England round-up: Metro mayors call for government housing support; Khan and L&Q agree £500m for Barking Riverside

Study on reopening of Lancashire-North Yorkshire rail link announced

Transport secretary Chris Grayling has launched a study into the potential reopening of a 12-mile route between Lancashire and North Yorkshire.

The Planner

Metro mayors call for government housing support

England’s metro mayors have come together to call on the government for further investment and devolution for each of their city-regions.

The Planner

Construction growth sees a slowdown in January

The value of construction contracts awarded in January 2018 was £5.4 billion, 10.6 per cent lower compared with a year earlier.

The Planner

Khan and L&Q agree £500m for Barking Riverside

A regeneration project in East London will receive £500 million that will go towards providing transport links, parkland and other community amenities.

The Planner

Liverpool sets out plan to save World Heritage status

Liverpool City Council, alongside the government and Historic England, has drafted plans to help to persuade UNESCO to remove the city from the ‘in danger’ of losing its heritage status list.

The Planner

Fresh plea to reroute HS2 construction traffic

Villagers in Woore, near Market Drayton, say the traffic, which will see 500 lorries a day travel through the Shropshire countryside, will have a huge impact.

Shropshire Star

Plans to build 350 new homes move forward

Two sets of plans that could together bring about the construction of more than 350 new houses in the East Riding are set to move forward following positive decisions at the council's latest planning committee meeting.

Insider Media

Subway store to be torn down due to failure to get permission

A company that owns the building of a Subway store has been told it must demolish it after failing to get planning permission.

Derby Telegraph

Transport secretary wins injunction to stop HS2 protesters 

Chris Grayling has been granted an injunction banning campaigners opposed to the construction of the HS2 line on an area of ancient woodland in West London from ‘unlawful protest’ on the site.

The Guardian

May refuses calls to give transport bosses in North same powers as London counterparts

Prime Minister Theresa May has refused to back calls for transport bosses in the North to be given the same powers as their London counterparts, in a bid to deliver £70bn of road and rail improvements and close the yawning divide between Yorkshire’s transport infrastructure and the capital.

Yorkshire Post

Demolition of illegal building in Bath 

Demolition of a two-storey building at Folly Lane, Stowey, has begun in an ‘unprecedented’ enforcement action by the council’s planning team.

Bath Chronicle

Alarm bells at buying homes at new build estates

A homeowner in Buckshaw Village has urged buyers to be wary of purchasing homes at new housing estates.

Lancashire Post

Chamber calls for local plan rethink

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has called for the reinstatement of a key strategic development site in Rugby, which was dropped from the borough council’s local plan at a late stage.

Insider Media

Employment land plan rejected

An outline application by Tanvale Holdings Ltd for the development of up to 17 acres of employment land has received the ‘thumbs down’ from East Hampshire District Council’s planning committee.

Alton Herald

£1m woodland fund on offer for landowners in HS2 corridor 

New grant funding has been announced, aiming to enable landowners with land or woodland within 25 miles of HS2 to establish new, or manage existing, plantations and ancient woodlands.

Farmers Weekly

First Elizabeth line train enters passenger service

The first Elizabeth line train has started passenger service between Liverpool Street and Shenfield on the TfL Rail route, following extensive testing and preparations.

Railway-Technology

Objectors lodge petition as opencast decision looms

Campaigners have presented secretary of state Sajid Javid with a petition of almost 20,000 names calling on him to reject the proposed Highthorn surface mine in Northumberland.

Northumberland Gazette

National Grid plans 350kW EV charge-point network

The National Grid has pitched a network of 50 electric vehicle-charging stations with a capacity of up to 350kW across England and Wales, along with a similar network in Scotland. 

Autocar

Online game to design play area

An online game to help design a new play area has been launched as part of an innovative consultation by Fareham Borough Council.

Fareham Borough Council

Air pollution survey launched by the Considerate Constructors Scheme

A survey by the Considerate Constructors Scheme has suggested an urgent need for greater awareness and understanding of air pollution across the construction industry.

Planning & Building Control Today

Plans to transform Folkestone garden centre approved

Plans for a derelict garden centre site in Folkestone have been given the green light by Shepway District Council.

Kent Live

Updated plans for major A2 improvements published 

A consultation into a proposed £125 million-pound upgrade for two busy junctions along the A2 in north Kent has begun.

UK Government