INDUSTRY NEWS New research shows that many of
Councils critical of Government planning reforms
England’s local authorities are highly critical of the Government’s proposed planning reforms.
In an analysis of a representative sample of 27 local authority responses to the public consultation on the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has found that right across England, and regardless of political party control, local authorities are very concerned about the proposed changes to national planning policy.
Their concerns include the definition of sustainable development, the lack of emphasis on reusing brownfield land and the need for appropriate transitional arrangements to ensure a smooth shift to any new system.
Lack of clarity
Kate Houghton, Planning Officer at CPRE, says: “It’s clear that many of the experts working at the coal face of local planning share similar concerns to CPRE about the draft NPPF. Anxiety over the definition of sustainable development and transitional arrangements are especially prominent. This confirms that a lack of clarity in these areas could severely undermine the planning system.
“Our analysis demonstrates that the Government cannot afford to push through
their reforms without taking account of these widely held concerns. Changes need to be made to the planning system, but if we don’t get them right we risk causing long term damage to both our urban and rural landscapes.”
Key tools
The planning reforms have been billed as one of the Government’s key tools for stimulating economic growth. CPRE does not believe that the current planning system acts as a barrier to growth, and many local councils have been critical of what they themselves believe is an over emphasis of economic aims in the draft planning proposals, at the expense of social and environmental factors.
Careful consideration
Kate Houghton concluded: “The Government needs to consider very carefully the 14,000 responses to the consultation on the draft NPPF that they have received. If the Government is serious about localism, it must listen to and act on the very real concerns raised by local councils. “We hope that the final framework will offer clear policies which properly integrate economic, environmental and social objectives. Only this will allow planning to fulfil its important role in facilitating genuinely sustainable development.”
New MD for Trox UK
The Trox Group has appointed Ian Sams as Managing Director of Trox UK to replace Ludger Bökmann who will return to full-time duties as Head of International Business for the Trox Group.
Ian Sams has spent more than half of his 30 year career in HVAC with Trox and has fulfilled a number of senior roles, the most recent being Chief Operating Officer. Ian said: “I am immensely proud to be taking the company forward at this exciting stage in its development. An ambition for Trox UK is to maintain our leading position by increasing our market share across all of our product groups.”
Whilst in his role as Chief Operating Officer, Ian has overseen a successful
programme to establish new regional sales offices, in addition to the delivery of a £2.1 million capital investment at the Thetford site.
Green Apple for Grundfos
Grundfos has received a seventh Green Apple Award in recognition of the technological advances that the company continues to invest heavily in, proving once again the importance the company places on all aspects of energy efficiency. The Green Apple Awards are International
Awards run by The Green Organisation - an independent, non-political, non-profit environmental group dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice from around the
world. The 2011 awards were held in November, in the very prestigious surroundings of the House of Commons where the winners were announced. Their entry into the manufacturing section was in support of Grundfos’ range of energy efficient Blueflux motors. The entry explained that Grundfos Blueflux represents ‘best in class’ technology as these motors have been optimised to cut out waste and are years ahead of legislative demands.
8 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER JANUARY 2012
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