An inspector has upheld an enforcement notice directed against the siting of a marquee at an historic park in the Wirral green belt as a result of biodiversity concerns, concluding that it was not justified as enabling development.
The grade II listed house lay in grounds registered as an historic landscape. The inspector noted that the site's grade II* listing marked the garden's importance and the contribution of patron William Lever and garden designer Thomas Mawson to the development of 20th century landscape design. The marquee was used for weddings, anniversaries and charitable functions and was sited near a lake designated as a site of biological importance.
The inspector noted concerns about disturbance to herons during the breeding season, especially by fireworks, and the fact that their number had decreased. The appellant argued that the number of herons had declined due to a drop in fish stocks as the estate fell into disrepair over several decades. The local wildlife trust indicated that the heronry was likely to derive a small proportion of its food supply from the lake because herons fished all over south Wirral and never close to one another.
The inspector found the evidence on heron populations inconclusive. However, she was concerned that bats, owls and other birds could be disturbed by lights and noise from fireworks. She acknowledged that the appellant was proposing to take steps to increase the area's biodiversity but held that further clarity was needed because this depended on the funding available from the business as a whole. She was not satisfied that the site's wildlife interest would be adequately safeguarded.
The appellant accepted that the marquee constituted inappropriate development in the green belt but argued that it was enabling development to secure the refurbishment and maintenance of the house and gardens.
Without a comprehensive scheme for enabling development, however, the inspector found no very special circumstances that outweighed harm to the green belt and other interests.
Most of Britain's homeowners would never have dreamed that they could be paid for taking out a mortgage, but with the Bank of England preparing to cut borrowing costs to their lowest level ever, lenders may have to cope with zero interest rates.
If, as many analysts expect, the Bank of England cuts rates by a full percentage point to just 1%, those with loans that track a point below base rate will find themselves paying no interest. Several thousand who took out a two-year tracker in 2007 with Cheltenham & Gloucester, an arm of Lloyds TSB, set at 1.01 points below base rate will, in theory at least, be owed money.
While C&G does not have restrictions on the tracker product, it says it will not allow the interest rate to sink below 0%, citing documentation accompanying the mortgage which only mentions interest paid by the customer.
The Financial Services Authority has warned lenders about the fairness of their mortgages as interest rates plunged. Ray Boulger, of mortgage broker John Charcol, said the FSA's stance on the C&G product would be a test case which could affect hundreds of thousands more borrowers who have trackers set below the base rate.
A spokesman for the FSA said: "We do require firms to make their terms clear and unambiguous to the customer." By the end of next week, Lloyds is due to take over HBOS and in turn be 44% owned by the taxpayer. It can expect little sympathy from its new part-owner. One Whitehall source said: "If they've made a contract, they'll have to pay up."
The low interest rates pose challenges for the already embattled banking sector, eating into the profits banks can make on the difference between the savings rate paid to customers and the return they get on investing the funds.
C&G's dilemma is just the first of the tough decisions facing savers, consumers and policymakers. As the Bank nears what economists call "Zirp" - a zero interest-rate policy - the boundaries between monetary policy and fiscal policy, and the roles of the Bank and the Treasury, become blurred.
If the Bank moves, as many expect, to "quantitative easing" - increasing the amount of cash in circulation - it is likely to mean putting large amounts of taxpayers' money at risk, and that requires Alistair Darling's agreement.
In the United States, where the Federal Reserve has slashed borrowing costs to an unprecedented 0-0.25%, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is spending billions of dollars of public money buying up unwanted corporate debt.
Lying awake at night worrying about schools? You are not alone. If you want a brilliant education for your children but know the credit crunch has put independent schools out of reach, then the chances are that you are one of many eyeing up a grammar school and a house move. Applications for grammars are at a record high, and many parents are investing money in having their children coached for the dreaded 11-plus.
Evidence of this new anxiety is revealed on a specialist website called Moveme.com that helps people organise their house move – dealing with removal companies, utilities and surveyors. Its Migration Monitor shows that six of the 10 top-performing grammars in the country are also among the favourite destinations for people planning to move house. A coincidence? Hardly. Only recently the compilers of the Good Schools Guide said parents had been showing “manic” activity. “Parents have been tutoring their children like crazy for grammar schools as they can’t afford the long-term commitment of private schools,” said Sue Fieldman, the guide’s regional editor.
But there are chilling reminders, too, of how hard it is for children to get into grammar schools. When around 1,500 children turned up to be tested for 126 available places at Wallington County Grammar in Surrey, the police had to be called to keep order.
Across the board there are on average 10 applicants for every place. Robert McCartney, chairman of the National Grammar Schools Association, says this has been a record year for applications. In Kent alone the number has risen from 9,000 to 11,000.
“While living in close proximity to your preferred grammar will not influence the chances of your child securing a place,” says Jonathan Turpin, chief executive of Moveme.com, “an increasing number of parents appear to be hedging their bets – securing a family home within a convenient distance of their desired school.”
The top five areas, they found, were Chelmsford, Harrogate, Colchester, Kingston-upon-Thames and Reading.
Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS), has "warmly welcomed" the proposed design of the new Forth Bridge.
Scottish ministers gave the green light for the £2 billion road bridge across the Firth of Forth before Christmas. The bridge is a national planning priority for the Scottish Government.
Sebastian Tombs, A+DS chief executive said: “Transport Scotland’s design team are to be congratulated for the way on which they have embraced these opportunities and developed a design that shows great promise.
“The reduction in the necessary width of the bridge has led to the mono-tower design becoming a feasible option, and now more focused development of other aspects of the bridge’s design, such as the cables and deck can be developed in an integrated manner, with a view to creating an elegant and simple design.
“We are also pleased that the visual relationship between the new crossing and the existing two bridges demonstrates a logical advancement in engineering – three different bridges from different eras that could define an iconic image of Scotland.”
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Wedding marquee rejected due to threat of Wildlife disturbanceAn inspector has upheld an enforcement notice directed against the siting of a marquee at an historic park in the Wirral green belt as a result of biodiversity concerns, concluding that it was not justified as enabling development.More
Mortgage Lenders could owe us money
Most of Britain's homeowners would never have dreamed that they could be paid for taking out a mortgage, but with the Bank of England preparing to cut borrowing costs today to their lowest level ever, lenders may have to cope with zero interest rates.
Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS), has "warmly welcomed" the proposed design of the new Forth Bridge.
