POS Promotes Models for Sub-Regional Spatial Planning
26-06-2008
The Planning Officers Society has today published a report on Models for Sub-Regional Planning. The report investigates current practice in sub-regional spatial planning and makes recommendations about how it can be best organised in the future; based on current good practice and the particular circumstances of the sub-region.
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NEW PPS12 WELCOMED
11-06-2008
The Planning Officers Society welcomes the publication of new PPS 12, Local Spatial Planning. The Society sees the publication as positive step forward in providing guidance to Local Authorities and other stakeholders who have a role in place shaping and plan making.
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POS PRESIDENT TAKES UP ROLE AS CLG'S CHIEF PLANNER
20-05-2008
Steve Quartermain, Strategic Director of Hambleton DC, will take up the reins as the Government's new Chief Planner in August 2008, shortly after he steps down as President of POS at the AGM in July.
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HAMBLETON ON SHOW AT CONFERENCE
18-04-2008
Hambleton was put on show to planners from across the UK this week. The district hosted the annual spring conference of the Planning Officers Society.
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POS REACTS STRONGLY TO NEW PLANNING APPLICATION TARGETS
11-04-2008
Phil Kirby, POS SVP, questions how CLG has arrived at these targets without any consultation.
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POS DOUBTS SUSTAINABILITY OF ECO-TOWNS PROCESS
11-04-2008
"By leap-frgging the devleopment plan process sustainability objectives may be overlooked and the public excluded all for the sake of eexpediency", says POS Spokesperson John Silvester.
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Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives
23-01-2008
In response to the Government's new cross strategy "Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives" POS has expressed a number of reservations.
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PLANNING BILL ON THE RIGHT LINES BUT HAS TOO MANY LOOPHOLES SAYS POS
08-01-2008
The Planning Officers Society has welcomed the direction of travel of the new Planning Bill, however, it is concerned that not all of the implications of the proposed changes have been thoroughly thought through.
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DRAFT PPS4 WELCOMED BUT DISAPPOINTING SAYS POS
07-01-2008
The Planning Officers Society has welcomed the opportunity to replace a relatively outdated part of Government planning policy. However, it says the new draft PPS4 comes as something of a disappointment.
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DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT AND SPATIAL PLANNING PROJECT LAUNCHED
28-12-2007
An innovative new project has been set up by the DCLG, PAS and POS to explore the practicalities of what Development Management means for Local Planning Authorities and how they can switch their current Development Control service to a new-styled Development Management service.
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POS COMMENTS ON ALTERNATIVES TO PLANNING GAIN SUPPLEMENT
08-10-2007
The Planning Officers Society welcomes the Government’s decision to consult on alternative options to Planning Gain Supplement. It shares many of the Government’s objectives and believes they can be better achieved through options A, C, or D of the alternatives published for consultation. However it considers that Option C best meets the Government's objectives.
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Popularising President
06-09-2007
POS President Steve Quartermain seeks to boost awareness of the body while maintaining his own authority's strong development plan record, reports Vicki Shiel in "Planning" 31 August 2007.
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PLANNERS INVOLVED IN NEW GUIDE FOR HOUSING LAND ASSESSMENTS
23-07-2007
The much heralded practice guide for the undertaking of strategic housing land availability assessments has been published by the DCLG after having taken into account the views of planners. The guide is intended to provide a robust methodology to identify more land for housing.
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PLANNING OFFICERS SOCIETY WELCOMES PLANNING WHITE PAPER
21-05-2007
The Planning Officers Society has welcomed the publication of the Planning White Paper as the Government emphasises the importance of planning as central to local government’s role as a place shaper.
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NEW PRESIDENT FOR THE PLANNING OFFICERS SOCIETY
20-05-2007
The Hambleton District Director of Planning and Environmental Services, Steve Quartermain, has become the 11th President of the Planning Officers Society. He was elected at the Society’s Annual General Meeting held in Kingston-upon-Thames on Friday 18 May 2007.
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POS CREATES GOING SMOKEFREE GUIDANCE
22-03-2007
From 1 July 2007, virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces in England will become smokefree. In preparation for this, the Planning Officers Society has created a new template Planning Advice Note on Smoking Shelters and Other Features, for local authorities to use when putting together their own guidance.
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POS CONTINUES TO OPPOSE A PGS
09-03-2007
The current Planning Gain Supplement (PGS) consultation exercise raises the same fundamental concerns that the Society and many other consultees, raised to the previous PGS consultation.
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POS FINDS MUCH TO SUPPORT IN THE BARKER REPORT BUT SEEKS CLARIFICATION ON KEY ISSUES
16-02-2007
The Planning Officers Society finds much to support in the Barker Report, in particular, it welcomes the:
• proposals for simplifying and speeding up the planning process, at national and local level;
• proposals for enhancing the status of planning within local government;
• recognition of the need for planning to be adequately resourced;
• support for the principle of planning and the recognition of the contribution it makes to the community’s quality of life; and
• proposal for the provision of adequate and timely infrastructure to be more closely linked in to development.
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POS 10th Anniversary
30-01-2007
Did you know that it is nearly 10 years since the Society was formed back in April 1997? Forward planning for this year’s Presidents Event & AGM on 17th/18th May in Kingston, Surrey is underway to make it a landmark occasion. Put the dates in your diary now!
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PLANNING OFFICERS SOCIETY PRAISES DRAFT POLICY ADVICE ON CLIMATE CHANGE
15-12-2006
The Planning Officers Society very much welcomes the new draft guidance which addresses a number of issues that the Society has wrestled with over the past two years in developing its advice on sustainable buildings policies to its members.
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PLANNING OFFICERS SOCIETY RAISES FURTHER CONCERNS OVER PPS3
09-12-2006
In a statement issued today the POS raised further concerns over the new policy guidance on housing.
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PLANNING OFFICERS EXPRESS CONCERN WITH NEW PPS3
08-12-2006
Whilst there are many good features of the new policy advice on the delivery of housing the Planning Officers Society (POS) has stressed that it has two fundamental concerns.
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PGS IS A DISAPPOINTMENT SAYS PLANNING OFFICERS SOCIETY
08-12-2006
In an initial response to the recently released consultation on the Planning Gain supplement the Planning Officers Society has expressed some concern as to its content.
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BARKER REVIEW IS A CURATE’S EGG SAYS PLANNING OFFICERS SOCIETY
07-12-2006
In a preliminary response to the recently released Report by Kate Barker the Planning Officers Society (POS) has highlighted that together with the good features of the review there are also some elemental omissions and concerns.
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POS WELCOMES POSITIVE MESSAGES IN BARKER REVIEW OF THE PLANNING SYSTEM
08-09-2006
The Planning Officers Society has suggested that if its proposals were taken on board by Kate Barker in finalising her interim report, a number of wide ranging benefits would arise from an improved planning system.
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POS SEEKS NEW TREASURER
23-08-2006
Notice of forthcoming vacancy in the post of Society Treasurer.
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POS CONCERNED OVER NEW NUCLEAR BUILD ARRANGEMENTS IN GOVERNMENT’S ENERGY REVIEW
21-07-2006
The Planning Officers Society has raised a number of concerns in relation to the nuclear build arrangements, which is attached as an appendix to the Government’s recent Energy Review.
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POS SUPPORTS HOUSEHOLDER DEVELOPMENT CONSENTS REVIEW
20-07-2006
The Planning Officers Society, in commenting on the recently announced Householder Development Consents Review, believes the review is a helpful contribution to the debate about making planning systems more proportionate.
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BARKER’S INTERIM REPORT NEEDS TO LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE SAYS POS
06-07-2006
The Planning Officers Society has made it clear in its initial response to the Barker Review’s Interim Report that it welcomes the acknowledgement of the key role that planning plays in delivering sustainable development and shares the desire to ensure the planning system is fit for purpose.
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POS says “No” to another wave of planning reform
07-06-2006
Gordon Brown’s speech to the CBI on 5th June is a cause for concern at the Planning Officers Society. The POS has made it known that it would be extremely concerned about yet another wave of planning reform when all those involved - public, private, community and voluntary sectors - are just starting to get to grips with what is still a very new system that has not had the opportunity to bed in.
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New President for POS
22-05-2006
The Surrey Planning Manager, Hilary Herbert, has become the new President of the Planning Officers Society. She was elected at the Society's Annual General Meeting held in Harrow on Friday 19th May 2006.
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PLANNING SYSTEM CAN WORK BETTER SAYS POS
17-03-2006
The Planning Officers Society is committed to making better places and making the planning system work to achieve this objective. It has today issued a short paper outlining changes which it believes can and should be made in the short term, without the need for primary legislation, to improve the effectiveness of the system.
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AUDIT COMMISSION FINDINGS SHORT SIGHTED SAYS POS
09-02-2006
In general terms the Society agrees with the findings of the Audit Commission's study (Innovative practices will help councils bridge planning skills gap), and recommends innovative solutions to dealing with problems of staff shortages, including the use of private consultants. Many authorities already do so, it seems some do not.
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RSSs are too Remote and Uninformed to Deal with Land Releases says POS
08-02-2006
There is growing concern from grass-root members of the Planning Officers Society that the arbitrary application of "growth point syndrome" by Regional Assemblies and Regional Government Offices in emerging RSSs is blocking the "non growth areas" ability to promote adequate levels of sustainable growth to address local affordable housing targets. POS says this is a critical flaw in the draft PPS3 and needs to be re-examined.
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PLANNING GAIN SUPPLEMENT WOULD BECOME PART OF NATIONAL TAXATION SYSTEM SAYS POS
07-02-2006
The Planning Officers Society (POS), in its response to the Planning Gain Supplement (PGS) consultation, says it is opposed to the national taxation system that PGS as currently outlined would become.
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POS Supports Spatial Strategies Award
06-02-2006
As one of the principal sponsors of the Royal Town Planning Institute’s 2005 Planning Awards the Planning Officers Society was particularly pleased to sponsor the spatial planning award.
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POS Supports PDAs Pilot
25-01-2006
The national pilot project trialling the use of Planning Delivery Agreements for large and complex planning applications is fully supported by the Planning Officers Society, who helped in identifying suitable pilot authorities.
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PPS3 Could Result in Greenfield Development at Expense of Brownfield Possibilities Says POS
23-12-2005
The negative comments in the draft PPS3 concerning the making of a brownfield allowance where it is not possible to allocate sufficient land is likely, in the view of the Planning Officers Society, to lead to an over allocation overshooting the Government’s annual build target or leading to green field development at the expense of brownfield possibilities.
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Approach Based On Increased Housing Supply To Address Affordability Is Misplaced Says Planning Officers Society
14-11-2005
The Planning Officers Society (POS), in its recent submission of evidence to the House of Commons Committee of Inquiry into affordability and the supply of housing, maintains that the Barker Review, the Treasury’s response and the ODPM July 2005 Consultation Paper on Planning for Housing Provision, all assume that increased housing supply should be the main policy instrument to address affordability problems, and this increase can be delivered through the planning system. “We believe that an approach based on increasing supply at any cost is misplaced,” says Geoff Cross, the Joint Convenor of the POS Housing Task Group.
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Planning Officers Society Welcomes End to Crown Immunity
27-09-2005
The Planning Officers Society is pleased that at long last the government has announced its intention to put an end to Crown immunity from planning regulations.
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Planning Officers Society Publishes Guide to Writing Policy Content of Spatial LDDs
01-09-2005
“Policies for Spatial Plans: A guide to writing the policy content of Local Development Documents” has been prepared for local authorities in England by the Planning Officers Society (POS). It is designed to stand alongside the series of ODPM guides to the new spatial planning system that results from the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. This Guide covers the policy content of spatial plans and is built around four key points that arise from the new spatial planning system.
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DELIVERY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE
01-06-2005
In response to the Government’s announcement ‘extending home ownership’ the Planning Officers Society indicated that the provision of affordable housing, be it for rent or ownership, is probably the biggest challenge facing the delivery of sustainable communities throughout the country.
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New President for POS
21-05-2005
Graham Jones was elected as the President of the Society for 2005/06 at the AGM on 20th May.
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PDG Announcement Welcomed but Long Term Solution to Funding Planning Still Needed says POS
24-03-2005
In response to the latest Planning Delivery Grant announcement the Planning Officers Society welcomes the very significant additional resources available to Local Authorities through PDG and urges Local Planning Authorities to use the grant to improve planning services. The Society recognises the impact PDG has had on, in particular, performance against BVPIs, but still remains concerned about the retrospective and short term nature of the grant and the concentration on measures of speed of decision making rather than quality outcomes.
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New Planning System Off to a Slow Start But With Good Prospects
22-03-2005
"There is no doubt that the new planning system is a challenge to us all to move away from the adversarial approach which is very much engrained in the public and development industry psyche” so said Graham Jones, Planning Officers Society Senior Vice President at the POS Annual Seminar on 18th March. The Seminar was billed as an opportunity to test whether, some 6 months on from the start, the new planning system was working effectively.
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POS Launches Best Practice Advice on Use of Conditions in Place of s106 Agreements
17-03-2005
At its Annual Seminar on Friday 18th March the Planning Officers Society launched a new best practice advice note on the use of conditions in place of a s106 agreement, endorsed by the ODPM. The Society commends the best practice note to all local planning authorities.
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Looking at the Stars
07-03-2005
An edited version of a paper put by Paul Watson, Head of Planning Services at Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and President of the Planning Officers Society, to the Local Government Association and National Planning Forum Annual Planning Conference held on 7 March 2005.
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POS Supports Spatial Strategies Award
23-02-2005
As one of the principal sponsors of the Royal Town Planning Institute’s 2004 Planning Awards the Planning Officers Society was particularly pleased to sponsor the spatial planning award
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Planning Minister Recognises Important Contribution of Planning Officers Society
17-01-2005
Leading members of the Planning Officers Society met with Keith Hill MP, Minister for Housing and Planning at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, before Christmas to highlight where the new planning system needed to be reinforced. At the meeting Keith Hill welcomed the contribution of the Society to making the new system work.
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Planning Advisory Service
29-12-2004
The Planning Officers Society is pleased to be able to support the creation of the Planning Advisory Service which was launched on 15th December 2004.
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Quality Toolbox For Local Authority Planning Services
09-12-2004
The Planning Officers’ Society has identified a growing interest from local authority planning services to establish quality management systems and to achieve ISO 9001:2000 certification.
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DC Officers Under Extreme Stress Says Planning Officers Society
09-12-2004
Research by the Planning Officers Society into the average planning application work loads of case officers underscores the generally held belief that many local authority planning departments are operating at a critical level, some close to breaking point.
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LGA takes on Planning Officers Society to expand its planning expertise
28-10-2004
The Local Government Association has entered into a consultancy agreement with the Planning Officers’ Society (POS) to enhance the voice of local government in responding to any proposed changes to the planning system.
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TIS Planning Seeks New Members
22-09-2004
TIS Planning, is currently seeking new members to contribute towards the updating of the existing web content.
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Publicity Report of Minerals and Waste Topic Group
21-09-2004
The Topic Group have recently responded to a consultation paper published by DEFRA on the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund Third Objective.
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Mobile Phone Mast Survey
10-09-2004
Mobile Phone Mast Survey in association with the future featuring company. Please click below to respond.
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Even more excellence from the planning officers society
09-09-2004
The Planning Officers Society today launched the extension of its successful series of Moving Towards Excellence papers. New papers “Public Spaces and Open Spaces”, “Land Use Transportation Policy” and “Regeneration” were added to the already comprehensive list.
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Open House For London Buildings
11-08-2004
Many of London’s finest and not so well known buildings will be open to the public on the weekend of September 18th & 19th.
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Draft Guidance On Spatial Policies For New Format Plans Released
05-08-2004
The Planning Officers Society (POS) has today released the long awaited “Policies for Spatial Plans: Consultation Draft” which provides guidance on the policies required in the new style plans under the reformed planning system.
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New Planning System Reflects Washing Machine
28-07-2004
Steve Clark, of the Planning Officers Society showed remarkable knowledge of European washing machine practice at the Waterfront Planning Reform Conference on the new planning system on 23 June.
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National Product Launch for PARSOL
16-07-2004
The formal launch of the products produced by the PARSOL National Project took place in the Sherborne Suite at Highcliff, Marriott Hotel, St Michael's Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5DU adjoining the LGA Annual Conference at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday 8thth July 2004.
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New E-Gov Planning Service Launched
28-06-2004
Mike Hayes, President of the RTPI, launched the new PARSOL (Planning and Regulatory Services Online) e-Gov. project at the RTPI Annual Convention on 24 June.
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Moving Towards Excellence
24-05-2004
Three new Moving Towards Excellence papers added to the website.
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Economic Development Is No Poor Relation
21-05-2004
The Planning Officers Society believes the consultation paper is useful in highlighting the role of local planning authorities in economic development
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New President For The Planning Officers Society
17-05-2004
Solihull planning chief, Paul Watson, has become the new President of the Planning Officers Society. He was elected at the Society's Annual General Meeting held at Chiltern District Council in Amersham on Friday 14th May 2004.
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Planning Aid Concordat
21-04-2004
The LGA, the Planning Officers Society (POS and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) have prepared a 'Planning Aid Concordat'.
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Response to Drafts of PPS 11 and 12
08-01-2004
Response to Government consultations on draft guidance on the new development plan system.
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