Guildford borough Submission Local Plan: strategy and sites – main modifications September 2018 Alternative formats If you would like to read this consultation document in a different format such as large print or a different language please contact Planning Policy: Telephone: 01483 444471 Email: [email protected] 2 Contents Foreword 5 How to read this plan 7 1. Introduction 8 2. Key facts about the borough 12 3. Our vision and ambition 18 4. Policies 22 Strategic Policy S1: Presumption in favour of sustainable development 22 Policy S2: Planning for the borough - our spatial development strategy 24 Policy S3: Delivery of development and regeneration within Guildford Town Centre 29 Housing Policy H1: Homes for all 33 Policy H2: Affordable homes 41 Policy H3: Rural Exception homes 45 Protecting Policy P1: Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Area of Great 48 Landscape Value Policy P2: Green Belt 51 Policy P3: Countryside 55 Policy P4: Flooding, flood risk and groundwater protection zones 57 Policy P5: Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area 62 Economy Policy E1: Meeting employment needs 67 Policy E2: Locations of new employment floorspace 72 Policy E3: Maintaining employment capacity and improving employment floorspace 76 Policy E4: Surrey Research Park 81 Policy E5: Rural economy 84 Policy E6: The leisure and visitor experience 88 Policy E7: Guildford Town Centre 92 Policy E8: District Centres 96 Policy E9: Local Centres and isolated retail units 99 Design Policy D1: Place shaping 103 Policy D2: Sustainable design, construction and energy 109 Policy D3: Historic environment 117 Policy D4: Character and design of new development 120 Infrastructure and delivery Policy ID1: Infrastructure and delivery 122 Policy ID2: Supporting the Department for Transport’s “Road Investment Strategy” 126 Policy ID3: Sustainable transport for new developments 129 Policy ID4: Green and blue infrastructure 134 Site allocations A1 – A64 142 3 Appendices Appendix 0: Housing trajectory 287 Appendix A: Glossary 289 Appendix A1: Maps showing 500m buffer of public transport interchange 312 Appendix A2: Evidence of active and comprehensive marketing 317 Appendix B: Hierarchy of retail and service centres and Guildford Town 318 Centre Shopping Frontages Appendix C: Infrastructure schedule 320 Appendix D: Evidence base 343 Appendix E: Superseded policies 356 Appendix F: Policies map 361 Appendix G: Intentionally blank Appendix H: Maps 362 4 Foreword Councillor Paul Spooner - Leader of the Council The borough of Guildford is a very special, beautiful place for all who live and work here. We want to keep it this way for generations to come. To help manage the future of the area and outline the direction in which we are heading, we have set out planning policies for the period up until 2034. Our Submission Local Plan: strategy and sites (2017) addresses the needs for employment, housing, community facilities and other forms of development in the borough, supported by the appropriate level of infrastructure. It also outlines how we will conserve and enhance the unique qualities of our natural and built environment, especially in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area. This Development Plan Document sets out how we propose to meet these conflicting demands and offers a vision for the borough as a prosperous, safe and healthy place where people from all communities want, and are able, to live and work. Once tested for soundness, the Local Plan: strategy and sites will form a key component of our development plan against which we are required to determine planning applications. The document will provide the framework for improved infrastructure, development and employment in the borough for the twenty-year plan period. The Submission Local Plan: strategy and sites (2017) recognises and reflects the uniqueness of our borough as a place in which to live, work, visit and study. Guildford is home to two universities, a world leading research institute, a number of UK and European business headquarters and a world class research park. The borough also has a vibrant retail economy, contains a number of cultural attractions and is highly valued by residents and visitors alike for its special heritage and landscape. Protecting these qualities for future generations is a core theme of this plan. The planning system is underpinned by an objective to promote sustainable development. Whilst we will conserve and enhance our special landscapes, the Local Plan aims to balance protecting the borough’s unique environment with meeting our social and economic needs. Ignoring the need for more housing and employment in the borough will have destructive consequences for local communities. It is necessary to have more affordable housing, sites for travellers and diversification in the housing stock to help ensure that accommodation is accessible to all. It is also vital to enhance our employment to maintain the prosperity of the borough, including in our rural areas. We recognise that significant infrastructure upgrades are required to support existing communities and the planned growth of the borough. The delivery of sites allocated in this plan is contingent upon the provision of new infrastructure, which is a key theme of our Local Plan. The Council will work with infrastructure providers and developers to ensure that sufficient physical, social and green infrastructure is provided during the plan period. The policies and site allocations contained within the Submission Local Plan are informed by an up-to-date, extensive and robust evidence base. The borough’s specific housing and employment needs have been determined through our updated joint West Surrey Strategic Housing Market Assessment and Employment Land Needs Assessment. The Council’s Land Availability Assessment determines the availability, suitability and viability of sites for development. Our evidence base will continue to be updated throughout the plan period to ensure that the plan remains flexible and adaptable to change. 5 In meeting the borough’s housing and employment needs the Council have adopted a ‘brownfield first’ approach. However, our evidence demonstrates that there is not sufficient previously developed land available to meet all of the borough’s development needs. A range of locations, including five strategic sites, have therefore been identified for development. In accordance with national policy, we are also proposing to inset some of our villages from the green belt. In total, 1.5% of green belt land will be removed and allocated for development during the plan period. The Submission Local Plan: strategy and sites (2017) is the culmination of a long and complex preparation process. In drawing up the plan, we have engaged with partner organisations and local communities and agencies. We have worked particularly closely with neighbouring Local Authorities who share similar physical and demographical characteristics to us and over which our housing and economic markets transcend. We have also asked you for your views about the future of the area throughout the preparation of the Local Plan. The comments you provided on our published Issue and Options 2013 document, Draft Local Plan 2014 and Submission Local Plan (2016) have proven invaluable in helping the Council produce what we consider to be the most sustainable plan possible. We recognise that there are many different and often competing views about the borough’s future and have looked at various ways of meeting the needs that you identified, alongside the national requirements with which we have to comply. The six-week consultation period on the Submission Local Plan (2017) offers another opportunity to have your views heard. The Submission Local Plan: strategy and sites (2017) plans positively for the borough’s long-term needs. The plan will deliver more housing, employment space and supporting infrastructure whilst preserving the borough’s special landscapes and environmental qualities. In producing the Submission Local Plan: strategy and sites (2017), we have set out a vision and policies for the future of the borough that aim to improve the prosperity of Guildford and reflect your own aspirations. 6 How to read this plan Blue boxes contain POLICY Green boxes contain important information to support POLICY Pink boxes contain information on how the POLICY will be implemented and monitored Blue underlined text is a hyperlink to a place in this document or to a website 7 1. Introduction Background 1.1 Planning decisions determine where new homes, offices, business, shops and leisure facilities will go and how we protect our countryside, historic environment and open spaces. These choices shape where we live, work, shop and play. 1.2 Our new Local Plan for 2015 - 2034 is central to delivering Guildford’s vision for the future. It deals with key issues of local importance and gives direction to deliver a high quality of life in a sustainable way. Planning applications will be determined against the policies and proposals of the Local Plan once it has been adopted. 1.3 The new Local Plan consists of two parts. This document, the ‘Local Plan: strategy and sites’, sets out our vision, aims and strategy for the borough up to 2034.The document contains overarching planning policies and allocates land for housing, employment, community facilities and other types of development. The second part of the Local Plan, to be known as the ‘Local Plan: development management policies’, will be produced following the adoption of this document and include detailed development management policies. 1.4 The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (and amendments in subsequent Acts) sets out the requirements and consultation processes needed to produce a Local Plan. We must also have followed the processes outlined within The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. 1.5 The new Local Plan must be consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The NPPF instructs us to prepare a plan that is positive about development and requires councils to cooperate with neighbouring authorities when producing their plan.