Well, what a year it’s been, both professionally and personally. We don’t often find time to reflect on achievements, and we rarely, if ever, pat ourselves on the back. So for our annual December round-up, we thought we’d shine a festive light on some of our sparklers from 2022. Hope you enjoy:
On our theme this year of all things green and sustainable, Michele Lavelle of 4D Landscape Design followed up a fascinating chat we had with her over the sourcing, journey and lifespan of trees transplanted ‘to order’. Her thoughts about the sustainability and longevity of imported species yet the vulnerability of some own-grown native trees … Read More
National Park Cities – have you ever heard of these? No. Neither had we, until we read about them in Rob Hopkins Book ‘From What Is to What If, his manifesto to reclaim and unleash the creative power of our imaginations. Inspired by the model of our rural National Parks, which aim to promote our … Read More
Following on from a Jane Jacobs inspired walk for the RTPI that Jules recently led for Bristol’s Young Planners, and as part of our 2022 ‘sustainability’ theme, it seemed a good opportunity to consider what makes a place ‘sustainable’ in the wider sense. Not just from an environmental perspective, but what makes a successful place tick, how it works, how it evolves and thrives.
On our theme this year of looking at biodiversity, environmental protection and sustainability issues within the English planning system, Jane Fowles and Georgina Harvey of Novell Tullett Landscape Architects shared their thoughts with us about the beauty, history and fragility of Old Orchards. Their take on these unique landscape features completely encapsulates why we should uphold landscape policy designations…
With the urgent pressure for housing delivery, yet increasingly onerous planning application requirements and convoluted prior approval processes, we’re often now approached by clients wanting to find a swifter means of securing permission for residential development. Whether its simply to establish Class C3 principles on a small urban site or just to obtain certainty for … Read More
Following on from our 2018 blog highlighting the challenges of building homes on small brownfield sites, we thought it would be useful to take another look to see if the situation is any better than it was. Current planning policy promotes urban living, building more densely/higher to achieve the most efficient use of land, and … Read More
The Planning profession is an ever changing beast. Always under review and alteration. Constantly vilified for being too slow, too fast, too restrictive, not restrictive enough, too bureaucratic, too full of NIMBY’s, and so the list goes on….. In the midst of all the competing views of Planning as both a process and a profession, … Read More
Welcome to 2021, never have we been so pleased to embrace a new year. Whoever would have imagined when we introduced our Planning Ventures manifesto back in January 2020, that the 12 months would have played out in such a challenging way, and been a real test of those pledges. As everyone, we’re desperate to … Read More
Welcome back after that fabulous long hot summer. Whilst here at Planning Ventures we celebrate the launch of the new school year, we’re also braced for a fresh start in the Planning calendar, just as you were all escaping for your fortnight of downtime, July 24th saw the release of the long-awaited revised National Planning … Read More