Recycling with Fresh Start in the North West

We've been working closely with Fresh Start Waste Services in recent months as the business puts in place the physical infrastructure it needs to meet growing demand for recycling.

Fresh Start provides waste collection, management and recycling services to the trade, industrial and commercial sectors, operating throughout Greater Manchester and increasingly the wider North West region.  

Fresh Start is a great example of a proactive, agile recycling business, committed to investing in modern technology to maximise the percentage of waste that can be presented for recycling at the businesses own Materials Recovery Facilities in Swinton and Preston.

At Hilton Square in Swinton, MAZE has just secured planning permission for change of use of two adjacent industrial buildings to create significantly expanded recycling capabilities for the business. 

At MAZE we are acutely aware that having to deal with planning and other regulatory matters is often seen as a distraction by our clients, which takes them away from getting on with core business activities and creating jobs. 

Fresh Start's Managing Director, Craig Lavelle, and his management team were great ambassadors for their business and the waste industry as a whole throughout the planning application process, taking time out to ensure Salford Council had full access to information about the business and its high standards of operation.

The planning permissions will enable Fresh Start to invest confidently in operations at Swinton, continuing the company's commitment to the use of best available technology and exceptional working practices.   

Malvern retail park extension approved

Maze Planning Solutions has secured permission for two additional retail units at Malvern Retail Park, acting for the park owner, Consolidated Property Group (CPG).

The two-storey units have the benefit of unrestricted food and non-food planning permission and have attracted strong occupier interest. Construction will start shortly.

The development of additional space continues CPGs programme of expansion and improvement at Malvern, which started in earnest last year with construction of pod units for Caffe Nero and Carphone Warehouse.

CPG is shortly to reveal proposals for upgrading existing units at the retail park - a planning application is imminent.   

Need a planning consultant that's trusted by lawyers?

Manchester Incorporated Law Library Society's relocation plans stepped up a gear yesterday when Manchester City Council granted planning permission for a move to Deansgate  

Manchester Incorporated Law Library Society has been in existence for over 130 years, and for most of that time in its current home at 14 Kennedy Street in the City Centre. 

The Library provides an extensive range of legal texts, reports, journals, legislation and other reference material for those working in the legal profession on a membership basis.

The Kennedy Street building is in the process of being sold. All being well, the Library's new home will be in the City's Onward Buildings, Deansgate.

The planning application was submitted by MAZE Planning Solutions on behalf of the Law Library Society.

ePlanning Scotland take up accelerates

The ePlanning Scotland portal has seen a significant growth in popularity in the last year which has been marked by two key milestones.

 

Over 60% of all applications and appeals are now submitted online, in preference to paper-based applications.

 

In February 2015 the 100,000th application was submitted through ePlanning Scotland.

 

The portal currently handles about  2,200 applications and appeals a month and is being hailed as an example of the Scottish Government's continued commitment to provide a successful online service in partnership with local government. A comparable service for Building Standards is next up and should be good to go by Summer 2016.  Both businesses and public users will be able to apply for building warrants and submit completion certificates online. 

Northern Powerhouse: integrated transport body?

A £15 billion Northern Transport Plan could be at the vanguard of a coherent economic plan that will fire up the Government's Northern Powerhouse initiative, according to The Insitute for Public Policy Research. 

The leading think tank supports the idea that a new body should take responsibility for all major transport modes; rail, road, sea and air transport, directing priorities for infrastructure investment, franchising and ticketing. 

Read the BBC News article here: http://bit.ly/1EoBj4O

National planning policy: change unlikely

The March 2012 National Planning Policy Framework looks set to remain largely unchanged following a Select Committee Review which proffered a number of modifications. 

The Communities and Local Government Select Committee embarked on an inquiry in April 2014 into the operation of the NPPF, reporting on its findings in December. 

The Government's response, published last week, rejects most of the suggested changes, conceding only that guidance on the need for simplicity in Local Plans and ease of accessibility to that information might benefit from greater clarity. It is likely that will be addressed through a revision of Planning Practice Guidance, rather than amendment of the NPPF itself. 

The Government's full response to the Select Committe's recommendations can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/1Gzdt5L