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County Durham Plan Annual Monitoring Report 2014/2015

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County Durham Plan Annual Monitoring Report 2014/2015 County Durham Plan Annual Monitoring Report 2014/2015 1 1. Introduction Background This document is the sixth Annual Monitoring Report to be produced by Durham County Council as a Unitary Council for the County Durham area. As Local Planning Authority the County Council has a duty to prepare and keep under review a statutory development plan for its area. Such a plan contains the relevant planning policies and proposals which set out priorities and guide future development and growth in the County in a sustainable manner. In the interests of clarity the current local development plan for the County comprises of the parts of the individual Local Plans of the eight former local authorities which were ‘saved’ under transitional arrangements until such a time that they are superseded by a new development plan for the County. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 required every Local Planning Authority in England to submit an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) by 31st December to the Secretary of State. The document covers the period 1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015 and includes information on the progress of the Local Development Framework and how policies in the Local Development Documents are performing. The Localism Act 2011 removed the statutory requirement to submit an AMR to the Government after December 2011. The Coalition government is currently introducing a number of fundamental changes to planning legislation and policy. These documents will have implications for the future of Annual Monitoring Reports. The Localism Act 2011 The Localism Act was enacted on 15th November 2011. The Act also revokes the Regional Spatial Strategy and Local Development Framework: Core Output Indicators – Update 2/2008 (CLG, 2008) documents. The implications of this are that the Regional Spatial Strategy is no longer a statutory planning document and the housing targets set therein are no longer imposed on local authorities and similarly, the core output indicators list is no longer required to be monitored after December 2011. The Development Plan will therefore now comprise the County Durham Plan and Neighbourhood Plans prepared by local communities. Nearly 20 Neighbourhood Plans have been approved across County Durham (December, 2014). At the time of writing the RSS remains in force, though the Government’s intention to revoke RSS documents is clear, and we have prepared and submitted the County Durham Plan on that basis during April 2014. In preparing the AMR 2014/15, we have taken into account the relevant evidence that was used to prepare RSS supplemented as needed by up to date local evidence. The Localism Act also introduced a ‘Duty to Co-operate’, requiring the Council to work with neighbouring authorities on cross boundary planning issues and issues of common concern. The Act allows local planning authorities to choose indicators and targets to include in their AMR, that best relate to local circumstances and priorities in their area. Local Authorities are now required to report progress to their local communities rather than to the Government and this change in focus is likely to make the AMR a more locally responsive document. 2 The National Planning Policy Framework The NPPF seeks to streamline existing national policy documentation into one concise publication, replacing Planning Policy Guidance notes (PPGs) and Planning Policy Statements (PPSs). The document essentially reiterates existing national planning policy whilst identifying new steers on issues such as sustainable development and housing land supply. It is envisaged that the planning process will be more simple and, therefore, easier to understand and use. The National Planning Policy Framework (2012) states that each local authority should produce a Local Plan for its area which can be reviewed in whole or in part. Additional planning documents should only be used where justified. This is different from the previous Local Development Framework system with its suite of documents with an overarching Core Strategy. It does however, reiterate that planning should be genuinely ‘plan led’ when determining planning applications. The Act requires that each local planning authority in England produces a Local Plan covering a 15 year period that takes into account longer term objectives. Local Plans will be kept up to date by regular reviews to ensure that any changes in local priorities or circumstances are reflected in the document. To help keep a Local Plan up to date a robust evidence base needs to be maintained for this purpose. Cross Boundary Working – The Duty to Cooperate One further change brought about by the Localism Act is the introduction of the Duty to Cooperate with neighbouring authorities in preparing our plans. County Durham borders a number of County, District and Unitary Councils. The Council takes this responsibility very seriously and regular liaison meetings have been held with neighbouring Councils to ensure that issues of common concern continue to be taken into account. Notably, the Council has developed working groups with the Tyne and Wear authorities and also those in Tees Valley, where we have our closest interaction on planning matters. Existing Planning Policy Framework Until adoption of a local plan, the AMR is, to some degree, still tied to reporting information at the former district and county levels although wherever possible information has been aggregated to the County Durham level. The presentation of the document will also move away from reporting on the geographies of the former local authorities and move towards reporting on the new geography of Durham. 3 Existing Planning Policy Framework Until adoption of a local plan, the AMR is, to some degree, still tied to reporting information at the former district and county levels although wherever possible information has been aggregated to the County Durham level. The presentation of the document will also move away from reporting on the geographies of the former local authorities and move towards reporting on the new geography of Durham. Monitoring and Implementation Framework The monitoring and implementation framework is fundamental to ensuring the achievement of sustainable development across County Durham. The County Durham Plan will need to be flexible to respond to changing circumstances. This can only be determined through effective monitoring of the progress in implementing policies. Monitoring of current planning policies provides the Council and third parties with information on the performance of policies and identifies the key changes, challenges or opportunities within the County. It enables an assessment to be made as to whether current policies are achieving their objectives and, in particular, delivering sustainable development. Monitoring activity also enables the identification of any unintended consequences of policies, whether the assumptions and objectives that the policies are based upon are still relevant and if the policy targets are being achieved. In turn, the findings highlight where adjustments and revisions to policies are required and inform the development of further new policies. Key Indicators in this Document For the purposes of this monitoring report it has been decided to focus upon the NCOIs (National Core Output Indicators). The National Core Output Indicators are a set of 18 mandatory indicators required of all councils. This AMR reports on these indicators (see section 3). 4 2. The County in context County Durham is the largest local authority in the North East region and the sixth largest in England, lying at the heart of north east England with Teesside to the south, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland to the north. It covers a total area of 862 square miles and borders Tyne and Wear, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland. County Durham has high quality landscapes rich in wildlife, attractive countryside, villages, historic towns and buildings and a restored coastline. The environment is one of the County’s key assets. Whilst the County covers a large area, its economy is more modest in scale. It is home to around 517,0001 people of whom over 228,0002 are in employment (compared to around half a million in neighbouring Tyne and Wear). The County has around 16,400 businesses employing 167,0003 employees. Overall the value of economic output is around £7.8 billion.4 Lying at the heart of the North East region with conurbations to the north and south, County Durham is adjacent to the Tyne and Wear and Tees Valley labour markets. The County has net out-commuting change in the region of 30,961 people on a daily basis.5 County Durham shares many of the problems of the North of England, arising from a long term pattern of sectoral change and industrial decline. It also has unique challenges arising from its legacy of scattered industrial settlements, and its lack of large urban areas to drive growth. Countering these, though, are the unique environments of Durham City and the Durham Dales and the key strengths of Durham University. The County, though commonly regarded as a predominantly rural area, varies in character from remote and sparsely populated areas in the west, to the former coalfield communities in the centre and the east, where villages tend to accommodate thousands rather than hundreds. Around 90% of the population lives east of the A68 road in approximately half of the County by area. Each of the 12 major towns in the County act as service centres for the surrounding communities, providing employment, shopping and key day to day services. The role of the towns in County Durham varies widely. Some provide vital services to isolated communities whilst others have grown to provide a much wider range of services for both the town and other communities nearby. Whilst there are over 200 settlements within the County, 94% of the population live within a 5 mile radius of the 12 major towns. The towns and villages which grew as a result of mining and other heavy industries have concentrations of poor quality private sector housing, with high numbers of older terraced properties in need of investment.
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