Tag: Neighbourhood Planning

Making neighbourhood planning work for the inner city and disadvantaged areas: Leeds Planning Network Conference 2018

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Saturday 9th June 2018

The Rose Bowl, Leeds (513 as the main meeting room and 515 & 525 – please go to the 5th Floor on arrival for registration)

10:00 to 14:30

Leeds City Council, Leeds Beckett University and the Royal Town Planning Institute are pleased to present our joint neighbourhood planning  for inner-city and disadvantaged communities conference.

The event is aimed at well-established groups across the country as well as those who have had problems in getting started or are considering whether Neighbourhood planning could be for them. Local authority officers, councillors and others who work in neighbourhood planning will also find the event useful with workshops focusing on their needs too.

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Latest Developments in Neighbourhood Planning – September’s RTPI Yorkshire and Leeds Beckett University Conference

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At our recent conference in collaboration with RTPI Yorkshire we welcomed six fantastic speakers to discuss the latest developments in Neighbourhood planning.   Opening the conference was Steve Hoey, Head of Neighbourhood Planning & Housing at Locality, who delivered a national overview of local planning uptake, what neighbourhood plans can achieve on the ground and why people should get involved.

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Planning and Housing Strategies in the Combined Authorities – Leeds Planning Network Master Class 16 February

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Planning and housing strategies are essential for economic growth in the Combined Authorities and delegates at the Leeds Planning Network event in February had the opportunity to study three different approaches.
Speakers from Greater Manchester Combined Authority, South Yorkshire and Leeds City Regions provided much needed insight into the impact on planning and housing strategies on the city devolution agenda. They were ably chaired by consultant and researcher Jane Kettle, and addressed an audience of around 50 practitioners. Identifying a choice of strategies, the three speakers shared a vision that links housing growth to rising prosperity.

Anne Morgan, Planning Strategy Manager for Greater Manchester set out the benefits and challenges of the Combined Authority. The ability to produce a Greater Manchester spatial framework has made it possible to identify strategic growth areas, and plan collectively and consistently across ten local government areas. The spatial framework is supported by Mayoral compulsory purchase powers, and benefits from the potential to create Mayoral development companies. It has enabled the authorities to identify priorities, not only for economic growth but for the enhancement of green infrastructure. But it has also entangled the Combined Authority in public controversy over the loss of green belt land as tough decisions on housing allocations are made.
You can look at Anne Morgan’s  presentation here: Anne Morgan – GMSF Leeds .

While the route to becoming a Combined Authority has not been smooth in South Yorkshire, a collective approach to planning and housing has emerged from the bottom-up. A housing compact agreed between registered providers in South Yorkshire was hailed by Tony Stacy, chief executive of South Yorkshire Housing Association, a leap forward in co-operation and joint planning. The compact between local authorities and housing associations demonstrates a willingness to work collaboratively in meeting housing need. It has resulted in a joint bid for housing investment and plans to radically expand the number of new homes built. Housing – once excluded from the priorities of the city region – is now seen as a key part of the infrastructure of economic growth.
 You can look at Tony Stacy’s presentation here: Tony Stacey – Devolution, housing and Planning

An infrastructure investment framework has enabled the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to co-ordinate strategic planning in the Leeds city region and neighbouring areas. Colin Blackburn, Head of Infrastructure, stressed the need for a shared approach to planning and placemaking. While political structures evolve slowly, it is co-operation between authorities on development frameworks, land acquisition, site selection that makes combination possible. Significant challenges to housing delivery persist, and the Government White Paper provided few solutions, but agreement on strategy and consistency in approach are key achievements for West Yorkshire authorities.
You can find Colin Blackburn’s presentation here: Colin Blackburn RTPI – Planning and Housing Under Devo

 

By  Quintin Bradley

 

 

Planning Network Master Class: Planning and housing strategies in the combined authorities -16th February, Leeds

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Thursday 16th February 2017
17:30 – 19:30
The Rose Bowl (5th floor), Lecture Theatre RB538,
Leeds Beckett University,  Woodhouse Lane,
Leeds LS1 3HB

Master Class pic 16th Feb
What has been the impact of city devolution on planning and housing strategies? What new approaches have been taken by the combined authorities and what benefits have they seen?
 
Chair: Jane Kettle, Housing Consultant and Researcher
Our Panel:
 
Colin Blackburn, Head of Infrastructure & Investment, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Anne Morgan, Planning Strategy Manager, Greater Manchester Planning & Housing Team
Tony Stacey, Chief Executive, South Yorkshire Housing Association
Followed by Q & A with the Panel

        Book Here!

Turning neighbourhood visions into reality

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Planning lecturers and students from Leeds Beckett’s School of the Built Environment and Engineering helped communities come up with imaginative solutions to local problems at another successful neighbourhood planning workshop on Saturday 16 April.

Thirty people from communities around Leeds took part in the workshop on writing planning policy with specialist groups focused on the issues of student housing, what support is available for neighbourhood planning, and how plans can shape development in the local area.

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Quintin Bradley, Senior Lecturer in Planning and Housing said: “This was our third workshop for neighbourhood planning groups and the feedback says it was our best yet.  This was a chance for groups to share their experiences, identify common problems, devise joint solutions, and get some ideas down on paper with the help of planning experts”.

With over 60 neighbourhood planning groups in the city, Leeds Beckett’s Planning Network is providing much needed support to local groups. A key principle for the workshops is the importance of dialogue and learning from experience. Speakers provide examples of effective neighbourhood plan-writing and then small groups work on specific issues to bring local ideas into reality.

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The final event in the current neighbourhood planning programme will be held on 11 June and will feature a presentation from Inner East Preston, the first northern inner city area to make a neighbourhood plan, reflecting on the impact on their community.

All the presentations from Saturday’s event can be viewed at the link below along with our storify of the best tweets from the event. You can follow these events on the hashtag #lpnleeds.

 

Community campaigners debate with planners and developers at Leeds Planning Network event

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Planning practitioners, house-builders and community members debated the balance between environmental sustainability and development, at Leeds Planning Network’s Master Class on Tuesday 1 March.

Over fifty people took part in this cutting-edge twilight Master Class event which featured the latest research and critical comment on the impact of five years of neighbourhood planning. Many community groups from Leeds got the chance to engage with developers and with planning professionals to tackle the challenges of sustainable development.

There is a real buzz about these Master Class events that aim to get under the skin of the tough decisions about planning and housing and community. This is the second exceptional event in a new strand of academic enterprise led by Leeds Planning Network, a research cluster funded by the School of the Built Environment and Engineering and run through the Centre for Knowledge Exchange.

Prof Gavin Parker, from the School of Real Estate and Planning at University of Reading presented the latest research on neighbourhood planning to community groups. They also got key tips from independent examiner Alyson Linnegar, while Paul Butler, former head of planning at Barratt Homes Yorkshire promoted the benefits of house-building in promoting sustainable growth. This was an opportunity for communities to learn from professionals but to make their views known too in a lively exchange of knowledge and experience. Many of the community groups taking part were already benefiting from the assistance and support of planning lecturers at Leeds Beckett, and this Master Plan event will feed into Leeds Planning Networks series of workshops for neighbourhood planning groups.

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The evening’s presentations are reproduced at the ISSU link below and a selection of audience tweets and images from the event can be viewed at the Storify link at the end of this press release.

 

The next Leeds Planning Network Master Class will be on the Future for Affordable Housing on Thursday 17 March where the President of the Chartered Institute of Housing, and chief executive of Incommunities, Bradford’s premier social housing provider, will speak, alongside development chiefs from Harrogate Borough Council, and Connect Housing, the West Yorkshire community housing association. Details at the following link.

 

Leeds Planning Network announce March Housing and Planning masterclasses on development and affordable housing

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Leeds Planning Network based at Leeds Beckett University are pleased to announce the details of our next two planning masterclasses taking place on 1st and 17th March respectively.

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Neighbourhood Planning: Impact on Development

Tuesday 1st March 2016

Registration @ 17:30 for 18:00 start

Update and analysis on neighbourhood planning, including impact on house-building and innovation in planning policy. Speakers include Phil Crabtree,  Chair of RTPI Yorkshire, Gavin Parker, Professor of Planning Studies at University of Reading, Paul Butler, Director of PB Planning and former Head of Planning for the Yorkshire Region, Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes. DETAILS AND BOOKING HERE.

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What is the future for affordable housing?

Thursday 17th March 2016

Registration @ 17:30 for 18:00 start

As housing subsidies are redirected to Starter Homes, councils face the forced sale of homes in high value areas, housing associations prepare for right to buy, and tenants see the end of security of tenure, we ask key practitioners to give us their vision of the future for affordable housing. Speakers include Jane Kettle, Housing Consultant and Researcher, Geraldine Howley – President of Chartered Institute of Housing, Chief Executive of Incommunities, Jenny Wood – Principal Housing Development Officer, Harrogate Borough Council and Martyn Broadest – Director of Regeneration, Connect Housing. DETAILS AND BOOKING HERE.

Upbeat community planners thank Leeds Beckett for practical help

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More than fifty volunteers from Leeds communities took part in an upbeat and enthusiastic neighbourhood planning workshop organised by Leeds Beckett University’ School of the Built Environment & Engineering on 30 January. They worked together to shape a vision for their communities helped by practical tips on plan-making and design from the university’s planning and housing lecturers. This was the second event in a programme of activities in which Leeds Beckett puts the skills and knowledge of its staff at the service of neighbourhoods in Leeds. Feedback from the workshop was unanimously positive and delegates went away with fresh ideas on how to deal with the thorny issues they face in the community.

Quintin Bradley, Senior Lecturer in Planning at Leeds Beckett University, said: “Sixty communities in Leeds, and many others across Yorkshire, are setting out a vision for how their local community will develop. They need technical assistance and expert advice to do this neighbourhood plan. Leeds Beckett is making sure they get the help they need.” The workshop was organised by Leeds Planning Network, one the new research clusters set up by the School of the Built Environment and Engineering supported by the Centre for Knowledge Exchange.

Delegates heard from Jeff Newton and John Steel, community volunteers in Boston Spa who are in the final stages of their neighbourhood plan. They talked about their innovative new designs for the high street and plans for a renewable energy scheme. Jeff and John stressed that plan-making was hard work but they were enthusiastic about the future and the improvements they wanted for their village (see their presentation below).

Detailed guidance on the legal aspects of plan-making was given by Bob Pritchard, specialist planning lawyer and guest lecturer at Leeds Beckett. He spelled out what a neighbourhood plan could achieve and what should go in it. This was vital information for delegates learning to write planning policy that will guide development in their community over the next twenty years (see his presentation below).

Following this, there were three discussion groups each focusing on themes requested by delegates at the previous workshop. Will Sparling, PhD candidate at Leeds Beckett gave help to inner-city communities working together on common problems. Planning lecturer, Harvey Pritchard gave advice on planning for infrastructure, while Jenny Fisher, principle urban designer for Leeds City Council helped delegates work on improving the look and feel of their neighbourhoods. Delegates were full of praise for the Leeds Beckett event and gave the organisers many more ideas for future workshops.

Copy of Leeds City Council “Neighbourhood Planning & Design Issues” Document to download

The next neighbourhood planning workshop is 16 April 2016 but in the mean time Leeds Planning Network will be holding two planning masterclass events on Tuesday 1st March (Details here)  and Thursday 17th March (Details here

 

Neighbourhood Planning Workshop – What can and what can’t go in a neighbourhood plan?

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Saturday 30th January 2016

10:00 to 13:00

Old Broadcasting House, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, LS2 9EN

This second workshop gives neighbourhood planning groups in Leeds a chance to meet and work together to tackle the big issues. There will be short presentations and plenty of time for discussion and networking. Planning experts from Leeds Beckett University’s planning school will be on hand to provide advice and support

Speakers:

Boston Spa Neighbourhood Plan 

a presentation by Jeff Newton & John Steel

What can and what can’t go in a neighbourhood plan’

advice from Bob Pritchard, planning solicitor from Eversheds

Discussion groups with planning advisors:

  • How can a neighbourhood plan improve design in your area
  • Looking at infrastructure issues in a neighbourhood plan
  • Inner-city neighbourhood planning

Free and open to all members of neighbourhood planning groups! 

BOOKING LINK 

 

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