The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
To green up British cities we need a ‘right to plant’
Street trees are a wonder drug, aiding public health and the battle against climate change. Yet urban greenery is in decline. How can we turn this around? asks Eleanor Broad of Create Streets
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
‘Unmanageable workloads and overstretched staff’ – survey spells out planners’ struggles
Two-thirds of council planning teams do not have the capacity to meet their authority’s top priorities, according to a new survey by Public Practice
Council orders demolition of new housing blocks that violated planning
Greenwich Council has ordered the complete demolition of what one councillor describes as a ‘mutant development’ in the south London borough
Anti-demolition amendment to PDR planned
Permitted development rights to demolish many unlisted buildings could end following calls from heritage campaigners
Take the party politics out of planning and housing policies
We need to think more strategically and de-politicise planning itself to cure the UK of its seeming inability to plan effectively for long-term growth
Architect hits back after Hampstead celebrities slam ‘Malibu mansion’ plan
The architect behind a proposal for a north London house has hit back at objections, including some from celebrities living nearby, who dubbed it a ‘Malibu mansion’
When it comes to town centres, failing to plan is planning to fail
By expanding Permitted Development Rights in high streets and town centres, the government would usher in a new era of dingy, bargain basement homes, says Holly Lewis
Handling the Heat Part 3: Legislating for changes for a hotter climate
With scientists predicting a 30 per cent hike in ‘uncomfortably hot’ days in the UK, Anna Highfield looks at how legislation can mitigate overheating in cities
Government defeated over bid to scrap water-pollution rules for housing
Government plans to tear up water quality rules - which it says will lead to 100,000 new homes - have been scuppered by Labour
Architects condemn scrapping of water pollution rules
The government’s decision to scale back environmental rules on water pollution in order to ‘unblock 100,000 homes’ by 2030 has been called into question by the profession