Delivering the new planning agenda
1. Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
The Act came into force in September 2004 - it leads the:
Introduction of regional spatial strategies that will replace county structure plans
Introduction of Local Development Frameworks (LDF's)
2. Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS)
The role of regional planning is to provide the framework for the sustainable development of the region.
They must comply with Government Policy Planning Statements.
The RSS's fall in to a long-term policy framework up until 2020
3. Local Development Frameworks (LDF)
Rather than a single Local Plan, a Local Development Framework will be made up from a number of documents including the South East Plan and Waste and Minerals Local Plans.
LDF's will be made up from two main types of Local Development Document (LDD), these are:
Development Plan Documents; these are a number of policy documents that will replace the single local plan. The government has indicated that the types of documents that will make up the LDF will help to provide a more integrated plan and will move away from a development control checklist.
Supplementary Planning Documents; these will actually become part of the LDF and will carry more weight than SPG's. There will be a greater emphasis on stakeholder and community involvement and they will also contain a sustainability appraisal to help provide a more rigorous process of adoption.
4. Types of Development Plan Document
Core strategy - this sets the vision and strategy for the area. Ideally, It should be a shared vision with other strategies for the area, in particular, the Community Strategy.
SCI - this sets out the policy for involving the community in the different types of document that make up the LDF. It is almost a service level agreement with the community, the key thing is that it is a mandatory document and will be subject to independent examination.
Site Allocations Policy - Site-specific allocations, e.g. housing and employment land.
Area Action Plans - this is a new type of plan, which deals specifically with areas affected by change, areas needing regeneration or areas of conservation. It is also a tool to facilitate project working and regeneration.
DC Policies - the government discourage a DC checklist approach, instead they recommend a topic-based approach, e.g. protection of residential amenity, traffic issues, nature conservation, visual impact etc.
Proposals Map - more flexible approach than in the past, it will need to be updated as each new LDD is produced. So the challenge will be to ensure it can be updated within reasonable costs.
5. Role of the Changes
The changes will give improved flexibility, efficiency and certainty. Local Plans, by their nature, move as fast as the slowest policy. Therefore, the system will be expedited by;
Front loaded research and evidence base
Introducing genuine community involvement to reduce traditional confrontation played out at local plan inquiry.
A binding Inspector's report
Also, the concept of Spatial Planning will be introduced. Spatial Planning can be defined as going beyond physical land use planning to integrate policies for the development and use of land with other policies and programmes that have a spatial impact. e.g. ensuring that housing growth areas are integrated with education, health, physical infrastructure, zones effected by climate change, transport infrastructure.
Spatial Planning will aid in;
Creating greater emphasis on delivery through a core strategy document
Delivery of a broader remit involving other strategies on a spatial level such as; Tourism Strategy, Health, cultural and transport strategies.
Delivery of the Community Strategy.
Coordinating strategies to ensure that policy areas are joined up spatially so that the best use is made of land.
6. Community Involvement at the Heart of Planning
Government has emphasised the need for: Early engagement, giving people genuine influence over policy making rather than traditional tick box consultation
Need for continuous involvement and feedback
Need to engage with individuals and groups who do not normally get involved.
7. Positive Planning
New system emphasises partnership working, including work and consultation with the business sector - to deliver the policies, for example, site allocations.
Sites can no longer be allocated for delivering policies. There has to be realistic chance that there will be delivery in the life of the plan, through partners or identified funding, like the Area Investment Framework.
Area Action Plans are a practical means of delivering positive planning and should be prepared with the involvement of local people. This includes greater partnership working and more effective project working, including introduction of more effective compulsory purchase powers.
8. Monitoring & Review
An Annual Monitoring Reporting system will be introduced, a requirement of which will be to monitor performance against project plans but will also monitor how often policies are used and whether policies are successful in meeting their aims. This will enable the planning department to prioritise the review of documents.
Meeting the Housing Requirement will also be an important measure of success. There should be good links between the Community Strategy and the Local Development Framework monitoring
9. Sustainability at the heart of the new system
The new system will help to deliver the governments sustainable communities plan - balanced communities, good public realm, local jobs, good design, community involvement, good accessibility.
Recently published PPS1 emphasises four principles including: sustainable economy social inclusion prudent use of resources protection of the environment.
