Blog
I am often exploring the world of planning and design, researching updates and changes. I also love getting out and exploring Cornwall and experiencing how what we do and the places we build shape our lifestyles and well being. I will be adding such experiences below, as well as on my Facebook and Instagram pages - please feel free to have a look and get in touch.
Jenna
Affordable Housing Need
Cornwall is in a state of housing crisis. The number of persons on the HomeChoice Register has increased significantly since the pandemic with over 20,000 registered in housing need in Cornwall. Yet many of our homes stand empty - having become second homes or intermittent holiday lets.
As towns and villages gradually expand outward with the onset of large scale affordable led housing developments and Cornwall Council's Affordable Housing Team become further swamped in a sea of draft section 106 agreements and red tape, there needs to be a proactive mechanism for reducing vacant homes and ensuring the vibrancy and vitality of our communities endures and the protection of our landscape and heritage, as well as infrastructure and services.
It has recently been announced that there will be an additional Council tax premium for second homes in April 2024... whether this will be enough to deliver meaningful change is yet to be seen. We should all do our bit to reduce the housing crisis and there needs to be a full scale change in mind set between the benefits of long-term letting to short term gains of an 'air B and B' culture.
Feb 2023
Planning help
Planning is not always fun, particularly when a new development affects the ability to enjoy your home or garden, or just doesn’t fit in. Where a proposal may impact negatively on surroundings or amenity, JS Planning Studio can provide a robust submission to the LPA or a Planning Inspectorate, on your behalf, detailing key material planning shortfalls. New development can be great, but not at the expense of existing residents, streetscape or landscape character…
As property prices continue to rise and demand for new homes far outstrips supply, I appreciate the pressures on bringing new sites forward for development. However, key to this is sound forward planning - looking at the site constraints as well as opportunities. I have prepared numerous submissions on behalf of concerned residents of late, where new development proposals would have implications to the character of an area, and in some instances, significant repercussions in terms of overlooking, overshadowing and loss of privacy.
March 2022
Electrically charged future
None of us will have missed the media attention sparked by the recent COP26 Summit, with all eyes on global leaders to see whether a low-carbon future would be taken seriously. What is great to see is that new legislation will ensure that all new homes in England are to be fitted with car chargers from 2022. Some argue that the government should be doing more to ensure that convenient, high-speed car charging is more accessible - to give all a realistic opportunity to switch from fossil fuel to electric vehicles. Here in Cornwall, where reliance on the private car is high, we need high-speed charging stations in remote, rural areas and not just in on our driveways or in towns. It's great to see the government's commitment to transitioning to electric vehicles on a national scale, which will hopefully see more affordable electric cars and charging stations for all, in the near future.
November 2021
An Increasing Housing Divide
A recent survey has found that 52% of home owners under-occupy their homes across England, with one in 10 people now owning a second home. This has been heightened by the coronavirus pandemic. In Cornwall, the huge influx of second homes and holiday lettings has exacerbated an already strained housing crisis, with many of my own friends, really struggling to get onto the housing ladder.
It is reported that England now has 'two housing nations' - the first, 'well-housed, often well-off' and primarily over 55. The second, often younger people with limited opportunity to achieve affordable housing. I don't believe the answer is building lots of new homes, in unsustainable locations. Infill sites within or on the edge of settlements can have huge implications on an already strained infrastructure, not to mention the implications in terms of biodiversity, landscape and heritage.
Most of our towns and villages, out of 'season', are quiet and eerie places, particularly in coastal locations. The sheer magnitude of the influx of second homes and holiday lettings over recent months will have far reaching implications to the vitality and sustainability of our communities. I am not certain what the answer is, but it is an issue that I feel passionately about, to ensure that there isn't a perpetuating reliance on tourism, but also, so that those that live and work here and call Cornwall home, may continue to do so.
April 2021
A New Year - A New Start
Firstly, wishing you a warm start to 2021! I am a little late updating my blog this year, mainly as I have been thinking long and hard about how I wish to start my 'planning year'. More than ever, I feel that I need to help reduce the environmental footprint of development proposals. As most of us again spend more and more time at home, I think that this year should be about health, nature and sustainability - and how we can relate this to our homes and lives in a meaningful way.
Where to start? Well, I've been reading a fair bit recently about the benefits of building with timber. There are a lot of disillusions out there about this sustainable resource, that has huge environmental benefits. Not only do trees trap and store carbon, they make for healthier buildings to live in as they: improve air quality; reduce allergies and harmful substances (often no chemical insulation materials are needed); provide, intelligent ventilation and anti-electro smog; feel warmer and so on, not only now, but over the lifetime of the building. There are also multiple studies that have taken place that prove timber buildings make you calmer and well, feel better!
Timber is the way forward and, with timber skyscrapers now popping up in the USA and in Europe, it won't be long before we start to see a real shift in building practices in the UK, or at least, I hope so. I will be advocating this approach to building materials and hope to support traditional craftspeople in the local area. This article really inspired me recently too, so I thought I would share it here. Definitely worth listening to... possibly with a nice cup of tea, whilst relaxing under a tree!
January 2021
'A good map...'
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love a good historic map, but never have I seen one of Cornwall that is as old and beautiful as this one! Browsing for tithe maps for a particular project, I stumbled across this beautiful image, courtesy of the British Library. Dating from 1539-40 and at almost 10ft long, it shows the SW coast from Exeter to Land's End. Henry VIII's immense wealth allowed him to commission surveys of 'vulnerable' coastline, exaggerating sandy beaches where the threat of invasion from France or Spain were most likely. It is incredible to think that this map would have likely been displayed at Whitehall; you can almost imagine the King pacing frantically trying to establish how to protect his coast. Look closely and you can see details of churches and iconic buildings like St Michaels Mount as well as fortifications that are 'made' or 'half made', like St Mawes... an incredible snapshot of that time!
18.11.2020
Go Green!
I was lucky to partake in a Green Conference the other day and it has really got me thinking about how, no matter how small the space, we can really make a difference in terms of CO2 mitigation and biodiversity gain. Too many new developments occur without real consideration of the huge benefits tree and vegetation planting can have, not only environmentally, but visually too. Clearly, from a planning sense, we have to look at protection of light and space, but - as this apartment block shows - 'greening' or 'rewilding' can be achieved in many ways. I'm going to have fun compiling lists of native species, resilient to warming and drier climates that can be introduced in new projects!
24.09.20
'So, what is a planner then?'
Having worked in planning since 2005, I take it for granted that most know what a planner actually does. Over the last couple of weeks however, since I launched JS Planning Studio, I have been asked a number of times... 'so, what do you actually do then?'. It dawned on me that unless you work in this field, have needed help with planning or have been affected/involved in a planning issue - there isn't really any need to know what a planner is! I thought this was really interesting as I feel strongly that planners are essential to building a better future and making places as strong and sustainable as possible. Enough of the rhetoric though...
In a nutshell: we advise clients about the best use of their site and potential development; we look at all of the considerations at the outset (site constraints and opportunities, design, neighbouring amenity, heritage, landscape, flooding, contamination, trees, ecology... and work in collaboration with specialists if further reports are required); we mediate between the developer, local Councils and decision makers to obtain planning permission quickly and efficiently. Often designers or architects use us to assist in formulating their plans and to look at all of the potential considerations on a site - knowing that we have the expertise to help guide the application through the system.
What you can and can't do on your piece of land is governed by a variety of complex issues - land use history, local and national planning policy, site constraints and so on. Some sites may have a tricky planning history, and you'll need a planner to help look at the options and how best to move forward with a development. A development or use may have happened without consent and needs retrospective planning to avoid enforcement action. Some sites are very constrained or may have issues in getting a proposal over the line. In all of these cases, your best bet is to contact a professional planner to assist you in working out the best option in moving forward.
If by any chance you feel an overwhelming desire to find out more about what it is that we do, which I'm sure you do (!), follow this link...
Planning for the Future
It has been hard to miss the recent media hype about the proposed changes to the Planning Act. Most will likely shrug it off and think it won't affect them - but the changes that are being proposed are, to me, quite radical and may shake up the system a great deal.
A lot of it makes sense, such as the need to: simplify the role of Local Plans; digitalise planning and bring it into the 21st Century; give faster decisions; make it more accessible for all, especially younger people; address the need for affordable housing and jobs; as well as to bring a whole new focus on achieving good design and energy efficiency. It also wants developments to generate a net gain, not a no net harm - which is surely a good thing.
It will be up to local authorities to categorise land as follows - 'Growth' (such as densification of urban areas), 'Renewal' (land on the edge of a village) and 'Protected' areas (AONBs, Conservation Areas etc). They are also to give clear expectations about the types of development that will be permitted and provide design guides to reflect local character. The intention is to create greater certainty about where new development will be accepted. How this will happen in the short timescales proposed will be interesting. To me, it's likely that 'Renewal areas' will have the most impact on the character of our Cornish landscape as there would be a statutory presumption in favour of development. It's also talking about scrapping the need for affordable housing for developments of up to 40-50 units and this would be disastrous for those in housing need in Cornwall. It also seems to be taking away the ability for local representations at the planning application stage too. Will all of this lead to a pro-development system that seems to focus on lots of new growth? How will all of the necessary things needed to accompany all of this housing, such as new infrastructure, jobs, schools and hospitals, be generated - whilst ensuring climate change is at the forefront of everyones minds?
It's up to communities to get their voices heard - now. The White Paper asks lots of questions about how we want our planning system to look and where growth should be directed. Maybe open the link, have a read and see if you feel strongly about anything that it proposes - now is the time to get our views out there and try to shape a better future for the places we love.
20.08.2020
Changes to extensions and new dwellings...
The planning system has, for a long time, struggled to keep up with the pace of housing need - and this is made even more prevalent in Cornwall, with the pressures of second and holiday homes forcing many locals out of the housing market. In response, changes to legislation mean that, providing they meet certain criteria, two storey extensions and new self-contained dwellings can be built without the need for a planning application. Currently, the relaxation only applies to flats and there isn't a date as yet as to when this may apply to single dwellings. These changes will likely raise concerns about an influx of poorly designed extensions and the wider impacts on residential amenity - but if these issues can addressed, maybe this will help to speed up the process and go some way to providing a new home whilst making the most efficient use of previously developed land, reducing pressures on 'greenfield' sites.
5.08.2020
Just a door?
Heritage - what is it and why do many of us enjoy the feelings it brings? It's a hard one to summarise. I love visiting historic places - being still, listening to the sounds around me and wondering what events happened at the spot where I sit. In Cornwall, we are so privileged to be able to enjoy so many of these special places, often not as scenic and serene as what they are today - but forged through capitalism, industry and well, darker times for many. It's important to reflect on that, but also, sometimes - to just enjoy how beautifully they made a good door back in the day. My dog in particular appreciates such things, and often gladly poses by an interesting archway or piece of door furniture for me.
03.08.2020
A Planning Journey
It might be strange to start this blog with an image of an Australian beach. But how I ended up where I am today is an interesting story, forged by the experiences of my family when I was leaving school. I remember sitting in the planning office with them, listening to the planning officer and thinking, this is kind of interesting and means something. Planning shapes the physical world around us, as well as peoples lives and livelihoods. I have enjoyed the path that planning has taken me on and the people that have shaped my journey. From University in London; to working back at home in Cornwall, within the same local planning authority; achieving my Masters and; on to experience a new life in Australia, working as a planner in a country with a totally different set of planning issues, legislation, history, geography, ecology and climate.
After all these experiences, I missed home: our special heritage; misty Cornish sea air (believe it or not); a good cream tea... We moved back to Cornwall and settled into life here where I worked in a private Planning Consultancy, until things, this year, changed direction, as it has done for many. I now more than ever want to make positive change - not only in my life, but hopefully I can help achieve this for others too. I want to share my experience and knowledge and use it to do some good, in the place I call home.
01.08.2020
