Thursday 8 November 2018

Shale Gas?!!!!!!!!!! WHY?!!!!!!!

Why are energy companies interested in shale gas? It's yesterday's fuel. Today's and tomorrow's fuels should be renewable not finite.

Government launches shale gas consultation
The government has launched a consultation that asks whether local communities must be consulted on shale gas proposals in England before submitting a planning application.
The consultation seeks views on whether or not developers need to publish any information that is needed.
The developers must engage with local communities and stakeholders, and listen to residents’ opinions, which would then be addressed before final proposals are submitted to local authorities.
The government believes this consultation will speed up the decision making process, which could lead to fewer delays when it comes to planning applications.
The deadline for this consultation is Monday 7 January 2019. It can be found here on the government website.
Prithvi Pandyam, 31 October 2018

Thursday 6 September 2018

Is building to rent a good idea?

The article below suggests that building dwellings to rent is a growth area.

Dwellings built specifically for private rent has been forecast as one of the key areas of growth within the housebuilding industry, according to AMA Research.

Analysis in the research firm’s Housebuilding Market Report – UK 2018-2022 notes that as well as attracting some of the larger housing associations, an increasing number of large private housebuildng groups are diversifying in the Build to Rent sector.

The focus, the research explains, is on investing in large-scale apartment developments in key parts of London, the West Midlands and the north west of England, which all offer economies of scale. This, AMA said, is being achieved through the increased specification of prefabricated building components and full offsite building systems, like modular construction.

The report also says there were around 258,000 new dwellings delivered in the UK in 2016/17, an increase of 13 per cent on the previous year.

“What has been critical to growth in net additions to the UK’s housing stock has been sharp growth in the numbers of conversions, which has been driven by government’s granting of permitted development rights for the conversion of empty offices into dwellings. Although there will inevitably soon be a shortage of empty offices suitable for conversion, we expect there to be a shift towards conversions of vacant high street facilities” said Keith Taylor, director of AMA Research.

“There has also been a recent relaxation of permitted rights concerning barns and stable conversions, which should contribute towards growth in the total number of conversions over the next few years”.

For 2017/18, it is estimated to be similar, with 280,000 new homes added to the UK stock.

According to AMA, growth in the house stock has been driven by increased activity in the private housing sector as a result of low interest rates, competitive mortgage deals and the Help to Buy equity loan scheme.

The research also notes that there has been a move away from one to three bedroom flats to four bedrooms, and more, in semi-detached and detached homes, particularly in the capital and the South East. The demand for flats remains the strongest in London.

While private sector housing has seen growth, public sector housing completions is still below government targets, the research highlights. This is put down to public sector funding cuts. In the longer term, AMA forecasts a more balance relationship between supply and demand due to the increasing number of housing associations diversifying into building affordable homes.

28 August 2018
Laura Edgar, The Planner

Having looked into this, it appears to be true and I can only ask: Is this a good idea? The UK is traditionally a home owner nation not a renting one.

www.gbs-designs.co.uk

Friday 24 August 2018

Party Wall - Construction

An interesting article from the Planning Portal:

Constructing Party Walls
When deciding what materials to use for party walls, consideration needs to be given not only to the performance of the wall itself, but also to potential heat loss through junctions with external elements. Using an energy-efficient material such as aircrete in party walls, in conjunction with aircrete inner leaves on external walls, can reduce heat losses at thermal bridges by as much as fifty per cent - the equivalent to the effect of adding 10-15 millimetres (mm) of insulation to the external walls.

Thermal performance
Since the changes to the building regulations Part L in 2010, party walls have had to meet strict thermal performance criteria. This is best achieved by using a cavity wall construction, where the cavity is filled with insulation material - a very similar design to the external walls.

Thermal Bridging
Thermal bridges occur where the party wall breaks the continuity of external fabric insulation – for example at junctions with external walls, floors and roof.  Heat losses associated with these thermal bridges can significantly affect the thermal performance of the house.

Using aircrete significantly reduces the thermal bridge effect at junctions as it has a far better thermal resistance than denser concrete blocks.

View a series of calculations to demonstrate this effect (external link).

These calculations can be used in the design of party wall details.

Acoustic performance
Another key performance characteristic for party walls is sound insulation – with requirements set out in Part E of the Building Regulations. Although light weight would not normally be associated with acoustic performance, the close cellular structure of  aircrete gives it excellent sound insulation properties relative to its weight.

To determine whether a wall construction detail will meet the requirements of Part E, reference can be made to Robust Details (external link). These are independently assessed design details that can be used in the design of wall constructions.

Robust Details demonstrate that aircrete party walls will provide the same level of acoustic performance as dense aggregate blocks, but with all the benefits of using a lightweight block.

To find out more about building masonry walls – including party walls – with aircrete, download this information from the manufacturer.

www.gbs-designs.co.uk

Friday 10 August 2018

Time to tighten the Green Belt?

In our green and pleasant land the question must be asked. Is it time to tighten the Green Belt? So as to protection the countryside not just for our generation but also for the generations to come.

In a recent article, Laura Edgar of the Planner wrote:

‘Strategic shrinking’ of green belt as harmful as building on it, says CPRE
Reviewing green belt boundaries as part of the local plan process should only take place in exceptional circumstances – but this ‘strategic shrinking’ of the green belt is as ‘harmful’ as building on it, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

The campaign group’s annual State of the Green Belt report says there are currently 460,000 homes being planned that would be built on greenfield land that will soon be released from the green belt – or has been designated in local plans.

Of those houses planned for green belt land, CPRE says only 27 per cent meet the government’s definition of affordable.

Furthermore, according to the report, local authorities with green belt land have enough brownfield land for more than 720,000 homes and therefore “there is no reason for them not to be prioritising brownfield development”.

Because “one-third” of local authorities with green belt land face increased housing targets as a result of the new method for calculating housing demand laid out in the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published in July, the release of green belt land is set to continue, says CPRE.

The London Metropolitan Green Belt will be the “biggest casualty”.

Tom Fyans, director of campaigns and policy at the CPRE, said: “We are being sold a lie by many developers. As they sell off and gobble up the green belt to build low-density, unaffordable housing, young families go on struggling to afford a place to live. The affordable housing crisis must be addressed with increasing urgency, while acknowledging that far from providing the solution, building on the green belt only serves to entrench the issue.”

The government, Fyans continued, is “failing” in its commitment to protect the green belt, which is being “eroded at an alarming rate”.

It is “essential, if the green belt is to fulfil its main purposes and provide 30 million of us with access to the benefits of the countryside, that the redevelopment of brownfield land is prioritised, and green belt protection strengthened”.

The report features a number of recommendations, including:

National and local planning policies and decision should recognise the green belt’s wide variety of benefits, but focus on ensuring that they continue to fulfil their purpose by:
- Following through on commitments to strengthen the exceptional circumstances test by prioritising brownfield sites within the revised NPPF.

- Committing to establishing long-term green belt boundaries, to be reviewed no more than every 15 years.

National government should develop clear guidance for local authorities on housing requirements to protect designated land and support the creation of new green belts where local authorities have established a clear need for them.
Katherine Evans, partner at law firm TLT, said: “The latest statistics show that green belt land saw a decrease of less than 0.05 per cent in 2016-2017.

"Despite what the name suggests the reality is that little of the green belt is valued for its landscape and some is already developed for a multitude of purposes."

The CPRE likes to characterise the green belt as ‘countryside next door’ but the reality is that little of the green belt is valued for its landscape and some is already developed for a multitude of purposes.”

Evans highlighted that the revised NPPF makes it clear that green belt boundaries should only be altered where exceptional circumstances are fully evidenced and justified, while a planning authority must be able to demonstrate that it has fully examined all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development.

“Extensions to boundaries and building on the green belt are only likely where the local authority has already made use of suitable brownfield sites and underutilised land, optimised the density of development on existing land set aside for housing or has reached an agreement with a neighbouring local authority in order to take on some of its housing needs.

“While building more homes to tackle the housing crisis is one of the government’s main priorities, it is quite clear from the revised NPPF that this is not to be at the expense of the green belt. It’s worth keeping in mind that the drive to build new homes is taking place predominantly on brownfield and urban sites."

The National Community Land Trusts (CLT) Network highlighted that the CPRE report found that only 990 of the 7,600 homes rural communities need were built last year. To date, 840 CLT homes have been built, predominantly in rural areas.

Tom Chance, director at the National Community Land Trusts (CLT) Network, said: “Community Land Trusts are thriving in rural areas. This is because local people have recognised them as a way to build the affordable homes that local people can actually afford, rather than more expensive homes.

“Many rural communities are coming up against school and shop closures that are threatening local life. The need for affordable housing has never been more serious. While many local authorities and parish councils are supporting CLTs to form and develop, we would like to see this going further.

“With local governments working with groups to find land there’s no reason why CLTs couldn’t help build the annual quota of rural homes needed.”

The State of the Green Belt report can be found on the CPRE website.

So what does this tell us? Our we about to loose our countryside?

The following is from The Week, whose late owner Felix Dennis was very fond of the countryside:

Why England’s green belt is disappearing at ‘alarming rate’

Housing applications for protected areas hits record 460,000 following relaxation of planning laws

Campaigners say most housing built on England’s green belts is unaffordable for first-time buyers

The UK’s green belt is disappearing at an “alarming rate” as the Government strives to meet targets for new homes, a new report has warned.

However, only 22% of the planned developments meet the Government’s definition of “affordable”. Tom Fyans, director of policy at CPRE, has accused developers of “misleading the public” over a perceived necessity to build on the green belt in order to help families get on the housing ladder, Sky News reports.

“The affordable housing crisis must be addressed with increasing urgency, while acknowledging that far from providing the solution, building on the green belt only serves to entrench the issue,” Fyans said.

What is England’s green belt?
The green belt programme was rolled out during the post-WWII urban boom, in order to “stop cities from sprawling and countryside being spoilt”, the BBC says.

Around 13% of English land - some four million acres - is currently covered by green belt regulations, including “scenic sites open to the public, such as the Chiltern Hills and North Downs”, the broadcaster adds.

England has a total of 14 designated green belt areas, which surround urban areas including London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. These special sites are meant to be permanently protected and are only reviewed in exceptional circumstances. 

By contrast, brownfield sites - land that has previously been developed - are often on disused or derelict land, but are often more expensive to build on as the land must first be cleared.

Why is the green belt disappearing?
“As recently as 2010-11, there was no net loss of green belt land in England, but the introduction of a new National Planning Policy Framework in 2012 heralded the start of a sudden erosion of the green belt,” The Daily Telegraph reports.

In the subsequent years up until 2017, 11,960 acres of green belt was lost - the equivalent of around 5,000 football pitches. A total of 37 local authorities have redesignated green belt land for development in the past six years, the newspaper adds.

Applications to build an additional 35,000 homes on green belt land were submitted last year alone.

However, the CPRE estimates that local authorities with green belt areas have enough brownfield land for more than 720,000 homes.

Why are campaigners angry?
Campaigners are unhappy that the Government is not utilising the full potential on the country’s alleged one million brownfield housing sites.

Although more than half of the housing development to date has been on these brownfield sites, campaigners say the “vast majority of homes constructed on greenfield green belt land is in higher price brackets unattainable to most buyers”, The Guardian reports.

“Only 27% of homes built or approved on greenfield land since 2009 fitted the Government’s definition of affordable housing,” the newspaper says.

CPRE policy director Fyans said: “We are being sold a lie by many developers. As they gobble up the green belt to build low density, unaffordable housing, young families go on struggling to afford a place to live.

“The Government is failing in its commitment to protect the green belt – it is being eroded at an alarming rate. But it is essential, if the green belt is to fulfil its main purposes and provide 30 million of us with access to the benefits of the countryside, that the redevelopment of brownfield land is prioritised, and green belt protection strengthened.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing responded: “We are clear that building the homes our country needs does not mean tearing up our countryside.

“Last year the number of new homes built was the highest in a decade and only 0.02% of the green belt was developed for residential use.

“We are adding more certainty to the planning system, and our rule book strengthens national protections for the green belt and says that councils may only alter boundaries in exceptional circumstances once they have looked at all other options.”

Whatever the outcome it will require some truly radical thinking to solve the problem.

Monday 25 June 2018

Planning News

See below for the latest planning news from the Planning Portal.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/news/article/567/planning_news_-_21_june_2018#one

www.gbs-designs.co.uk

Thursday 26 April 2018

Apparently Millennials Don't Need Living Rooms

In a recent article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/25/millennials-dont-need-living-rooms-says-leading-architect-says/

Well, that's his opinion. We at GBS Designs very much approve of the Technical Housing Standards - Described Space Standard document as it sets out the space required for quality housing and helps prevent people being squeezed into 'rabbit hutches'.

GBS Designs