Examination Report 2014
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Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals Telephone: 01324 696455 Fax: 01324 696444 E-mail: [email protected] Ron Gimby Regeneration and Planning Service Inverclyde Council Municipal Buildings Clyde Square Greenock PA15 1LY Our ref: LDP-350-1 11 June 2014 Dear Ron Gimby INVERCLYDE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (DEVELOPMENT PLANNING) (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2008 SUBMISSION OF THE REPORT OF THE EXAMINATION We refer to our appointment by the Scottish Ministers to conduct the examination of the above plan. Having satisfied ourselves that the authority’s consultation and engagement exercises conformed with their participation statement, our examination of the plan commenced on 01 January 2014. We have completed the examination, and now submit our report, enclosing one bound and one unbound copy. Before carrying out the examination into the issues raised in representations we carried out an assessment of the council’s conformity with its participation statement under Section 19(4) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended). We concluded that the council’s actions with regard to consultation and involvement of the public at large as respects the proposed plan had conformed with its statement. In our examination we considered the 27 issues arising from over 300 unresolved representations, which were identified by the authority. In each case we have taken account of the summaries of the representations and the responses, as prepared by the authority, the representations themselves and responses to further information requests. We have set out our conclusions and recommendations in relation to each issue in our report. The examination process also included a comprehensive series of unaccompanied site inspections and, for some issues we requested additional information from the authority and other parties. We did not require to hold any hearings or formal inquiries. Subject to the limited exceptions as set out in Section 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and in the Town and Country Planning (Grounds for Declining to Follow Recommendations) (Scotland) Regulations 2009, the authority is 4 The Courtyard, Callendar Business Park, Falkirk, FK1 1XR DX 557005 Falkirk www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk= www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning/Appeals abcdefghij abcde abc a now required to make the modifications to the plan as set out in our recommendations. The authority should also make any consequential modifications to the text or maps which arise from these modifications. Separately, the authority will require to make any necessary adjustments to the final environmental report and to the report on the appropriate assessment of the plan. A letter will be issued to all those who submitted representations to inform them that the examination has been completed and that the report has been submitted to the authority. It will advise them that the report is now available to view at the DPEA website at: http://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/CaseDetails.aspx?id=94351 and at the authority’s office at Inverclyde Council, Municipal Buildings, Clyde Square, Greenock PA15 1LY and that it will also be posted on the authority’s website at: http://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/Planning-and-the- Environment/Planning/Development%20Plan/Development%20Plan%20Review and a copy will be available for viewing in the following libraries: Central Library Gourock Library Inverkip and Wemyss Bay Library Kilmacolm Library South West Library Port Glasgow Library The Watt Library The Watt LibraryThe documents relating to the examination should be retained on the authority’s website for a period of six weeks following the adoption of the plan by the authority. It would also be helpful to know when the plan has been adopted and would appreciate being sent confirmation of this in due course. Stephen Hall Trevor Croft Richard Bowden REPORTER REPORTER REPORTER 4 The Courtyard, Callendar Business Park, Falkirk, FK1 1XR DX 557005 Falkirk www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk= www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning/Appeals abcdefghij abcde abc a Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals REPORT TO INVERCLYDE COUNCIL INVERCLYDE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN EXAMINATION Reporters: Mr Stephen Hall BA(Hons) BPI MRTPI Mr T A Croft BSc DipTRP ARSGS FRSA MRTPI Mr Richard Bowden BSc(Hons) M.Phil MRTPI Date of Report: 11 June 2014 CONTENTS Examination of Conformity with Participation Statement 1 Issue Page No 1. Climate Change 3 2. A Sustainable Spatial Strategy 6 3. Transport 14 4 Housing Development Strategy 19 5 Housing Land Supply and Residential Development Opportunities 29 6 Affordable Housing 42 7.1 Housing Sites in Proposed Plan - Kilmacolm & Quarrier’s Village 54 7.2 Housing Sites in Proposed Plan - Port Glasgow 63 7.3 Housing Sites in Proposed Plan – Greenock 67 7.4 Housing Sites in Proposed Plan - Gourock & Wemyss Bay 81 8 Smithy Brae, Kilmacolm 92 9.1 Housing Sites Not Included in the Proposed Plan: Milton Wood (Police 103 House Field site), Kilmacolm 9.2 Housing Sites Not Included in the Proposed Plan - Old Hall, off Quarry 111 Drive, Kilmacolm 9.3 Housing Sites Not Included in the Proposed Plan: The Plots, Port 118 Glasgow Road, Kilmacolm 9.4 Housing Sites Not Included in the Proposed Plan: Valley View Farm, 124 Dougliehill Road, by Port Glasgow 9.5 Housing Sites Not Included in the Proposed Plan: Urban Sites: Barr’s 132 Brae, Port Glasgow; Dunvegan Avenue, Gourock; fmr Kilmacolm Institute, The Cross, Kilmacolm; and Gillburn Road, Kilmacolm 10 Town Centres 139 11 Local Centres and Neighbourhood Shops 149 12 Environmental Designations 152 13 Green Network 154 14 Open Space 156 15 Tree Preservation Orders 160 16 Conservation Areas 167 17 Gardens and Designed Landscapes (Enabling Development) 171 18 Renewable Energy 178 19 Energy Efficiency 186 20 Miscellaneous 189 INVERCLYDE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Inverclyde Local Development Plan Examination of Conformity with the Participation Statement 1. Section 12(2) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (as amended) states that a person appointed to examine a proposed strategic development plan “is firstly to examine … the extent to which the strategic development planning authority’s actings with regard to consultation and the involvement with the public at large as respects the proposed plan have conformed with (or have been beyond the requirements of) the participation statement of the authority which was current when the proposed plan was published under section 10(1)(a).” Paragraph 110 of Circular 6/2013: Development Planning indicates that in this assessment the appointed person is only expected to refer to existing published documents such as the participation statement, the report on conformity and any representations relating to the authority’s consultation and public involvement activities. 2. The proposed Inverclyde Local Development Plan was published in May 2013. The development plan scheme current at that time was published in March 2013. 3. The participation statement is included at pages 6 to 9 of the development plan scheme. In that section are included the measures the authority proposed to take to involve councillors, community councils, key agencies and other stakeholders, including the general public, at the various stages of plan preparation. The participation statement includes measures already taken at the main issues report stage, but our examination is limited to a consideration of conformity with what was proposed for the proposed plan stage. The participation statement sets out both a number of particular actions that the authority would carry out at this stage, and some more general commitments applying to the plan preparation period as a whole. Among the general commitments are: a) putting in place arrangements for the participation to be as inclusive, open and transparent as possible; b) providing information as early as possible and in a form that allows for full consideration; c) providing communication through a range of formats and at a range of locations, particularly utilising electronic means, especially through the council’s website and a dedicated local development plan e-mail address; d) considering and reporting representations to the council at the appropriate stages and in good time; and e) seeking to involve as wide a range of parties as is practicable, including the public sector, private sector, community groups, voluntary organisations and single interest organisations. 4. Among the specific actions are: a) providing information on-line; b) publishing contact details; c) notification of contacts by letter; d) press adverts; 1 INVERCLYDE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN e) depositing and publicising documents in libraries and offices; and f) meetings and correspondence with stakeholders. 5. The report on conformity with the participation statement was published in November 2013, and submitted to Ministers along with the proposed plan. It sets out the manner in which authority’s actions in regard to the participation conformed with, or went beyond the requirements of, the proposals (listed above) contained in the development plan scheme. We are not aware that the authority’s consultation or public involvement activities have been raised in any representations on the proposed plan. 6. Having considered the report on conformity, I found that the authority had consulted on the plan and involved the public in the way it said it would in its participation statement, in accordance with section 12(2) of the Act. Being satisfied,