The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
Scrapping waterway environmental rules will ‘unblock’ 100,000 homes
The government is set to scrap environmental rules that housebuilders have blamed for blocking at least 100,000 new homes
Planning
News about the planning system in the UK, including permitted development rights, the National Planning Policy Framework, the London Plan and the ‘country house’ clause
Architects should get involved with design codes – before it’s too late
At a time when everyone – planners included – despairs at the length of time required to resolve even a tiny planning application, design codes offer the enticing possibility of clarity and certainty, says Hana Loftus
Crooked House’s demolition highlights a major deficiency in the UK listing system
The destruction of the Crooked House pub in the Black Country highlights the planning and listing systems’ failure to put value on essence of place, argues John R Bryson
What kind of monster has the British planning system become?
Submitting a proposal to planning nowadays feels like slipping into a weird and dysfunctional dimension – it is a bankrupt system that the government should be deeply ashamed of, says John Pardey
The planning system just keeps saying no. We need a total overhaul
The planning system is a negative force, persistently blocking much-needed homes and other development. Michael Gove’s reforms must go much further, says Daniel Leon
What Anders Lendager can teach Michael Gove about the circular economy
The government’s headline-grabbing rejection of Pilbrow & Partners’ M&S Oxford Street plan highlights how far off the UK is from producing circular economy projects like those of Danish architect Anders Lendager, argues Peter Murray
Saunt and Burd among architects on Westminster’s new design review panel
DSDHA’s Deborah Saunt and Burd Haward Architects’ Catherine Burd are among the architects chosen to review the designs of all major new developments in Westminster
Gove throws £24m and planning ‘super squad’ at housing logjam
Housing secretary Michael Gove has promised an extra £24 million to unblock the planning system, as well as unveiling a new ‘super-squad’ of experts and vowing to allow more permitted development in a bid to build more homes
Michael Gove has been bold over M&S Oxford Street. But it’s not enough
The government urgently needs to join the dots between its landmark verdict on Marks & Spencer’s demolition proposal and the policy vacuum on limiting embodied carbon in construction, writes Will Hurst
Design issue stalls hospital building programme
A lack of progress on a ‘template’ to standardise hospital design across England is delaying the government’s hospital building programme, a report has found