PEGASUS GROUP Pegasus Group NEWSLETTER - SUMMER QUARTER 2017 Birmingham Bracknell Bristol Cambridge Cirencester East Midlands Leeds Liverpool London Manchester ALOK SHARMA, THE NEW HOUSING MINISTER FACES THE MOST DIFFICULT JOB Pegasus Group s Managing Director, Tony Bateman comments on the most difficult job for the new Housing Minister Alok Sharma, to provide more housing. Despite there being an increase in the number of house completions in the country, we remain woefully short of the number of houses required to meet the increasing demand for property in this country. Much is made of the need to reduce international migration, but we are establishing a significant backlog which will need addressing even if international migration were to fall into the future. Indeed, if it does that will create significant pressures on house building because we need the labour from the EU to help build the houses! The problems for Alok Sharma, the new Housing Minister, are immense and show no signs of reducing significantly. He will need to juggle the problems of lack of house building, the increasing need for housing, the need to replace stock that is worn out, and the increasing cost of housing, with the fact that as a country there remains significant vocal opposition to house building especially if it is anywhere near where we ourselves might live. The problems are particularly acute in the South East and indeed elsewhere in the country where there is a Green Belt. Continual failure to wrestle with the fact that there is a need to review the Green Belt to allow for significant levels of housing to occur, places huge pressures on those least able to afford housing and affects the fabric of our villages and towns. Increasing densities within settlements is not a sustainable answer it impacts severely on the character of much loved places, especially when insufficient provision is made for the car. We need a more pragmatic solution and that is the release of more housing land and particularly in areas of Green Belt to help meet the need. Will Mr. Sharma have the strength of will to seek the necessary solutions? Inevitably given the solution in part revolves around using Green Belt land, the lack of understanding of the problem in the Conservative manifesto and indeed Mr. Sharma s record of resisting housing development in the Berkshire area, there must be significant doubts that this matter will get dealt with in the short term. The government tries to tinker with how housing need and the five-year supply is calculated to allow local authorities to get away with building less housing, instead of addressing the problems head on. Yet if we do not start soon to deal with the underlying problems which relates to a lack of land being released, and the fact we will not be able to build the houses if we restrict labour from the EU to any great extent, then we will create a significant problem for the next generation of property owners who simply will not be able to afford to obtain the accommodation they require. Mr. Sharma certainly has an unenviable job one that is doomed to fail unless bold decisions start to be made. Tony Bateman Managing Director PLANNING DESIGN ENVIRONMENT ECONOMICS 01
PEGASUS GROUP NEWSLETTER - NEWS SUMMER QUARTER 2017 PEGASUS GROUP CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF ITS NEW OFFICE IN LIVERPOOL Pegasus Group celebrated its expansion with its new office opening in Liverpool earlier this year at an exclusive drinks reception at Oh Me Oh My in Liverpool last Thursday 8th June. The event was well-attended with more than 60 attendees ranging from house builders and developers to barristers chambers, solicitors, and leading commercial and retail business leaders from national high street chains. Neil Culkin, Liverpool office Director, speaking at the event said we are delighted to expand Pegasus Group s services to Liverpool, the expansion is a direct response to clients needs for more planning services in the North West. Sebastian Tibenham, Manchester office Regional Director who was also present at the event said we are excited about the increased demand for planning services in the North and we look forward to working with the Liverpool team on future projects. Our Liverpool and Manchester offices offer a wide range of planning services including a specialist economics service. Liverpool opening at Oh Me Oh My Pegasus Group s Cambridge office are headline sponsors at the upcoming Built Environment Network event taking place on the 18th July. The event will discuss the devolution and development plans for the wider Cambridge and Peterborough area. Key speakers will include the newly elected Mayor for Cambridge & Peterborough, James Palmer who will be delivering the keynote introduction. Pegasus Group s Cambridge team will be in attendance at the event including Executive Directors, Robert Barber & Nicky Parsons, Director, Andrew Hodgson, Associate, Kate wood & Senior Planner, Jamie Roberts. For more information about this event, please visit https://www. built-environment-networking. com/event/devolution-anddevelopment-plans-incambridge-peterboroug/ Pegasus Group s Birmingham office are Conference Associates at the upcoming West Midlands Forum for Growth taking place at The Vox Conference Centre, Resorts World, in Birmingham on Wednesday 6th September 2017. The event has been organised by Movers & Shakers, in partnership with WMCA and UKTI, in association with Billfinger GVA and is the official launch event of the West Midlands Combined Authority. The event aims to bring together the public and private sector leaders to engage and debate the key issues in growing the West Midlands economy. A national team will be in attendance including Managing Director, Tony Bateman, Regional Director Sue Manns, Director Simon Chamberlayne and Associates, Hanna Staton and economics expert Richard Cook. For more information about the event please visit https://www. westmidlandsforumforgrowth. co.uk 02
PEGASUS GROUP NEWSLETTER - CASE STUDIES SUMMER QUARTER 2017 CASE STUDY NORTHSTOWE NEW TOWN CAMBRIDGE Pegasus Group successfully secured Reserved Matters permission for the very first houses to be built at Northstowe New Town. Permission was granted within 12 weeks of submission for 92 new homes on this first phase of the Town with construction commencing shortly afterwards. Pegasus Group was responsible for coordinating and preparing the submission followed by the coordination of ongoing negotiations with the local planning authority. This involved working closely with officers to ensure that the scheme was delivered in accordance with a tight timetable. As a result of the good working relationship with officers and the quality of the proposal, the scheme was dealt with under delegated powers. This collaborative style of working enabled the Council to ensure that the proposal delivered a high quality development that reflected it s aims and aspirations for this location. The first houses were occupied in May 2017. Nicky Parsons in our Cambridge Office t: 01223 202 100 03
PEGASUS GROUP NEWSLETTER - CASE STUDIES SUMMER QUARTER 2017 Pegasus Group was appointed to undertake the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment and to prepare an ES chapter in support of a full planning application for a new regional distribution centre including warehousing, a regional office, car parking and associated landscape proposals; and outline permission for a further storage and distribution facility at land off M1, junction 24a, Sawley on behalf of Aldi Stores Ltd. The site is located between the A50, B6540 Tamworth Road and Netherfield Lane, off J24a of the M1. The site was historically subject to commercial sand and gravel extraction and the quarried areas had subsequently been filled with pulverised fuel ash (PFA). The detailed and outline elements were included as part of a hybrid planning application and the EIA covered all aspects of the application. The assessments (including landscape and visual impact assessment) were based on the detailed plans and parameters plans as appropriate for each part of the application. Early site survey work undertaken by Pegasus Group Landscape Architects, in combination with discussions with the local authority during the EIA process about particular concerns, revealed that the key issues in relation to landscape and visual matters included potential impacts on visual receptors at more elevated locations to the south and those on receptors with close views from the Grade II listed property to the north. These constraints were fed into the design of the eventual set back of the main warehouse building and resulted in a proposal for a tree planted earth mound. Balancing the likely landscape and visual effects with the detailed requirements of ALDI Stores Ltd required careful collaborative working with all relevant disciplines, including overcoming complex geotechnical factors in relation to the deliverability of the proposed landscape and drainage strategy. To test the iterative design as it progressed, Pegasus Group produced several visualisations. Showing the relationship between potential visual receptors and the proposal. These demonstrated the amount views would be deflected by the proposed earth bunding and associated tree planting. Verified photomontages were also produced, using viewpoint locations at a selection of more distance locations, which further demonstrated how mitigation could soften views of the proposed development and help assimilate it with the character of the local landscape. CASE STUDY ALDI REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTRE SAWLEY The mitigation proposals therefore became an inherent part of the proposed development such that it reduced visual impact during the EIA process. The internal and external communication process that took place was essential in ensuring the local authorities needs were met and environmental impact was reduced. The scheme was granted planning permission in August 2015. Some minor design changes resulted in an ES Addendum being submitted in March 2017. Peta Donkin in our Cirencester Office t: 01285 641 717 04
PEGASUS GROUP NEWSLETTER - CASE STUDIES SUMMER QUARTER 2017 Pegasus Group s Bristol office were instructed first by Fermoy s Garden Centre and subsequently by current owners Blue Diamond on a complex planning application culminating in more than 5 years work for the redevelopment of the original garden centre at Ipplepen, near Newton Abbot in Teignbridge, Devon. The reserved matters application was approved for a 12million development including a new, purpose built, building which reflects the Victorian palm house design and will create approximately 150 new jobs for the region. The granting of the reserved matters approval follows the earlier granting of outline planning permission also secured by Pegasus Group in 2013 which established the principles behind a larger garden centre on this countryside site between Newton Abbot and Totnes. The redevelopment of the existing garden centre will see the store become 25% larger and will include an improved retail and restaurant layout and better parking facilities. The garden centre will be CASE STUDY FERMOY S GARDEN CENTRE re-built within the curtilage of the existing garden centre, but such that the existing centre can remain open during the 18-month construction phase of the new garden centre. Katie Priest, Associate in Bristol worked with Blue Diamond along with Jim Tarzey, Executive Director providing the full range of planning services during the outline and reserved matters applications, and Teresa Hazlewood, Associate Landscape Architect provided landscape design services. Katie Priest or Jim Tarzey in our Bristol Office t: 01454 625 945 Teresa Hazlewood in our Cirencester Office t: 01285 641 717 05
PEGASUS GROUP NEWSLETTER - NEWS SUMMER QUARTER 2017 INSPECTORS FINDINGS ON FIVE-YEAR LAND SUPPLY The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires that local planning authorities annually identify and update a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites. Where a local planning authority is unable to do so, relevant policies should not be considered up-to-date and planning permission should be granted unless specific policies of the NPPF indicate otherwise or any adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits. This mechanism of national policy contributes to ensuring that there is a significant boost to housing supply to address the current housing crisis. The existence or otherwise of a five-year supply therefore has significant implications for the application of policy. Unsurprisingly this issue is often debated through planning appeals. Pegasus Group has analysed the findings of appeal Inspectors between 1st January 2016 and 25th January 2017 in England (excluding London), on the issue of the existence or otherwise of a fiveyear supply, as presented in the map above. This demonstrates that 70% of the local planning authorities in which an Inspector has reached a conclusion on the existence of a five-year supply, are unable to demonstrate the requisite supply. The proportion is broadly consistent across England demonstrating a national issue with housing delivery, with consequences of the accessibility of housing nationally. This should not be taken as being conclusive on the existence or otherwise of a five-year supply in each local planning authority as in many of these decisions; ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE A FIVE YEAR LAND SUPPLY UNABLE TO DEMONSTRATE A FIVE YEAR LAND SUPPLY NO DECISION RELEVANT TO LAND SUPPLY OR ALL DECISIONS WERE INCONCLUSIVE the position may have been agreed between the Council and the Appellant and so the Inspector may not have considered this matter in detail; the Council may have reassessed their deliverable supply or housing requirement since the evidence available to the appeal was published, and so the five-year supply position may have subsequently changed; there may be more recent appeal decisions since 25th January 2017; or there may be different subareas within each local planning authority against which the five-year supply is assessed which will not be encapsulated in the preceding analysis. 06 Sarah Hamilton-Foyn, Neil Tiley or Louise Follet in our Cirencester Office t: 01285 641 717
PEGASUS GROUP NEWSLETTER - NEWS SUMMER QUARTER 2017 CHRIS JARVIS Director Leeds Office Born and grew up in Rotherham, I attended Sheffield Hallam University gaining a degree in Mineral Estate Management in 1996. Subsequently worked as a surveyor for the East Riding Council before joining the East Riding s Strategic Development Control Team working on minerals, waste and EIA development. I then studied at Sheffield Hallam University to study a postgraduate diploma in Urban and Regional Planning. Prior to completing that course I joined North Yorkshire County Council as a Development Control Officer, progressing over the next 5 years to Senior Minerals and Waste Policy Officer drafting the North Yorkshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan. After leaving local government I joined RPS in Leeds followed by three years with Glen Kemp Landscape Architects in Newcastle. In EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT February 2011 I started my own consultancy, leaving to join Pegasus in May 2017. What attracted you to join Pegasus? The quality of the staff already in place, the opportunity to grow a mineral and waste specialism within the framework of an established and successful business, with the additional support to be able to offer existing clients a more complete service and the location of the Leeds office. What inspired your career path? I always had an interest in geology and geography. After completing A level geology I wanted to continue in a related career. Sheffield City Polytechnic was still running Mineral Estate Management course at the time, an RICS accredited course supplying managers to the minerals industry and this seemed the perfect fit. As the course progressed I found that I preferred the Town and Country Planning elements of the course so decided to concentrate on those areas in my postgraduate career. What are the upcoming challenges in the industry? One of the biggest challenges for the minerals industry will be the supply of the raw materials required to deliver the level of housing supply demanded. Recent research published by the Mineral Products Association identified that replenishment rates for sand and gravel reserves were currently only at 61% i.e. for every 100 tonnes of sand and gravel produced, only 61 tonnes was granted planning permission. Whilst secondary and recycled aggregates can make a contribution, it is still estimated that between 3.2 and 3.8 billion tonnes of aggregate materials will be required over the period to 2030. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I have joined the Bowmen of Adel, an archery club in Leeds, to continue to develop my archery skills. I m also a Member at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Most of my time is spent taking my two sons to play cricket in the Wetherby Junior League for Shadwell Cricket Club. UPCOMING EVENTS 13th July 2017 South Coast Property Awards 14th July Lichfield Festival: Black Voices & The Lichfield Gospel Choir 18th July Built Environment Network: Devolution & Development Plans in Greater Cambridge & Peterborough 6th September West Midlands Forum for Growth 18th September Built Environment Network: Oxford Development Plans 20th September The Restaurant Conference, London 21st September Cambridge B2B Exhibition 28th September Retirement Housing Group Conference, London 28th September Insider Yorkshire Property Awards, Leeds 29th September Business Desk West Midlands Property Lunch 08 OFFICES: BIRMINGHAM 5 The Priory Old London Road Canwell Sutton Coldfield B75 5SH BRISTOL First Floor, South Wing Equinox North Great Park Road Almondsbury Bristol, BS32 4QL CIRENCESTER Pegasus House Querns Business Centre Whitworth Road Cirencester GL7 1RT LEEDS Pavilion Court Green Lane Garforth Leeds LS25 2AF LONDON 10 Albemarle Street London W1S 4HH E Birmingham@pegasuspg.co.uk T 0121 308 9570 E Bristol@pegasuspg.co.uk T 01454 625 945 E Cirencester@pegasuspg.co.uk T 01285 641 717 E Leeds@pegasuspg.co.uk T 0113 287 8200 E London@pegasuspg.co.uk T 020 3897 1110 BRACKNELL The Columbia Centre Station Road Bracknell Berkshire RG12 1LP CAMBRIDGE Suite 4 Pioneer House Vision Park Histon Cambridge CB24 9NL EAST MIDLANDS 4 The Courtyard Church Street Lockington Derbyshire DE74 2SL LIVERPOOL The Plaza Suite 603 100 Old Hall Street Liverpool L3 9QJ MANCHESTER Suite 4b 113 Portland Street Manchester M1 6DW E Bracknell@pegasuspg.co.uk T 01344 207 777 E Cambridge@pegasuspg.co.uk T 01223 202 100 E EastMidlands@pegasuspg.co.uk T 01509 670 806 E Liverpool@pegasuspg.co.uk T 0151 242 6781 E Manchester@pegasuspg.co.uk T 0161 393 3399 Pegasus Group is a trading name of Pegasus Planning Group Limited (07277000) registered in England and Wales Registered Office: Pegasus House, Querns Business Centre, Whitworth Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1RT Prepared by Pegasus Group Graphic Design Pegasus Planning Group LTD @pegasuspg PLANNING DESIGN ENVIRONMENT ECONOMICS