Community Consultation
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Core Strategy and Development Management Policies Statement of Consultation - Submission October 2012 2 Contents The consultation and involvement process Page 5 Annex 1: Consolidated list of representors 8 Annex 2: Regulation 20 (pre-submission publication) 11 Representations made under Regulation 20 25 (publication consultation, May/July 2012) Annex 4: Regulation 18 (‘Preferred Options’) stage 139 Annex 5: Regulation 18 (‘Issues and Options’) stage 214 Annex 6: Statement of Community Involvement (summary) 235 3 4 The consultation and involvement process The Statement of Community Involvement This was adopted in January 2008, and revised in September of that year to incorporate procedural changes brought in by the 2008 Planning Act. Although the 2008 Act did away with the ‘Issues and Options’ and ‘Preferred Options’ terminology, the former stage had already been set in motion, and it has been considered logical to present the subsequent (2010) consultation as a ‘preferred option’. The SCI sets out a range of consultation and involvement possibilities. In jkeeping with a strategic document, consultation, especially in the later stages, has focused on the methods which the SCI sets out as standard (advertisement of published documents, use of the Council’s web site, and local mass media), along with targeted locality-based meetings – either to invited stakeholder audiences or public ‘drop in’ sessions. The SCI is available on the ldf section of the Council’s web site www.copeland.gov.uk/ldf, and its Executive Summary is at Annex 7 (page ). Early engagement ‘Stakeholder Launch’ events were held in November 2008, one for stakeholders in the Borough and another for external invitees. This set the agenda for further work; the framework of identified issues is set out in an Appendix to the report of the ‘Issues and Options’ stage (page 18). The Issues and Options stage This stage of consultation took place in May to July 2008 and the report of the process is at Annex 6 (page ). The consultation report from that stage, and the summary of responses, are on the LDF pages of the Council’s web site. Policy options set out at that stage were set out with reference to national and regional planning policy, and the circumstances of the Borough. The general policy approach was carried forward from that already expressed in the adopted Local Plan, which at that stage was only two ywars old. In general there was support for this, although opinion was more split with reference to how development should be distributed between Copeland’s settlements. Preferred Options document consultation The ‘Preferred Options’ document was published in May 2010 for consultation in May to July of that year. Alongside publicity in accordance with the Statement of Community Involvement, public meetings were held in Cleator Moor, Egremont, Millom, Seascale and Whitehaven. The report of that stage of consultation is at Annex 5 (page ). In total 467 representations, were received from 77 respondents. Only 60 of these were expressed as objections. About half of the objections have either been accepted, with the plan modified, or have been met (in the Council’s opinion) by clarificatory comment. Others 5 will be addressed in the site allocation process. A few (mostly relating to the nuclear power station proposals) have been overtaken by events or by the introduction of the major infrastructure planning process. Only nine have not been accepted. In addition, over 300 comments were made suggesting amendments. Most of these were made by statutory consultees and by the County Council. The Borough Council has endeavoured to take these suggestions on board and has met, or at least corresponded with, those bodies to agree common positions wherever possible. In total 201 comments have been met, at least in part, by amendments incorporated in the final draft, while 187 were either not accepted or had been superseded by events or by other changes made. Main issues The main area of debate remains around the strategic distribution of development between settlements. The Council remains convinced that it is desirable in the cause of regeneration, and inherently more sustainable, to focus the bulk of development in the four towns. Whilst there is disagreement, there is also broad support for this approach; in response to comments there have been amendments and clarifications to strategic policies, particularly with reference to rural settlement viability and sustainability. The question is looked at in detail in topic papers on housing and employment land. Other key areas of concern relate to nuclear-related development and wind energy. In these instances, policy has to conform to national policy, and in the former case must defer to National Policy Statements and the role of the Major Infrastructure planning process. A full summary of the representations made at that stage, and the Council’s responses, is at Annex 4 (page ). Publication (‘pre-submission draft’) The Core Strategy and Development Management Policies document was published in its final draft form in May 2012, with the consultation period running to mid-July. The number of representation received totalled 148, from 33 representors. The representors included 2 individual members of the public, 11 business (including trade organisations), 12 general consultees (including statutory undertakers), 2 local authorities and 6 parish and town councils. The representations comprise 35 supporting 55 comments suggesting changes 58 objections citing issues of soundness. The representations are summarised, with the Council’s response, at Annex 3 (page 3). 6 Main issues emerging in post-publication representations Of the objections thirty came from Parish Councils. The majority of these are points of detail which can be clarified by factual amendments, or picked up via neighbourhood planning. The main issues of principle arising from objections are whether the plan supports the NPPF presumption in favour of sustaionable development; the lack of a policy concerning out-of-centre retail development; perceived failure to be sufficiently supportive of development enhancing the vitality of rural settlements; whether the plan is unduly negative towards wind turbines. Some of these objections are in effect asking that the plan repeat national policy; the Council will propose minor changes which make it explicit that the policies concerned are supportive of national policy or that, where they are silent, decisions will be made according to national policy. Where wording has been interpreted as negative, this is generally not intended and minor changes will be proposed to deal with that. 7 ANNEX 1 CONSOLIDATED LIST OF REPRESENTORS The responses are listed in the database by respondent ID, as follows. In Annexes 3 and 4, responses are listed by policy theme as far as possible. Respondent Organisation Issues and Preferred ID number Options rep. Options rep. Reg. 20 rep. nos. nos. nos 01 Ministry of Justice I01 02 National Offender Management Service I02 03 CABE I03 04 Friends, Families and Travellers I04 P001 05 Cllr John Jackson I05 06 St Bees Parish Council I06 07 The Coal Authority I07 P002-P006 08 Cumbria Tourism I08 P007-P015, S126 P430-P431 09 Regen NE Copeland I09 P372-P389 10 Mobile Operators Association I10 S101 11 NWDA I11 P016-P030 12 Cumbria Constabulary I12 13 Environment Agency I13 P355-P370, S059 P425 14 Moresby Parish Council I14 P250-P254 15 Age Concern North West Cumbria I15 16 Allerdale Borough Council I16 P263-P265 S060-S066 17 Mr & Mrs Martin (through I17 Gough's Solicitors) 18 Cllr M A McVeigh I18 19 Taylor & Hardy Ltd I19 P352-P354 20 Natural England I20 P435-P452 S056 21 Tesco Stores Ltd I21 S057-S058 22 Ennerdale and Kinniside Parish I22 S077 Council 23 Egremont Town Council I23 S125 24 CGP I24 25 English Heritage I25 P031-P050 26 Highways Agency I26 P051-P073 27 Mr R Mullholland I27 P394-P412 S087-S09 28 Cleator Moor & District Chamber I28 S080-S086 of Trade and Commerce 29 Theatres Trust I29 P074-P078 S100 8 Respondent Organisation Issues and Preferred ID number Options rep. Options rep. Reg. 20 rep. nos. nos. nos 30 Warner Estates (Space North I30 West) 31 4NW I31 P079 -P095 32 Cumbria Wildlife Trust I32 P096-P115 33 RSPB I33 P266 34 United Utilities I34 P371 S095-S099 35 Egremont Estate (through Smiths I35 Gore) 36 Millom Without Parish Council S102-S122 37 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd I37 S030-S037 38 Cumbria County Council I38 P189-P247 S139-S148 39 The National Trust I39 P315-P351 S010-S029 40 Story Group I40 P116-P120 41 Cllr W Skillicorn I41 42 Lamplugh Parish Council I42 43 Gosforth Parish Council I43 44 Dr Clive Narrainen I44 S002 45 Sport England P121-P141 S051-S053 46 GONW P142-P154, P428-P429, P433 47 Mr G Garrett P155-P156, P426-P427 48 Ponsonby Parish Council P157-P158 49 Rhodia UK Ltd P159-P162 50 Mr A Millie P163 51 Sellafield Ltd P164-P168 52 Mr Powe P169 53 Lorna and Mark Ritchie P170 54 Mark Sarrington P171-P172 55 Mr D Jordan P173 56 Mr Kevin Jordan P174 57 Elaine Jordan P175 58 Applied Management P176 59 Paul Skelton P177 60 R L Barlow P178 61 Port Millom P179 62 Invest in Cumbria P180 S087 63 Mr R Curwen P181-187 64 Cllr D Wilson P189 65 Haile and Wilton Parish Council S001 66 Friends of the Lake District P248-P249 9 Respondent Organisation Issues and Preferred ID number Options rep. Options rep. Reg. 20 rep. nos. nos. nos 67 Parton Parish Council P255-P260 68 Howgate Distington Partnership P261 69 F J McLean P262 70 RWE npower P267-P283 71 Cleator Moor Town Council P284-P293 72 Cllr J Hully P294-P304 73 Leconfield Estate P305-P314, S067-S076 P434 74 West Cumbria Land LLP P390-P393 75 Copeland Flood and Coastal S123 Defence Engineer P413-P419 76 Bob Riley P420-P424 77 Ramblers Association P432 78 Renewable UK S003-S009 79 REG Windpower S038-S048 80 NuGeneration Limited S049-S050 81 Northumbria Healthcare NHS S054 Foundation Trust/North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust.