Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments blog

….by Adam Sheppard

On the 14^th November UWE Bristol proudly co-hosted the 20^th Bristol Planning Law and Policy Conference.  This annual event was designed, as many good ideas are, over a pint of beer in a pub.  The thinking was that many notable events around planning and planning law were focused around London plus locations including Oxford and Birmingham, whilst Bristol, a regional centre and base for much planning and law activity, had little of comparable scale and resonance. The conference is a partnership between UWE Bristol, Clarke Willmott, JLL, and Jan Molyneux (a retired but still very active planning consultant) and has included other notable persons, most recently Bryan Smith (another retired but still very active planning consultant). Always with the intention of ensuring balance and perspective; the conference aims to ensure insights are diverse and embrace contested spaces to create dialogue, debate, and progress.

This year’s event took place in The Passenger Shed in Brunel’s Old Station at Bristol Temple Meads Railway Station. The list of famous people associated with Bristol is as long as it is diverse including, to name just a few, such greats as Sir Bernard Lovell, the bands Portishead and Massive Attack, actors Cary Grant, John Challis, and David Prowse, Damien Hurst, the comedians Russell Howard, Lee Evans, John Cleese (is he still a comedian?), and Stephen Merchant, three(!) actors in a show I have never seen but gather is a big deal called ‘Game of Thrones’ (Maise Williams, Jacob Anderson, and Hannah Murray), medical pioneer Elizabeth Blackwell, James May, Banksy, stars of sport Ian Holloway, Jo Durie and Gary Mabbutt, and not forgetting Laura Crane who, according to my wife, has been on something called ‘Love Island’. Brunel was actually born in Portsmouth but has been adopted by Bristol.  This magnificent venue was built between 1839–41 for the Great Western Railway (GWR) and was designed to accommodate Brunel’s 7 ft broad gauge railway design, typifying both Brunel and Bristol in being innovative, creative, progressive, and different to what is otherwise seen as the norm.

The 2019 conference was proud to host as speaker Adam Challis (JLL), Kevin Parker (Redrow Homes), Cllr Paul Smith (Bristol City Council), James Maurici QC (Landmark Chambers), Mark Southgate (MOBIE), Mike Grist (Curo), Emma Webster (Lifestory Group), Theo Backhouse (Backhouse Housing), Tom Brewerton (Unite Students), and Lin Cousins (Three Dragons).  The calibre of these speakers is notable of course, but so too was the theme – housing delivery. 

In the UK the housing topic has come to dominate planning in many respects.  The affordability challenge is perhaps most notable for many areas of the UK, and particularly the south.  The delivery of affordable housing, not affordable housing as now defined by Government via a definition as broad as Brunel’s tracks but genuinely affordable housing, is one of the key issues of our time. The challenge arguably still revolves around Thatcher’s Right to Buy policy from 1980 and, in particular, the inability to effectively replace genuine social housing stock ever since.  How we now respond to this challenge is a matter of some debate, but a comprehensive response is certainly needed and hopefully after the next General Election progress can be made on this matter, assuming our nation can otherwise stop imploding and start moving forward again.

Affordability is only one issue though. The supply challenge is almost universal. Homeless is unacceptable yet commonplace. Meeting the needs of the elderly and those with particular housing requirements is complex and have their own affordability challenges.  And the market itself presents challenges to all house builders, but particularly the small and medium sized companies.  Our speakers spoke to all these challenges, and more, in a conference with too many highlights to mention. 

After the conference a black tie dinner is held.  This part of the event has become infamous for selling out quicker than Glastonbury as our dinner host, Professor Martin Boddy from UWE Bristol, noted in his address*.  The after dinner speaker this year was the excellent Dr Phil Hammond who managed to be as funny as he was poignant and challenging.

Having an event in Bristol of this scale and importance only really matters because of what it can achieve; it has no value in being self-serving, the conference must exist to raise challenging subjects and stimulate debate.  In doing this, in some small way, it can help move matters forward in a positive way.  UWE Bristol is proud to be part of this event, and I am personally proud to have represented UWE Bristol on the organising committee these last half dozen years.  As we move forward I am now handing the UWE Bristol baton over to my colleague Nick Smith, meaning we can all rest assured the event will only get bigger and better. Look out for tickets for next year – excitingly involving a new location at Ashton Gate Stadium!

*I am contractually obliged to note that the dinner only exists to further the opportunities for conference discussion and debate…

…By Danni Sinnett (SPE) and Margarida Sardo (Science Communication Unit)….

There are around 5,000 former metal mines in England and Wales, and many hundreds of thousands globally. Many of these mines have a legacy of highly polluted wastes, which can pose a risk to water quality and human health. As metal supplies diminish and new sources of metals are needed, especially for use in smart technologies, the potential to extract metals from these mine wastes is being examined. However, they often support important habitats and species assemblages, or are important for their historical significance. For example, around 20% of former metal mines are associated with Sites of Special Scientific Interest, around 14% are protected by European designations including in the lead mining areas in the Pennines and North Wales, and the tin-copper mines of Cornwall. Around 15% of former metal mines in England are in a World Heritage Site including the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape (Sinnett, 2018).

Much of the research and policy concerned with the management of abandoned mine wastes is focussed on environmental protection, landscape quality and the need to balance this with the conservation of nature and, to a lesser extent, heritage. In recent years there have also be a number of studies examining the motivation and preferences of those visiting restored mineral extraction sites.

However, there has been very little research on how local residents value their mining heritage and their preferences for its long-term management. This is important as it is ultimately local people who are affected by both the positive and negative impacts of this legacy, as well as any changes to the status quo. It is also essential to ensure that local people are supportive of any plans for the management of the sites. Understanding their preferences and concerns can inform this process.

We undertook some research with residents of former mining areas to address this gap in our understanding. Specifically, we explored the following questions: how do those living in former metal mining landscapes value them in terms of aesthetic appearance, role in preserving cultural heritage, nature conservation and tourism? What are the preferred options for managing abandoned metal mines?

We used the Q Method to examine the preferences of those living in six areas of metal mining in England and Wales. Q Method allows participants to ‘sort’ a series of statements based on the degree to which the statement represents their perspective on a subject. We selected a set of statements from the academic literature, policy and articles in local press. They covered a range of opinions and options on the mining legacy and its management.

Our analysis revealed five perspectives:

• Preservationists want to maintain the status quo, and recognise the value of the mining landscape for its industrial heritage and nature conservation. They want former mine sites to be left alone, and protected, primarily for their heritage value.
• Environmentalists are more motivated by water quality and pollution mitigation. They feel that that mine wastes would benefit from vegetation establishment and recognise their contribution to nature conservation. They value the role of experts.
• Industry supporters prioritise the local economy and are the most supportive of mineral extraction in general and the reworking of mine wastes, feeling that it would create jobs and bring in new people.
• Nature enthusiasts prioritise vegetation establishment on mine sites. They recognise the contribution mine sites make, or could make, to nature conservation. They want to see the sites restored, feeling they should not be left as they are.
• Landscape lovers are focussed on improving the aesthetic appearance of the mine wastes. They are most concerned with the impact of mines on the landscape, but are open to the idea of reworking the mines to aid the local economy.

There were also several areas of agreement:

• All residents prioritised water quality to some degree, with environmentalists and landscape lovers in particular feeling very strongly that this should take precedence over heritage features and nature conservation.
• They also felt that the preference of the people living locally should take be a priority in deciding the future of the post-mining landscape, with most disagreeing that the future management of mine waste should be expert-led.

In summary, we found that most residents view their mining heritage positively for the cultural and ecological benefits that it provides, but they are concerned about the adverse impact on water quality and the lack of vegetation on many sites. There may be some support for metal recovery from abandoned mines if it is combined with high quality restoration that mitigates water pollution and revegetates the sites, whilst preserving their cultural heritage. Residents must be part of the process – too many feel that landscape decisions are taken out of the hands of local communities and do not benefit them.

This work was funded by the Natural Environmental Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council through INSPIRE: IN Situ Processes In Resource Extraction from waste repositories; Grant number: NE/L013908/1.

You can read the papers from this research here:

Sinnett, D. (2019) Going to waste? The potential impacts on nature conservation and cultural heritage from resource recovery on former mineral extraction sites in England and Wales. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 62(7), 1227-1248. Available from https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/852458.

Sinnett, D. E., & Sardo, A. M. (2020) Former metal mining landscapes in England and Wales: Five perspectives from local residents. Landscape and Urban Planning, 193. Available from https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/3851958.

By Emerita Professor Clara Greed…

As an Emerita Professor I am still very busy and for example, I continue to be involved in public toilet issues, both in relation to UK Toilets and globally.  To explain, ‘public toilets’ may be defined as comprising both traditional ‘on-street’, local authority public toilets and ‘off-street’ toilets to which the public has right of access, for example in restaurants, shopping malls, and department stores, which, together, are may be defined as ‘away from home toilets’ (Greed, 2003). There is also a vast range of ‘private toilets’ including work place toilets, in shops, offices, and factories; toilets in educational establishments for pupils and students; facilities in leisure, sport, entertainment and leisure facilities; and toilets associated with the transport system, in train stations, bus termini, coach stations and airports.

I continue to argue in my ongoing research and publications that public toilets should be seen as a key component of planning policy and practice. But most local planning authorities do not include toilet provision within their urban policies or development plans, and there is no legal requirement to do so, indeed toilet provision is often deemed to be ‘ultra vires’ not a land-use planning matter. But, lack of provision undermines health policies, economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. If the government wants to create sustainable cities, and to get people back to public transport, cycling and walking, then adequate public toilets are essential: they are ‘the missing link’.  Inadequate toilet provision, undermines people’s  mobility and chances of freely accessing and moving around in the city.  

But public toilets are in decline, and some local authorities have closed them all, such as Bristol in 2018. Not only is there lack of provision but historically women have less provision. Unequal toilet provision for women persists, resulting in continuing queues for the Ladies, in spite of improved levels of provision being recommended in the British Standards Guidance on Sanitary Installations (BSI, 2010) , because so few new toilets are being built. Typically women are provided with less than half the provision for men.  Even if equal floor space is provided for the women’s and men’s side of the average public toilet block, men are likely to have twice the number of ‘places to pee’ because a whole row of urinals can be provided in the same space where only a few cubicles can be fitted in.  Furthermore, women need public toilets more than men, because they have more reasons to use the toilet because of menstruation, menopause and pregnancy in addition to simple urination and defecation (Greed, 2016). 

Whilst the toilet situation in the UK is dire, the situation is much worse in the wider world with Globally out of 7 billion total world population, over 2 billion lack basic access to water, sanitation, electricity and of course toilets. There are more mobile phones in the world than there are toilets.  50% of the world’s people is urban now but a third of them live in shanty towns. Again girls and women are particularly disadvantaged in spite of SDG 6 which links sanitation and gender issues. Subsection 6.2 states that by 2030 the aim is ‘to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and to end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations’

New toilet challenges are arising, particularly the need to include a wide range of types of toilet users, and the introduction of Gender Neutral Toilet facilities, or indeed the desegregation and mixing of existing facilities. Whilst everyone needs a toilet we have argued in recent research that, such changes must not be at the expense of provision for women, who already have fewer facilities, as ‘inclusion can exclude’ (Ramster et al, 2018) .

I continue to do write, speak at toilet conferences (such as in Xi’an in 2018), and do toilet research. For example, I am part of the NERC research SASSI team, as a member of the Advisory Board, on ‘A systems view of Sustainable Sanitation in China’ see http://www.complexurban.com/project/sassi/ and also see https://nerc.ukri.org/press/releases/2019/07-tase/

References

BSI (2010) BS 6465-4:2010Sanitary Installations. Code of practice for the provision of public toilets, London: BSI.

Greed, C. (2003) Inclusive Urban Design: Public Toilets, Oxford: Architectural Press

Greed, C. (2016) ‘Taking Women’s Bodily Functions into Account in Urban Planning Policy: Public Toilets and Menstruation’, Town Planning Review, Vol 87, No.5, pp. 505-523

Ramster, Gail, Greed, Clara, & Bichard, Jo-Anne (2018).  How inclusion can exclude: the case of Public Toilet Provision for women.  Built Environment, 44 (1), 52-77

By MSc Transport Planning student Marcus Merry….

On the Monday we met outside the castle in Nantes at 10.  We milled about the l’office du tourisme, picking up maps, discussing our various experiences of travel and accommodation.  I had journeyed to Nantes over four days by train to Plymouth, ferry to Roscoff, and bicycle via the Brest-Nantes Canal, arriving the previous evening at 10pm soaked to the skin.  Most others had come by plane.

We had a brief look inside the castle grounds.  Stephen reminded me that the Plantagenet kings of England hailed from nearby Angers, and I began to regard the fortification with a proprietorial eye.  The keep, however, was closed on Mondays.  Through the spitting rain we made our way to a monument to slavery, a practice in which Nantes was historically involved.  This was actually very interesting: we wandered along a cavernous underground exhibition which visually displayed the origins and destinations of the many millions of slaves transported in the slave trade, the appalling conditions they experienced, and a timeline of laws passed across the world to abolish it.  I was shocked to learn that some countries had not abolished slavery until late in the 20^th century, and indeed we discussed the extent to which modern slavery continues still.

Coming back into the light, we went on to visit the resplendent cathedral then to Vincent Gache on the Ile de Nantes (a large island in the Loire River in the middle of the city).  Biblical rain and hail descended as we sheltered in an alcove of a random building.  Eventually judging the worst had passed, we walked to the nearby School of Architecture.  Here Laurent Devisme gave us an engaging talk.  I remember him saying that instead of only focusing on best practice, we should also study failures.  As a case in point he referred to a 50-year debate about a new Nantes airport, which had been recently ended in rejection.  We went onto the roof, and looked out at the city from the smooth, block-like concrete structure.  The adjacent quirky buildings and arty local students gave the Ile de Nantes a trendy feel, almost like East London or Berlin.

On Tuesday afternoon we took a train to Angers, another city with a decent tram system, where we disaggregated to variously enjoy the local castle, art galleries and cafes.  We all met up again by the main theatre, and went for a drink together at a nearby bar.  I sampled a glass of a local vin rouge recommended by Stephen, and we headed back to Nantes.

I missed the Wednesday morning tour of U-boat pens in St Nazaire (in the rain), instead spending the time searching for a copy of an important cycling map I had managed to drop in the canal on the way from Roscoff.  Having successfully procured this at a useful bookshop, I rendezvoused with them in the afternoon at a refurbished warehouse on the Ile de Nantes.  Malo Bottani, a local student, gave us a very interesting talk about the area’s post-industrial development, referring to the different strategies and plans presented in the exhibition.  I liked the way that the plan for the area was intended to be continually evolving (avoiding a static plan which would become out of date), and that the designers in charge were changed every few years to encourage new influences and perspectives (the current design team was led by landscape architects).  That evening I watched Man United beat Paris Saint Germain with a controversial injury-time penalty, in a bar packed with locals.

On Thursday we met early to catch a ferry across to Trentmoult, a former fishing village on the south bank of the Loire.  We then walked to Cité Radieuse, one of Le Corbusier’s modernist buildings, dating from the 1950s.  We crowded into a lift and went to the roof, which was quite a height – the building is still one of the tallest in Nantes.  There was a nursery at one end with oddly shaped windows, and a narrow running track (never much used, admitted our guide) sunk into the concrete around the perimeter.  From one side there was a view over winding cul-de-sacs of detached houses, contrasting sharply with the high-density block.  Given Le Corbusier’s emphasis on light, the puzzle was how apartments looking east or west got light throughout the day; as we stood in the (deliberately) dark corridors, our guide revealed all: the apartments looked out both sides, with one floor running above or below the central ‘street’ corridor; it was very clever.  Inside the show flat, the quaint 1950s furniture was preserved.  There were rounded portholes for doors, which made one feel faintly sea-sick; most room and fixture dimensions were derived from the 182cm height of an idealised man. 

In the afternoon Patricia Saraux spoke to us about the WHO Healthy City.  In expressive French (translated by our learned professeurs) she described how both physical and mental health is important to enable people to take opportunities in life.  Patricia lamented the smoking of local young women in Nantes, which she blamed for their poor ranking on cancer league tables.  Beaming, however, she spoke about how horrible it had been made for cars to be driven into the centre of the city.  I reflected that their plans for shared spaces for cyclists and pedestrians could become problematic as they strove to increase cycling levels; echoing in my head I could hear John Parkin’s pronouncement, that cycle routes must be designed for speed.

In the evening we met in a bar at the top of the tallest building in Nantes, which offered stunning views, cocktails, and, arranged about the floor, giant lounging soft-toy birds (with children clambering over them) and broken-eggshell seating.  After some refreshment we repaired to a crepe restaurant, where I had a pomme gallette and shared a large flagon of cidre with my neighbouring diners.  Thence to a nightclub opposite, where I demonstrated my prowess at table football, had some excellent conversations about Bristol’s urban sustainability, and attempted some dancing, before quietly making my exit.

On the final day, Friday, we met at a tram stop near the castle. We went west to the Grande Bellevue estate, where Pauline Cottier and colleague gave us an open-air talk about urban renewal.  Many of the modernist, inward-facing 1950s blocks were boarded up and due for demolition, to make way for improved units, and they spoke of the importance of concentrating retail to ensure viable places were created.  The original design of the estate contributed to the area’s social problems, and Le Corbusier’s work (which we had viewed on Thursday) could be seen as influencing this somewhat inhuman design.  Stephen, however, noted that Le Corbusier cannot be completely blamed, as such estates were constructed at low-spec compared with what he would have prescribed.

Then we went our separate ways.  I retrieved my bike from the hotel car park, hitched up my bags, tightened my brakes, and began my 3-day journey – via Rennes and St. Malo – back to England.

Planning and the abyss…by Adam Sheppard

In the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) Journal this month (February 2019, Vol.88, No.2) there are two articles concerning planning education and the profession.  The first, by Gavin Parker and Emma Street, asks searching questions concerning planning competencies and the future implications for skills, professional bodies, planning education, training, and lifelong learning.  The second, by Hannah Hickman, Katie McClymont, and Adam Sheppard, considers the challenge of translating the motivations and aspirations of planning students into current practice realities today.  Both articles, alongside the outputs of other authors, practitioners, and academics in recent years, point to a wider narrative of challenge for planning today, and planning in the future. The current challenges facing an evolving profession and industry are far reaching and pose interesting questions; in the extreme, is planning staring into an abyss?

A colleague recently emailed me during an exchange on this subject and simply said ‘planning is dead’. On a personal level it is interesting to reflect on how friends and colleagues, many of whom have devoted much of their life to positively and passionately furthering planning thought and the aims and ambitions of the profession, could hold such a view. I will also admit to feeling, at the very least, ‘frustration’ concerning the state of the industry and the lack of effective action to address ongoing challenges. It is easy to slip into the mire with only a few selected examples in relation to the system itself:

• Localism, a noble venture with enormous potential, finds itself frequently under-resourced and creating a stark new reality of planning; how does one operate effectively in a local authority area with 50 or 100 Neighbourhood Plans?  And how will that picture look in 10 or 20 years’ time?
• The use of Prior Approval, particularly in relation to residential conversions, creates a scenario where developments with significant issues such that they would otherwise struggle to achieve permission by virtue of everything from design quality to locational factors, are able to bypass due process in the interests of the ‘greater goal’ of housing numbers delivery.  I for one struggle greatly, not only with the high cost that is accepted here, but also with the worrying signals for the future of the regulatory construct.
• The 5 year housing land supply requirement is easy to rationalise too, but the challenge of meeting it, and the stark reality for local authority areas without it, creates a further environment of challenge.

The list goes on.  And with it comes frustration, despair, and sadness for all of us who believe so strongly in a profession with such potential to be constructive, positive, creative, innovative, impactful, just, equitable, progressive, and inclusive.  How can planning address the current local, national, and global challenges in such a context? Particularly with the added dimension of ongoing austerity. It is easy to regress into process, into conflict, and indeed into despair and perhaps even apathy. The current discussions concerning the future of planning, including notably the TCPA Raynsford Review (https://www.tcpa.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=30864427-d8dc-4b0b-88ed-c6e0f08c0edd), are therefore critical. These are zeitgeist discussions of great importance. Now is the time to shout loudly, to challenge the status quo, to question, to push back. To quote the late Bull Pullman in the blockbuster ‘Independence Day’, presumably referencing Dylan Thomas, “We will not go quietly into the night”.