Shropshire Local Development Framework : Adopted Core Strategy March 2011 “A Flourishing Shropshire” Shropshire Sustainable Community Strategy 2010-2020 Contents Page 1 Introduction 1 2 Spatial Portrait 7 Shropshire in 2010 7 Communities 9 Economy 10 Environment 13 Spatial Zones in Shropshire 14 3 The Challenges We Face 27 Spatial Vision 28 Strategic Objectives 30 4 Creating Sustainable Places 34 Policy CS1: Strategic Approach 35 Policy CS2: Shrewsbury Development Strategy 42 Policy CS3: The Market Towns and Other Key Centres 48 Policy CS4: Community Hubs and Community Clusters 61 Policy CS5: Countryside and Green Belt 65 Policy CS6: Sustainable Design and Development Principles 69 Policy CS7: Communications and Transport 73 Policy CS8: Facilities, Services and Infrastructure Provision 77 Policy CS9: Infrastructure Contributions 79 5 Meeting Housing Needs 82 Policy CS10: Managed Release of Housing Land 82 Policy CS11: Type and Affordability of Housing 85 Policy CS12: Gypsies and Traveller Provision 89 6 A Prosperous Economy 92 Policy CS13: Economic Development, Enterprise and Employment 93 Policy CS14: Managed Release of Employment Land 96 Policy CS15: Town and Rural Centres 100 Policy CS16: Tourism, Culture and Leisure 104 7 Environment 108 Policy CS17: Environmental Networks 108 Policy CS18: Sustainable Water Management 111 Policy CS19: Waste Management Infrastructure 115 Policy CS20: Strategic Planning for Minerals 120 Contents Page 8 Appendix 1: Saved Local and Structure Plan Policies replaced by the Core Strategy 126 9 Glossary 138 List of figures Figure 1: The Shropshire Local Development Framework 1 Figure 2: Delivering Sustainable Places 6 Figure 3: Sub-regional Context 8 Figure 4: Spatial Zones 16 Figure 5: Core Strategy Key Diagram 40 Figure 6: Shrewsbury Key Diagram 43 Figure 7: Oswestry Key Diagram 50 Figure 8: Housing Trajectory 84 Figure 9: Broad Locations for Waste Management Sites in Shropshire 2009 – 2026 116 Figure 10: Mineral Safeguarding Areas in Shropshire 122 Figure 11: Broad Locations for Future Sand and Gravel Working 124 List of Tables Table 1: Settlement Strategy 39 Table 2: Policy CS3 and Indicative Scale of development 51 Table 3: Development in Market Towns and Key Centres 1998-2008 52 Table 4: Employment Land Requirement 2006 - 2026 and Current Supply 97 Shropshire Local Development Framework : Adopted Core Strategy March 2011 1 // Introduction The Core Strategy 1.1 The Core Strategy Development Plan Document (DPD) will be the principal document of the Shropshire Local Development Framework (LDF). The LDF is a set of documents (shown in figure 1) setting out policies relating to the use and development of land in Shropshire. The Core Strategy is the first of these documents that the Council has prepared, and the most important, setting out how Shropshire is expected to evolve over the period to 2026. 1.2 The Core Strategy sets out the Council’s vision, strategic objectives and the broad spatial strategy to guide future development and growth in Shropshire during the period to 2026. It will be the starting point for the determination of planning applications and will be supported in due course by other documents relating to the allocation of land and more detailed development management policies. It will guide the aspirations of not only Shropshire Council but also other key service providers and stakeholders, whose input will be essential to the successful implementation of the strategy. Figure 1: The Shropshire Local Development Framework Development Plan Documents (DPD) Site Allocations Core & Management Strategy of Development Implementation Other Documents Local Development Scheme Place Plans Shropshire Sustainable Local Development Community Framework Strategy Parish Plans Neighbourhood Annual Plans Monitoring Report Supplementary Statement of Planning Community Documents Involvement 1 Shropshire Local Development Framework : Adopted Core Strategy The Shropshire Approach 1.3 The Core Strategy embodies an innovative approach to development in Shropshire and aims to deliver more sustainable places at all levels and in both urban and rural settings. A sustainable place has sufficient social, economic and environmental infrastructure to meet the needs of its current population, but it is also resilient and capable of adapting to a range of economic, social and environmental challenges in the future. 1.4 It is especially important to ensure that Shropshire’s Market Towns and rural settlements become more sustainable places and develop the resilience needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Living Working Countryside Report (The Taylor Review 2008) and the Government’s response to it raise a clear expectation that the planning system will respond more positively to rural sustainability. It will support rural businesses and affordable housing development and use these as a catalyst to maintain sustainable places which have facilities and services such as shops, pubs, schools and local businesses. The West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy emphasises the importance of understanding local needs both for affordable housing and promoting local regeneration and support for retaining or achieving new services designed to meet those needs. In Shropshire many of the changes necessary to help achieve this will be small scale, incremental, locationally specific and founded upon community engagement. 1.5 Proactive community engagement is an important tool to identify community needs, particularly where it is used alongside other community led documents such as Parish Plans. Such documents and tools can be used to support Local Planning Authorities in place making and help to ensure that the Sustainable Community Strategy is delivered through the Local Development Framework. Shropshire’s approach provides a clear framework for Parish and Town Plans to play a positive role in guiding future development decisions at a local level with all the benefits this may bring to a place. The Core Strategy provides the framework for the Council to undertake a process of community engagement with communities within Shropshire’s rural areas. The approach carried out in 2010, used a process pioneered in the South West known as the ‘Devon Toolkit’ to establish communities own views of the level of sustainability in their own settlements. It is a community-led, bottom-up approach that is responsive to communities’ own priorities and recognises that sustainability is based on many factors, including the presence of employment, affordable housing, facilities and services, but also intangible assets such as social fabric. This has identified what makes rural communities sustainable places and has set out communities’ own aspirations for change or growth to help them become more resilient and sustainable. Shropshire’s approach is to use this strategic stage of the LDF to set aspirational targets for growth and the broad distribution of development which reflect evidenced agreed need. The Council then propose to use information which reflects local opinion gathered in the Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev) DPD process to inform a flexible responsive process of managing the supply and delivery of land in line with the spatial strategy whilst working towards the aspirational targets in a responsible way. 1.6 Developing the Core Strategy has involved making important, and sometimes difficult, decisions and choices about how and where the need for new development in Shropshire can best be met. The Council prepared and published a Final Plan version of the Core Strategy and invited representations on the 'soundness' of the Plan during February and March 2010. Following this the Council considered that representations received did not impact on 'soundness' and submitted, in July 2010, the Final Plan for examination. An examination was conducted by Planning Inspector Mr Stephen Pratt with hearing sessions held during November 2010. After considering all representations and evidence, the Inspector's Report, in February 2011, concluded that the Shropshire Core Strategy is 'sound'. 2 Shropshire Local Development Framework : Adopted Core Strategy Preparation and Evidence Base 1.7 The Shropshire Core Strategy has been prepared following considerable community consultation, the collection of evidence and working with key partners including the Local Strategic Partnership; town and parish councils; community groups; businesses; national and government organisations; utility companies and developers/agents. Consultation has taken place at the following stages in the Core Strategy preparation: Topic Papers: July – Sept 2008 Issues and Options: Jan – Feb 2009 Policy Directions: Aug – Sept 2009 1.8 Whilst it is important that the Core Strategy reflects the views and aspirations of local communities, it should also be remembered that there are other factors and established priorities that must be taken into account, for the Core Strategy to be found sound. These are: • national planning policy statements and guidance prepared by Government; • regional planning policy - the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) prepared by the West Midlands Regional Assembly, which sets the higher level planning policy framework including a range of targets for housing, employment land, minerals and waste; • the decisions reached on strategies, policies and programmes prepared by the Council and other agencies, which will have implications for future development in Shropshire. 1.9 The development of the Core Strategy