Tag Archives: Infrastructure Development

SPEL Conference 2017 open for bookings

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We’re pleased to announce that this year’s Scottish Planning and Environmental Law Conference is on Thursday 21 September in Edinburgh, and we already have a great lineup of speakers confirmed.

This conference remains the flagship conference in this field, reflecting our commitment to supporting knowledge sharing and excellence within the built environment professions.

The last year has witnessed many developments which impact on the planning system and the conference will provide a space for the planning and environmental law community to discuss and debate these.

Key topics

Moves to reform the planning system continue, with a Planning Bill now expected to come before Parliament in Winter 2017. The publication in June of a Position Statement from the Scottish Government indicates their future priorities for the planning system in Scotland.

Planning Minister Kevin Stewart recently said that “I firmly believe Scotland’s planners can lead the delivery of great places, empower communities and provide a stable environment for investment through the uncertain times we live in.” However new skills, knowledge and behaviours will be required to make the ‘new planning system’ successful.

Added to this the uncertainties around Brexit, especially the possible impact on environmental legislation, and it is clear that significant changes are likely to affect the sector.

The SPEL Conference will be addressing key issues of infrastructure development, housing supply and energy strategy, as well as planning and environmental legislation.

As usual we’ll also be reflecting on recent case law and considering how it relates to daily practice. The conference is an excellent opportunity for solicitors and planners to refresh their knowledge of recent changes in planning and environmental law, as well as providing time for quality networking.

Conference programme

The programme features a broad range of speakers, bringing perspectives from the private sector, local government planning, academia and central government to bear on the issues.

Confirmed key speakers include:

  • Professor David Adams, Ian Mactaggart Chair of Property & Urban Studies, University of Glasgow
  • Dr John Boyle, Director Research & Strategy, Rettie & Co
  • Fraser Carlin, Head of Planning and Housing, Renfrewshire Council
  • Greg Lloyd, Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning, Ulster University
  • Ross Martin, former Chief Executive, Scottish Council for Development and Industry
  • Pauline Mills, Land & Planning Director, Taylor Wimpey
  • Mark Mohammed, Terra Firma Chambers
  • Alasdair Sutherland, Terra Firma Chambers
  • Robert Sutherland, Terra Firma Chambers
  • Laura Tainsh, Partner, Davidson Chalmers
  • Ian Turner, Community Empowerment Team Leader, Scottish Government
  • Rt. Hon. Brian Wilson, former UK Energy Minister, Chairman Harris Tweeds Hebrides

We’re also delighted that Stuart Gale, QC, will be chairing the conference for us.

If you’re interested in planning or environmental law in Scotland then SPEL Conference 2017 is the perfect chance to hear about the latest developments and network with others.

The 2017 Scottish Planning and Environmental Law Conference is on 21 September at the COSLA Conference Centre, Edinburgh.

The full conference programme and booking form are available here.

The conference is supported by Terra Firma Chambers.

Scottish planning reform: new opportunities or more of the same?

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We’re pleased to announce that this year’s Scottish Planning and Environmental Law Conference is on Thursday 29 September in Edinburgh, and we already have a great lineup of speakers confirmed.

This event marks 25 years since the first SPEL conference and Idox is proud that it remains the flagship conference in this area, reflecting our commitment to supporting knowledge sharing and excellence within the built environment professions.

The last 12 months have witnessed many developments which impact on the planning system and the conference will provide a space for the planning and environmental law community to discuss and debate these.

Key topics

The major policy development is that we are currently awaiting a White Paper later this year from the Scottish Government in response to the Independent Planning Review report. The Government has already set out some immediate actions and longer-term work plans to be undertaken to create an “ambitious but practical programme of planning reform”.

However this agenda develops, it’s clear that the challenges facing the economy and communities remain – in the words of Kevin Stewart, Minister for Local Government and Housing, this means “supporting economic growth and house-building, whilst protecting and enhancing the quality of life of all our communities.” The SPEL Conference will be addressing these key issues of infrastructure development and housing supply.

Meanwhile the recent confusing messages from the UK Government on the new Hinkley Point nuclear power station have underlined the importance (and controversy) of energy security. The conference will include a discussion of the environmental, economic and moral consequences of Scotland’s energy choices.

The need for continued modernisation and efficiencies will be addressed in a session looking at leadership and smart resourcing. Research from the RTPI at the end of last year found that there’s been nearly a 20% reduction in planning department staff in Scotland since 2010. Gross expenditure in planning authorities has also dropped by £40 million between 2010/11 and 2015/16. Despite these pressures, councils have continued to deliver quality services but there is a very real risk around loss of skills.

As usual we’ll also be reflecting on recent case law and considering how it relates to daily practice. The conference is an excellent opportunity for solicitors and planners to refresh their knowledge of recent changes in planning and environmental law, as well as providing time for quality networking.

Conference programme

The programme features a broad range of speakers, bringing perspectives from the private sector, local government planning, academia and central government to bear on the issues.

Confirmed key speakers include:

  • Tammy Adams, Head of Planning, Homes for Scotland
  • Denis Garrity, Advocate, Terra Firma Chambers
  • John Hamilton, CEO, Winchburgh Developments Ltd
  • Greg Lloyd, Emeritus Professor of Urban  Planning, Ulster University
  • Rebecca Lunn, Professor and Head of CGEEG, University of Strathclyde
  • Ross Martin, Chief Executive, Scottish Council for Development and Industry
  • Craig McLaren, Director of Scotland and Ireland, RTPI
  • John McNairney, Chief Planner, Scottish Government
  • Stephen O’Rourke, Advocate, Terra Firma Chambers
  • Sara Thiam, Director, Institution of Civil Engineers

We’re also delighted that James Findlay, QC, will be chairing the conference for us.

If you’re interested in planning or environmental law in Scotland then SPEL Conference 2016 is the perfect chance to hear about the latest developments and network with others.

The 2016 Scottish Planning and Environmental Law Conference is on 29 September at the COSLA Conference Centre, Edinburgh.

The full conference programme and booking form are available here.

The conference is supported by Terra Firma Chambers.

Ensuring that growth and great places aren’t incompatible … reflections on the RTPI Convention

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The 2016 RTPI Convention earlier this week was attended by over 400 people keen to discuss how the profession and the planning system can support the delivery of growth. Being held just a few days after the UK’s Brexit vote, there was a predictable inevitability when every speaker prefaced their talk with the caveat ‘of course everything is uncertain now’. A consistent message across the day however was that regardless of the political uncertainty, the key challenges of demographic change, enhanced mobility and a national housing shortage still need to be addressed. And planning is central to producing long-term, strategic responses to these issues.

While Idox were at the conference exhibition in order to highlight the success of the i-Apply combined online planning and building control submissions service, our Knowledge Exchange team were at the convention itself.

Planning great places

Although there was plenty of discussion during the day about the ongoing impact of planning reform – especially the current review of the planning system in Scotland, the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and the role of the National Infrastructure Commission – the most inspiring sessions focused on practical examples of collaboration and inclusion in strategic planning.

Paul Barnard, Assistant Director for Strategic Planning & Infrastructure at Plymouth City Council described the key ingredients of aspirational plan making. The council has twice won the RTPI’s Silver Jubilee Cup for their pioneering approach, firstly in 2006 and then again last year for their Plan for Homes. This city-wide planning framework addresses issues including land release, infrastructure and delivery. Incredibly, the overarching Plymouth Plan replaced over 138 different strategies.

Paul explained that the challenge for the team was to develop credible policy responses to the social challenges facing the area, and then win over hearts and minds to support these solutions. The benefits of having one integrated strategy is that it sets a vision for ‘place’ that all departments can mobilise behind. Paul argued that the profession has to “believe in proactive, positive planning” and make the case for that every day in their work.

Delivering housing growth

Throughout the conference, the need to deliver more housing was a recurrent theme. A number of speakers argued that direct intervention in the housing market, for example through local housing companies or councils buying sites, was becoming a necessity. Toby Lloyd, Head of Policy at Shelter, pointed out that central government interventions have been focused on the consumer end of the market (for example, Starter Homes) rather than on delivering development sites and land.

Discussions during the day highlighted the current disconnect between where new housing is being delivered and where there are employment growth opportunities. Yolande Barnes, Head of Savills World Research, also suggested that we need to stop planning in terms of ‘housing units’ – people live in neighbourhoods and communities, and we shouldn’t forget this.

The question of how we capture land value, and use this to fund infrastructure development, was also raised repeatedly. In many situations, we have fragmented development delivered by different developers and the question of responsibility for wider public benefits is difficult. Planning tools such as the Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 have attempted to address this, but do not necessarily provide a timely or joined up approach to infrastructure delivery.

What if cities could change our world?

While recognising the challenges facing the profession, there was a strong emphasis during the day on the transformational potential of planning.

Alfonso Vegara, of Fundación Metropóli, describing the rejuvenation of Bilbao, suggested that successful planning needs to recognise the new scale of cities and economic development. The interconnections mean that growth corridors or city regions are only going to become more important. Successful economic growth will be dependent on retaining and attracting talent and skills in polycentric areas, and strategic planning needs to take this into account. The successful regeneration of Bilbao “was not a miracle, but the result of vision and leadership.”

This theme was also reflected in Ed Cox’s session on the RTPI’s work with IPPR on the need for an integrated, spatial approach to growing the economy in the North of England. Producing a vision for prosperity will depend on addressing key structural challenges. Maximising opportunities within an interconnected metropolitan region needs to recognise the importance of both cities and their hinterlands. It was also argued that the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ ambition will fail if citizens aren’t helped to feel engaged economically, politically and socially.

A rallying cry for leadership

There has been a trend in recent years for the planning system to be portrayed as a barrier and a bureaucratic obstacle which is getting in the way of growth. One speaker quoted Joseph Konvitz saying “planning has been discredited in the public mind and starved by the public purse”. There was a strong sense during the conference of ‘enough is enough’. The consistent message was that planning and planners are not the problem, and are doing the best they can in a difficult context.

As a profession, planners are trained to take a holistic view. They operate at the junction between politics, finance and community. And they are perfectly placed to provide leadership, foresight and clarity. The skills to deliver great places, which people want to live in, are needed now, more than ever. And there is a need to “rekindle the idea of planning as a key democratic process”.

The challenge at the end of the Convention was “do it with passion, or not at all”. Planning is not a ‘numbers game’ – we need to consider quality of place and ambition, not just the drive for housing completions.

The Idox Information Service has introduced an exclusive offer for RTPI members to help them with their evidence needs.

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Idox’s iApply is leading the way with its integrated application system for planning and building control that has been built to grow with the future in mind.

Visit www.iapply.co.uk to learn more.