October 01st 2020
Zoning - Delivering Positive Outcomes
EVENT DOWNLOADS
Please login to view and download the event resources.
The recent White Paper - ‘Planning for the Future’ sets out a number of radical reforms to UK Planning and proposes a system which will be easier for the public to access, that will transform the way communities are shaped and that will build the homes the country needs. In a series of three webinars we will be exploring the pros and cons of what has been proposed, focusing on three key elements; Zoning, Community Engagement and Planning Gain Process.
In our first webinar we will be examining Zoning. Under the new system, local authorities will be required to develop stripped back local plans zoning all land in their areas for “growth”, “renewal” or “protection”. Areas that are zoned for growth will accommodate “substantial development” and will benefit from outline permission, but this said developers will still need to secure reserved matters permission in accordance with locally drawn up design codes - councils will not however be able to debate the principle of the scheme. Inevitably there are those in both public and private sector camps, who see these changes as a threat and who are concerned about the impacts of the new regime.
We have assembled what can only be described as an authoritative panel of contributors for our first session, including Anita Laremont who heads up planning in New York, a city that has embraced a zonal system. Anita will be able to tell us first-hand how things work in practice, in a world city similar to London’s characteristics. Heather Cheesbrough who leads on planning for Croydon, one of London’s most dynamic Boroughs, will give a local authority perspective, Mike Kiely who chairs the Planning Officers Society, who has worked across a number of local authorities and often advises MHCLG, will certainly have a well-informed view and David Lunts will be able to talk about the proposed changes from a pan London perspective. The session will be moderated by Faraz Baber a planner and an accomplished chairperson!
EVENT SPEAKERS
David Lunts
Chief Executive Officer
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation
David Lunts was appointed as the permanent Chief Executive Officer of Old Oak and Park Royal Development in January 2021.
He had previously been the interim Chief Executive Officer for OPDC since February 2019, and combined his work on London’s largest Opportunity Area with his duties as Executive Director of Housing and Land for the Greater London Authority.
Between 2009-2012 David led as the Executive Director for London at the Homes and Communities Agency. His earlier career included three years at the GLA as Executive Director of Policy and Partnerships under Ken Livingstone, a leading role in housing and regeneration with Manchester City Council during the 1980s and early 90s and a three-year spell as director of Urban Policy for John Prescott at the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Anita Laremont
Executive Director
New York City Department of City Planning
Anita Laremont currently serves as Executive Director and Chief Analytical Officer of the Department of City Planning. Before taking on this role Anita served as the General Counsel of City Planning for (4) years.
Prior to joining City Planning, she was a partner in the law firm of Harris Beach PLLC, where she had a real estate and land use law and government agency practice.
Before joining Harris Beach, Anita served for more than sixteen (16) years as General Counsel of Empire State Development Corporation, New York State’s primary economic development entity, where she was involved with numerous large-scale land-use projects, including the 42nd Street Development Project, Queens West, Hudson River Park, Governors Island, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Atlantic Yards and Columbia Manhattanville.
She is a magna cum laude graduate of Mount Holyoke College, and is a graduate of the New York University School of Law, where she was a Root Tilden Scholar.
Mike Kiely
Chair
Planning Officers Society
Mike is a chartered town planner and MBA qualified manager with over 40 years’ experience in local government, most of that in London and 14 years at service head level and above. He is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, formerly president of the Planning Officers Society and now chair of its Board. Mike works closely with government and across the sector to shape planning in England. In 2015 he set up his consultancy, Mike Kiely planning + regeneration, to specialise in assisting local authorities to perform better and be more effective. His extensive experience in successfully delivering major planning and regeneration projects means he can add value over and above the chief planning officer role, constructively challenging accepted thinking and proposing innovative solutions.
Heather Cheesbrough
Director of Planning and Strategic Transport
London Borough of Croydon
Heather is a landscape architect and town planner, specialising in spatial planning, urban design, public realm, masterplanning and regeneration. She has nearly 30 years’ experience of working in the public and private sectors, consisting of five London boroughs and a district authority and the urban design consultancies Urban Initiatives and EDAW/AECOM. Her present position is at London Borough of Croydon where she is Director of Planning and Strategic Transport.
Her work focuses on collaboration and partnership of communities, developers and key stakeholders to create high quality places and buildings through exploring different viewpoints and drivers and facilitating honest conversations around the art of the possible. The use of technology and innovative engagement techniques is an area of particular interest so that young people and other hard to reach groups can take part in shaping their environment.
She has brought forward and prepared several Local Plans and Planning documents, as well as worked on the delivery of a range of recent developments to include the mixed use High Street Quarter in Hounslow, Brentford and Hounslow town centre public realm improvements, Whitgift shopping centre redevelopment, Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme, - part of the Brighton Mainline Upgrade project. She has also led the preparation of sustainable transport strategies, including Liveable Neighbourhood schemes and a tram strategy .During her time at Westminster City Council, she was responsible for public art and facilitated a project with Artangel to bring the international multimedia artist Tony Oursler to Soho Square.
Faraz Baber
Operations Director - Midlands & South East
RPS
Faraz Baber is the Operations Director for Planning at RPS Group covering London, South East, Midlands and the North of England. RPS was founded in 1970 and is a leading global professional services firm which employs c. 5,500 staff. Faraz is a dual qualified chartered town planner and chartered surveyor; he currently serves as a member of the British Property Federation’s Planning Committee and, as the former chair of the RICS Planning Policy Panel, he also advises RICS on current planning policy issues. His specific areas of planning reform interest and expertise include the evolution of Community Infrastructure Levy and more recently helping to provide technical input into the proposals for an Infrastructure Levy.
Faraz provides both strategic and technical expertise to planning projects and over the duration of his career, he has successfully worked on a wide and varied caseload of large and complex schemes across England.
Chairperson: Faraz Baber, Director, Terence O'Rourke
Event sponsored by
