Problems with the English
Planning System: Why it takes long to start to develop Battersea Power Station
The investigation looked
into problems arising in industrial developments by looking at the operation of
the English planning system in the case of the regeneration plan for Battersea
Power Station. The objectives included the investigation of the role of the
English planning system in industrial development, the comparative strengths and
weaknesses of the English planning system relative to the system in other
European countries, comparative experiences of the United Kingdom and other
European countries in their planning systems, and problems and solutions to
issues in the English planning system. Data was obtained from secondary sources
and interviews. Results showed that the English planning system plays a
significant effect on the problems in the redevelopment of Battersea Power
Station because of the reliance on the private sector and adjustments to
integration. Although, in theory the English planning system constitutes a
better system because of its flexibility relative to the planning systems of
other European countries, the English planning system can involve complexities
experienced to a lesser degree in the other planning systems. Improvements in
the English planning system involves continuous evaluations of the planning
system and policies to address problem areas and the determination of role and
regulations governing the public-private partnerships to balance control needs
and interests.
My gratitude for the completion of this dissertation is extended to my
supervisor, Professor (put you supervisor’s name here), who took time to mentor
me until the completion of this paper especially in guiding the research process
to achieve the objectives for this paper.
The author also expresses gratitude to the participants of the study in
taking time to provide primary data to support valid conclusions.
Lastly, I extend my thanks to all the people who contributed to the
success of this academic endeavour.
Abstract
2
Acknowledgements.
3
Table of Contents.
4
Chapter 1: The Problem and Its Background..
5
Introduction..
5
Background of the Study.
5
Battersea Power Station..
6
Objectives.
7
Statement of the Problem...
7
Methodology.
8
Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature.
9
Overview..
9
Description of the English Planning System...
10
Basis and Development of the English Planning System...
12
English Planning System and Development Plans in London..
13
Problems with the English Planning System...
14
Planning agreement between Wandsworth Council and Parkview International
16
Chapter 3: Comparison of European Planning Systems.
18
Chapter 4: Comparable European Cities and their Regeneration..
20
Germany: The Ruhr.
20
Milan: The Bovisa District
21
Ireland: Spencer Dock.
22
United Kingdom: Battersea Power Station..
24
Chapter 5: Conclusion..
26
References.
30
Appendices.
32
In the history of
humanity, industrial development played a significant role in the advancement of
societies by changing the physical environment and space available, especially
in the urban areas where population growth is highest. As populations grew and
industries proliferated, free or open lands and other natural resources
decreased as residential and industrial buildings were put up to support the
economic needs and activities of the growing population. (
1997, ) With the
recognition of the scarcity of land and other resources, regulation of the use
of these resources became imperative. Moreover, industrial redevelopments are
large-scale requiring long-term implementation with long-ranging effects ( 1997,
). As such, regulation and planning became necessary to ensure sustainable
industrial developments ( & 2004, ). Regulation involves the need for
permits from government authorities before commencing a building project and
planning involves the consideration of the different aspects of the construction
project including environmental implications ( & 2004, ). In the context
of the necessity of regulation and planning of industrial redevelopments, the
paper attempts to evaluate the problem behind the industrial redevelopments in
UK particularly Battersea Power Station in London and give an idea how it will
be regenerated in the future. By doing so, the study expects to learn the
reasons for the long period it takes to commence this industrial redevelopment
project regulated through the English planning system. Moreover, the paper will
give an outline of the comparable industrial redevelopment projects in European
Cities including The Ruhr in Germany, Bovisa in Milan, and Spencer Dock in
Island.
The establishment of
the English planning system served the purpose of facilitating industrial
developments by providing a regulatory process and policies for parties seeking
allocation of land and other natural resources whether this be the government or
private entities and a process of determining and settling any conflict of
interest ( & 2004, ). Fundamentally, the goal of the English planning
system is to ensure sustainable development ( 2001, ) by regulating the
allocation of land and other resources in a manner directed towards ensuring
resources for the future generations.
In 2004, a reform
occurred in the English planning system with the new system replacing the old
system ( 2007, ). Justification for the reform is to reassess planning policies
( & 2006, ) and enhance the efficiency of the processing and approval of
industrial development projects in order to meet long-term needs ( 2007, ).
Criticisms of the old planning system that spurred the reforms included the long
process of application and approval resulting to delays in the implementation of
projects. This was due to the lack of organisation and integration of the
English planning system because of the different planning and control
regulations used in the different levels—national, county and district—and the
variances in the guidelines used in assessing industrial development
applications ( 2007, ). This means that projects at the district level may
receive approval but this could receive disapproval by the county or vice versa.
Moreover, in practice, collaboration between government offices and the private
sector for the sustainable development or redevelopment of land involves a
number of problems leading to the long period it takes to plan, commence, and
finish the regeneration of lands ( 2000, ).
As such, the new
English planning system was intended to provide top-down planning and control
policies to serve as common guides for processing at the district, county and
national levels resulting to the ease in having industrial projects approved to
speed up the commencement of construction and other development projects as well
as facilitate the improved partnership between the public and private sector (
2007, ).
In light of the
developments in the English planning system, the study seeks to look into an
industrial development project—Battersea Power Station in London—to determine
the regeneration plans, particularly the status of the application process, the
role played by the English planning system in these projects, and the issues
surrounding these projects. Brief descriptions of the Battersea Power Station
follow to provide a background into the case for study.
Battersea Power Station
Before the constructed of the
current Power Station, the site had many different functions. It used to be the
site of a country fair and the Southwark was the location for water works.
During the early 1920s, aeroplane construction used to take place in the site.
In the late 1920s, the London Power Company decided to build a power station on
the riverside. started to design the building, but took over
the completion of the service. He designed the red telephone box, Waterloo
Bridge and the Bankside power station which has been redeveloped and it is the
new Tate Modern. The first part of the construction has been built in 1933 with
just 2 chimneys with art deco styling and by 1953 after the second World War the
4 chimneys were completed. ( 2002, )
Battersea Power Station in London
is an obsolete power station that was the first in a series of large coal-fired
electrical generating facilities set up in England as part of the National Grid
power distribution system then being introduced ( 2007). In 1983 the production
of power has ended. In 1984 competition of redesign the site was won by Alton
Towers Limited who proposed an indoor theme park, which received planning
permission 1986. Work has started and part of the site has been demolished and
been left like that, because the company did not have enough funding to finish
it. In 1993, Parkview International purchased the site and started the
redevelopment, but sold it in 2006, since that the redevelopment has not been
started.
The purpose of this study is to
examine and analyse the problems in industrial redevelopments in the UK by
looking at the operations of the English planning system and the specific manner
that this affects the approval and commencement of industrial redevelopment and
regeneration plans specifically for Battersea Power Station. It aims to
understand the impact of the English planning system to provide a context for
the reasons that some industrial projects, such as Battersea Power Station
redevelopment has not been started yet. Since the approval of industrial
redevelopment plans for this site depends upon their land classification, based
on the standards applied by the English planning system, the study would also
investigate how these sites have been classified, what are problems in land
classification, and what are the issues arising in the approval of the plan for
this site. As such, the study constitutes an investigation of the problems in
industrial redevelopment in the UK by evaluating the English planning system
because of its implications in the commencement of planned industrial work
across the United Kingdom. Part of the evaluation involves conducting case study
on industrial redevelopment site—Battersea Power Station in London whose owners
have applied for the redevelopment of these sites but failed to start the
redevelopment process. Moreover, the study aims to compare problems in
industrial redevelopment in different European countries by looking at the
relative strengths and weaknesses of the English planning system with its
counterparts in various European countries. The strengths would reflect the
extent and pace of industrial redevelopment in different European countries
while the weaknesses represent the problem areas requiring improvements. The
comparative study would explain the various problems in industrial planning
brought about by the respective planning systems of the different countries.
This research finds the necessity
for a study that specifically tackles the problems in industrial redevelopment,
particularly the manner these problems affect the commencement of industrial
redevelopment projects such as those planned for the Battersea Power Station.
Results should aid in the determination of ways in improving the English
planning system to address industrial redevelopment problems and speed up the
implementation of sustainable industrial projects. Moreover, this study will try
to answer the following queries:
1.
What is the English
planning system relation to regeneration?
2.
How do the processes
under the English planning system affect formal industrial sites?
3.
How does the English
planning system affect the commencement of the redevelopment project for
Battersea Power Station?
4.
What are the
comparative strengths and weaknesses of the English planning system relative to
the planning systems of different European Union countries?
5.
What are the
comparative experiences of industrial development problems experienced by
different European countries in relation to their respective planning systems
and redevelopment of industrial buildings.
6. How can the English
planning system be improved to address problems in industrial redevelopments to
facilitate the commencement of redevelopment projects in the UK such as
Battersea Power Station?
The researcher sees that the most
appropriate design for the study is the descriptive approach to research.
Descriptive research has as its purpose, the development of a better
understanding of a phenomenon in detail ( 2002, ). Descriptive studies usually
have as their purpose the first two aims of normal science as described by
(1970, ): “attempts to increase the accuracy and scope with which…facts…are
known” or “determination…[of] those facts that…can be compared directly with the
predictions from…theory”. The aim of descriptive research is to clarify the
nature of a phenomenon in a specified, static context while viewed from a
specific, fixed perspective ( 2001, ). Since the study seeks to describe the
problems with the English planning system, the descriptive approach works as the
guide perspective for deriving detailed information in completing the study.
To obtain background data
necessary in completing the study, secondary research or desk research applied
by collating existing current data
( 2003, ) on the English planning
system and the development plans for Battersea Power Station and Lots Road Power
Station as the cases for study. One of the major strengths of desk research is
its practicality – data and information are collected quickly and it is easier
to conduct than field research. On the minus side, however, the secondary data
may not be recent or accurate. Moreover, secondary data sometimes can be hard to
find, depending on the subject. Finally, the data derived by others may not be
relevant to the context under study. ( & 2003, ) Nevertheless, the
researcher did not encounter the aforementioned problems in desk research.
For this study, secondary sources of data were gathered from books, articles in
journals and magazines, and information from government websites and other
reliable websites. These sources provided the researcher a plethora of materials
about the topic.
To derive primary data, a semi-structured
interview applied through the aid of a questionnaire. Interviewing is the
data-collection process that derives insights from a phenomenon, expands
understanding of theories or models, identifies general rules and exceptions,
and documents differences in experiences ( & 2005, ). A semi-structured
interview applied by using a questionnaire to guide the interview process but
allowing the researcher and the respondents, room to expound on important
answers. This provided the researcher greater control over
the interview
process to support the gathering of wide-ranging data. ( 2006, ) Interviews were
made with key respondents with first hand knowledge on the historical, present
and future plans for Battersea Power Station.
Interviews were made with ( ) and ()
(1,891)
The driving force
behind the English planning system is sustainability, which the United Kingdom
government defined in terms of the four objectives of 1) social progress, which
considers everyone’s needs, 2) effective environmental protection, 3) prudential
utilisation of natural resources, and 4) maintenance of a continuously stable
rate of employment and economic growth ( & 2004, ). On a local level,
planning systems for land use has been recognised as a significant contributor
in the achievement of sustainability objectives. Through a sustainability based
planning system that regulates spatial development, sustainability is achieved
through strategic policies to guide planning guidelines so that local
authorities were compelled to consider economic, environmental and social
factors in the creation of development plans and in approving applications for
private-sponsored land development. This means that the local government need to
apply assessment measures intended to apply the elements of sustainability in
determining the soundness of land use plans. To provide policy guidance, the
national government listed a number of key principles that apply in evaluating
land use plans. First principle is sustainability as criteria in appraising land
use plans. Second principle is integration, which pertains to the application of
appraisal throughout the stages of land use development (, & 2005,
). Third principle is public consultation that includes the taking of public
opinion on the appraisal method as much as of the land use plan ( & 2005,
; 2005, ). Fourth principle is iteration so that the land use appraisal
requires alignment with defined environmental perspectives (, &
2005, ). Fifth principle is environmental stock or the collection of detailed
data on the environmental implications of land use plans. Sixth principle is
scoping or the consideration of the various issues spanning the land use plan.
Seventh principle is the consideration of alternative policies as well as plans
or proposal. Eighth principle is the monitoring of the land use plans using
indicators of long-term benefits. ( & 2004, ) As such, sustainability has
become a key part of the planning system in the United Kingdom.
In the case of the development planning for the
Battersea Power Station, sustainability appears to be at the core of planning
because of the consideration of long-term plans. The period it took to complete
a plan and commence the development of the power station could exemplify
long-term plans. Nevertheless, the long period before the commencement of the
plans could mean the intervention of policy or regulation-based issues that
hamper the commencement of these projects. These areas comprise an area for
investigation.
The English planning system
constitutes a land use regulation that applies by requiring entities seeking to
build something on land or occupies space to obtain permission before commencing
the project ( 2005, ). Depending upon the type and implications of the land use
plan, the local authority with jurisdiction of the area usually assess
applications but in exceptional circumstances when the land use plan has
national implications the processing of applications become the work of the
Secretary of State. In conducting the assessment, the applicant is favoured by
the planning system but with due consideration of any objections. Upon the
receipt of the application for land use together with all additional information
necessary in evaluating the impacts of the plan, the planning authorities weigh
the differing arguments justifying and decrying the approval of the land use
application including protests from other parties. As such, the decision
involves the consideration of the economic, environmental and social benefits as
against the costs, risks or damage from various sources of information including
public consultations, since public participation has become a policy in order to
provide better guidance for the local development officer and the committee
assessing applications. After considering all these factors, the planning
officer writes a report for distribution to the planning committee prior to
raising the recommendations of the report for voting. The decision of the
committee determines the eventual implementation of scrapping of the land use
application. Of course, interested parties, especially the applicants who are
not satisfied with the decision can raise appeals to the Secretary of State. (
2005, )
In
the case of Battersea Power Station, the application was filed by Parkview
International, the private developer with Wandsworth Council, the local
government authority holding regulatory jurisdiction over the redevelopment of
Battersea Power Station. After receiving the application, Wandsworth Council
assesses the application based on planning policies for Battersea Power Station
evaluated as brownfield land relative to the intended plans of the private
developer. This even involves negotiations in case the plan needs to consider
other factors.
The process of
applying for a permit to commence and accomplish development projects involves a
seemingly simple process because the developer files an application containing
details of the plan to the local development authorities. A local development
officer will be assigned to assess the application and make a recommendation to
the committee as basis for the voting process. Any objections by other parties
to the plan should also be filed. The development officer looks into the merits
of the application and even considers public opinions. The vote determines the
decision to approve or permit the development project, with the decision subject
to appeal to the Secretary of State. There is a determined assessment process
and considerations together with a process for appeal. However, this is not a
simple or short process because the period of investigation could take a long
time, especially when there are numerous objections that need to be investigated
by the local development officer. Apart from the need for investigation, the
local development officer also often makes judgment calls and the subjectivity
of the process can influence the recommendation to approve or disapprove the
application. After the report has reached the deciding committee, the decision
process could also take long especially when the members of the committee
represent different interests that cannot be easily settled.
The planning permit for the Battersea Power
Stationt was obtained in 2002 following agreements between the Wandsworth
Council and Parkview International. The plan involves the partnership between
public and private sector. The permit was granted after the Wandsworth Council
was able to include the provision of services to the community such as parking
area, creation of employment for the community, and facilitation of training for
students and community members to take part in the development of Battersea
Power Station.
The English planning
process involves two basic processes, which are development planning and
development control. Development planning involves the development proposal
acceptable in a given area by using policies, such as the principles previously
mentioned, as tests for the types and means of development for a particular
area. On the national level, development planning for the United Kingdom falls
under the responsibility of the Communities and Local Government department
while on the local level, the local planning authorities handle development
planning for the locality. As such, the development plans on the national and
local level constitute blue prints of the intended sustainable development
direction of the country in general and the localities in particular. It is in
relation to these plans that the approval of applications is determined.
Development control refers to the process of determining whether to grant or
refuse applications for land use by carefully considering guiding policies and
the particulars of the land use application.
The development plan for the Battersea Power Station, particularly the plans
covered by the permit applied for by Parkview International, a Hong Kong based
developing firm. Wandsworth Council granted the permit in the exercise of its
development planning and development control responsibilities. The permit came
with a contractual agreement that covers the public interests for incorporation
into the implementation of the plan. Since the plans were made years before its
approval, this means that it took time before the permit was obtained. However,
it has to be considered that the application and permit came before the reform
in the English planning system in 2004.
After the reforms, the
United Kingdom has a single planning system operating on different levels, such
as the national and local level or development planning and development control,
which through the introduction of the new planning system were intended to be
integrated in order to streamline development plans that guide the processing of
applications. Multi-level operations of the planning system could result to
problems in the development planning and control from the complexities arising
from the extent of streamlining. Although the
permit came before this reforms, the effect of the reforms should reflect in
the post-permit and implementation phase.
Development planning constitutes a
multi-tiered system that necessitates relationships of influence so that local
development is largely influenced by national development policies while
development in the UK is also influenced by EU development policies ( 2005, ).
The UK government has incorporated the sustainable development strategies of EU
in its Planning Policy Statements (PPS) and Planning Policy Guidance (PPG),
which are documents containing the policies and strategies governing development
planning and control in the United Kingdom. If these policy guides are clear and
practicable as well as widely communicated to the local planning authorities,
then this should develop bottom-up alignment with planning policies. As such,
the sustainable planning directives coming from the national government play
important roles in the planning system of the local level.
( 2005, )
In the case of London,
with its local planning authority, the policy directives of the national
government found reflection through the development framework brought out for
London in 2003. This framework provides an overall plan for the city of London
amidst the various factors affecting the development of the city such as
population growth, economic shifts, environmental issue, technological
innovations, and lifestyle changes. In 2004, the mayor issued the development
strategy for London that includes that plan to accommodate the growing
population without encroaching on remaining open spaces in order to make the
city socially inclusive while at the same time developing the city into a
well-designed environment friendly city. As such, the objectives of the
development for London included the protection of townscapes through the
conservation of historic sites and enhancement of public and open spaces
together with the maintenance of heritage sites and parks. Other objectives
include the design and positioning of high buildings together with the re-using
of existing brown spaces instead of allowing infrastructures to encroach on
green spaces. ( 2005, )
Relative to the development framework for London,
the plan of Parkview International covering an area of land included in the
geographic scope of the Battersea Power Station involved plans for the reuse and
regeneration of brown spaces and the conservation of historic buildings. This
means that the plan for Battersea Power Station coincided with the London
development framework. Nevertheless, since the commencement of the plan is
taking time, the difficulties or problems experienced in the development process
involve other areas apart from the ability of the plan to meet permit
requirements.
Due to the
inter-linkages of the different tiers of development planning policies,
effective implementation necessitates alignment and integration of efforts so
that national policies that serve as guide to local planning authorities need to
be well aligned with the planning directives of the European Union. This
parallels the planning policies of London that need to consider the overall
development blue print for the entire United Kingdom. Multi-tier linkages could
create problems especially in taking general planning directives and applying
these in particular contexts, such as the urban situation on London. It can
happen that some policies may work well for London or are difficult to apply
amidst the development of situations affecting only a particular locale.
Development planning and control in
London adheres to various sustainability principles. These principles serve as
guide in classifying different locations across London and the suitability of
these areas for various activities such as housing or commercial establishments.
Assessment of applications occurs according to these determinants. ( &
2005, )
In the case of the development plan for Battersea
Power Station, there was no issue in the classification of the power plant
resulting to one less problem for the regeneration plan. London development
authorities classified Battersea Power Station as brownfield land because it has
already been developed as a power plant and this stripped it of its greenfield
status. Due to the clear classification of Battersea Power Station as brownfield
land, meeting the requirement for a permit depended on the manner of developing
brownfield land in line with the sustainability framework for London.
For purposes of the
study, the policies to be discussed are those that apply to the London urban
environment. First is the conservation policy covering built
environment, which involve controls targeting the preservation of built
environments. This is based on the goal of sustainable development by seeking to
maintain the built heritage of the country for the consumption of future
generations. As such, land development was limited only to the re-use of old
building and land sites together with the preservation of areas covered under
conservation areas. ( 2005, ) Second is the determination of a list of buildings
considered as having historic interest or special architectural features. When
buildings become part of the list, development becomes limited to the
preservation or enhancement of the historic building but this cannot be
demolished unless this is with the consent of the land development authorities.
(( & 2005, ; 2005, )
In the case of the power plant, the development
plan included the retention of the historic building or the plant itself within
the regeneration framework. Plans submitted by the Parkview International to the
Wadsworth Council included the retention of the original power plant building
but regenerated to form part of the overall development plan for the entire
area. The Wadsworth Council base its permit granting decisions on the Unitary
Development Plan (UDP) adopted by the Council in 2003 that covers the planning
policies of protecting and enhancing the socio-economic opportunities for the
community and improving quality of life. The plan applies regeneration policies
including the conservation policies and historic building maintenance.
Despite the importance of the
English planning system, a number of problems emerge. The phases of changes
occurring in the English planning system commenced during the 1960s because of
the realisation of the inability of the existing planning system to accommodate
the rapidly changing environment. Prior to the 1960s, the English planning
system revolved around the preservation of natural or green lands across the UK
so that the primary criteria for development planning and control is the
environmental soundness of development plans. However, during the 1960s a number
of major changes occurred including large-scale development plans with
international and national support that greatly pressured the English planning
system to accommodate these development plans. As such, evaluations were made to
determine the timeliness of the development planning system. Reforms included
the balancing of the various economic, political, social and environmental
interests of the public instead of solely focusing on environmental preservation
or conservation. ( & 2006, )
Although this shift
occurred decades ago, the English planning system seems to be in the same place
as before with the new planning system seeking to accommodate pressures for
changes brought about by economic interests due to the growing competitiveness
of the international market, resulting to the interests of business firms in
boosting the economic capabilities of the country including the development of
tourism and service sectors, which in turn required land use developments.
Balancing interests to meet changing contexts constitutes a continuing problem
of the English planning system so that current trend in policies has impacts not
only to the achievement of the development goals of the country but also the
accomplishment of valid development plans. If the English planning system fails
to correctly perceive and accommodate important changes, then the planning
system could lose its importance or significance in advocating sustainability
through effective development planning and control. Development policies should
be thoroughly formulated to address current as well as future development
processes.
This problem emerged in the negotiation for the
development of the Battersea Power Station. A number of developing firms have
handled the regeneration of the site. However, no firm has been able to
implement significantly the development plan. This could be due to the inability
of the Wadsworth Council and the private developing firm to meet. Wadsworth
Council needs private participation in the development plan to contribute to
fund requirements. Private developing firms need to coordinate with the
Wadsworth Council in order to legitimize the project.
Another problem is the
alignment and coordination of multi-tiered policy support from linking the
sustainability goal of the EU to the development of national sustainability
policies of the UK and then the development of regional development plans
advocating sustainability principles that should in turn be consistent with the
local development plans. This amounts to the implementation of the broad EU and
UK sustainability policies and translating these into specific development plans
within the local context ( & 2004, ). This creates problems when the local
context carries a different perspective of sustainability when compared to the
intention of the national sustainability policies. When differences in opinion
occur, there would also be corresponding differences in the manner of planning
and controlling land and building development programs. This inconsistency
creates confusion on the part of developers seeking approval of their
development plans. Due to the differences in perspective, applications could be
viewed differently by the local and regional development offices requiring the
elevation of the application to the Secretary of State, which involves time and
resources.
As such, (2000, )
and and (2007, ) provide for the need to articulate and clarify the
meaning of principles and policies. This starts by defining sustainability in
the local context followed by the consideration of the developments of space and
environments particularly drawing the differences between rural and urban land
classifications and the applicable development policies. The processes and
systems also need clarification to translate general development policies to
practical regulations that effectively apply these policies. Doing so would ease
the application of the English planning system that would also speed up the
approval of sustainable development plans and the rejection of unsustainable
development plans.
Still another problem is the reliance of the
English planning system on the private sector. Public-private partnerships work
because of the important role of both sectors in planning but the relationship
implies the clarification of the roles of the sectors in order to achieve a
complementary relationship, with the private sector filling the weaknesses of
government and handling other aspects of public sector responsibilities so that
the public sector can concentrate on welfare services ( 2000, ). This means that
both play important roles and the public sector cannot shun away from its
regulatory role. The approach of considering the private sector as a partner
involves the evaluative role of government in determining the extent of
achievement of goals and objectives ( 2006, ). As partners, public and private
parties need to share risks and benefits and exercise accountability ( 2006, ).
Weaknesses in determining the roles of public and private sectors in planning
and in the exercise evaluation and accountability lead to problems of the
English planning system. The English planning system highly employs
public-private partnership in industrial planning resulting to the change from
public sector ownership and control to market based planning involving
redevelopment projects that gave rise to problems in ensuring the achievement of
public interest ( 2007, ).
Regeneration plans for Battersea Power Station experienced this problem when
difficulties emerged in ensuring that the private developer would meet public
sector objectives while at the same time providing incentives for the private
sector, especially Parkview International and Treasury Holdings, to invest in
the redevelopment. This led to the long time it took to achieve an agreement and
the failure to commence implementation.
Covering the site approximately 38
acres in heart of London the Power Station is the largest and probably
the most expensive undeveloped brownfield land in the Europe. The English
Heritage made it Grade II listed building after when the first owner demolished
part of it, following work being started on a scheme and being left undeveloped
because of lack of funding. New developers Parkview International London Plc
acquired the site in 1996 with an enormous regeneration project plan. Approval
was given in 1997 for the proposal involving a leisure/entertainment complex in
the Power Station, while on the adjacent land the development of a business
park, film studio, hotels, theatre with 2000 seat, residential development, 3500
parking space, roads, and the railway station. The plan included 2 hectares
public spaces alone on the riverside and the proposal for the jetty providing
river bus service to the north. (See appendix for the detailed plan and map).The
legal agreement between the developer and the Wandsworth Borough of Council
covered many aspects of the scheme, particularly transport and parking.
the President of Parkview International wanted to do something special. The
government and council thought this project would provide many advantages to the
local people by creating new jobs and regenerate East Battersea. ()
The planning permission
was granted in 2002. There have been some further plans to create a pedestrian
bridge between the Power Station and Pimlico and Victoria. In 2003, Parkview
started the work on a £1.1 billion project to restore the building and to
redevelop the 38-acre site in one of the largest privately owned development
project in the UK.
Moreover, it was also
in the agreement between Parkview and Wandsworth Council, the developer has to
support the creation of a local employment initiative through a section 106
agreement. This agreement includes a Local Employment Agreement which sets out
that the Council and Parkview will work together to ensure the local people and
local business will have benefit from the development. The developer had to pay
£397,000 to provide community purposes. () It was proposed that the team would
develop relationships with contractors at the site, advertise their vacancies
and facilitate local people in being able to access these opportunities. In July
2005, Job Shop has been opened on the site. The purpose of the Job Shop was to
help local residents including young people with skills, confidence to find
employment opportunities at the Battersea Power Station Site. It would create
3000 jobs on the site. When the finished redevelopment opens, approximately
9000 new jobs will be created. There will be a wide range of jobs, including IT,
plumbers, carpenters, security, catering, river transport, designers, journalist
etc. ( 2005-2008)
Furthermore, another
agreement also involves another opportunity for community members. There is an
S28 agreement between the local council and the developer, which gives
opportunity for construction training facility on site. ( 2005-2008) and
Minister of Education opened the On-Site Construction Training Centre in 2006.
The funding came from the Government but the space for the construction training
centre was provided by Parkview International. At the moment, the Lambeth
College provides on site training for students learning building skills. After
the completion of training, the JobShop will provide jobs for them on the site
or help them to find job somewhere else until the development process has not
been started. () Furthermore, it aims to help local small businesses to get
contracts during and after the development as suppliers for the goods and
services needed in the development plan.
It aims to help people
to get back into work at the site or somewhere else in London. Victor Hwang said
that he was delighted to welcome Gordon Brown to see the new centre. “It shows
how the public and private sector can work together in urban regeneration for
mutual benefit.” ()
Community forum have
been created with about 60 members. All sides of the community were represented
including local residents, teachers, police officers and businesspeople. These
people contributed by identifying issues and raising concerns regarding the
development. Local community used to work together with the developers. There
will be another example for this later on in this paper. This is a very
important part of any type of development project where local community works
together with developers. ()
(4,104)
Over the last 30 years,
different problems have been occurring in the European counties. These societies
become more aware of the growing environmental cost of economic competition and
urbanisation and the need for more sustainable forms of developments. Moreover,
they had to deal with dereliction left by previous generation. Urban
regeneration is the solution for the existing problems in Europe. The European
Commission has made urban regeneration the main focus of the European Planning
policy. (, & 2003, ). Most countries have created new legislations
to improve the condition of urban areas. The UK Government created the Urban
White Paper, which built on ’s report, Towards an Urban Renaissance. The French
Government has produced a New Planning Act 2000. Germany has the Social Cities
programme and Netherlands created the Major Cities programme. Furthermore, Italy
and Belgium have interest in the regeneration programme. The planning systems
in Europe varies, according to different factors such as the scope, extent of
development, disparity between planned objectives and actual results, the
concentration of decision-making power as either centralised of decentralised,
and the dominant approach as either market led or planning led. The differences
stem from the cultural and historical development of the different European
countries.
European countries can
be classified according to the two factors of uncertainty avoidance, which is
the extent of preference for structures and power distance, which pertains to
the extent of inequality acceptable to the population as determinant of interest
representation. Although most European countries lean towards low power distance
indicating the high propensity for the representation of diverse interests,
Germany leans more towards a higher uncertainty avoidance indicating its
preference for structured planning when compared to the UK that leans more
towards low uncertainty avoidance to show that the country applies flexible
development policies. ( 2003, ) In a way, this constitutes a comparative
strength of the English planning system since this allows room for flexibility
to changing situations and development contexts when compared to Germany. These
preferences should be supported by the context-based development needs and
demands of the country and the flexible planning system suits the UK best.
However, this could also lead to the weakness in establishing sufficient
structures to support development planning and control that also provides enough
room for flexibility.
In the area of spatial
planning, Europe can also be classified under the four primary traditions. First
tradition is regional economic planning, which utilises spatial planning in
order to achieve a wide rang of socio-economic objectives including elimination
of poverty, employment and other disparities. As such, this involves the strong
role of the national government, such as the case of France, in implementing
spatial planning policies. Second tradition is comprehensive integrated
planning, which develops plans using formal, systematic and hierarchical plans.
Since local authorities apply top-down planning policies, local governance plays
an important role in implementation such as the case of Denmark, Germany and
Netherlands. Third tradition is land use management, which considers planning as
a technical process of controlling land use to ensure the sustainability of
growth such as the case of the rural and urban planning in the UK. Fourth
tradition is urbanism, which focuses on urban design and architecture by
applying regulations on zoning and codifications to manage urban spaces such as
those applied in European countries near the Mediterranean Ocean. (,
and , 2005) It appears that
only the United Kingdom has integrated sustainability in its planning system as
mandated by the EU planning policies. This constitutes strength of the English
planning system because of the focus of policies on managing long-term and
wide-ranging land use plans. However, the balancing of centralisation and
decentralisation or the role of the national, regional and local planning
authorities creates problems in aligning planning policies since long-term
sustainability can only be achieved through coordinated action of the different
tiers of planning policy authorities.
In relation to the
operation of planning systems of different European countries, the planning
systems can also be classified according to the degree of discretion or
flexibility allowed by the planning system and the degree that unauthorised
developments are allowed. The United Kingdom applies a discretionary perspective
that allows the country to achieve a lesser disparity between actual planning
objectives and actual results. The countries Denmark, Finland and Netherlands
operate planning systems with moderate levels of flexibility so that the
application of these planning systems also achieve a lower degree of disparity
between objectives and results. The European countries France and Germany apply
planning systems with limited flexibility in line with the corresponding
regulations. As long as regulations are applied comprehensively, results also
matched the objectives. Other European countries such as Belgium and Spain apply
strict planning systems resulting to higher disparity between the intended and
actual results. (, & 2005)
When adjustability and flexibility are considered as positive
measures for the ability of planning systems to actualise objectives, the United
Kingdom carries this strength relative to other European countries. However,
flexibility be balanced with structure in order to achieve intended results.
Otherwise, problems would arise in implementation.
Based on the
consideration of the different planning systems of various European countries,
the English planning system carries the strengths of flexibility in operations
and sustainability of plans. Even with these strengths, the English planning
system becomes open to a number of weaknesses such as the difficulties in
translating general policies into practical regulations and the balancing of
structure with flexibility.
In 1970`s and 1980`s in the UK and western Europe the
traditional industrial structures had rapid changes. Unemployment and urban
deprivation became the major political concern. In the UK, but not elsewhere,
the role of local authorities became increasingly marginalised as central
government sought solution that involved direct action in partnership with
private sector investors.
Other countries had different solution, in France the devolution of power
to local communities was supported by state expenditure. In Germany wealthy
regional and local governments tried to spend their way out of the crisis, at
least until reunification changed the priorities for investment. The most
successful examples of urban regeneration have been where the land has been in
public ownership from the start. (, & 2003, )
Coach stated that the UK government is doing no more than catching up
with this other countries.
(1,051)
Germany: The Ruhr
The
Ruhr area has been dominated by coal mining and heavy industry for more than a
century, and was left with enormous ecological and social problems after the
industrial decline of the 1980s.
Emscher Park International Building Exhibition (IBA) was
created in 1989 to provide a framework and to help the administrative districts
within the Emscher region. The main role was to encourage and evaluate proposals
for regeneration projects in the Park, and to create a new image to the Ruhr
with high quality of life and sustainable development. The
IBA Emscher Park project is a unique planning and architectural endeavour
because it considers local organizational structures instead of just
constructing model buildings. Its five main categories include the remediation
of the industrial landscape, cleaning the Emscher river system, housing
developments, construction of commercial and educational facilities and re-use
of old industrial structures.
The regeneration process relies on
comprehensive planning, influenced by the international sustainable development
agenda, place marketing and the need to change the image of the area to attract
inward investment.
The founding for the Emscher Park project come from the state
and federal governments and some from the European Union and a very small part
from private sector. That was a 10 year project whish has been finished in
1999. The IBA finished 120 projects within the 10 year period which mainly
concentrated on large areas of derelict land. There have been smaller activities
such as a creation of new ecosystem and planting of trees. (, ., , . and , .
2003.) Healey stated that the IBA`s regeneration project has relied on
comprehensive planning and ecological revitalisation since the IBA sees regional
quality in physical, social, environmental and cultural terms as a key factor to
improve the area. , ., , . and , . 2003.). stated that in Gelsenkirchen
on the former site of a steelworks, most of the redundant buildings have been
removed, the land has been cleaned up and the largest solar-heated building has
been constructed on the site. The new building offers office spaces for
environmental technology companies with high rent, which has been occupied
mainly by public institutions and a small amount occupied by private companies.
There was a similar project completed in Dortmund Eving a former coal mine where
the former mine shaft has been converted into offices. The site has been rented
out on a law rate in order to encourage industry to the Park.
In Oberhausen a large area of derelict land has been
redeveloped. The new redevelopment called `Centro` including shopping and
leisure complex. The development is well designed on a high standard with a good
public transport
facility, but on the other side not a sustainable development. Another
redevelopment in the same area is the gasometer which has been converted for new
uses such as art, culture, recreation, business and offices. (, &
2003, )
IBA had a programme of reusing old and derelict industrial
buildings for cultural and recreational purposes. The former Meiderich steel
works has been redeveloped into a landscape park with new leisure and
recreational facilities built in and around the old steel structure. The aim of
the project was to attract tourist to the area and provide new opportunities to
the population of the Ruhr.
IBA`s key strategy was the place
marketing to attract inward investment for Emscher Park. Duiusburg has been
regenerating its old inner harbour area with replacing derelict industrial
buildings with new industries and housing development with public founding as it
has been mentioned earlier. The plan was to refurbish existing buildings and
develop new ones to create a mixed use development, create commercial space and
leisure facilities.
Furthermore the IBA scheme has resulted in the successful
redevelopment of a big amount of old industrial site. It provided new flats for
people with low-income giving them opportunity for ownership, developed parks,
green public spaces, cycle path and there have been environmental improvements
in the area too. (, & 2003, )
Milan: The Bovisa District
Bovisa was an industrial area in Milan with a high quality
transport infrastructure. Later on has been constructed with a local railway and
tramway system which integrated with the North Milan area and which has been a
significant support to the industrial and residential development of the area.
It has a very important highway system between Venice and Turin. French company
produced gas in the inner area, which was supplying Milan until few years ago.
The leftover from this company is a vacant industrial buildings, gasometers and
railway tracks.
At the end of the 1990s Milan had about 500-600 hectares of
redundant or highly underused industrial plants. In this time the government
proposed The Director Document for the Underground Railway Link. The aims of the
project were to coordinate the effects of an infrastructural modernisation
project with a transformation an abandoned or underused industrial and railway
lands. This plan has been followed by the town planning scheme. After the this
project the government has created The Director Documents for Distressed and
Underused Areas which propose some strategic targets and general principles for
conversion, follows the same principles. . (, & 2003, .) The
program has not proved to be successful for process implementation or for
achieving coordination between public programmes and private investment. However
this strategic planning approach is well developed in Milan. There was eight
urban regeneration program had been prepared in Milan. This programme agreement
was the key element for the implementation of the 1990s urban regeneration
programme. This was introduced by the national law and improved by regional
Acts. The planning process started in 1995 and by 2000 this programs were
completed including Bovisa district and the oil depot area in Quarto Oggiaro
District. Development agencies, mixed companies and multi-companies were
involved in the redevelopment project. This companies collected different public
founds, from the European Community, central and regional government and private
funds from banks and industries. (, & 2003, )
In the Bovisa District area a new Polytechnic University has
been built which is the largest technical university in Italy.
()
The oil depot are Quarto Oggiaro District has started to be redeveloped
by a private company specifically formed for regenerating distressed areas. The
area includes residential and commercial developments, example offices, hotels,
restaurants, multiplex cinema and a new infrastructural line which being
connected to the new road network to the Polytechnic University, link this area
with the motorway system. (, & 2003, ).
Ireland: Spencer Dock
The last comparable regeneration project is different than the above
mentioned, but maybe it is the most important, because the same company is doing
the development project as the one who bought Battersea Power Station and will
redevelop the derelict land.
Spencer Dock can be divided into
two sections, Spencer Dock and Spencer Dock North. Spencer Dock falls under the
jurisdiction of the powers of Section 25. Section 25 also provides that the
carrying out of development which is certified by the Authority to be consistent
with the Planning Scheme shall be exempted from development for the purposes of
the Planning and Development Act. The effect of this provision is to eliminate
uncertainty and minimise delay in respect of developments requiring major public
and/or private investment, when compared to the normal planning process” (
2003, )
If Developers want to build in
Spencer Dock North must apply to Dublin City Council in order to obtain planning
permission. This is a route that, unlike Section 25, is open to third-party
appeals.
In June 2003 the developers engaged in
negotiations with the local community through an experienced London based group
of architects known as John Thompson and partners. The developer’s negotiations
with the community were specifically targeted at the area known as Spencer Dock
North. The negotiation concentrated on how to develop the site and the
surrounding areas. This included the issue of surrounding transportation, social
problems and social and affordable housing. This gave those present, through
the use of ‘local’ knowledge, an idea of how the site could be developed. ()
Spencer Dock is the biggest and most ambitious urban regeneration
project in Ireland. Spencer Dock, a
51-acre brownfield site located on the north side of Dublin Docklands is an
area, which has been earmarked for a major regeneration project by a consortium
known as the Spencer Dock Development Company (SDDC), which owns the site. The
developers Treasury Holdings, the state owned company CIE and the Docklands
entrepreneur Harry Crosbie are the three stakeholders that form the SDDC.
The Treasury Holdings Group is one of Ireland’s largest and most successful
private property companies. ()Their objective is to create developments that sit
in harmony with their environment and enhance the community. They concentrate on
the core objectives of excellence, innovation and customer satisfaction and
relax. The Convention Centre Dublin is Ireland’s new world class convention
facility and is scheduled to open in the second half of 2010. The new
development will have a six million square foot of office, residential, service
and leisure space.
There is a National Conference Centre, which will include a
2,000-seat auditorium, two 450-seat multi-media halls, exhibition spaces,
conference and meeting facilities. The site is includes a five star hotel and
2.5 acres of parkland.
Ireland’s largest professional services firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers will be the
first commercial tenant to locate in the area. More than 1,600 PwC employees
will work at Spencer Dock.
The building provides 230,000 square feet of office space, and is
fitted out to the high standard that will be typical of all commercial
developments in Spencer Dock. Facilities for employees include a fully equipped
gym and fitness centre, a food court, café and shop.
A new train station strengthens the comprehensive public transport
links to the area, which includes train links, bus making the area highly
accessible for employees across the country. It is expected that up to 6,000
people will work in the area with an additional 5,000 residents. The building
has been designed to provide high-quality and flexible meeting space, finished
to the highest standards and with the most modern technology available. It
offers space for the large number of staff and also the ability to customise the
building to work equally well for their employees and visiting clients. ()
(1,735)
United Kingdom: Battersea Power
Station
In 2006
an Irish company Treasury Holdings purchased the side from Parkview
International. The reason of this sale was the lack of funding and a huge profit
made by . The Chinese businessman still has 40% share of the development.
had a dream and the dream will come true working together with Treasury
Holdings. said they will start the redevelopment together. As mentioned
above, the new developer had a similar project in Belfast, so they have
experience in redeveloping big and derelict lands employing high standards.
said plans for affordable housing have to be included otherwise they will not be
able to get planning permission. The new proposal will be submitted later on
this year. ()
Future plans of the Power Station
The
Power Station redevelopment is one
of the largest in UK. The 136,000 square metre building is one of the world’s
most talked about leisure and retail destination.
It has been mentioned before the Power
Station building is Grade II* listed.
Grade II* are particularly
important buildings of more than special interest English Heritage looks at
individual buildings, hundreds of which are brought to their attention each year
by members of the public. Without this public interest, many important buildings
might be lost or damaged. English Heritage assesses buildings by type and by
area, to bring the lists up-to-date by ensuring that the best buildings of a
particular type are listed. .
After two years
investigation and repair Parkview decided to remove the old chimneys and replace
them with new identical chimneys, which had never happened. said; Within
the training on the side there is a Health and Safety valuation takes place to
investigate the structure of the Power station and the four chimneys again,
before the builders can start any work on it again. ()
The plan is to make the
new chimneys functioning part of the building. Permission has been granted to
make a one table restaurant on top of the North – West chimney with a beautiful
view over London on 104 metre high. The one table restaurant will allow diners
to choose from one of the top chefs who will prepare the dinner for them. It
will be delivered to the One table restaurant. North-East would act as a flue
for the Power Station ecologically friendly heat and power plant. One will be a
Theme park stile adrenalin ride and one will form part of heritage tour. ()
The boiler house will be the heart of the building. It will be filled with three
floors of retail, leisure facilities. Parkview could have filled the building
with multiple floors, but instead decided to retain the vast central space. The
glass ceiling will allow visitors to look from the bottom of the Power Station
to the Chimneys and the sky beyond. The west hall was demolished by the
previous owner and it will be replaced with a glass wall. That will be a
greenhouse with fruit, vegetables and herbs that will be for use for the Power
Station’s restaurants. () Over three levels will be a retail mix that cannot be
found anywhere else in London, from the most exclusive designer brands to high
street names. The developers want to create a different shopping mall from the
others in London. The design will be more natural more like a Tate Modern style.
The restaurant and entertainment side will offer 70-80 leisure facilities
including restaurants, bars, jazz, night club, comedy clubs with the idea of 24
hour eating and drinking venue. (.) There
are plans to build UK`s first all-digital cinema with 10-16 screens divided
between international, blockbuster and art house films. There will be
entertainment for everyone.
The residential apartments have been designed to harmonise
with and relate geometrically to the scale of the Power Station with more than
700 apartments. There will be a garden area both ground level and roof top
gardens are planned consisting with the London Plan. ()
Battersea Park Station
The transport plan for
the Power Station is the refurbishment of the rundown Battersea Park Station.
The modernisation and upgrade of the railway station is part of its commitment
to improve the local environment, create first class transport link and easy
accessibility for the Power Station visitors and employees. The existing ticket
hall is a listed building too. The plans include two new entrances on the north
side of the station facing onto Battersea Park. The viaducts at the back of the
existing station will become retail and leisure space leading to the new north
side entrance. Also, there is planning permission for landscaping the route
between the Battersea Park Station and The Power Station. (.)
Jetty of the future
said:” The Power
Station`s existing jetty will be renovated and refurbished to provide access
from the river walk to boats. That will give a better and easy option to deliver
building materials to the site and from the side. Furthermore it will reduce the
congestion from the main road caused by lorries under the construction works.”
()
The existing road would
be improved with new signs and a second entrance would be built for the
visitors. Also a river bus service will be another transport option for the
public. They are planning to have up to 12 boats on the river which will run
approximately every ten minutes through central London to Battersea Power
station Pier. ()
It is like a city in the city. It will offer regeneration
potential for the area.
This
redevelopment will be London most
exciting destination place. People from round the work will live work, play and
stay there and enjoy all kind of benefit of the building and its surrounding
area. The question is when it will happen.
The study was
able to meet substantially the objectives identified during the start of the
research project. A look into the specific case of Battersea Power Station has
been able to provide insight into the workings of the English planning system as
well as identify problems leading to the failure to commence the implementation
of the regeneration plans for the high valued brownfield land in London.
Information from secondary sources have been able to provide a background of the
development of the English planning system with implications on the development
of Battersea Power Station and problems in the application of the English
planning system that affected the failure to commence the project. This was so
despite the grant of a permit in 1997 under one developer and the grant of
another permit in 2002 under another developer, which still controls 40 percent
of the project after selling the 60 percent to another private developer because
of funding problems even after profiting from the venture. Interviews with two
respondents directly involved in the development of the Battersea Power Station
were able to provide information on the current and future plans as well as on
the public-private collaboration that occurred in the process, from which
problems in the English legal system were derived. Results of the desk research
and interviews were covered in the succeeding discussions.
The English
planning system served as the underlying context for regeneration plans, such as
for Battersea Power Station, by providing regulatory policies and procedural
rules necessary to facilitate the regeneration plans for sites. In relation to
its regulatory function, the English planning system affects regeneration plans
by providing the need for permits that implies the presentation and approval of
a development plan that meets the requirements. The requirements depend on the
classification of the land and the allowable development actions and limits
based on overall sustainability goals for the area, which in the case of
Battersea Power Station is London. As a source of procedural rules, the English
planning system provides the processes for compliance by the interested parties
including the requirement for a development plan, application for a permit, and
other requirements before commencing regeneration plans.
The English
planning system affects the development and the manner of developing formal
industrial sites by determining whether plans for the industrial site would be
implemented, which plans and parties should implement the plan and the process
of doing this, and when to commence the development of formal industrial sites
and the expected benefits. Since the English planning system is based on the
encompassing goal of sustainability, the development of formal industrial sites
need to comply with this goal. Actions and the nature or extent of actions for
formal industrial sites is governed by the processes under the English planning
system.
By being
classified as a brownfield land under the English planning system, the
commencement of the redevelopment project for Battersea Power Station was
affected by the operation of this regulatory and procedural system. In
application, the English planning system largely depends on public-private
sector partnerships for the completion of redevelopment projects. Public-private
partnerships offer a number of benefits such as funding and technical skills
that could not have been experienced had the city government handled the
development plan alone. However, there are also drawbacks to this type of
collaboration, especially conflict of interest in the management of the
redevelopment project or decision-making. The failure of redevelopment plans for
Battersea Power Station can find attribution to the emergence of the drawbacks
of public-private partnership. During the application for a development permit,
a number of private sector developers received grant for the regeneration of
Battersea Power Station. The years it took to obtain a permit was due to the
process of negotiation between the public authorities and the private entity
over aspects of the development plan, especially community welfare and the
sustainability goal, with which private sector developers do not necessarily
agree because of their prioritization of profitability. After obtaining the
permit, the sharing of control over the implementation of the plan became the
next problem since the local authorities exercised regulatory powers over the
implementation that limits the actions of private developers. As such,
implementation failed to commence because of problems such as lack of funding or
hesitation to provide funding because of changes in perceived returns on their
investment. To date, the regeneration plan for Battersea Power Station had not
commenced. Minor work has been done such as the preservation of some parts of
the historic building to prevent irreparable destruction but no major work has
been done.
In the European
context, the English planning system has relative strengths and weaknesses when
compared to the other planning systems of other European countries. A strength
of the English planning system is the integration of the goal of sustainability
in the planning system, which implies that approved regeneration plans are
likely to be long-term and do not require substantial changes mid-way through
the implementation phase or involve adverse effects to the community. Although
an EU directive has encouraged the intervention of sustainability in the
planning systems of other European countries, only the United Kingdom has
actually accomplished integration. Another strength of the English planning
system is the application of the discretionary perspective resulting to the
flexibility on the part of policy implementers in considering contingent plans
in case unexpected situations emerge. This lessens the disparity between the
planned objectives and the outcomes. In the other European countries such as
France and Germany, there is a low level of flexibility in the implementation of
the respective planning systems so that outcomes do not necessarily match the
objectives since outcomes are acceptable as long as these have complied with
regulations. As such, there is a higher tendency for outcomes to match
objectives in the English planning system.
However, the
English planning system also has a number of weaknesses. One is the longer
period it takes to commence and complete redevelopment plans because of the
complexities arising from the integrated system that covers multi-tiered
regulation and decision-making from the national to the local level. This is not
experienced by other European planning system in the same degree as the United
Kingdom because of the lesser degree of integration resulting to independent
decision-making on the different levels, albeit creating a different problem.
Another weakness is the greater importance placed by the English planning system
on public-private partnership when compared to the other European planning
systems. Collaboration leads to the problems of control and conflict of interest
because local government has different intentions for the redevelopment relative
to the private sector developers. In other planning systems, greater
responsibility for redevelopment rests on the local government so that control
resides with the local government.
Due to the
differences between the planning systems in Europe and the relative strengths
and weaknesses of the planning systems, various European countries had different
experiences in industrial development. In the case of the development of The
Ruhr in Germany, the strength of the development project is the control and
direction that resides in the local government because of the important role
played by a government corporation in the consortium created for the development
of The Ruhr. The weakness is the achievement of sustainability of the plans that
could have prevented resource wastage and ensured long-term benefits. With
regard to The Bovisa District in Italy, the project experienced the strength of
policy direction from the government because of the role of the government in
planning and decision-making but experienced the weaknesses of poor coordination
and public-private partnership. These experiences are largely different from the
development of industrial lands in the United Kingdom. In terms of the Spencer
Dock in Ireland, private developers greatly handled the development much like in
the Battersea Power Station in London but a government corporation also played
an important role in planning so that public interest was secured by consulting
the community regarding specific appropriate plans. In a way, balance between
public and private interests was achieved unlike in the Battersea Power Station,
where the private sector played a more important role in the development plan.
As such, the differences in the planning system of the different countries
determined the successes and problems these countries experienced in industrial
development. This means that the problems in the industrial development linked
to the planning systems can find solution through planning system reforms in the
areas of policy and application.
Improving the
English planning system can be made by focusing on the two problem areas
emerging from the application of the system. The first problem is the complexity
of a single planning system since local development initiatives have to consider
national planning policies that should in turn comply with European Union
directives for sustainable development. This means that local regulation and
processes need to be in line with national planning policies. However,
integration involves phases that commenced only in 2004 with planning reforms.
This means that it should take some time before local regulations and processes
adjusts to the integration and national planning policies are enhanced to
provide sufficient guidelines but provide room for flexibility. The solution to
this problem lies with the policymakers to assess the operation of the planning
reforms, determine problems by looking at problems in actual industrial
developments, and identify solutions to these problems as part of a continuing
process that should ease the integration problems in the next years. The second
problem is the reliance on the private sector for redevelopment projects. The
English planning system allows private sector to play major roles in industrial
development at the expense of public interest and control over the development
process. Public-private partnerships succeed with the determination of the roles
of the parties to determine the extent of control by the local government based
on the policy guidelines and the limit of the decision-making power of the
private developer because of the consideration of public welfare and
sustainability. As such, the solution to this problem involves the enhanced role
of the local government in approving the plans of private developers with
consideration of implementation issues such as funding and planning timetable
and policy issues such as community welfare and sustainability. The
redevelopment of Battersea Power Station has changed hands among private
developers but the same problems have occurred especially funding problems.
Local government should ensure that approved plans and private partners have the
capacity to commence and complete the approved redevelopment plan as well as
observe policies as part of its regulatory power.
Plans for the
redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, with the involvement of Treasury
Holdings, a firm with a wide experience in large-scale industrial development,
which is expected to support the commencement of the regeneration plan before
the end of this year. The development plan of Battersea Power Station requires
£400 million, an amount that Parkview International claimed it could not meet.
However, with the involvement of another private player, together with the role
of Wandsworth Council in approving new players and changes in the plan, the
redevelopment of Battersea Power Station should commence as scheduled. Moreover,
continuous enhancement of the English planning system should address integration
problems.
(1,851)
Detailed planning
permission approval
1 Power Station
2. Urban Resort Hotel
3. Conference Hotel
4 Office' Weave'
5, Showcase 'Twist'
6. Jetty
7 Auditorium
8. Residential
9 Riverside Walk
10. Riverside Path
11. Northern Piazza
12. Glass Pavilion
13. Galleria
14. Service Entry/Exit
15. Urban Resort Hotel Ballroom
16 Southern Piazza
17. Main Vehicular Entry
18. Main Vehicular Exit
2.5 levels of underground Parking
with 3,500 car parking spaces
and 28 coach parking spaces
Proposed additional facilities
19 Thames Pedestrian Bridge
