Sustainability Assessment of the Towns and Villages
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Rutland County Council District Council Local Development Framework Core Strategy BACKGROUND PAPER NO.1: REVISED SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT OF THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES April 2009 Background Paper no.1: Revised Sustainability Assessment of the Towns and Villages April 2009 CONTENTS Page No. 1.0 INTRODUCTION 3 2.0 POLICY CONTEXT 3-4 3.0 IDENTIFICATION OF MAIN TOWNS 4-5 5-9 4.0 LOCAL SERVICE CENTRES 9 5.0 SMALLER SERVICE CENTRES 10 6.0 OTHER VILLAGES 11-15 APPENDIX 1: POLICY CONTEXT National Regional Strategic Local 16-17 APPENDIX 2: SETTLEMENT SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL MATRIX 2 Background Paper no.1: Revised Sustainability Assessment of the Towns and Villages April 2009 1.0 INTRODUCTION Sustainable development and the creation of sustainable communities is one of the Government‟s key aims which need to be reflected in the Local Development Framework (LDF) for Rutland. In considering where new development should be located Rutland County Council has to balance the requirements for development against other needs such as sustainability and the protection of the environment. Development needs to take place in the settlements where the need to travel can be reduced through a good range of facilities and services and good accessibility by public transport This discussion paper assesses the sustainability of each village in terms of its accessibility to services from which it determines a settlement hierarchy for Rutland. The relative sustainability of settlements and the settlement hierarchy help inform strategy and policy formulation in the LDF Core Strategy by identifying the most sustainable locations for new development in Rutland. Other work being undertaken in the preparation of the Core Strategy, particularly the individual town and village appraisals (April 2009), have also been fed into the sustainability assessments of the towns and villages 2.0 POLICY CONTEXT The settlement classification for Rutland is set out in the Settlement Chapter of the adopted Rutland Local Plan (2001). This consists of Market Towns, Rural Centres, Limited Growth Villages and Restraint Villages. However, since the Local Plan was adopted there have been changes in national and strategic planning guidance, which need to be taken into consideration when preparing the Council‟s Core Strategy. There have also been changes in the level of service provision in the settlements in the County. Therefore, it is necessary to reassess the settlement classifications identified in the Local Plan. The Local Development Framework must have regard to national and regional policies. Appendix 1 summarises national and strategic guidance relevant to the preparation of this background paper on settlement hierarchy in Rutland. The most relevant sources of national guidance relating to settlement hierarchy are Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 1: Delivering Sustainable Development and recent PPS1 Supplement on Planning and Climate Change, PPS 3: Housing; PPS 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas and Planning Policy Guidance PPG 13: Transport. The key points arising from national guidance are as follows: . Most new development should be in or near to the main towns or local service centres and should be well served by public transport and other facilities. Accessibility should also be a key consideration in determining the location of all new development. The need to provide housing in rural areas not only in the main towns or local services centres, but also in villages to enhance or maintain their sustainability. 3 Background Paper no.1: Revised Sustainability Assessment of the Towns and Villages April 2009 . The priority for development is developable brownfield land, but where this is either insufficient or not available developable greenfield land may need to be used. Secure new development and shape places that minimise vulnerability, reduce carbon emissions and tackles climate change. National planning policies are currently interpreted and applied at the regional level through the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). The documents which the settlement hierarchy in Rutland has taken into account are the East Midlands Regional Plan (March 2009) and The Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan (March 2005) which was replaced by the Regional Plan in 2009 under the revised planning system. A full analysis of relevant policies in these documents is contained in Appendix 1, but in summary, their implications for Rutland are that: . The „Main Town‟ of Oakham should be the preferred location for housing and employment growth and comprises a third tier settlement in the Eastern sub- region . The „Small Town‟ of Uppingham provides a more limited range of services and facilities and is suitable for development that meets local needs. The „Local Service Centres‟ should form the next tier as they are the larger villages that offer access to a good range of local services; . Development in other villages should be limited, and in a form that helps to meet local needs. Therefore, consideration needs to be given to which settlements in the County may qualify as local services centres and other centres for more limited growth in the settlement hierarchy. The following sections address this issue. 3.0 IDENTIFICATION OF MAIN TOWNS The East Midlands Regional Plan identifies Oakham as a medium sized market town or the „Main Town‟ for housing and employment growth respectively and comprises a third tier settlement in the Eastern sub-region. In view of the terminology used in the regional plan it is recommended that the most suitable term for Oakham is „Main Town‟. The Regional Plan (para 2.4.5) outlines in general terms that these settlements possess many or all of the following services and characteristics: Existing and potential employment opportunities Secondary school and adult education facilities Weekly shopping facilities, some specialist shops and financial/professional services Health services Permanent library public transport to work and shops and Suitable land for housing development Oakham is considered to be the most sustainable location in the County as it provides a range of job opportunities, higher order services and facilities for the 4 Background Paper no.1: Revised Sustainability Assessment of the Towns and Villages April 2009 surrounding rural area, holds a market twice a week and has good public transport linkages with good access by rail and bus to the surrounding higher settlements. The East Midlands Regional Plan identifies Uppingham as a smaller sized market town or „Small Town‟ that provides a more limited range of services and facilities and is suitable for development that meets local needs. In view of the terminology used in the emerging regional guidance it is recommended that the most suitable term for Rutland is „Small Town‟. Uppingham is the second largest settlement in the County in terms of population, provides a range of convenience shopping, education, community and health facilities catering for the local area, a weekly market, job opportunities and more limited public transport linkages. 4.0 LOCAL SERVICE CENTRES The tier of settlements below the towns is referred to in different terms in various strategic policies: „service centre‟/local service centres‟ in PPS3 and PPS7; „rural centres‟ in the old Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Structure Plan and Rutland Local Plan, and „larger villages for providing local services‟ in the East Midlands Regional Plan. In view of the terminology used in the national and emerging regional guidance it is recommended that the most suitable term for Rutland is „local service centre‟. To assist in the identification of Local Service Centres regard has been made to the criteria in the Regional Plan set out above and, although no longer an extant policy, old Structure Plan Strategy Policy 2C (see Appendix 1) which provides a more local interpretation. There are common elements in the criteria contained in both plans and it is considered appropriate to adapt the criteria to make it more relevant to rural Rutland as follows: . A primary school; . A general convenience store that meets the day to day needs (particularly for food shopping) . A post office . A general medical practice . Local Employment opportunities . Frequent public transport services to higher centres. Community and leisure facilities . Public house . Library . Sports/recreation ground . Childrens play area Assessment of settlement sustainability The assessment focuses on the accessibility of a settlement to essential services such as education, health, recreation, retail facilities and to employment taking into account access and frequency of public transport and accessibility by means other than the car and public transport. Settlements have been identified and a matrix prepared showing how they satisfy these criteria in Appendix 2. 5 Background Paper no.1: Revised Sustainability Assessment of the Towns and Villages April 2009 Information included in the matrix is derived from a number of sources, including information held by the Council, community web sites, local directories, information supplied by Leicestershire & Rutland Rural Community Council, site surveys and a Local Parish Council survey undertaken in August 2006, Post Office network review, the 2001 census and village appraisals (April 2009) and other studies undertaken for the LDF. The availability and frequency of public transport is considered an important factor in determining the most sustainable locations, particularly in providing a service as an alternative to the