Malvern Retail Park Extension

Permission is on its way for an extension of Malvern Retail Park following successful passage through Planning Committee on 15 June. The extension will provide 1,960sqm (21,000sqft) of open A1 retail space and a 140sqm coffee designed as a contemporary bookend to the established retail terrace.

The prime retail park is owned by Alderley Edge based Consolidated Property Group and is fully let. Tenants include M&S, Next and Matalan. The new space is being provided as part of a planned programme of asset management at the park, which was acquired by CPG on 2009 and includes additional parking and access improvements.

MAZE Planning Solutions led the planning application process, supported by inputs from RGP Architects, CBO Transport, Warrington Martin, and Oakbay Design. Savills are letting and managing agents.

Morecambe in the Media

Progress on site at Morecambe Football Club's new Westgate Stadium featured on the BBC's Football League Show yesterday (12 December). The Club is investing £12M in the new facility, guided by planning advice from MAZE, provided over the last 3 years.

With steel work going up, development of the 6000 capacity stadium is starting to take shape, just as the team's efforts on the field push them into the play-off zone. In footballing terms there's a long way to go until the end of the season, but even the slightest whiff of a chance at competing for League One status coinciding with a move to Westgate is creating a real buzz at the Club, and here at MAZE.

Take a look for yourself on BBC iPlayer (starts at 59 minutes)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pflv5/The_Football_League_Show_2009_2010_12_12_2009/

Developers to be offered extended consents

PRESS CUTTING:
Place North West - 24 September 2009, 14:50

The Government's Chief Planner, Steve Quartermaine, has confirmed special arrangements will come into play on 1 October for extending existing planning permissions.

The measure is being introduced to try and help the development industry keep the prospect of stalled development schemes alive through the continuing challenges of the recession.

From 1 October application forms will be available on the Planning Portal website for those wishing to extend the life of exiting permissions. The provisions apply to all planning permissions, but the permission must be alive and unimplemented on 1 October to qualify for consideration.

The provisions also extend to separate consents given for works relating to listed buildings and conservation areas, but only if there's a corresponding planning permission which is being extended at the same time.

There's a fee of £500 for applications to extend the time limit for implementation of major developments, a nominal fee of £50 for householder development, and £170 for anything else.

Andrew Watt, partner at MAZE Planning Solutions, based in Bury, commented "The introduction of these provisions should bring a measure of relief to developers and landowners working hard to keep the prospects of a development alive. Many will have invested a great deal of time and money in securing permission in the first place, only to be rewarded by a falling demand for space and viability calculations that no longer stack up. The provisions could be particularly critical to landowners and developers for whom it is vital to maintain the book value of assets in order to satisfy lenders and keep within banking covenants."

"One word of caution - there's a twist for those with permissions that are due to expire within the first few weeks after 1 October - whilst the desired application fee levels have been identified by DCLG, the corresponding application fee regulations can only be changed by Parliament."

"As matters stand at present DCLG think that may not happen until eight or ten weeks after 1 October. In the meantime the existing fee regime stands - and that means paying a full application fee for a time extension, as if the proposal were a new application. For a major development that could run to tens of thousands of pounds."

An Appealing Month

Appeals have been flavour of the month at MAZE during September. We've just concluded the submission of evidence for two appeals. Both are to follow the written representations route which, in the case of an Enforcement Notice appeal for Morecambe Football Club, was forced by the Planning Inspectorate, contrary to the Appellant's request for the matter to be dealt with by Hearing. This recently introduced power enabling the Inspectorate to determine the route of appeals could well prove to be a controversial one where differences of opinion arise in more significant cases, or where an appellant feels the only way they can effectively take a planning authority to task is in person.


Morecambe FC had a modest disagreement with the Lancaster City Council over the presence of a temporary portable building which houses the Club's merchandise store at its Christie Park ground. The Club has experienced significant growth in its commercial and community activities since being promoted to the Football League in 2007 and has outgrown limited accommodation at Christie Park. Relief is on the way in the form of the new stadium complex at Westgate in Morecambe, where construction work is well underway. The Inspector has been asked to grant permission for the building until the new stadium is ready in June next year, or extend the compliance date of the Notice to cover the same period.


In Liverpool 3 years of negotiation and a 2 failed applications turned briefly positive when an officer recommendation for approval was secured for development of 24 apartments on a vacant former motor trade site in the City's Housing Market Renewal Area. The relief was short lived as progress was halted abruptly by a Planning Committee decision to unanimously overturn the recommendation and refuse permission in June. Committee appeared to be influenced more by the passionate pleas of neighbours and ward councillors than the facts of the case. An appeal was the inevitable outcome.

Both cases should be determined before the end of the year.

MAZE Welcomes Leo Group Ltd

MAZE Planning Solutions is pleased to announce a growing working relationship with Halifax-based Leo Group Ltd, a forward-looking recycling business. The company specialises in the collection and processing of animal by-products, industrial and commercial waste. It recently announced the formation of a new business, FOOD2ENERGY, and an intention to pursue other waste-to-energy generation initiatives.

Leo Group is keen to establish positive working relationships with local authorities and play an active part in meeting the objectives of local waste strategies and sustainable energy generation.

MAZE is working with Leo Group to consider short and long-term development issues at locations in Penrith, Braintree Glenrothes, Bradford and Halifax.

Christmas, Wrapped Up............ in July

Christmas 2008 has finally been wrapped up, in July, for Bolton Christmas Trees, with a bit of help from MAZE Planning Solutions.

The annual sale of real trees from a site in Kearsley, Bolton attracted the Council's attention during the festive season. An absence of planning permission led to formal enforcement action and several subsequent months of distinctly unseasonal discussions.

MAZE appealed the enforcement notice, put together a dossier of documents that persuaded the Council to withdraw the notice and halt the appeal, and then successfully pursued a Lawful Development Certificate application to make sure that Christmas 2009 and beyond can pass with a bit less fuss and bother, at least for Kearsley's Christmas tree devotees.

Conservatory Conserving

MAZE Planning has successfully challenged an Enforcement Notice served on a family who had constructed a domestic conservatory thinking it had the benefit of Permitted Development rights.

MAZE helped the family, living close to the firm's Bury base, to implement a strategy of positive engagement with the local authority, which saw a planning application for retention of much of the conservatory approved in advance of the Enforcement Appeal Hearing.

The Inspector concluded that whilst the 5.1 metres structure built by the Appellant was much longer that a 3.0 metres advisory figure contained in a policy guidance note adopted by the local authority, there was no adverse impact on the amenity of neighbours. The Inspector endorsed the Apellant's case that planning permission should be granted to enable the whole conservatory to be retained, as built.

The appeal, was dealt with by Hearing on 16 June 2009 and the decision issued on 03 July.

[PINS Appeal Reference APP/T4210/C/08/2090649]