Epping Forest District Council GREEN BELT REVIEW STAGE ONE September 2015 Report to Cabinet 3 September 2015 GREEN BELT REVIEWSTAGE ONE APPENDIX 2 September 2015 Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: History of the Green Belt and Local Green Belt Policy ......................................... 2 History of the Green Belt ..................................................................................................................... 2 Local Green Belt Policy ........................................................................................................................ 2 Green Belt in Neighbouring Authorities .............................................................................................. 4 Figure 1: Neighboring Local Authorities & Green Belt ................................................................... 6 Figure 2: Cross‐Boundary Green Belt Considerations .................................................................... 7 Chapter 3: Exceptional Circumstances ................................................................................. 10 Viable Alternatives to Meet Objectively Assessed Development Needs ........................................... 10 Chapter 4: Current Status of the Green Belt within the District .......................................... 11 Green Belt Parcels ............................................................................................................................. 11 Appraisal of Green Belt Parcels ......................................................................................................... 11 Figure 3: Parcel Scoring Method ................................................................................................... 12 Figure 4: EFDC Landscape Character Assessment (2010) .......................................................... 13 Figure 5: Green Belt Parcels .......................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 5: District‐Wide Analysis of Appraisal Results ........................................................ 15 Purpose 1: To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built‐up areas ................................................. 15 Figure 6: Purpose 1 Map (To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built‐up areas) .............................. 18 Purpose 2: To prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another ............................................ 20 Figure 7: Distance between Towns Table ..................................................................................... 20 Figure 8: Distance between towns map ........................................................................................ 22 Figure 9: Purpose 2 Map (To prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another) .............. 23 Purpose 3: To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment ....................................... 26 Figure 10: Summary of Countryside Encroachment 1986 – 2015 ................................................ 28 Figure 11: Countryside Encroachment – Indicative Areas (1986 – 2015) ..................................... 29 Figure 12: Purpose 3 Map (To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment) ....... 31 Purpose 4: To preserve the setting and special character of historic towns ..................................... 32 Figure 13: Purpose 4 Map (To preserved the setting and special character of historic towns) ... 34 Aggregated Parcel Scores ................................................................................................................. 35 Figure 14: Green Belt Parcel Overall Aggregated Contribution Map ............................................ 36 Report to Cabinet 3 September 2015 GREEN BELT REVIEWSTAGE ONE APPENDIX 2 September 2015 Chapter 6: Broad Locations for Further Assessment ........................................................... 38 Figure 15: Settlements identified for further Green Belt Review ................................................. 38 Figure 16: Settlement categories defined by the Settlement Hierarchy Technical Paper ............ 39 Figure 17: Creation of Broad Locations for Further Assessment .................................................. 41 Figure 18: Broad Locations for further assessment ..................................................................... 44 Chapter 7: Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 45 Appendices ............................................................................................................................ 47 Appendix 1: Green Belt Parcel Assessment Criteria ............................................................. 48 Appendix 2: Glossary of Terminology .................................................................................... 50 Appendix 3: Relevant Essex & Southend‐on‐Sea Structure Plan (2001) .............................. 51 Appendix 4: Countryside Encroachment Table (1986 – 2015) ............................................. 52 Appendix 5: Green Belt Parcel Appraisal Summary Table .................................................... 54 Appendix 6: Parcel Appraisals ............................................................................................... 57 Report to Cabinet 3 September 2015 GREEN BELT REVIEWSTAGE ONE APPENDIX 2 September 2015 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 The main purpose of the Stage 1 study is to undertake a high level review of Green Belt land across the District to identify the contribution of the Green Belt towards national Green Belt purposes as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). 1.2 Following this assessment against the national purposes a number of constraints will be applied as part of the Stage 1 study to enable further assessments of these areas in the Stage 2 report. 1.3 These constraints are as follows: • Strategic Flood Risk Assessment • Special Protection Areas (SPA) • Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) • Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) • Local Nature Reserves (LNR) • City of London Corporation Epping Forest Buffer land (land owned and managed by the City of London Corporation, which although not a formal part of the Forest, is not available for development) 1.4 The outcome of this study will provide only one piece of evidence amongst a wide range of considerations that must be taken into account before any potential changes to the Green Belt boundaries are proposed. Such considerations include, but are not limited to, objectively assessed need for development, infrastructure capacity, the availability land for development and sustainability. Therefore this document should not be read in isolation. If a parcel (or part of a parcel) is appraised as not serving the purposes of the Green Belt, this does not mean that the parcel should or will be allocated for development in the Local Plan or that the Council would look favourably on a planning application. 1.5 Please note that a separate Green Belt Review Methodology has been prepared which sets out an analysis of national policy relating to Green Belt and the approach of a two staged Green Belt Review. The Methodology should be read alongside this report. 1 Report to Cabinet 3 September 2015 GREEN BELT REVIEWSTAGE ONE APPENDIX 2 September 2015 Chapter 2: History of the Green Belt and Local Green Belt Policy 2.1 The following chapter sets out a brief overview of current and historic local Green Belt policy and guidance (see methodology for an overview of national policy and guidance). Following on from this it considers the potential conditions for exceptional circumstances required in order to alter Green Belt boundaries. History of the Green Belt 2.2 The Metropolitan Green Belt, which covers part of Epping Forest District, has been a central feature of planning policy in the Home Counties since it was first formally approved in 1957. The concept of a Green Belt around London originated before the Second World War in response to the need to control the outward spread of London. Epping Forest was one of the inspirations for the Green Belt principle, beginning with the First Report of the Greater London Regional Planning Committee in 1929 and its ‘green girdle’ around London. The first Green Belt was defined by the London County Council in the Greater London Plan of 1944. Soon after, the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 led to the designation of a Green Belt by the councils around London. 2.3 The Green Belt proved to be an effective tool in limiting the extent of development. So much so that in 1955 the Government published a Circular (No 42/55) setting out the purposes of the Green Belt and encouraging other cities to follow London’s example and consider establishing a Green Belt. This Circular suggested that local authorities prepare policies to ensure that new development (a) was only permitted where it would lead to a rounding off of, or infilling within, a settlement in the Green Belt, or (b) was for the purposes of agriculture, recreation, cemeteries, institutions standing in large grounds or other uses appropriate to a rural area. Local Green Belt Policy 2.4 The current Epping Forest Green Belt boundaries were established in the 1980s in the Council’s first three Local Plans. The 1998 Local Plan only introduced very minor changes to the Green Belt. 2.5 The Essex and Southend on Sea Replacement Structure Plan