope to see many of you in person over the next 12 months. I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Richard Pigott, Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

High score! Planning success for Microsoft Rare

29th November 202228th July 2021 by Gary Stringer

Planning & Design Practice Ltd have recently secured planning permission for 1250 m2 of new office space to house Microsoft Rare’s latest expansion at Manor Park, Twycross, the purpose-built headquarters and design studio for the software developer. The buildings are set within a parkland landscape complete with wooded areas and lakes. The buildings cannot be easily seen from public viewpoints and the site for the proposed building is well screened by existing buildings, woodland and wider landscaped parkland which is owned and managed by Rare Ltd. The company employs over 200 people at the site and plays an important role in the local economy.

The new office building is set to be one of the country’s most sustainable buildings with careful consideration having gone into every element of the design from the carbon footprint of the materials used (including the distance travelled to import them to the site) through to the use of entirely renewable energy to power the building.

The existing studios are all built to an identical series of details and differ only in length. The main building comprises a three-storey single pitched main element with a number of single storey flat roofed elements extruded from the main form.

The proposed building’s location was carefully considered to protect the function of the existing buildings and it was vital to the overall function of the site that the building remains physically and perceivably connected to the ‘main’ central building which provides much of the support facilities including the cafeteria and the reception and main entrance to the campus. This design proposal included the interconnection of these buildings via a covered link corridor. The location of the proposed building is inconspicuous within the surrounding landscape. The building will be screened by a section of dense trees that run along the western boundary of the site.

Internally, the building has been designed to meet the specific needs of Rare Ltd who wanted to create an exceptional internal environment for people to work in.

Inspired by the rural setting of Twycross and Leicestershire county’s industries of craft and engineering, the barn concept is carried on through to the interiors. Rare creates the kind of games that encourage players to have unique shared experiences, which demands a space where players create stories together. Creating a space that guests and fans will enjoy and provides a pleasant experience that truly includes everyone.

Inspired by the architecture and traditional design of barns, the interior combines new with old, through the use of raw materials, sleek black details and plenty of greenery. The three barns define how the interiors are zoned – four workspace neighbourhoods in the north and south barns and a central barn where everyone connects. A central “shed” housing the collaboration rooms sits at the heart of the barns and serves as a canvas for grounding Rare’s core culture and fun identity.

The building has accessible office space, meeting rooms, communal breakout areas, tea-point and relaxation zone and a WC provision of 6 WCs, including accessible.

The project should start on site over the next twelve months and we are excited to see the finished product of what will be an exemplary sustainable building, pushing the boundaries of sustainable design.