All posts tagged sustainable

Another Sustainable Approval

By on September 1, 2011 in Development Control, Prism News

The team here at Prism have successfully secured planning permission for a new development of sustainable retirement care at Middleton Hall, County Durham.

This decision came yesterday and paves the way for an innovative 26 bedroom Dementia care unit and 35, two bedroom independent living bungalows to be built on the existing site. Not only are the new facilities believed to be the first of their kind, the 35 independent living bungalows will be built to Code Level 6 of The Code for Sustainable Homes. This means they’ve reached the ultimate goal of being carbon neutral!

The Dementia Care Facility will comprise of offices, a therapy room, activity kitchen, shop, library, bakery and central café. This will be linked to the residential wings via a sheltered Winter garden with a glass roof, so that the residents can enjoy the outdoors in all seasons. The caretakers lodge will be replaced and modernised and the main Hall will gain a new entrance with the entire development being aesthetically in keeping with the original Georgian manor house.

We were delighted to get this decision and very happy to work with Middleton Hall, who have an excellent record for retirement care in the North East. The new sustainable Dementia care unit is a vital addition to the existing facilities considering the Department of Health’s warning back in 2006, that Dementia figures are set to increase by a quarter of a million between 2008 and 2025.

With sustainability a key focus in all future development, our planning team worked closely with the Architects to reach the Holy Grail that is the carbon neutral target. All aspects of the new care facility will utilise solar power and recycled ‘grey’ water for appliances such as washing machines. Residents will be encouraged to monitor energy usage and recycle at all opportunities and triple glazing will ensure energy is not wasted through loss of heat. During the construction process local materials will be sourced and the construction teams will reduce their use of landfill sites and waste.

To get this decision means a great boost for sustainable developments and proves that you can achieve the ultimate standard in energy efficiency and create carbon neutral homes. It also means 60 new jobs will be brought to the care industry in the North East, 30 Full Time and 30 Part Time, giving the economy a boost.

All round a pretty good day in the Prism office!

Planning for Growth – The Planning Inspectorate Take Note

By on June 21, 2011 in Development Control, NPPF

In allowing two planning appeals a Planning Inspector has placed significant importance upon the Ministerial Statement of March 2011, ‘Planning for Growth’, which says that the planning system has a key role in ensuring that the sustainable development needed to support economic growth is able to proceed as easily as possible and that the promotion of sustainable economic growth and jobs has to be a top priority. Councils have been urged to have full regard of this statement in their consideration of planning applications.

We recently (20th June 2011) won appeals against two decisions by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to refuse planning permission for the change of use of a vacant former shop premises within Redcar town centre to either a betting shop or a café restaurant. The Council was concerned that the loss of a shop premises within the “prime shopping area” of the town centre to a non-retail use would harm the vitality and viability of the town centre.

We successfully argued against the Council’s concerns, the Planning Inspector fully endorsing our arguments that neither of the proposed uses of the premises would materially erode the vitality or the retail character of the prime shopping area or the town centre as a whole.

More significantly, however, the Planning Inspector took full note of the Ministerial statement, ‘Planning for Growth’, and the Government’s clear expectation that the answer to development and growth should wherever possible be ‘yes’, except where this would compromise the key sustainable development principles set out in national planning policy. The Inspector accepted our argument that the Ministerial Statement provided significant “in principle” support to the appeals and that they will meet the aim of promoting sustainable economic growth and jobs.