APPENDIX 9 Committee
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
APPENDIX 9 Committee: Planning Date Of Meeting: 12 February 2003 Title of Report: Supplementary Guidance Notes Report of: R J Gibbons, Planning Director Contact Officer: Andrea McGuinness Telephone 0151 934 3567 This report contains Yes No Confidential information √ Exempt information by virtue of paragraph(s) ……… of Part 1 of √ Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 √ Is the decision on this report DELEGATED? Purpose of Report: To request Members to approve two Supplementary Planning Guidance Notes for consultation and for development control purposes Recommendation(s): That the following Supplementary Planning Guidance Notes be approved for consultation and for development control purposes, subject to minor editorial changes: - Archaeology - Landscape character SEFTON COUNCIL Page 1 D:\Moderngov\Data\Committ\Intranet\Planning Committee\20030212\Agenda\Appendix 090.doc APPENDIX 9 Corporate Objective Monitoring Corporate Objective Impact Positive Neutral Negative 1 Regenerating the Borough through Partnership √ 2 Raising the standard of Education & Lifelong Learning √ 3 Promoting Safer and More Secure Communities √ 4 Creating a Healthier, Cleaner & Greener Environment √ through policies for Sustainable Development 5 Strengthening Local Democracy through Community √ Participation 6 Promoting Social Inclusion, Equality of Access and √ Opportunity 7 Improving the Quality of Council Services √ Financial Implications None Departments consulted in the preparation of this Report None List of Background Papers relied upon in the preparation of this report None SEFTON COUNCIL Page 2 D:\Moderngov\Data\Committ\Intranet\Planning Committee\20030212\Agenda\Appendix 090.doc APPENDIX 9 1 Background 1.1 Members may recall that a number of Supplementary Planning Guidance Notes (SPGs) were approved for consultation and for development control purposes in June 2002. These were: - Public Greenspace and Development - Ensuring a Choice of Travel - Design - New Residential Development - Trees and Development - A Planning Brief for the Powerhouse site, Hoggs Hill Lane, Formby. 1.2 Three further SPGs were approved for consultation and for development control purposes on 15th January 2003: - House extensions - Development in the Green Belt - Shopfronts, Security and Signage. 2 New Supplementary Planning Guidance Notes 2.1 Further Guidance Notes have now been prepared and are ready for consultation. These are: - Archaeology - Landscape character. 2.2 Archaeology : this is an update of a current SPG. It has been prepared by the Merseyside Archaeological Service and is intended to support Policy HC6 (Sites and Areas of Archaeological Importance) in the draft Plan. 2.3 Landscape character : this is a new SPG which will support Policy GBC5 (Landscape Character) in the new Plan. It identifies the different landscape types within Sefton, their distribution and quality, and how development will be able to contribute to their preservation, conservation, enhancement or restoration. In addition to assisting the Plan, it will play a useful role in supporting bids for funding. SEFTON COUNCIL Page 3 D:\Moderngov\Data\Committ\Intranet\Planning Committee\20030212\Agenda\Appendix 090.doc APPENDIX 9 3 Consultation 3.1 PPG12 stresses the importance of consulting key interests - the general public, businesses and other interested parties - on the Guidance Notes. This is essential if the Secretary of State is to give substantial weight to the SPGs in making decisions. 3.2 One key interest group is agents who submit planning applications. The issue of consultation on SPGs was raised at a meeting of the Agents’ Forum in December and agents will be asked to comment on those SPGs which were approved in June 2002 and in January 2003 as well as those included in this report. There will be discussion with agents and other interested parties over the next few months. 3.3 Any significant comments will be reported to Committee in due course so that the SPGs can be amended and formally approved. SEFTON COUNCIL Page 4 D:\Moderngov\Data\Committ\Intranet\Planning Committee\20030212\Agenda\Appendix 090.doc APPENDIX 9 Supplementary Planning Guidance Note Archaeology Draft for Consultation January 2003 Jeff Gibbons Planning Director Vermont House 375 Stanley Road Bootle L20 3RY APPENDIX 9 The SMR is a not static record or a definitive statement of the potential existence or survival of archaeological evidence, but is updated as Introduction new information comes to light. The results from developer-funded archaeological work This guidance note explains how Policy HC6 and students or private researchers, are fed Archaeology will be implemented. It: into the SMR. § Outlines how to obtain archaeological There are currently about 10,000 database advice and information on sites, records for Merseyside, 2000 of these within the local government boundary of Sefton § Explains the requirements for, and Council. procedures of, carrying out archaeological work. The Merseyside Archaeological Service (MAS), based within National Museums Liverpool, holds the complete current Sites What is Archaeology? and Monuments Record. The MAS provides Sefton Council, and the other four Merseyside Archaeology is the study of past peoples and local authorities, with their archaeological societies through investigation of their material planning advice. remains. These remains can take many forms, consisting of above and below ground or Sefton Council Planning Department hold underwater, and include isolated finds, buried ‘Hazard Map’s’ which show the location of sites, earthworks, landscape features and some of the known archaeological sites within historic buildings in the towns and countryside. the borough. These are primarily used to trigger consultation of the MAS. The archaeology of Sefton is extremely rich and diverse. The landscape has been modified by humans for over 10, 000 years and displays evidence from the Prehistoric periods to the Archaeology and Planning more recent industrial and built heritage. The need for consideration of archaeology Archaeological remains contain irreplaceable within the planning process usually arises on information about the past and are valuable in moderate to large sized developments, themselves and for their contribution towards although in some instances proposals for education, recreation and the regeneration small extensions and changes use may and economic life of Merseyside. There are require investigation. many threats to archaeological remains in both rural and urban environments including development on brown and green field sites, Central government road and pipeline construction, mineral responsibility extraction, forestry and agriculture. Statutory protection for archaeological sites is accorded under the Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Areas Act 1979. This gives the Information on archaeological Secretary of State (Department of Culture sites Media and Sport) powers to compile and maintain a schedule of ancient monuments of national importance and control works, which The central body of archaeological data for affect such Scheduled Ancient Monuments Sefton is held in the Merseyside Sites and (SAM). It is a prosecutable offence to carry out Monuments Record (SMR). The SMR is a unauthorised works or cause damage to a public record, which contains a range of SAM. documentary and cartographic information on the historic environment from the prehistoric English Heritage is responsible for advising on period to the present, including all the known the need for, and dealing with applications for, and possible archaeological sites and remains SAM consent. in Merseyside. APPENDIX 9 Not all nationally important sites are scheduled under the 1979 Act. A key reason for this is that English Heritage is carrying out ongoing research, which will lead to future scheduling Guidance on implementing the of more sites. In addition, scheduling is not always the most appropriate way to protect policy and manage all nationally important sites. The following sections outline the staged There are currently only 13 sites within Sefton, approach to dealing with archaeology in the which are designated as SAMs under the 1979 development control process. Act. Local government Pre-application advice responsibility Early consideration of archaeological issues can assist in avoiding unnecessary delays in Responsibility for dealing with the majority of the later planning stages and implementation archaeological issues lies with local of a development. government planning authorities exercising their powers under Planning Policy Guidance When a pre-application enquiry is made to Note (PPG 16), ‘Archaeology & Planning’ Sefton Planning Department or the MAS, the 1990. PPG 16: enquirer will be advised whether or not development proposals are likely to require the § Recognises that not all archaeological submission of archaeological information as remains are of equal value but part of a planning application. requires physical preservation of nationally important sites, whether or The MAS will carry out an initial Appraisal , not they are SAMs. using information in the SMR, to determine if there is sufficient archaeological information to § Establishes that planning applicants advise on the proposals. Where there is not, are required to provide sufficient and Appraisal indicates that archaeological archaeological information as part of evidence is likely to exist on a site, the Council their proposals if it is thought that will be guided by the advice of the MAS on the development may