The Planning Policy team:
* provides planning policy advice to the
Council and its customers
* prepares the District-wide Local Plan
* prepares development briefs for specific
sites including details on landscaping, access, layout and design. It
prepares non-statutory planning guidance on planning issues such as
telecommunications, designing out crime, planning for people with disabilities.
* monitors the impact of planning policies to see if they
are achieving their objectives or to see whether there is a need for review
* carries out research on planning matters - this makes
sure the policies are up to date and justified by relevant survey information
eg. shopping study, farming study
* maintains up to date databases through reviews of the
availability of land for housing, employment, shopping, open space and
community facilities
* comments on Government Guidance (Planning Policy Guidance
Notes, Circulars), Regional Planning Guidance and the County Council's
Structure Plan, other councils' local plans
The Council has carried out its second Urban Capacity Study which was
published on 6 December 2003. This revises an earlier version of the Study (Jan
2002).
Government Guidance sets out the Government's commitment to more
sustainable patterns of developemnt. Guidance requires all local planning
authorities to establish how much additional housing can be accommodated within
their settlements and therefore how much greenfield land may be needed for
development. In particular, the study should assess the likely future windfall
potential.
The latest study was published as a background paper for the last Local
Plan Inquiry.
Potential large scale windfall housing sites of 10 or more dwellings are now
dentified on maps and included in the revised Study. An assessment has been be
made of the housing potential resulting from the development of rear
gardens.
The aim is to ensure that maximum allowance is made in Local Plan (or in the
Local Development Framework) for development from brownfield sites and thereby
reduce the need to release greenfield sites.
The urban capacity work looked at a range of density options between 30 - 60
dwellings per hectare. Higher densities may reduce the need for greenfield
sites in the Second Review Local Plan. The density for individual sites however
will depend on the character of the site and the surrounding area and therefore
design will be of paramount importance. In some of the villages the potential
for new housing is mainly from infilling and the character of the area, in many
cases, would be adversely affected if high density development occurred.
An update on the urban capacity study or (housing potential study) will be
prepared during 2006/2007.