On Tuesday 25th June 2013 we ran a treasure hunt around Manchester as part of the RIBA's Love Architecture festival. 

We had teams from Women In Property, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Trafford Housing Trust and Renaissance.

It was awesome! The teams came back buzzing, apart from one team which didn't quite make it back! Twitter was hot with activity on the hashtag #spgtreasurehunt which then in turn spread the word. 

The stories emanating from the event have been hysterical - finding Kerry Scott's and Ivan Bradley's business cards proved challenging. They were both hosting events, one at the Deansgate and one at the Britons Protection. Clues were given out on twitter and the treasure hunters gave both of their events a real buzz! 

From the scavenger hunt we were brought: gold coins, buns, cards, a parrot, a Lego construction set and a spouse.

This is the second treasure hunt I've run and I've since been asked to run another one for one of our teams!

Thanks so much to Naylor and Walkden for their sponsorship 

Twitter clue no 1: where am I?

The first challenge was for individuals to join their teams. Some teams came ready formed others were put together, which gave fantastic networking opportunities.

Some sensible teams spent time strategising!

Scavenger hunt item 6: a picture of the full team in front of the pebble

Scavenger hunt item 7: a picture of half the team under the Chinese arch

Scavenger hunt item 9: a picture of the full team in a phone box

The 'Wip'ets were the winning team, were delighted with their Urban Splash books.

Tuesday 25th June 2013, 5.30pm – 9.30pm, The Hub, Portland Street, Manchester

For just £10.00 per head, you too could unlock Manchester’s Architectural Past, Present and Future. Provided you can decipher the cryptic clues of course…

Organised by the Architects Solo Practitioners Group as part of the region’s RIBA Love Architectural festival, the tour promises to be both fascinating and fun – with drinks, nibbles and networking along the way.

As it's the Housing Conference there may be some housing surprises too!

Individuals and teams of 6 are welcome. Prebook your place and join us in this challenge to discover the city´s architectural treasures.

My grandpa has been one of my strongest influences. As the eldest grandchild, I was  responsible for the younger ones, always the first to be asked to sing songs, ask the four questions and speak at family events.

Grandpa was a prolific builder and built a large quantity of housing after the war under the name of Bower Moffatt.

So when he was building his second house in the Isle of Man, he got me involved at the tender age of 5, explaining the model to me and even getting me to help with foundations!

As I pursued my architectural education, Grandpa was a sounding board. And he watched me, always testing me, as I developed my career 

Now, nearing 90, with early dementia, his memory is fading, and physically less able. I was delighted last week to take him on a trip to my projects that are on site, to deliver RIBA signboards to residential sites in Sale, Didsbury and Heaton Mersey and to a commercial project in Irlam.

Seeing the joy and pride in his face almost makes it worthwhile being an architect ;)

by Chris Sinton, How Planning

An Overview
Last week, new Permitted Development rules, set out in the Town and Country
Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2013, come
into effect which will enable, amongst other provisions, the change of use from
offices B1(a) to residential (C3) without the need to obtain planning
permission. 

The purpose of the changes is to allow the conversion of ‘underused’ and
‘outdated’ office buildings to create houses for local residents. The Government
also hopes that the changes will create new jobs, regenerate town centres and
former commercial areas, and increase the vitality of town centres.
Requirements

In order to be classified as Permitted Development under Class J of the Order, the office building must have been in B1 (a) use before 30th May 2013 or if immediately vacant it must have been used for offices as its last use. The permitted development also only applies to internal works undertaken within 3 years.

All proposed changes will be subject to a ‘tightly drawn’ prior approval
process covering:

a) Transport and highways impacts;
b) Contamination risks; and
c) Flooding risks.

This process will require the developer to submit a ‘prior approval’
application, together with any fee required to be paid, comprising a written
description of the proposed development, a site plan, and the developers contact
details.

Should the LPA consider that the proposed change of use would have a
material impact on highways or flood risk they can consult with the appropriate
statutory consultee (i.e. Local Highways Authority/ Environment Agency). The LPA
can also request that additional information is submitted regarding highways,
contamination and flood impacts “as may be reasonably required” in order to
determine the application.  Additional information required may include
impact statements, including mitigation measures, as appropriate.


Timescales
In terms of timescales the LPA must provide notification as to whether prior
approval is given or refused within a period of 56 days following which time the
developer may commence works regardless.


Exemptions
The Permitted Development changes will not apply to Listed Buildings or
buildings located within Local Authority areas exempt from the changes.

On 9th May the Government published a list of 17 Local Authorities which had
secured an exemption from the changes having demonstrated that the Permitted
Development rights would lead to “loss of nationally significant areas of
economic activity” or “substantial adverse economic consequences at the Local
Authority Level which are not offset by the positive benefits the new rights
would bring”.

Manchester City Council secured the only exemption outside of the south for
two separate areas within the City Centre Core with a combined area of
1.19ha.


Commentary
On the face of it the Permitted Development amendments appear to be a
positive step aimed at reducing planning ‘red tape’ and encouraging the reuse of
redundant office buildings.


Indeed, for developers needing to make only minor internal alterations to
existing buildings the new permitted development should be positively welcomed
as the financial implications of conversion will be greatly reduced. Of
particular note is that the permitted change of use would not be subject to
Development Plan Policies and no conditions can be imposed by the LPA. Moreover
there would be no requirement for s106 obligations, namely affordable housing
contributions, although conversions may still be liable to pay Community
Infrastructure Levy. The changes could therefore facilitate developments which
were not previously viable. 

In addition the benefit of these changes may also be felt in rural areas
where a proportion of offices are housed in converted former agricultural
buildings. Within these areas there is a marked difference between commercial
and residential property values which could provide opportunities for higher
value development.

However it is considered that these benefits could be of limited benefit for
two principal reasons.

The prior approval process may prove to be challenging to negotiate despite
the Government stating its intention to limit opportunities for LPA’s to slow
the process. This may be especially true in areas where there is strong
opposition to the conversion of office buildings.

The second key issue is that the majority of residential conversions will
require some degree of external alterations to meet Building Regulation
standards which would require a planning application to be submitted.

In any event given these challenges it is likely that the uptake of the
amended permitted development rights may be limited although for developers who
are in a position to implement the changes the financial gains could be
significant.

For further information, please contact Chris Sinton or your usual HOW
contact.

Chris Sinton
T: 0161 831 5872
E: Christopher.sinton@howplanning.com