Policy and determining planning applications
The level of “weight” that can be attached to the emerging Local Plan varies from policy to policy. However, the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) states that decision-takers may give weight to relevant policies in emerging plans according to:
•the stage of preparation of the emerging plan (the more advanced the preparation, the greater the weight that may be given);
•the extent to which there are unresolved objections to relevant policies (the less significant the unresolved objections, the greater the weight that may be given); and
•the degree of consistency of the relevant policies in the emerging plan to the policies in this Framework (the closer the policies in the emerging plan are to the policies in the Framework, the greater the weight that may be given).
As the emerging Local Plan is now at Publication stage, following four rounds of consultations it is considered that significant weight can now be given to these emerging policies. A six week consultation will take place later this year in regards to the ‘soundness’ of the Local Plan.
Planning policies in the adopted Local Plan (As Altered October 2005) are considered against the Framework for compliance. Greater weight is attached to an adopted policy where it is in accordance with the Framework. This is undertaken on a case by case basis for each application. Appendix 1 of the emerging Local Plan lists all of the policies in the adopted plan and sets out whether they are to be replaced by an emerging policy, the Framework or are no longer needed.
Will I receive an individual response to my comments submitted during the Local Plan Publication version consultation?
Will I receive an individual response to my comments submitted during the Local Plan Publication version consultation?
All comments received by the Council will be acknowledged and a summary of each comment will be published online. Due to the numbers of responses likely to be received and the resources to hand, it will not be possible to provide an individual response to each of them. Similar comments will be grouped together and a combined response provided. That way, every comment will be considered and the Council will produce a Responses Report following the consultation which will be available to view on the Council website.
Housing
The findings of the original SHMA and Addendums 1 and 2 have been incorporated into the Housing Requirement Paper 2015 which sets out the Council’s housing requirement figure. The Housing Requirement Paper also considers the local economy, market signals and the need for affordable housing. It concludes that a figure of 370 dwellings per annum will meet Fylde’s objectively assessed need to 2032.
In order to significantly boost the supply of housing, the Framework requires local planning authorities’ to identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years’ worth of housing against their housing requirement.
The Framework requires housing applications to be considered in the context of the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Relevant policies for the supply of housing will not be considered up-to-date if the local planning authority cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites.
The Council’s latest supply statement, at a base date of 31st March 2016, is equivalent to 4.8 years supply. The Council’s latest Five Year Housing Supply Statement is available to view.
Timetable
Fylde Council decided to produce a single plan on 26 November 2014, a revised timetable for the completion of the Local Plan is available below:
• Consultation on Publication version – August to September 2016
• Submission – December 2016
• Examination in Public (EiP) – Stage 1 – March 2017 and Stage 2 – May 2017
• Adoption by Fylde Council – late Summer 2017
The Publication version document represents an important step in the preparation of the new Local Plan for Fylde. The document has been prepared following the results of previous public consultations on the Local Plan Issues, Vision & Objectives, Issues and Options (2012), the Preferred Option (2013) and the Revised Preferred Option (RPO, 2015) versions and the information provided by the Council’s evidence base, including the recommendations of previous technical assessments. It also takes account of changes to Government policy for example the emerging Housing & Planning Act 2016 and evidence based updates.
Following the decision taken by Development Management Committee on 15 June 2016 the draft Publication version document will be subject to the following technical assessments: Sustainability Appraisal, Habitats Regulations Assessment, Health Impact Assessment, Rural Proofing Assessment and Viability Assessment. The Technical Assessments will be available throughout the six week consultation into the ‘soundness’ of the Local Plan.
The Planning Inspectorate has recommended that the Council prepares responses to all of the representations, that it receives during the Publication consultation, and proposes recommendations for change wherever necessary, prior to submitting the Local Plan to the Secretary of State. The Planning Inspector, who will be appointed by the Secretary of State, will examine the Local Plan and assess whether the plan has been prepared in accordance with the Duty to Cooperate, legal and procedural requirements and whether it is ‘sound’ – namely that it is:
• Positively prepared – the Local Plan should be prepared based on a strategy which seeks to meet objectively assessed development and infrastructure requirements, including unmet requirements from neighbouring authorities where it is reasonable to do so and consistent with achieving sustainable development;
• Justified – the Local Plan should be the most appropriate strategy, when considered against the reasonable alternatives, based on proportionate evidence;
• Effective – the Local Plan should be deliverable over its period based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic priorities; and
• Consistent with national policy – the Local Plan should enable the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the Framework.
Your contact details can be added to the Planning Policy consultation database, which includes persons and organisations interested in matters relating to plan making who wish to be notified of relevant future consultations and events. Please contact the Planning Policy team with your details on 01253 658418 or via email: planningpolicy@fylde.gov.uk. Communication will be sent via email notification and hard copy correspondence will only be sent if you do not have access to an email address.
CIL/Viability
The Council has appointed Keppie Massie to undertake an assessment of the viability of the emerging Local Plan and also to prepare a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule. Their work will ensure that development is not subject to such a burden of policy requirements as to render it unviable and to prevent the delivery of the Plan’s objectives.
The preliminary draft Charging Schedule will be consulted upon at the same time as the consultation on the Publication version Local Plan.
Evidence
No, an update to the Fylde Coast Retail Study 2011, was produced in 2014.
A joint Strategic Housing Market Assessment for Fylde, Wyre and Blackpool Council was produced in 2014. Since this initial assessment two further addendums have been undertaken, Addendum 1 was produced in October 2014 and Addendum 2 was produced in May 2015.
Neighbourhood planning
Neighbourhood Planning is a vital part of the Government’s plans to help local communities play a much stronger role in the shaping of their area. For the first time, local people can create a plan that allows them to develop planning policies that reflect the priorities of their area and have real legal weight.
Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDP) are produced by either town/parish Councils or an approved Neighbourhood Forum. Neighbourhood Development Plans cannot be produced in order to prevent development and once adopted the NDP will form part of the overall Development Plan for Fylde Borough Council.
Other
Some proposed developments can only be made acceptable in planning terms if the developer enters into an agreement to do or not do something on the land, or to provide some community benefit that the proposed development makes necessary. This may include affordable housing, community facilities, highways and street works.
An agreement of this kind is called a planning obligation, or Section 106 agreement (named after section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990). Further information including model agreements can be viewed here.
