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CDC Local Plan paper will be ready for public consultation in early June
Release Date: May 10, 2013
Cotswold District Council’s Cabinet has given the go-ahead for a round of public consultation regarding proposed development across the district until 2031. Meeting on Thursday 9 May, the Cabinet discussed the emerging Local Plan’s proposed district-wide housing requirement, preferred development strategy and plans for a strategic development site south of Chesterton. They agreed that the public should now have their say on the proposals over a six-week period which will begin during the week commencing on Monday 3 June.
The Council will be issuing a consultation paper which will set out strategies for the 17 settlements in the district which are assessed as being most able to accommodate new housing requirements. The paper will also address issues such as access to services and facilities, transport and commuting issues, demographic changes, and matters related to the local economy. A link to the consultation paper will soon be placed on the Council’s website www.cotswold.gov.uk/go/ForwardPlanning and anyone will be able to submit comments once they have registered. The document will also be downloadable and hard copies will be available for viewing at libraries across the district and at the CDC offices in Trinity Road, Cirencester and the Moreton Area Centre, Moreton-in-Marsh. Those who do not wish to provide comments online will be able to email comments to localplan@cotswold.gov.uk or send written comments to: Local Plan Consultation, Forward Planning Team, Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX. The deadline for all comments will be 5 pm on Friday 19 July.
On the housing front, it is expected that attention will be focused on the Chesterton area south of Cirencester, where there are plans to phase in up to 2,500 new homes over the period to 2031. Residents currently living in that area will be receiving a special leaflet delivered directly to their homes, highlighting the reasons for developing the area. There will also be a series of facilitated community workshops across the district during the Autumn of 2013.
The results of the June/July 2013 public consultation and the findings of the community workshops will be used to prepare a full draft version of the Local Plan.
Commenting on the forthcoming round of consultation, Cllr Nick Parsons the Cabinet Member responsible for the Local Plan, said:
“CDC has taken action to speed up the adoption of its new planning policies by compressing several of the stages required by law into a single comprehensive local plan, and this is one of the major consultation phases. We have spent a considerable amount of time gathering and evaluating the evidence we need to move forward with confidence, and we believe that we should be able to submit the Local Plan for final approval by early 2015.
“While I appreciate that many Cotswold residents, including elected Members of the District Council, will take issue with the total housing requirement for the district that is shown in the document, the council has no choice other than to comply with recent appeal decisions which have effectively imposed the figure, despite government assurances that it would be for local people to decide on local issues. Under the current rules our hands are tied on this issue. Otherwise, we look forward to engaging with the public and interested parties on what is proposed.”
The timetable for the Plan is as follows:
Week beginning 3 June 2013 – 19 July 2013 – public consultation on district housing requirement and proposed distribution of housing
October – December 2013 – facilitated events to brief parishes on potential site allocations, including a strategic site south of Chesterton.
March – May 2014 – public consultation on local plan, including development strategy, site allocations and development management policies
October – November 2014 – public consultation on pre-submission version of local plan
March 2015 – submission of local plan for independent examination and approval
Search for potential housing, employment and other commercial use land in Cotswolds
Residents, landowners, agents and parish councils have until 30 May 2013 to put forward any land or buildings in Cotswold District that they believe have the potential to meet future housing, employment, retail or other commercial need.
This ‘call for potential sites’ is part of a process being undertaken by the District Council to prepare for the replacement of its Local Plan. The new plan – which has a target date of 2015 - will determine how and where the District’s future development needs will be met until the year 2031. The council wants to identify as many potential sites as possible and will be assessing all submissions they receive.
Chris Vickery, Forward Planning Manager at CDC, said:
“The assessment of potential sites will form an important source of evidence for our Local Plan. However, I must make it clear that – at this stage - this won’t necessarily determine whether a site would finally be allocated for development, nor will the information be used as a material consideration when deciding planning applications.”
Anyone wishing to put forward potential sites should submit a brief description, together with ownership and contact details, and a map (preferably 1:1250 scale) with the site clearly marked on it, to:
Forward Planning Team,
Cotswold District Council,
Trinity Road,
Cirencester,
GL71PX.
Suggestions can also be emailed to lesley.davies@cotswold.gov.uk
The deadline for submissions is Thursday 30 May 2013.
Switching from a Core Strategy to a comprehensive Local Plan
Like all local authorities, Cotswold District Council must develop a forward-looking Local Plan which will help shape communities and, crucially, serve as a blueprint for the future use of land, taking account of local needs. The Plan will cover the period 2011 to 2031 and its policies will be used to control development and guide most day-to-day planning decisions. Over the last few years, work was been carried out to develop a LDF -style Core Strategy, including the collation of diverse data and the commissioning of several studies and reports. Once approved, this would have formed the basis to develop more detailed documents dealing with planning policies and site allocations.
However, the Council has now taken action to speed up the adoption of its detailed planning policies by producing a single comprehensive Local Plan rather than a portfolio of documents led by a Core Strategy. The aim now is to submit a single comprehensive Local Plan for examination in March 2015.
The Localism Act 2011 outlines the duty to co-operate in relation to planning of sustainable development. It outlines that local planning authorities should work collaboratively with other bodies to ensure that strategic priorities across local boundaries are properly coordinated and clearly reflected in individual Local Plans. A record of discussion and correspondence with partners regarding our duty to co-operate can be found in the following table of actions.
Annual Monitoring Report December 2012
The most recent Annual Monitoring Report is available to view.
The Cotswold Economy Study 2012
The final version is now available to view. This Study is intended to inform policies on employment and retail space within the emerging Local Plan Core Strategy. Please click on the link above to view the document.
The 2012 Review of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) is now available to view. The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) is a technical study which all local planning authorities are required to prepare. Whilst the SHLAA is an important evidence source to inform plan-making, it does not in itself determine whether a site should be allocated for housing development. The SHLAA assesses land and its potential and informs the development of future local planning policy.
The Infrastructure Delivery Plan
Arup has been appointed by a partnership of the District Councils in Gloucestershire to prepare their Infrastructure Delivery Plans.
The objective of the study is to assess the transport, utilities, community and green infrastructure and services that will be required to support the levels of housing and employment growth set out in the emerging local plan documents. In Cotswold District this is the Local Plan to 2031.
A draft IDP for Cotswold District will be published in May 2013 and will be updated at further stages of the Local Plan to take account of consultation comments and updates provided by the organizations responsible for the provision of infrastructure.
Community Infrastructure Levy
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) enables Local Planning Authorities to raise funds from developers, when undertaking new projects in their area, in order to fund a wide range of infrastructure that is needed as a result of development. The CIL is a tariff based approach, set out in a Charging Schedule, which sets out how much developers would be expected to contribute towards infrastructure. For more information, please refer to the latest DCLG Guidance.
In order to set a Charging Schedule, Cotswold District Council would need to use the infrastructure planning that underpins the Core Strategy. Work on this - the Cotswold Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP), is underway. Once sufficient evidence has been gathered through the IDP process, work on producing the CIL charging schedule can commence. If you feel you can contribute constructively to the CIL process, please contact the LDF team on 01285 623 000 or at LDF@Cotswold.gov.uk
All the Informal Guidance that has been produced to set out, assist and/or note additional requirements when determining planning applications can be viewed from the above link.
Informal Guidance on Agricultural/Occupational Dwellings in the Countryside
Informal Guidance has been produced setting out the tests that need to be met for agricultural / occupational dwellings. This is essentially Annex A of the now cancelled PPS7. Please click on the link above to view the document.
For information on Neighbourhood Planning, or to log a community's interest in developing a plan, please follow the above link.
Available to view is the following:
Employment Land Monitor (ELM) April 2012
5 Year Housing Land Supply Update:
This document (and appendix) demonstrates that Cotswold District Council has 5.3 years supply of deliverable housing sites for the period 1st April 2012 to 31st March 2017.
Residential land availability statistics:
The most recent Residential Land Availability Statisitics (RLA) from 1st April 2011 to 31st March 2012 is available to view.
Interim Housing Guidance Note:
PPS3 (Housing) requires planning applications to be considered favourably when there is a shortfall in the five year housing land supply .
The Interim Housing Guidance Note provides criteria for the Council to consider when determining planning applications for housing development when there is a shortfall in the five year housing land supply, or when the supply position is marginal. The aim of the Guidance Note is that, irrespective of timing, the principle of seeking to ensure that the right development occurs in the right place, is upheld.
The Note was approved by Council on 12th August 2011. It may be amended or revoked whenever deemed to be appropriate
Housing Evidence Review
The Gloucestershire Housing Evidence Review is a research exercise which will investigate the housing market in Gloucestershire and its relationship to the nature of the local population, the local economy and the presence of ‘housing need’. The Review will examine key relationships and patterns of change in the recent past, and will also allow forecasts of the future. Please click on the link above to view more detail on this project.
Housing Trend Analysis The 'Housing Trend Analysis and Population and Household Projections' study is commissioned by Gloucestershire County and Districts planning authorities. The findings of the study will feed into the wider Gloucestershire Housing Evidence Review (see above). Please click on the link above to view the study.
Statement of Community Involvement (SCI):
In May 2010, some minor changes were made to section 13 of the Statement of Community Involvement. These were made in order to bring the document up-to-date and to correct one or two errors.
The following document is the latest version of the SCI, incorporating the changes referred to above:
Informal policy position with regard to renewable energy production
At the Cabinet meeting held on 19th March, Cotswold District Council approved an informal policy position with regard to renewable energy production. This is broadly in line with the 'Merton Rule' and the guidelines set out in the Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1: Planning and Climate Change. (Please click on the link above to view).
Saved Local Plan policies
The majority of the Local Plan's policies have been saved indefinitely (or until they are superseded by Local Development Documents). Please click on the link above to view those 14 policies that the Secretary of State directed will not be saved and the Direction Schedule, which sets out the decision, which took effect from 25 April 2009.
Cirencester Town Centre SPD
The SPD was adopted by CDC on 25 November 2008.
CONTACTS
Planning (Forward Planning)
Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1PX
Telephone: 01285 623 000