Recent News

Guiding the way to Sustainable Solutions

NJL Consulting has recently prepared two User Guides and a Travel Plan on behalf of Britannia Property Group, for their residential and restaurant development in Chorlton.  The documents were put together to reach BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes standards, while presenting the information in a coherent and user friendly manner for home owners, staff and customers.

The User Guides and Travel Plan are demonstrative of a dedication to sustainable development reaching beyond that of construction techniques, with an emphasis being placed on long term use of buildings and sustainable travel options.  This forward thinking vision is pleasing to see, particularly during a time of recession when environmental commitments have proved more challenging than in the past. 

NJL Consulting worked closely with the Britannia Property Group to compile the detailed information for the Guides.

If you would like to discuss this further then please contact Justine Entezari.

Windfarm Success for the Co-op

The Planning Inspectorate has published its decision on the Appeal by The Co-operative Group for its proposed 10 wind turbine 20MW project at Langford in Central Bedfordshire and allowed the appeal, granting planning permission.

The Local Planning Authority refused the application on the grounds of noise and landscape & visual impact, with the Inspector expanding on these reasons to consider residential amenity and enjoyment of the countryside by members of the public.

Rob White, who heads NJL's Sustainability and Environmental Planning team, was asked by The Co-op to present Planning Policy evidence at the public inquiry.  The challenge was to present a coherent case for the relative merits of existing and emerging policy in the context of the progress of the Localism Bill and its implications for Regional Strategies and the draft National Planning Policy Framework.

Having set out the policy framework, detailed evidence was presented on the evidence base to support the existing regional renewable energy targets and the failure to deliver against these regionally and within Bedfordshire.

The final part of the evidence concerned the acceptability of planning conditions and the proposed planning obligations, including the Renewable UK protocol on Community Commitment funding.

In his decision letter the Inspector accords with the policy position as put forward in evidence, attributes weight to the established failure to deliver against targets and accepts the planning conditions and obligations as proposed.  He concludes that significant harm is not likely to be caused by noise or visual effects to local residents or users of the countryside and that the benefits of the scheme will outweigh lesser harm that may occur.

This is an important success for the windfarm industry at a time when medium scale 20-50MW projects have come under increasing criticism by residents citing the Localism agenda.  It proves that larger scale developments can be brought forward when sensitively designed on appropriate sites and that planning policy and technical guidance continue to support the delivery of renewable energy in England and Wales.

For further information on this case or other renewable energy projects and NJL's associated services, please contact Rob White.

Retrospective EIA for Story Homes

Working with Allerdale Borough Council (ABC) and with Hadrian's Wall Heritage (HWH), Story Homes developed and submitted plans for new housing in Maryport alongside a new Roman Fort Visitor's Centre proposed by HWH.

Close working was undertaken throughout with ABC and English Heritage to ensure that the sensitive archaeological issues were thoroughly investigated and plans amended in response to the findings to respect the identified archaeological remains.

Story Homes requested EIA Screening Opinions from ABC prior to application and ABC adopted a further opinion post-application, all of which were negative in terms of the need for EIA.  However, through legal representation opponents to the proposals sought a Screening Direction from the Secretary of State, who determined that the proposals are an EIA development.

NJL has been commissioned by Story Homes to undertake the EIA process and produce the Environmental Statement that is consequently required to inform the application determination.  Following legal advice confirming NJL's suggested way forward, a joint approach to Scoping and the Environmental Statement is being undertaken to deliver a coherent, defensible and cost effective report covering Story Homes and HWH's proposals.

The EIA is unusual in that it will be undertaken post-application, but there is substantial technical work to draw upon and supplement meaning that a robust process can be followed.

For further information on this or other EIA projects please contact Rob White or Chris Garratt.

The Co-operative Group Motor in to a New Home in Oswestry

NJL Consulting have secured full planning consent for a new Co-operative Store at Victoria Road, Oswestry, Shropshire.

The planning consent will facilitate the re-location of the existing south Oswestry Co-operative Store into larger premises at the former VW Car Showroom / Garage premises on Victoria Road.

The existing Co-operative Store is physically constrained and is unable to offer customers a satisfactory shopping environment to modern standards.

The relocation to a larger premises with off street dedicated car parking will ensure a fit for purpose store to meet the needs of the Co-operatives loyal customer base. 

New EIA in Whitehaven, Cumbria

Story Homes, the Cumbrian-based housing developer has instructed NJL Consulting to co-ordinate the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for their proposed development of up to 700 dwellings in Whitehaven.  The development is on part of the former Rhodia chemical works site to the south of the town centre.

In line with EIA best practice, NJL have consulted with Copeland Borough Council regarding EIA Screening and Scoping.  The EIA scope has now been agreed and NJL, along with a team of technical specialists, will be undertaking the EIA during 2012.

NJL Consulting gain the IEMA EIA Quality Mark

NJL are delighted to announce that IEMA, the UK's largest environmental professional association, representing over 15,000 practitioners, is today recognising NJL Consulting's commitment to excellence in the EIA activities they deliver and awarding them the IEMA EIA Quality Mark along with only 41 other consultancies nationwide.

On 18 April 2011 IEMA launched the EIA Quality Mark, establishing a new standard for organisations that co-ordinate environmental impact assessments.

The EIA Quality Mark is based around a set of EIA Commitments, which organisations registered to the scheme agree to comply with. IEMA operates the EIA Quality Mark and undertakes an independent review of an organisation's compliance with its EIA commitments both during the application process and once registered through an annual review process. As such EIA Quality Mark provides registrants with a benchmark for their EIA activities and allows them to demonstrate their commitment to effective practice.

When your development is found to require an EIA it can be difficult to ensure you identify the right consultancy to lead and co-ordinate that work. The EIA Quality Mark helps in this process. By choosing a consultancy registered to the EIA Quality Mark you know that they are not only committed to delivering you a quality product, but that their EIA activities have also been independently reviewed by IEMA.

Rob White, Partner at NJL Consulting said "We are pleased to achieve the EIA Quality Mark in recognition of the high standard Environmental Statements that NJL produce. It accords with our vision to establish a centre of excellence for our core business activities."

More recruitment and promotion at NJL

We are pleased to announce that Juan Murray has recently joined us as an Environmental Planner. Juan was previously employed with CPRE where he worked as a Planning and Environmental Consultant on a range of planning projects, within a community focussed environment. 

Juan will be assisting both the Planning and Sustainability teams bringing his in-depth knowledge of Environmental Planning issues and how these relate to community groups.  He has a Masters in Planning and Sustainable Environments and is a member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

We have also recently promoted Chris Garratt to Senior Consultant. Chris joined NJL in October 2009 and has an in-depth knowledge of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Project Management and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

Chris provides advice and project management services to clients on environmental and sustainability issues during the planning process, ensuring both compliance with legislation and an efficient and timely submission of the application. Chris is also a member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

If you would like to discuss any environmental planning or sustainability issues then please contact Juan Murray or Chris Garratt.

Two new planning instructions from the Co-operative Property Division

The Co-operative Property Division has instructed NJL Consulting to prepare two planning applications in support of agricultural developments in Kent. 

The first development is for 32 permanent caravans, a communal building and a general purpose building to address seasonal employee accommodation issues and the second is for 8.5 acres of agricultural hail netting.

The proposed developments have complex locations being either in Open Countryside, a Conservation Area, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or a Special Landscape Area.  NJL Consulting will combine their in house planning and sustainability expertise with an external team of appointed technical specialists, to demonstrate how the developments will contribute to sustainable agricultural development.

The planning applications will be submitted in 2012.

'Stormy times ahead for Wind Farms'

Following a week of high winds across the country and a recent campaign against the industry in elements of the press, it is a pertinent time to reflect on what may lie ahead for onshore wind farm developments in England.  NJL has recently been working on both sides of the planning fence, representing a 10 turbine 20MW site at Biggleswade in Bedfordshire at the planning inquiry on behalf of The Co-operative Group, and advising Milton Keynes Council in relation to the EIA produce on behalf of Ecotricity for their 15 turbine 35MW scheme at Stoke Heights.

The sites are in locations that on face value appear to be appropriate for wind farms in lowland England setting.   Each is located close to major roads and for Biggleswade major rail lines, in areas that are neither in the Green Belt or designated for their landscape value, no ‘show-stopper' ecological habitats or protected species, good access and with reasonable separation distances to residential properties. Policy support at local, regional and national scales is strong and each development would make a significant contribution to regional and local renewable energy targets that have historically failed to be achieved.

Hence at a technical and policy level there is little to provide a robust basis on which to object to the proposals and with all the polls undertaken consistently showing strong support for wind farms amongst the general public it would be reasonable to expect a relatively smooth progress through the planning system.  However, in both cases there is considerable opposition from elements of the local populace and a corresponding political objection to the proposals, leading to a drawn out planning determination process, appeal and inquiry. 

This would appear to be symptomatic of the general trends for wind farms in England, with broad support to the principle of development, but when it comes to considering proposals in their locality in most instances ‘middle-England' says vociferously and non too politely ‘no'.  Quite often this seems to be partly based around a feeling that the wind farms are beyond an appropriate ‘local' scale and this combined with changes to incentive funding to wind farms may lead to more smaller-scale developments of 2-3 turbines and less in the 20-50MW band, with just a few large scale wind farms over 50MW. 

At appeals, despite the detailed technical assessment work undertaken and the ongoing arguments over noise assessments and appropriate noise mitigation and planning conditions, there seems to be a trend on increasing ‘weight' being given to the impacts on residential amenity and in particular the views from private properties.  This is a worrying trend as ultimately it is a subjective and emotive assessment which can mean that despite the case being proven on all other technical grounds, the Inspector can be strongly influenced by the view from a few windows.

The Biggleswade appeal decision is due in January and it will be interesting to see the Inspector's reasoning behind whichever decision is issued.

If you wish to discuss wind farm planning and related EIA and Expert Witness issues please contact Rob White, Partner at rob@njlconsulting,co.uk .

New submission - Gleeson Homes - Former James Nelson Sports Ground, Nelson

A full Planning Application has been submitted to Pendle Borough Council for the erection of 106 family residential units and associated infrastructure at the former James Nelson Sports Ground, Wickworth Street, Nelson.

On behalf of Gleeson Homes, NJL Consulting have provided strategic policy advice to prepare a case for the establishment of residential development on former recreational site in Nelson. This work represents the first instruction for NJL by the national house builder.

The proposed development will utilise a brownfield site to deliver much needed new homes for the Local Authority area. It will replace the former James Nelson site's current depressed state with an attractive modern purpose built development, which has been designed to allow full and appropriate integration with the surrounding residential areas. In addition, the scheme will also offer 15% of the units, for nomination and purchase by local people who currently rent from an Registered Social Landlord or the local authority which is a further benefit for the settlement of Nelson.

The final scheme layout was devised following a thorough public consultation exercise to ensure that a development is provided which meets with local people's expectation for the settlement of Nelson.

New Permission for NJL at the Snipe Retail Park

NJL Consulting have recently secured planning permission for the reconfiguration and extension of two retail units at the Snipe Retail Park.  The proposed development gives two retailers the opportunity to trade from this location, which is an established retailing destination within Tameside.

NJL Consulting submitted two separate planning applications for the works, and also project managed the submission on behalf of our client.  This involved working alongside other co-consultants during the pre-application stage, and liaising with the Council through to the determination of both applications.

NJL Consulting are the retained planning consultants for the Retail Park, which is owned and managed by our client LaSalle Investment Management.  Over the last few years NJL Consulting have successfully achieved a range of planning permissions at this location, which is a popular retailing location for the residents of Tameside.

Planning Magazine's Consultancy Survey 2011

Planning Magazine has completed a Nationwide Planning Consultancy Survey which was conducted during October 2011 by communications consultancy Camargue Group. Questions covered staffing and fee levels, estimates of growth or decline in key market sectors and views on a set of 20 current practice issues.

Within the nationwide survey NJL Consulting were listed as the 37^th highest earning planning consultant, 62^nd leading employer of Chartered Town Planners and one of the main UK planning teams in the North West.

This is an excellent position for NJL to have achieved, reflecting our commitment to maintain our team during challenging trading conditions.   Looking ahead to 2012, we will be continuing our organic growth through internal promotions, combined with some high profile recruitment to supplement our existing skills and experience.

Community Infrastructure Levy Update

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a form of new planning charge which was introduced by the Planning Act in 2008 and came into force 6th April 2011 through the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations. The key drivers for the introduction of CIL are to create more legal certainty; a broader range of developments contributing to infrastructure costs, and greater certainty on the level of contributions which will be required.

Each charging authority sets their own rates through a Charging Schedule identifying CIL rates for different types of development. This Charging Schedule is prepared following an assessment of infrastructure need within the area, an assessment of the economic viability for development alongside Development Plan policies, and requirements for infrastructure to facilitate development.

In November 2010, an initial phase of 8 "front runner" authorities was announced and each of these authorities has been given support by DCLG in preparing CIL Charing Schedules. Further to this, in July 2011 a second phase of front runner authorities was brought forward, resulting with an additional 20 authorities receiving support in preparation of their charging schedules. Two additional Council's outside of the front runner groups are also in the process preparing their own Charging Schedules. 

This process has already seen the first two CIL Charing Schedules adopted by Newark and Sherwood Council, following independent examinations and they are due to come into force on 1^st January 2012, with a number of other authorities also at advanced stages in the progression of CIL Charing Schedules. 

It has become clear that nationally, the charging levels for development will vary significantly between charging authorities and the brief examples below highlight how the same development would incur a different levy charge based upon statutory authority area.  The contrast is startling and therefore, this must be factored in at early development or site acquisition stages accordingly.

Whilst a number of CIL Charging Schedule's are being progressed by Councils the use of CIL funding is still being defined. Following The Localism Bill receiving Royal Assent on 15^th November 2011, the 2010 CIL Regulations will require updating and DCLG are currently consulting on the reformation of the CIL Regulations with the key topics of debate being as follows:

•  Implementation of neighbourhood funds;
• Allowing receipts to be used to provide affordable housing;
• Providing transitional provisions to allow fair operation of the levy in Mayoral Development Corporation areas;
• Requiring charging authorities to report more openly and regularly on receipts and expenditure, to improve transparency and understanding of the contribution that developers are making and how those funds are used;
• Adding new Development Orders to the list of developments that may be liable to a charge.

The consultation is due to close on 30^th December 2011. If you would like to liaise with NJL to discuss the implications of CIL further, please contact either Nick Lee on 0845 362 8203 / nick@njlconsulting.co.uk or Jonathan Harper on 0845 362 8216 / jonathan@njlconsulting.co.uk.

All change at Crewe

NJL Consulting LLP have recently submitted a full planning application on behalf of CityHeart Ltd for an industrial unit of 1,152sqm (Use Class B8, storage and distribution) with ancillary trade counter floorspace on land at Weston Road, Crewe.

NJL Consulting are delighted to be working with CityHeart Ltd, who are managing the schemes delivery for Rowlinson Group Ltd.

The scheme is a speculative development, consisting of a single building that is designed to be subdivided into individual units, forming a maximum of 3; providing a flexible platform to meet market demand.  The site is located close to Crewe Town Centre, situated within the Crewe Gate Industrial Estate that boasts light industrial, trade counter and office developments.

NJL have project managed the planning application, including the supporting technical assessments, and are advising throughout the application process.

NJL Consulting to advise on key regeneration site

NJL Consulting has been appointed by Ainscough Strategic Land as Planning Advisor on a  55 acre brownfield site at the former Dolgarrog Aluminium Works Site in the Conwy Valley in North Wales.

The site is critical to deliver local jobs and regeneration of a long term derelict site. It is of significance nationally and  requires an innovative approach to planning and delivery.

Proposals are being worked on by NJL to combine a quality planning solution with commercial reality.

Nick Lee, said "NJL are delighted to have been appointed to help ASL bring this exciting mixed use scheme forward through the planning process".

A planning application is expected in during 2012.