Core Strategy: Submission Version
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Core Strategy: Submission Version (4) Position Statement Milton Keynes Council Position Statement Land East of the M1 motorway i. The Secretary of State's Proposed Changes to the South East Plan (July 2008), include a recommendation in Policy MKAV1 (Housing Distribution by District 2006-2026) for "at least 5,600 dwellings by 2026 on suitable sites to the east of the M1 motorway" and that in order to bring about the step change in housing delivery, Core Strategy: Submission Version suitable sites in this location should be brought forward now. The Secretary of State recognises that further studies may be needed to test the ultimate scale of development suitable for this area after 2026 and to that end states that "The form of development east of the M1 motorway should not prejudice consideration of future development in the locality after 2026". ii. The reason given in the Proposed Changes for the introduction of the land to the east of the M1 is to help meet the Government's aims for a step change in housing provision. It also seems that the 5,600 homes proposed for this area are intended to compensate for the ‘lost’ homes proposed by the Panel for the Bedfordshire part of the South East Strategic Development Area (SDA). iii. Milton Keynes Council's response to the Proposed Changes consultation was agreed at Cabinet on 7 October 2008. In addition to approving the detailed comments on the Proposed Changes, Cabinet gave the go ahead to consideration of a legal challenge to the final version of the South East Plan should the allocation of land east of the M1 remain, subject to a report assessing the potential grounds for a challenge. iv. The Council’s detailed objection to the proposed development east of the M1 is set out under the following headings. a. Lack of supporting evidence b. Cost of transport infrastructure c. Implications for the 1:1 ratio between new homes and new jobs d. Inconsistency and lack of clarity of planning and delivery arrangements e. Implications for the Core Strategy and the delivery of planned growth f. Lack of integration with East West Rail proposals g. Deliverability and choice v. The Council has serious concerns about and opposition to the proposed development east of the M1. It is considered that there is potential for this issue to delay the finalisation of the Core Strategy due to the amount of work that would be needed to establish the options, infrastructure requirements and parameters for the identification of a site for this development. Given this situation, the authority has taken a pragmatic view and decided to take the Core Strategy forward to submission without reference to the proposed development east of the M1. Once the final South East Plan is published and the situation with regard to land east of the M1 is confirmed, the Council will consider how best to reflect the regional policy position. Should development east of the M1 be confirmed at the regional level and the Council's objections be resolved then, a site allocation or allocations will be brought forward through a Development Plan Document, the timetable for the preparation of which will be confirmed in a future review of the Local Development Scheme. vi. As such, the Core Strategy works on the assumption that 4,800 homes will need to be delivered in Strategic Development Areas within Milton Keynes rather than 10,400 as proposed in the emerging South East Plan. This leads to a reduction in the total housing numbers proposed for Milton Keynes over the period of the 2 Core Strategy from 46,960 to 41,360. (5) Contents Executive Summary 5 Section A - Introduction, Vision and Objectives 1 Introduction 8 2 Spatial Vision and Objectives 20 Section B - Spatial Strategy 3 Overall Development Strategy 30 Strategy Table 43 Core Strategy: Submission Version 4 Strategic Sites 52 Strategic Sites 52 South East Strategic Development Area 53 South West Strategic Development Area 57 5 Development in the Urban Area 60 Central Milton Keynes 60 Milton Keynes Council Other Areas of Change 63 6 The Rural Area 67 Section C - Supporting Policies 8 Meeting Housing Need 70 9 A Well-Connected Milton Keynes 73 10 Building Sustainable Communities 78 11 Delivering Economic Prosperity 85 12 A Healthy, Safe and Inclusive Milton Keynes 90 13 The Natural and Historic Environment 94 Section D - Delivery and Monitoring 14 Delivering Infrastructure 98 15 Monitoring and Review 101 Appendices A Glossary and Abbreviations 109 B Bibliography and relevant documents 115 C Local Plan Policies to be replaced in the Development Plan 119 D Housing Trajectory 125 (6) Contents Milton Keynes Council List of Policies Policy CS 1 Employment Land Provision 35 Policy CS 2 Retail and leisure development 36 Policy CS 3 Milton Keynes Development Strategy 38 Policy CS 4 South East Strategic Development Area 54 Policy CS 5 Central Milton Keynes 62 Core Strategy: Submission Version Policy CS 6 Other Areas of Change 65 Policy CS 7 Strategy for the Rural Area 68 Policy CS 8 Meeting Housing Need 71 Policy CS 9 A well connected Milton Keynes 76 Policy CS 10 Developing Successful Neighbourhoods 78 Policy CS 11 Ensuring High Quality, Well Designed Places 80 Policy CS 12 Sustainable Construction 82 Policy CS 13 Community Energy Networks and Large Scale Renewable Energy Schemes 83 Policy CS 14 Delivering Economic Prosperity 88 Policy CS 15 Supporting Small Businesses 89 Policy CS 16 Increasing access to local services and facilities 91 Policy CS 17 Healthier and Safer Communities 92 Policy CS 18 The Natural and Historic Environment 96 Policy CS 19 Delivering Infrastructure 100 (7) Executive Summary Executive Summary Section A - Introduction, Vision and Objectives The Core Strategy is the key document in the Local Development Framework. Upon adoption, the Core Strategy will provide the vision, objectives and over-arching strategy for the development of the Borough from 2006 to 2026. A key aim of the Core Strategy is to formalise the link between the Council's planning function and the priorities identified by the Local Strategic Partnership in the Community Strategy and the Local Area Agreement. Core Strategy: Submission Version The Core Strategy: Submission Version is the Council's final position on the strategy for growth of Milton Keynes, based on previous rounds of consultation and an up-to-date evidence base. It builds on the Preferred Options document, published in September 2007, providing policies and delivery strategies to guide growth and change in the city and development in the rural area. The Core Strategy deals with the key strategic issues facing the Borough, providing 'hooks' for future Local Development Documents (LDDs) to deal with other issues in more detail. Milton Keynes Council The Core Strategy sets out some of the key characteristics and challenges facing the city in the 'Story of Place'. This provides the context for the Core Strategy. From it flows the .Spatial Vision - Milton Keynes in 2026. and a series of Table 2.1 .Core Strategy objectives with delivery policies.. These outline where the Council expects the Borough to be as a result of growth in 2026 and the issues to be addressed. Each objective is linked to relevant policies throughout the document and a series of indicators are provided so progress in delivering change can be monitored. Section B - The Spatial Strategy The Spatial Strategy section of the document sets out where change will take place across Milton Keynes up to 2026, what this change will involve, how it will be delivered and who will be involved in its delivery. Policy CS 3 . Milton Keynes Development Strategy . focuses the majority of development on the existing urban area and in Strategic Development Areas to the south east and south west of the city. The policy contains a settlement hierarchy confirming Newport Pagnell, Olney and Woburn Sands as Key Settlements and the focus of future rural growth. Table 3.3 .Overall Development Strategy. summarises the change that will be occurring in Milton Keynes up to 2026. This includes details of the developments that are already planned through the Local Plan (2005) process, and in some cases are already under construction. Amount and distribution of development Chapter Could not find 1239116807996 clarifies how housing and employment requirements will be met and how retail development, a key component of a growing city, will be managed through growth. The housing section summarises the what is already known about housing delivery in Milton Keynes, clarifying that that there are already sufficient sites identified in the urban area to meet urban housing requirements, there is a need to allocate a new Strategic Development Area to the south east of Milton Keynes and that further rural housing sites will need to be found through the Local Development Framework process. 5 The employment section clarifies that there are already significant employment allocations across Milton Keynes which, when supplemented by additional provision in the SDAs and employment growth in sectors such as retail and education, has the potential to provide 94,600 new jobs, exceeding the required 1:1 homes:jobs ratio. (8) Executive Summary Milton Keynes Council There is currently no short term requirement for new retail development to support growth. The retail section sets out the need for additional development post 2011, with the focus on Central Milton Keynes and areas of growth. Area based policies The Core Strategy allocates a new SDA to the south east of Milton Keynes. In Chapter 4 .Strategic Sites. the land Core Strategy: Submission Version uses in the SDA are set out along with details of the arrangements in place to bring the development forward.