Introduction

Newcastle under Lyme Local Plan 2011 – Adopted October 2003 INTRODUCTION This Local Plan consists of this revised Written Statement and a Proposals Map. It covers the period to 2011 and applies to the whole of the Borough of Newcastle under Lyme, as shown on the maps overleaf. The Development Plan The Statutory Development Plan for the Borough consists of this Local Plan, prepared by the Borough Council, and the following other plans, prepared jointly by Staffordshire County Council and Stoke on Trent City Council: • THE STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE ON TRENT STRUCTURE PLAN (Adopted in May 2001) • THE STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE ON TRENT MINERALS LOCAL PLAN (Adopted in December 1999) • THE STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE ON TRENT WASTE LOCAL PLAN (Adopted in February 2003) A Local Plan has to conform to national planning guidance, regional guidance and the Structure Plan for the area. A Structure Plan provides the general policy context to which Local Plans must conform and also specifies how many houses and how much employment land will be required in future in each district. What a Local Plan does A Local Plan is a land-use plan to help guide future physical and environmental change in the interests of the wider community. It proposes identified sites where a particular kind of development should take place, and it sets out general development control policies to be used when planning applications are made for any kind of development anywhere in the Borough. It is only one of a number of things that guide activity in the Borough and so its influence is limited. The activities and strategies of other organisations will also have influence in their own fields. However, this also illustrates another purpose of the Local Plan - to set the future land use and environmental context for other strategies and initiatives. These include Borough-wide strategies such as the Local Agenda 21 Strategy and area based initiatives such as the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) areas. The aim is not only compatibility between different areas of activity, but by seeking to work with each other, in partnership, organisations can help to ensure the most effective use of resources. The form of this document This document contains a written statement and a Proposals Map, which is enclosed at the back. In the written statement there are ten sections: 1. Sustainable development keynote 6. Community facilities 2. Housing 7. Natural heritage 3. Employment and economic development 8. Built heritage 4. Retail and town centres 9. Implementation and monitoring 5. Transport 10. Sustainability appraisal Introduction 1 Newcastle under Lyme Local Plan 2011 – Adopted October 2003 In each section except the last, there are policies and supporting text. The policies are shown in bold text inside boxes. Where the policies apply only to specific parts of the Borough, the Proposals Map shows the areas concerned with a cross-reference to the relevant policy number. The preparation of this Local Plan The process for preparing this plan was as follows: Public consultation on the Consultation Report – Summer 2000 Approval of the Deposit Draft Local Plan – March 2001 First deposit of Local Plan – May / July 2001 Approval of Revised Deposit Draft Local Plan – January 2002 Revised deposit of Local Plan – March / April 2002 Public Local Inquiry – September / November 2002 Receipt of Inspector’s Report – March 2003 Deposit of Modifications to Local Plan – June / July 2003 Local Plan adopted –October 2003 ii Newcastle under Lyme Local Plan 2011 – Adopted October 2003 iii Newcastle under Lyme Local Plan 2011 – Adopted October 2003 iv Newcastle under Lyme Local Plan 2011 – Adopted October 2003 Aim and Objectives The following overall aim and objectives set out the aspirations and provide the direction for the new Local Plan. The objectives link to the individual sections of the plan and are important because they provide the purpose behind polices and proposals and the reason for their inclusion in the plan. Overall Aim To help the Borough develop, in a sustainable way, to meet the needs and aspirations of its residents and businesses and improve the quality of life for all. Objectives 1 Sustainable Development • To ensure that future development is as sustainable as possible, avoids pollution and conserves natural assets • To seek to improve the quality of the environment of the Borough by encouraging good design in all new development and to take all possible opportunities to improve and regenerate impoverished areas 2 Housing • To help to meet the housing needs of the whole community 3 Employment and Economic Development • To maintain and increase confidence in the local economy and attract inward investment • To provide the best possible environment to encourage and increase economic enterprise and employment 4 Retail and Town Centres • To enable access to the widest range possible of shopping and commercial services for the resident population • To protect and enhance the vitality and viability of Newcastle Town Centre, Kidsgrove Town Centre and the other district centres 5 Access and Transport • To reduce the need to travel while increasing accessibility for all • To help to provide a safe, efficient highway network and improve the viability of public transport • To encourage the use of public transport, cycling and walking 6 Community Facilities • To provide a suitable environment for the provision of the widest possible range of community, cultural, educational, health, recreational and leisure facilities 7 Natural Heritage • To protect, and where possible enhance, the biodiversity of the Borough v Newcastle under Lyme Local Plan 2011 – Adopted October 2003 • To protect, and where possible enhance, valuable natural areas and features of the landscape of the Borough 8 Historic Heritage • To help to maintain distinctiveness and foster interest in and concern for the heritage of the area • To protect and, where possible, enhance all valuable elements of the built environment Regeneration The core strategy of the new plan towards achieving its objectives is to continue the approach of regeneration that has been the cornerstone of planning polices in North Staffordshire for many years. It is vital that, throughout the Borough, planning policies are aimed at providing the best possible opportunity for economic prosperity while improving the environment and the quality of life for all residents. The plan has to meet the challenges of social and economic changes in both the rural and urban areas, whose futures are inextricably linked. In terms of the location of development, the aim towards a sustainable pattern of development means that new houses, employment, retail and other services should wherever possible be concentrated in and around the urban area. This also has the effect of protecting the countryside from unnecessary development. Complementary to this is the need to regenerate the urban areas so that so many of the negative aspects associated with them are removed. Within the urban areas, development should help to: • retain the integrity of existing communities • maintain and increase local population to support and improve facilities • tackle derelict or vacant land and buildings • provide homes, jobs and facilities close to each other • help renew urban infrastructure such as roads and main utilities • upgrade the quality of the urban environment Achieving the plan's aims and objectives The new Local Plan looks 10 years into the future at anticipated changes and its polices and proposals are intended to help guide change in ways that help to secure the overall aim and objectives. Most of the objectives - and certainly the all embracing aim - cannot be satisfied by the plan on its own, largely because the plan only has effect where development changes are proposed. However, the impact of the plan is extremely significant and explicit objectives can help to ensure that this impact, at all times, moves in the right direction. Some of the objectives conflict with each other because land-use planning is concerned with resolving competing claims for the use of land. Objectives as well as policies often pull in opposite directions. Where possible, the policies and proposals of the plan help to resolve the conflicts and set out priorities against which decisions can be made. This is referred to in the Sustainability Appraisal. The Local Plan helps to guide private and public investment but is not itself able to commit financial or other resources to achieve proposals. It complements other plans and strategies of the Borough Council such as its Community Plan, Local Agenda 21 Strategy, Economic Development Strategy and Capital Spending programme. It also ties in with the plans and programmes of other public sector bodies such as the Highway Authority’s Local Transport Plan. vi Newcastle under Lyme Local Plan 2011 – Adopted October 2003 1 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT KEYNOTE INTRODUCTION Sustainable development is intended to be at the heart of government policy. "At its heart is the simple idea of ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come.... It means meeting four objectives at the same time, in the UK and the world as a whole: • Social progress which recognises the needs of everyone; • Effective protection of the environment; • Prudent use of natural resources; and • Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment.” (From A Better Quality Of Life – A Strategy For Sustainable Development for the UK – DETR, Crown Copyright 1999) Sustainable development is at the heart of this Local Plan. It is enshrined in its general aim (see Introduction). Development that improves the quality of life for the residents of the area is to be encouraged so long as it is not to the detriment of the environment in other ways and does not harm the environment for future generations. The highest priority must be given to non-renewable resources: those things which if damaged or destroyed can never be replaced.

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