UK’s High Streets

15/01/2020

The news that the UK’s High Streets have been in decline for some time now is not new. The Centre for Retail Research reported that there are around 50,000 fewer retail units on the High Streets than there was just a decade ago. The issue isn’t how to save the High Street in its current form but how to reinvent it.

With High Streets being predominately retail focused and the decline of these physical retail places on the High Streets the UK needs take elements of an older model when these areas weren’t solely built around this sector. The High Streets are at the heart of the community where the people of the area are able to come together and utilise the space. Even with the UKs housing crisis it makes no sense economically to ear make what is usually the most expensive land in the centre of Towns/Cities for housing alone.

Local Councils need to adapt and understand what the High Streets function is today and how to entice people back to these areas with worthwhile experiences. Planning Policy needs to be less ridged and more flexible in its approach allowing well planned developments to come forward in order to breathe life back into these areas with more capable strategic decision makers in place.

The Government are proactively tackling the UKs issue of Town Centre regeneration and announced last year the High Streets Task Force, a forward-thinking group of experts appointed to provide guidance and advice to local authorities. With the correct individuals leading this and working in collaboration with the private sector the UKs Town Centres will see new uses and new life.

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Swindon’s New Year Resolutions

02/01/2020

2020 will see Swindon grow in its intended direction with the New Eastern Villages moving the Town forward.

Swindon has grown over the last year with developments coming forward across the borough. The larger planned strategic sites at New Eastern Villages will receive planning this year which will see the Town continue to develop in a more structured way. The funding from the developers at New Eastern Villages along with the funding secured by Swindon Borough Council will ensure the necessary infrastructure in the area is delivered.

£100m National Road Fund Release

08/10/2019

The Department for Transport gave the official go ahead last month with a number of road schemes. The schemes are set to receive a portion of £100m Government funding from the National Roads Fund.

The Department for Transport revealed that four schemes have been approved for this first phasing of funding. £31m for the Preston western distributor, £25.5m for the Stubbington bypass, £22.5m for the White Hart junction and £22.9m for the Wichelstowe southern access project in Swindon. The projects have been approved for construction to begin under local bids.

The £22.5m funding for White Hart junction will see a necessary upgrade of the intersection between the A419 and A420 which will benefit the exiting users of the network and forthcoming development at the New Eastern Villages.

Further road schemes are set to benefit from the Government’s National Road Fund across the UK in further phases coming forward.

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£3.6 billion new Town Funds

10/09/2019

On the 6^th September 2019 Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP announced which towns will benefit from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund to build prosperous futures. It is intended that Towns across England will work with the government through this fund to develop innovative regeneration plans. Communities, businesses and local leaders will now join forces to propose plans to transform these town’s economic growth prospects with attention on improved transport, broadband connectivity (5G infrastructure), skills and culture.

The government will next publish a prospectus to guide towns through the process and set eligibility criteria for funding to be unlocked.

Swindon has been named as one of the many Towns to benefit. A full list of places can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d722667e5274a09881c0c58/list-of-100-places.pdf

Read full Government press release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/100-places-to-benefit-from-new-towns-fund.

Swindon’s Local Plan Review

30/08/2019

The current Local Plan Swindon have in place is the key planning document providing the strategy for the area to deliver growth up to the year 2026. Under Government guidance local plans or policies are to be reviewed and assess whether they need updating at least once every 5 years.

£72m Key Infrastructure

09/07/2019

Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet meet on Wednesday 10^th July to approve necessary road infrastructure upgrades in Swindon costing £72+ million.

Major highway improvements and upgrades are due to take place October 2019. The road network upgrades are part of the vital infrastructure required for the 8,000+ homes set to be built East of the A419 at the allocated site of the New Eastern Villages (NEV).

The NEV is one of the largest greenfield developments in the UK consisting of 8,000+ homes, new primary/secondary schools, employment hubs, sports facilities, health facilities and utility/road infrastructure.

The first improvement scheme is proposed to take place at the White Hart junction this October. This will see the construction of a new northbound slip road from the roundabout on to the A4119 which has been needed regardless of the new housing coming forward at the NEV.

To find out more about the infrastructure coming forward visit Swindon Borough Council’s website here: https://www.swindon.gov.uk/news/article/261/essential_road_upgrades_will_start_in_october_to_enable_8000-home_development_to_go_ahead

Image: Google Maps

5G Infrastructure

26/06/2019

A new era of 5G networks is upon us with the start of the infrastructure being put in across the UK this year. It is the latest stage in mobile technology and is essential in the communication of connecting buildings, transport networks and utilities of smart cities. May saw the beginning of this new period after the technology was switched on in six UK cities with EE leading the way.

Gareth Elliott, Head of Policy and Communications at Mobile UK released the following statement earlier in May:

“In the coming years, it is expected the way people interact with apps, mobile content and online services will change dramatically. Connectivity today is focused primarily on the smartphone, but the future will see more and more devices connected to one another. From the connected smart home to the connected car, or the autonomous factory to remote surgery, the way people, places and machines communicate will be vastly different. However, for this to happen, mobile operators need to be able to build and deploy their networks.”

There are also currently security questions around allowing firms form other countries such as Chinese firm Huawei to build 5G networks and infrastructure; but a different question is also in the background before we get to the stage of who is putting the infrastructure in. How has/is the UK planning system preparing for 5G infrastructure?

Local authorities are and always have been extremely instrumental in working with the private sector to ensure the planning and implementation of infrastructure projects such as the UK mobile network can be achieved. UK Mobile have said the following on the role Councils will play:

“How local authorities interpret planning laws and street works rules, and how they design local economic strategies has a bearing on how efficiently mobile infrastructure can be deployed. In short, councils influence the cost of mobile infrastructure and the speed with which it is built.”

Just 28 per cent of local plans make detailed reference to mobile connectivity. Mobile UK found that the majority of local authorities, 87 per cent, have yet to audit their assets, whether that is land, buildings or other infrastructure, for suitability for this digital kit required.

The report commissioned by Mobile UK showed 74 per cent of local authorities had not applied for funding to improve connectivity and only 10 per cent of council economic strategies offer a clear view of how mobile connectivity is crucial to future economic outcomes.

5G being rolled out across the UK is a huge infrastructure project which we need to ensure is planned correctly in order to minimise wastage of resource (cost) and time. It is essential in the development of the UK.

Read the full report by Mobile UK here: http://www.mobileuk.org/central-role-for-councils-in-5g-future.html

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Biodiversity Net Gain

30/05/2019

The Chancellor confirmed in the Spring Statement the UK government will mandate biodiversity net gain within the coming Environment Bill. Following consultation by Defra (Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs) The UK Government on the 13^th March 2019 confirmed that all new developments must ensure that they not only preserve the current biodiversity but show an overall increase in it. What does this mean for future developments?

A net gain in biodiversity will require developers to ensure that any habitats for wildlife that are impacted on site are improved through enhancement and left in a demonstrably superior state post development. The current ecological studies that are required for planning are still needed with the assessment of the types of habitats and the conditions recorded. The planning applications will then need to demonstrate how the biodiversity is going to be improved post development, examples of some of the methods being put forward are through the creation of green corridors, more tree planting etc.

The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management published the following statement: “Quite simply, a policy of no net loss has not worked and we need to do something different if we are to make any progress towards reaching our biodiversity targets.” Naturally if developments are unable to show no net loss when an environment is changing to an urban form rather than refine the process or look at the short fall in the method of measurement of the biodiversity the answer is to seek a net gain instead and require more from what is currently a failing process.

The planning system and developers have an important role in ensuring the sustainability of our built environments but the process as a whole needs to be refined if it is to achieve the biodiversity targets and not just become another tick box within the current planning system. If the UK is to see a positive move in future urban expansions, better designed areas and a net gain in biodiversity then the burdens on sites as a whole paying for infrastructure elsewhere or other forms of tax need to be lessened.

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The Housing Delivery Test

23/04/2019

The Housing Delivery Test was published earlier this year showing that 33% of Councils are under delivering with their housing supply.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) set out a timeframe for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to publish the results of the UK’s first Housing Delivery Test in November 2018, then every November yearly after.

The Housing Delivery Test takes into account the number of homes required within the Councils control from the period of 2015-2018 and compares this to the number of homes delivered over that period. In order for a Council to pass the delivery test they must deliver 95% of the assessed need. The Councils that delivered 85-95% must then produce an action plan in accordance with national planning guidance to establish why they are under delivering and how they plan to address this. Councils that only delivered 25-85% of their housing need must identify a buffer of 20% more land to show they will achieve the set out housing.

Although 77% of Councils demonstrated they had delivered their housing need for the period 2015-2018 they still have a potential problem with their five year housing supply and delivering the homes the UK so desperately needs.

UK Construction Output

15/04/2019

The latest measures of output by the construction industry was released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this month. Construction output increased by 0.4% in the month-on-month all work series in February 2019. In the month-on-month series, there was a 1.1% increase in all new work, while all repair and maintenance fell by 1.0% in February 2019.

Read the full report here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/constructionindustry/bulletins/constructionoutputingreatbritain/february2019

Image: ONS