The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
Appeal win for BPTW’s ‘intrusive’ and ‘incongruous’ Southgate towers
The planning inspector has overturned Enfield Council’s rejection of a 216-home tower scheme by BPTW, which the council had branded ‘intrusive’ and ‘incongruous’
Planning
News about the planning system in the UK, including permitted development rights, the National Planning Policy Framework, the London Plan and the ‘country house’ clause
Confusion and chronic planning delays holding back housebuilding, warn Lords
Confusion and delays to planning reforms have had a ‘chilling effect’ on housebuilding and created uncertainty across the industry, according to the cross-party House of Lords Built Environment Committee
Ferguson: ‘The gloves are off – greedy development is disfiguring Bristol’
Nearby Bath was saved from crude planning and crude architecture in the 1970s, but now we are facing a similar ‘Sack of Bristol’, writes former city mayor and RIBA president George Ferguson
Blame the game, not the player – it’s the planning system that’s broken
There needs to be a radical change in the way planning submissions are assessed to reflect how we quantify, measure and value sustainability within developments, says Kunle Barker
York Minster café plans spark clash between conservation architects
The City of York’s conservation architect has said plans to create a refectory by York Minster are ‘completely unacceptable’ – despite the scheme being designed by the minster’s own heritage expert
Gove backs ‘cracking’ plans for street votes on suburban development
Housing secretary Michael Gove has backed ‘cracking’ proposals to allow residents to join forces with neighbours and hold referendums on developing their streets
The row over low-traffic neighbourhoods is a wake-up call to architects
The wildly polarised views of young and old are just one reason why architects need to adopt a smarter approach to public consultation, writes Cristina Monteiro
Why was The Tulip cancelled? Does it mean the end for London skyscrapers?
Few tears will be shed over the failure of London’s tallest new skyscraper to win approval, but its surprise rejection is a landmark decision for the city. What did Foster + Partners' design get so wrong? By Ella Jessel
Government rejects PLP’s Westferry scheme at heart of Jenrick scandal
Housing secretary Michael Gove has rejected PLP Architecture's designs for 1,524 homes at the Westferry Printworks site, the east London scheme infamously embroiled in a cash-for-access scandal
Exclusive: Government appoints new chief architect
Sarah Allan, the former managing director of small sites developer Solidspace, has been appointed to replace Andy von Bradsky as the government’s head of architecture