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Three changes we’d like to see to the plans for the planning system
We don’t think the current planning system is working, especially when it comes to transport, so we were excited to learn what the government planned. But we had some concerns about the policies proposed. In short, we didn’t think they would make things better.
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Planning for transport demand through the Decide and Provide Approach
What will the likely transport impact of a new development be? How many trips is it likely to generate? To work this out, transport planners use TRICS, which is a database of information about the trips generated by past developments. In the past, TRICs has been used as part of a ‘Predict and Provide’ paradigm,…
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A tale of two developments: why new planning reforms threaten to entrench unsustainable lifestyles
This blog by Steve Chambers, sustainable transport campaigner at Transport for New Homes, was first published by as a guest blog by Green Alliance. In 2018, Transport for New Homes produced an initial report that revealed the deep flaws in the planning system which leave new housing developments with inadequate walking, cycling and public transport…
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How land value capture is being used to help communities
When infrastructure such as a new rail line is built, the value of the land around it goes up: suddenly this land is desirable for housebuilding because people want to live near the new rail route. Landowners hit the jackpot. The problem is that such infrastructure projects are often tricky to get funding for in…
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For housing fit for the future, let’s get these policies right
The Government is consulting on changes to the National Model Design Code and National Planning Policy Framework. Together, these documents will set the direction for the housing that we build in the near future. With hundreds of thousands of new homes needed, it’s vital that these two documents take transport properly into account: we must…
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If conservation areas can have a mix of homes and amenities, why can’t newly planned communities?
We’re concerned that a proposed change to ‘permitted development rights’ would make it harder for local authorities to plan communities with a mix of homes, shops and services. Our Homes Without Jams campaign is all about ensuring changes to the planning system result in new homes being built in the right locations with good transport…
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Our joint letter to the Telegraph about high street planning
LETTER: We urge the Government to think again about its proposals to allow high street businesses to be changed to housing without full planning permission.
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Planning white paper risks more car dependent sprawl
We had several concerns with the reforms as proposed. The first, and for us most concerning, is that the proposals barely mention transport at all. We need to address how we will provide and fund public transport to the new places we plan to build.
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Sustainability Through the Looking Glass
Guest blog by Richard Tamplin ”When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” Of course, we all know what sustainability means – don’t we? It’s now almost 40 years since the United Nations, concerned by the…
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So, what else could we build?
In our recent report, Garden Villages and Garden Towns: Visions and Reality, we explain that, although the visions for garden communities are often very good, we fear ‘business as usual’. Rather than enabling people to walk, cycle and use public transport to go about their daily lives, these developments will generate high levels of traffic by…