May 2010
£4.2m secured for new housing projects
Planning and Housing staff at Leicester City
Council have worked closely with developers to secure £4.2m funding
from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) for three development sites
in the City. The funding has been awarded through the HCA’s Kickstart Housing Delivery programme, announced in the 2009 Budget to stimulate the housing market. The scheme is targeted at stalled sites, to support construction of high quality mixed-tenure housing developments.
In Leicester, 150 new homes will be provided through the
scheme, of which 92 will be market housing, and 58 affordable (Low cost
Home ownership, Home Buyer Direct and Social Rented). The three schemes
are at Hamilton (JS Bloor and Miller Homes) and Humberstone Lane (Bovis
Homes).
The schemes are subject to tight time-scales and the
developers have worked closely with the City Council to ensure that they
start in time and will be completed by March 2011 for round 1 schemes
(Humberstone Lane) and March 2012 for Round 2 schemes (Hamilton).
Further information: Kickstart housing delivery - Homes & Communities Agency
April 2010
Council appointed regional Census 'Champion'
Leicester City Council has been appointed as the Census
Regional Champion for the East Midlands. The Census Regional Champions
are either the Chief Executives, or Senior Officers (Legal or Electoral)
and their role is to be an integral part of the Office of National
Statistics' communications network and plans.
The Champions will use their expertise and networks to:
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Create awareness of the 2011 Census amongst local authorities and their strategic partners and community groups.
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Assist the Office of National Statistics in creating effective partnership working with local authorities.
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Effect introductions and facilitate meetings and the staging of events.
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Advise the Office of National Statistics on communications strategies and engagement plans with local authorities.
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Share best practice across regions and with
other Census Regional Champions - providing expertise, advice and
guidance to help resolve difficulties local authorities may encounter.
More information about the 2011 Census
April 2010
CABE praises Council's Core Strategy
To supplement the CABE publication 'Planning for Places:
Delivering good design through core strategies' (November 2009), CABE
have selected Leicester's Core Strategy
as a case study of good practice in setting the agenda for delivering
quality design. In particular, CABE have highlighted Leicester's
approach to designing quality places, the language used in demanding
good design, and the inclusion of Building for Life standards as areas
of good practice.'
CABE is the Commission for Architecture and the Built
Environment, a government body which advises on well-designed buildings,
places and spaces.
6 April 2010
New 'permitted development' rules for commercial buildings
The Government has introduced new regulations which
allow many minor alterations and extensions to commercial buildings,
hospitals and schools to be carried out without the need to make a
planning application. Developers are advised to contact our Planning service to discuss proposals.
17 March 2010
Opening Ceremony of the Hugh Aston Building, Leicester De
Montfort University
The official opening of the Hugh Aston Building by Patrick McKenna, founder
and chief executive of Ingenious Media was on 17 March 2010. The Hugh Aston
Building is an iconic good quality modern building and a new state-of-the-art
home for Leicester Business School and Leicester De Montfort Law School.
Hugh Aston was a former composer and Mayor of Leicester from Tudor times. He
was Director of Music at the College and Hospital of the Newarke that occupied
almost the whole of the area, which now form the DMU Campus.
This £35 million development includes the tree-lined Magazine Square. This
square was formed by removing the traffic lane that separated from the DMU
Campus from the Magazine, which is a 14th Century Scheduled Ancient Monument and
Grade I Listed Building. Officers from the council's Planning and Highways
teams were involved in the planning of this development from an early stage.
At the opening speeches were given by Patrick McKenna, Professor Philip
Tasker, Vice Chancellor, Professor David Wilson, Dean of Business & Law, and
Roger Blackmore, the Lord Mayor of Leicester. The speeches included thanks to
the officers of Leicester City Council for their work and help in achieving this
successful development.
5 March 2010
Action taken over scaffolding firm
A scaffolding firm which has set up in a conservation area car park has been
ordered to leave or face prosecution. Leicester City Council served a legal
notice on the firm – Leicester Scaffolding Ltd – early on Friday, 5 March 2010,
ordering them off the land, which is the car park of Humberstone Constitutional
Club, in Humberstone Village. The firm began occupying the car park two weeks
ago without planning permission, causing noise and disturbance to nearby
residents, who reported the matter to the city council. Planning officers have
issued the firm with a Temporary Stop Notice – under powers from the Town and
Country Planning Act – ordering the firm to leave the site immediately.
March 2010
Cank Street Improved
Cank Street's public realm has been improved, following consultation with
local traders. The street has been resurfacing in pink granite, and has created
a much easier route for pedestrians.
More information about Cank Street
February 2010
Ashton Green consultation results published
The outcomes from the public consultation events held in November 2009 are
now available as a Consultation Statement. In the coming months, the details of
the emerging Masterplan proposals will be developed. For more information, go
to: http://www.leicester.gov.uk/ashtongreen.
5 January 2010
Leicester's Planning Website praised
In the Planning Portal's report 'The building blocks of a good Local Planning
Authority Website" published in January, the Portal commented:
"Leicester City Council was commended by our respondents as a good example of
a website with comprehensive planning history. It was recommended as a
comprehensive service, which included supporting information and documents."
2 December 2009
Local Development Framework Core Strategy
The Core Strategy will set out the vision, objectives and spatial strategy
for the City, and will address the spatial aspects of the Community Strategy, as
well as other strategies and programmes of key stakeholders in the City. The Core Strategy Submission Document December 2009 was submitted to the Secretary of
State for Communities and Local Government on 2 December 2009. It is now the
subject of an Examination in Public by a Planning Inspector. The purpose of the examination is to
consider whether the Core strategy is ‘sound’. Adoption of the Core Strategy is
scheduled for Autumn 2010.
1 October 2009
Extensions to the time limits for implementing existing planning
permissions
From 1 October 2009, new provisions have come into effect that allow the time
limits on extant (i.e. not yet expired) and unimplemented planning permissions
(including associated listed building consent and conservation area consent
approvals) to be extended in order to keep the permission 'alive'. For more
information, go to our page: Extending time limits for implementation.
1 October 2009
Amendments to planning permissions granted
New legislation came into force on 1 October 2009, requiring a formal
application to be submitted for non-material amendments to planning permissions
already granted. For more information, go to our page: Non-Material Changes to Planning Permissions Granted.
