CHAPTER 2 - PLANNING CONTEXT & STRATEGY

CHAPTER 2 PLANNING CONTEXT AND STRATEGY

THE LOCAL PLAN AREA

2.1 Harrogate District is one of the largest and most attractive in . It extends over an area of 1,308 square kilometres (505 sq. miles) to the north of the Leeds/Bradford conurbation and on the eastern fringes of the Dales. It is broadly contained to the east by the Rivers Swale, Ure and Ouse, which flow southward through the Vale of . The River Wharfe marks the southern boundary of the District, while to the west and north, the land rises to form the Pennine upland chain. Figure 1 shows the District in its regional setting. Four parishes (Nether Poppleton, Upper Poppleton, Hessay and Rufforth) were transferred from Harrogate District to the new City of York Council area as a consequence of the local government reorganisation on 1 April 1996. This Local Plan is based on the revised administrative boundary of the District.

FIG 1. REGIONAL SETTING

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2.2 Although Harrogate District includes a number of important urban areas, it is essentially rural in character, containing about 150 villages and hamlets. The District is renowned for the quality and diversity of its landscape and wildlife. The western upland part of the District, centred on Nidderdale, was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1994. The District contains numerous, very popular countryside sites such as Fountains Abbey, Brimham Rocks and How Stean Gorge together with a considerable number of historic country houses, parks and estates which are attractive features and make a significant contribution to landscape variety. The eastern half of the District comprises an area of relatively flat land within the Vale of York, consisting of generally high quality farmland.

2.3 The A1 London-Edinburgh road passes through the District. This is gradually being upgraded to motorway standard and is linked to the M1 by a new road around the south and east of Leeds. Other important roads include the A61 Ripon-Harrogate road, which extends southwards to Leeds and the A59 which is the principal cross-link running westwards from York via Skipton to Lancashire. The District is also served by the Leeds-York railway line which provides an important connection to the Inter-City network.

2.4 In 1991 Harrogate District had a population of 143,500. Approximately 65% of the population are concentrated within the three settlements of Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon. Harrogate is the largest of these, having a resident population of 65,500. It first grew as a spa town in the 19th Century and today retains much of the character created by the spacious layout and elegant buildings of that period. The town has since developed as a resort, exhibition and conference centre; a residential town and an increasingly important business and commercial base.

2.5 Knaresborough and Ripon are similar in size, both having a population of approximately 13,500. The market town of Knaresborough grew around the Castle and the Market Place. It has a spectacular setting on the banks of the River Nidd which has contributed to the growth of tourism whilst its traditional character has been retained. Ripon is an ancient city, dating back to the time of King Alfred. The skyline is dominated by the Cathedral and the city centre has a large and attractive market square. Although the city has developed into an important tourism centre, it has retained its traditional character as a market town serving a wide agricultural hinterland.

2.6 Outside the principal settlements, the long established market towns of Boroughbridge, Masham and Pateley Bridge provide local services and employment opportunities to surrounding rural populations. In addition, many small traditional villages are widely dispersed throughout the District and contribute significantly to its character.

POLICY CONTEXT

2.7 In preparing this Local Plan, the Council has not had a free hand when deciding which policies and proposals to formulate. The following paragraphs set out those factors which have been particularly important in framing the Local Plan.

National Planning Policy

2.8 The Government, through its various Acts of Parliament, Circulars and Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs), provides an important framework for policies and proposals in local, and other development, plans. The aim of national guidance is to secure consistency of approach to planning decisions by setting out clearly the Government’s policy priorities. Policies and proposals within local plans must be consistent with this guidance unless exceptional reasons for not being so can be demonstrated.

2.9 The Council has taken fully into account the provisions of existing guidance in preparing this Local Plan. Emerging policies in the form of Draft Planning Policy Guidance Notes, e.g. the draft replacement PPG13 (Transport), have also been taken into account.

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Regional Planning Guidance

2.10 The Government considers that each region should have up to date regional planning guidance and local authorities are expected to take it into account in preparing their plans. Regional guidance for Yorkshire and Humberside was issued by the Secretary of State for the Environment in March 1996 and is currently being reviewed for the period to 2016. Draft Regional Planning Guidance was published in July 1999 and, following the Public Examination in June/July 2000, the Panel Report was published in October 2000.

The County Structure Plan

2.11 A local plan is required to be in general conformity with the Structure Plan. However, in the event of conflict between the provisions of a local plan and those of a structure plan the former prevail unless the structure plan authority have stated that the local plan is not in general conformity with the structure plan and the local plan has not been subsequently altered or replaced. The North Yorkshire County Structure Plan sets out the strategic planning policies for the County as a whole. Prepared by the County Council, the Structure Plan was approved by the Secretary of State for the Environment in November 1980. Following a review by the County Council, alterations to certain policies, including the roll forward of housing and industrial land provisions to 1996, were approved by the Secretary of State in January 1987. A second set of alterations concerning policies for minerals development, oil and gas, and waste disposal, was approved in August 1989.

2.12 Subsequently, the County Council has prepared a third set of alterations to the Structure Plan. Alteration No. 3 rolls forward housing and employment land provision to a new end date of 2006, updates the position on road schemes and introduces two new policies, one controlling development in the countryside and the other allowing large-scale business/industrial development as an exception to normal planning policy. Alteration No. 3 was adopted by the County Council on 6 October 1995 and forms part of the development plan for the area.

2.13 The approved planning strategy for North Yorkshire, as applied through the provisions of the County Structure Plan, gives a high priority to the conservation of natural resources and the environment, whilst seeking to meet the housing and employment needs of the resident population. The main elements of this strategy are: i) The protection and conservation of the landscape and the built environment (particularly those areas with statutory protection such as the National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, green belts, conservation areas and listed buildings) together with better quality farmland, sites of archaeological importance and valuable wildlife habitats. ii) A gradual reduction of the overall rate of housebuilding from the high levels experienced in the 1970’s in order to safeguard the environment of the County and to limit in-migration and commuting, particularly in those parts of the County closest to West Yorkshire. iii) The concentration of new development in and around the County’s main settlements. iv) Promotion of job opportunities through the release of sufficient land to meet the employment needs of the resident population. v) Regeneration of the remoter rural areas of North Yorkshire through a broadening of job opportunities and maintenance of social facilities. vi) Provision of an adequate transport network, making the best use of existing facilities, and support for public transport services. vii) Adequate provision for recreational, leisure and cultural facilities, and the concentration of shopping development in existing centres. 2.14 In preparing this Local Plan, the Council has had full regard to the above strategy and to the individual policies of the Structure Plan. These policies are reproduced in full in Appendix I (there is no reasoned justification available).

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Local Plans

2.15 The Harrogate and Knaresborough Local Plan, adopted by the Council in December 1992, and the Rivers Ure and Ouse Recreation Subject Plan, adopted by North Yorkshire County Council in November 1989 contained many unimplemented proposals and general policies which have been carried forward into this District Local Plan. Whilst a review of existing policies in these two plans has been undertaken, this Local Plan generally incorporates and builds on the provisions of these earlier documents.

Corporate Policies and Strategies

2.16 Also at the local level, the Council’s own corporate policies and departmental strategies (both existing and emerging) have had an important influence on the Local Plan insofar as they are concerned with the development or other use of land. Where appropriate, these strategies are referred to in the relevant sections of the Plan, normally within the policy justification. Particularly important in this respect has been the Council’s Environmental Strategy which is based on the ‘Friends of the Earth Charter’, the main elements of which are set out in the next section.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

2.17 PPG12 (Development Plans) states that development plans should be drawn up in such a way as to take environmental considerations comprehensively and consistently into account.

2.18 This principle is very familiar to the Council which has always attached a great deal of weight to environmental considerations both in formulating planning policies and in its decision making. In preparing this Local Plan, the Council has built on its experience in this field and has taken on board recent advice about newer environmental concerns such as global warming and the consumption of non-renewable resources.

2.19 At an early stage of Plan preparation environmental considerations were examined through the preparation of a report entitled ‘Environmental Issues’. This report was one of three (the others were Development Issues and Local Plan Strategy) considered by the Council’s Planning Committee in May 1993 in order to agree a framework for preparation of this Local Plan. The main purposes of this report were: i) To identify and consider key environmental issues affecting Harrogate District. ii) To highlight those aspects of the District’s environment (both natural and man-made) worthy of conservation and enhancement. iii) To examine how the Local Plan can best secure the conservation and enhancement of those features considered to be of importance. iv) To examine how the Local Plan might assist in ensuring that development and growth are sustainable. v) To provide a framework for the formulation of detailed policies and proposals. 2.20 The Environment Issues report was concerned with both the more ‘traditional’ environmental topics such as landscape, nature conservation, green belts and the built heritage, and the ‘wider’ environmental concerns of ‘sustainable development.’

2.21 To supplement this work, the Council has also undertaken a number of studies to ensure that essential information on environmental aspects is in place. These have included a landscape appraisal of the District, a Phase 1 Ecological Survey (which is a survey providing comprehensive information on the status, value and distribution of wildlife habitats within the District), an assessment of the District’s main villages and review of conservation area designations. The results of this work, together with the conclusion of the Environmental Issues report, have provided a solid foundation for the generation of the local plan strategy (see next section) and the formulation of individual policies.

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2.22 A fundamental role of the Plan is to allocate specific sites for various types of development. Here too, environmental considerations have been extremely important. Sites considered for development have generally been the subject of detailed assessment in order to identify environmental implications. This involved assessing the likely effect of development against a range of considerations including agricultural land quality, landscape, historic and built heritage, nature conservation, travel patterns and effect on the character of settlements. This has ensured that environmental factors have been fully taken into account in deciding which sites to allocate and how best to mitigate any harm likely to be caused through development.

2.23 In the preparation of this Local Plan, the Council has had regard to current Government guidance on environmental issues and the published advice of conservation and amenity groups. The Council has adopted the Friends of the Earth Environmental Charter for Local Government as a basis for its Environmental Strategy and this too, has had an important influence on the nature of policies and proposals. The main elements of the Friends of the Earth Charter, so far as it is concerned with the preparation of development plans, are as follows: • protecting and enhancing the local environment for wildlife. • protecting and enhancing local open space. • protecting and enhancing the built environment. • mitigating the effects of local pollution. • formulating policies for energy conservation. • planning to reduce pollution from vehicle emissions. • providing criteria to assess the quality of development in the development control process. • reducing the need to travel. • resisting developments out-of-town.

2.24 The Council has also adopted the ‘Climate Resolution’ which, together with its Environmental Strategy, provides a basis for future action including the setting of targets. These will assist in global sustainability.

2.25 The first draft of a District-wide Local Agenda 21 Plan has been agreed by the Council which incorporates the following aims: • an improved and integrated transport system with greater use of public transport and less dependency on cars. • better resource management in order to reduce consumption and pollution and to encourage the re-use or recycling of materials wherever possible. • less fear of crime and improved community safety (this area of work is mainly developed under the direction of the Community Safety Partnership Group). • local control with greater community involvement. • greater understanding of the conservation of the local landscape and environment. • a thriving local economy with more basic needs met more locally and more opportunities to work in a diverse local economy. • a healthy and safe environment supported by preventative public health policies and the "polluter pays" principle. • more leisure facilities with local accessibility. • more widespread education on local and global sustainability issues.

2.26 Government policy requires the environmental appraisal of development plan policies. The Council has not undertaken a separate exercise to meet this requirement but has appraised policies and proposals throughout the process of plan preparation, having regard to the Good Practice Guide

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(‘Environmental Appraisal of Development Plans’) produced by the Department of the Environment. Particular emphasis, however, has been given to assessing the environmental impact of policies and proposals when considering objections and deciding how to amend the Plan. This has involved assessing the environmental implications of individual policies and proposals against a range of criteria embracing global sustainability, natural resources and local environmental quality. A summary of the assessment for each policy is set out in the report to Planning Committee entitled ‘Harrogate District Local Plan - Response to Pre-Deposit Consultation and Proposed Amendments’ (November 1995).

2.27 The Local Plan incorporates a section within the introductory part of each main chapter. This sets out how the overall approach taken to that particular topic (e.g. housing, green belt, shopping) has regard to environmental considerations and briefly outlines what the environmental impact of policies and proposals is likely to be. Where appropriate, policy justifications also include a brief statement identifying specific environmental considerations in relation to the individual policy or proposal.

LOCAL PLAN STRATEGY

2.28 Government planning policy guidance as set out in PPG12 requires that a local plan should include in its introduction a clear and concise statement of its strategy for the plan area. This section of the Local Plan sets out the planning strategy for Harrogate District. The strategy has been drawn up having regard to all those factors identified in paragraphs 2.8 to 2.16 of this chapter and to the conclusions of the Development and Environment Issues Reports, approved by the Council in May 1993.

2.29 The planning strategy for the District seeks a balance between meeting development needs and protecting the high environmental quality of the area. The main elements of the strategy are (in no order of priority):

i) The protection and enhancement of the special character and environment of the Harrogate District Harrogate District is an area of considerable character and attractiveness. The Plan will aim to secure the conservation of those features, both natural and man-made, which contribute to the District’s environment. A high priority will be given to the protection of the area’s special designations including the many listed buildings, conservation areas, ancient monuments, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The best possible quality environment will be sought, with improvements being encouraged wherever there is scope.

ii) Seeking an environmentally sustainable quantity, pattern and form of development to facilitate the conservation of energy and other natural resources and the minimisation of pollution The Plan will seek to ensure, through the allocation of land and the application of general policies, that development is sustainable and is located where it is most appropriate and of most benefit to local needs. In doing so, it will reflect agreed international, national and local environmental targets. Monitoring procedures will be established to evaluate the impact of development on environmental resources. Wherever there is uncertainty about the environmental impact of development the Council will apply, as far as possible, the precautionary principle in assessing proposals.

iii) Providing sufficient land to meet local housing requirements including the need for affordable housing. Housing development in the District will be restrained because of the quality of the environment and in order to limit in-migration from West Yorkshire. The Plan will seek primarily to meet local housing needs although some in-migration is expected to continue at a reducing level, and will reflect the Council’s concern that provision should be made for affordable housing in both urban and rural areas.

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iv) Ensuring that adequate land is available to meet local employment needs and to create a more diversified economy. The Plan will aim to promote and strengthen the economic base of the District by ensuring that sufficient land and premises (in terms of both quality and quantity) are available to meet the expansion and relocation needs of local industry and commerce, to allow for the creation of new businesses and to accommodate inward investment. Policies will seek to protect existing employment land and will take a positive approach to the needs of small firms and the promotion of tourism.

v) Accommodating most of the District’s development needs within or adjoining existing built-up areas, maximising as far as possible the use of vacant and under-used land. The development needs of the District will largely be met in the main urban areas of Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon. Some growth will be accommodated within the smaller towns and villages specifically to meet rural housing and employment needs. Priority will be given to the use of sites within the confines of existing built-up areas, and to the re-use/ redevelopment of derelict or despoiled land generally, in order to reduce the development of greenfield land and to conserve energy resources, whilst seeking to avoid ‘town cramming’.

vi) Encouraging the development of a safe, accessible and efficient transport system which minimises environmental harm and serves existing and future development. The Plan will aim to secure improvements to all elements of the District’s transportation system. It will take full account of recently completed and proposed new highway schemes such as the upgrading of the A1 to motorway status and the Ripon Bypass, and the further improvement of traffic conditions within urban areas will be sought. A high priority will be given to improving public transport facilities and meeting the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

vii) Providing a good range of quality services, including shopping, leisure and other community facilities, throughout the District. The Plan will aim to ensure that the District’s residents and visitors have access to a good range of quality facilities. Policies will seek to safeguard and improve existing facilities, including open space, sporting facilities and shopping centres. Encouragement will be given to the provision of new facilities which overcome existing deficiencies or extend choice.

viii)Supporting the revitalisation and diversification of the rural economy in ways that maintain or enhance the environment. The Plan will aim to counter the problems brought about by a changing agricultural industry and the loss of essential rural services. An important element of the strategy will be to ensure that development in the rural areas benefits the rural economy and safeguards the environment. The Plan will make provision for rural employment and will encourage approp- riate forms of diversification so as to improve the employment prospects of those living in rural areas. Particular consideration will be given to needs arising in the less accessible and remoter areas to the north and west of the District.

ix) Protecting the countryside by restraining development which is inappropriate or does not need to be located there. In the countryside the planning strategy will be one of general restraint on development through the application of green belt and other countryside conservation policies. These policies seek to protect the countryside for its own sake and to safeguard the character and setting of individual settlements and the best and most versatile agricultural land.

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