Geoff Wright Director of Planning eauc conference 31 March 2009

1. Geoff Wright Director of Planning eauc conference 31 March 2009

2. 2008 Universities Planning Guidance Updates 1998 CVCP Guidelines Key planning issues faced by institutions Prepares HE sector to influence planning policy Provides an insight into HE for planners AIMS appointed Jan 2006 Funded by HEFCE/UUK Input from around 80 institutions Published May 2008 AIMS

3. Steering/ Forum Contributors AIMS Justin Carr, Planning Officers’ Society/ GLA David Crook, Planning Inspectorate Lee Scott, CABE Richard Goodwin, DCLG John Stambollouian, DCLG Professor Peter Roberts, ASC Professor Colin Fudge, UWE Susan Adams, University of Greenwich Graham Rhodes, Birmingham City University Ian Caldwell, Kings College, London Professor Malcolm Grant, UCL Pat Thomas, OBE Derek Stroud, UUK

4. Planning Guidelines -Chapters The Higher Education Sector Planning and the Higher Education Sector Regional Planning and Major HE Change The New Local Planning System Sustainability and Green Travel Planning Urban Regeneration Universities and Green Belts Universities and Planning Gain Student housing Design and Quality Heritage and conservation AIMS

5. AIMS PPS 1-2006 (Planning System) New role-Sustainable Development Social and economic progress Facilitate and promote inclusion Positive planning Fast, fair, open, transparent and consistent service Importance of design-change in the onus Wider community engagement Doesn’t mention education

6. AIMS PPS 3 2007-(Housing) Urban sites first/ brownfield targets Barker review /deliver numbers Higher density and design quality Affordable housing as a priority Doesn’t mention student housing

7. AIMS PPS 6 2008 (Centres) Emphasis on town centres first Councils to plan positively Sequential test-retail/leisure/ offices Retail quantum (region/local) No reference to education

8. AIMS Education -PPS ? Lack of guidance Missing from Encyclopaedia Quantum? Sequential test? Land allocations? Public or private? Plans, policies often silent

9. AIMS Education –First Principles Planning to meet needs PPS1 backstop-social/ economic/ sustainable development/design Decisions ‘on planning merit’

10. AIMS Planning Control 2004- Detail not fundamental changes 3 year permissions/ system tweaks Onus on the applicant -to prove policy compliance -undertake pre-app consultation -design and access statements -to meet application checklists Process not product emphasis

11. AIMS University Experience-General Wide ranging good/ bad/ disconnected Frustrations often arise from lack of policy University roles-economic, social, not always appreciated Treated variously as public partner or as developer Relationships/ trust vary immensely

12. AIMS Regional Planning and Devolution Momentum continues post-Prescott (till 2010?) Consolidation of funding via RDA’s and HCA Single Regional Strategies (2009) Sector opportunities to engage Connect RDA skills/ education agenda focus with spatial planning

13. AIMS Urban Regeneration Plans often ‘informal’ Funding delegations Partnerships the current focus HE (and FE) can be a change driver

14. AIMS Major HE Projects Need appropriate spatial planning frameworks Risky not to engage with plan-making Outline/ masterplan gives status. Consultation and partnership

15. AIMS The New Plans System

16. AIMS Engaging with the New Local Planning System Complex but not necessarily optional! Take opportunities to influence Be aware of changing policies Are you planning, planned or ignored? Scope appropriate involvement

17. AIMS Section 106 contributions(Planning Gain) HEI’s are ‘public service’ not a ‘developer’ Can ‘package’ benefits and impacts in the round Use masterplans to highlight positives Test the relevance of ‘requirements’

18. AIMS Student housing Rarely relates to wider housing strategies Clarify status re affordable/ S106 Planning/HE partnerships

19. AIMS Design and Quality Demonstrate strategy-masterplanning Sustainable buildings/ cities-use CABE and other expert guidance Importance of campus environment to attract students

20. AIMS University Experience-Sustainability Wide variations of practice and process Confusion between environmental assessment and (wider, newer) sustainability assessment requirements Planners requests often unrelated to applications made (eg travel plans) University thinking (corporate/ campus) not always recognised as relevant Differing sustainability priorities amongst planning authorities Current emphasis on Travel Plans/ renewables

21. AIMS UUK Guidance -Sustainability Take it seriously-here to stay Advise pro-active approach-best value Corporate/ campus wide strategies should underpin specific proposals Travel Plans critical. Can self fund Embed sustainability in masterplanning Students value visible sustainability effort

22. Conclusions/Suggestions HEIs-closer related HEI strategic plans and estates strategies, sustainability and travel plans, to join up planning/ funding/regeneration case-making. Sector follow up on key issues- practice guidance, with planning system partners Lobbying-new HE sector town planning group-could be progressed by Universities UK, possibly jointly with FE/ health sector. Regional-input to regional strategies. Could be co-ordinated through the higher education regional associations with support from AUDE/UUK. Specific guidance needed for Scotland or Wales AIMS

23. WORKSHOP Questions -UUK Guidance • Your experience? • Do you agree the action points? • What does the sector need from the planning system?

24. AIMS Hazel Blears’ Ideal Planning System Consultation, community consensus on what is needed-link to Community Plans Sustainable development Up to date, unambiguous spatial vision /plans Clear, fixed detailed applications Always built as approved. OR? “The only certainties in life are birth, death and taxes” (Benjamin Franklin)

25. AIMS Planning Practice-Changing the Culture Executive/ regulatory split Over-specialisation? Assessment gone mad? Planning control or development management?

26. AIMS Planning Improvement Role in governance/ leadership Skills-Urban design, sustainability Targets/ Planning Advisory Service ATLAS/ Planning Portal/ networks Process emphasised to date Recent outcomes focus-Killian Pretty/ plans practice

27. AIMS Planning-Sustainability Credentials Long standing environmental quality concerns Concepts of ‘regulation in the public interest’ Professional emphasis on ‘place-making’ Sustainability a long standing professional undercurrent before recent legislation

28. AIMS Planning Practice 1994-2004 Strategic sustainability-reversing decentralisation Sequential tests-retail, office, residential Locating uses to minimise reliance on car use (PPG13 1999) Urban renaissance-urban task force Analysis tools-Environmental Assessment (Euro led) Policy-Environmental aspects-flood risk, eco,

29. AIMS Recent Planning Practice 2004- PPS1-sustainable development (social/ economic/environmental/design Emerging context of climate change issues Sustainability policies in plans (wide content variations) Sustainability assessments (of plans) Supplementary (land use) sustainability guidance Other sustainable development guidance (advocacy) Emphasis on renewables Requesting sustainability profiles/ BREEAM data

30. AIMS Latest Planning Practice 2009 Focus on carbon Empowered action-Merton rules Growing use of Regional Sustainability Checklists-for project funding and planning appraisal. Further emphasis on challenging applicants Green Infrastructure Starting to explore plan-making and strategic urban design sustainability concepts Latest news-new citywide/ area advice (cabe-sustainablecities.org)

31. AIMS Workshop Questions Is sustainability now at the heart of planning? What can the planning system deliver? What else needs to change?

32. Thank You Geoff Wright Director of Planning