Geoff WrightDirector of Planning

eauc conference 31 March 2009

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

Justin Carr, Planning Officers’ Society/ GLADavid Crook, Planning InspectorateLee Scott, CABERichard Goodwin, DCLGJohn Stambollouian, DCLGProfessor Peter Roberts, ASCProfessor Colin Fudge, UWESusan Adams, University of GreenwichGraham Rhodes, Birmingham City UniversityIan Caldwell, Kings College, LondonProfessor Malcolm Grant, UCL Pat Thomas, OBEDerek Stroud, UUK

Steering/ Forum Contributors AIMS

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

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

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

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

AIMS

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

AIMS

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

AIMS

Planning Control 2004-

AIMS

•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

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

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

AIMS

Urban Regeneration

•Plans often ‘informal’•Funding delegations•Partnerships the current focus•HE (and FE) can be a change driver

AIMS

Major HE Projects

•Need appropriate spatial planning frameworks•Risky not to engage with plan-making•Outline/ masterplan gives status.•Consultation and partnership

AIMS

The New Plans

System

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

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’

AIMS

Student housing

•Rarely relates to wider housing strategies•Clarify status re affordable/ S106

•Planning/HE partnerships

AIMS

Design and Quality

•Demonstrate strategy-masterplanning•Sustainable buildings/ cities-use CABE and other expert guidance•Importance of campus environment to attract students

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

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

AIMS

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

WORKSHOP Questions -UUK Guidance

•Your experience?

•Do you agree the action points?

•What does the sector need from the planning system?

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)

AIMS

Planning Practice-Changing the Culture

•Executive/ regulatory split

•Over-specialisation?

•Assessment gone mad?

•Planning control or development management?

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

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

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,

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

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)

AIMS

Workshop Questions

•Is sustainability now at the heart of planning?•What can the planning system deliver?•What else needs to change?

AIMS

Thank You

Geoff WrightDirector of Planning