Clach Na Sanais Croy Inverness-Shire IV25PG 10 March 2017 (Expanded 03 April 2017) Simon Hindson Highland Council Planning Dept
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Clach na Sanais Croy Inverness-shire IV25PG 10 March 2017 (Expanded 03 April 2017) Simon Hindson Highland Council Planning Dept Dear Mr Hindson Please find below, lately available, additional information in support of my objections to, 16/05725/S42, “VARY CONDITION 1 AND REMOVE CONDITION 34 OF 09/00038/OUTIN LAND NORTH EAST OF TORNAGRAIN, DALCROSS”. (A variation which seeks to remove time stipulations and the word approved from the phasing plan in condition 1 of 09/00038/OUTIN) The Scottish Government has recently published, Places, People and Planning, a consultation on the future of the Scottish planning system. In their own words: The consultation paper “places, people & planning” sets out twenty proposals for change which aim to strengthen the planning system and support sustainable economic growth across the country. The proposals build on the recommendations of the independent review of the planning system. In the, building more homes and delivering infrastructure section, Proposal 14: Creating a fairer and more transparent approach to funding infrastructure, the document states that; 3.39 - Planning and development already contributes significantly to funding any required expansion in infrastructure that is needed to deal with the effects of development. We agree with the independent panel that existing arrangements focusing on the use of Section 75 planning obligations need to be reconsidered, taking into account the delay and uncertainty associated with current arrangements. We will consider changes to clarify the scope of current provisions in Section 75. 3.40 - Current legislation allows those who enter into planning obligations to apply to modify or discharge the agreement, regardless of how recently these have been entered into and how fundamental these have been to supporting development delivery. We have seen increasing uncertainty about whether commitments to providing infrastructure will come forward in the longer term. We propose restricting the ability to modify and discharge terms of planning obligations introduced by the 2006 Planning Act so that commitments made when planning permission is granted are respected by those who entered into the obligation or who acquire the land. (My bold) A very recent, brief, conversation with the contact Policy Officer at the Scottish Government, in relation to the above section suggests that the Government will be looking at tightening up the ability to modify or discharge any obligations as a whole, not just infrastructure. They are looking to introduce a bill at the end of this year. However, focusing particularly on infrastructure, with respect to the grant of planning permission for the development of the new town, close to Tornagrain, I would highlight the following chain of events. • The consultative draft of the Inverness Local Plan of June 2001, Section 5.1, A96 Corridor, focused on development at the Airport, with no major large scale housing developments specifically noted within the A96 Corridor. This plan also described the A96 Corridor as being, The coastal plain between Inverness and Nairn; The main elements of growth in the A96 Corridor derive from the non-statutory work carried our thereafter, outwith the development plan context; • That non-statutory work resulted in the publication of, The A96 Growth Corridor Development Framework, in 2007. Within that framework, section 8, Delivery, set out mechanisms for the fair delivery of Infrastructure across the Corridor. A phasing Matrix is included in this section and under the heading, Development Phasing, the framework clearly states that, It is critical that a clear understanding of phasing for development and infrastructure is provided. This will allow development to progress in an orderly fashion. The section concludes, Should this pattern be amended, there could be significant impacts for infrastructure delivery and project funding. Consequently any such amendments should be carefully considered and their implications assessed; (My bold) • Moving into the statutory context; the Highland wide Local Development Plan, HwLDP, April 2012, references the A96 Growth Corridor Development Framework, September 2007, as, Existing Supplementary Guidance, as a, Framework for future developments over the next 30+ years within the land eastwards from Inverness to the border with Moray and south to the B9006; • The Highland wide Local Development Plan, HwLDP, April 2012, also references the A96 Corridor Developer Contributions...Protocol for securing developer contributions within the A96 Corridor, as Future Supplementary Guidance. • Section 10 of the HwLDP, The A96 Corridor – Phasing and Infrastructure, Policy 9, clearly states that, For larger mixed use sites, the Council will require that each site is masterplanned and each phase of development will need to show its relationship to this initial masterplan and demonstrate how the required developer funded infrastructure can be delivered; • Section 12, of the HwLDP, Tornagrain, states, at 12.3, that, The delivery of a development of this scale clearly requires effective long term planning… • Policy 13, of the HwLDP, Tornagrain, begins with the wording, The Council supports the development of Tornagrain as an essential component of the settlement strategy to meet the long term housing needs of the area. Development will be supported in self- contained phases, subject to infrastructure and services being provided to support the growth of the town, and towards the end states contributions towards provisions of strategic infrastructure in line with an amended A96 Corridor Protocol; • As noted in previous submission, The 2015 Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan states, for Tornagrain, Requirements: Development in accordance with the approved planning permission 09/00038/OUTIN, Section 75 Planning Obligation and associated masterplan...(during the Plan period to 2031 development should progress with no more than 344 homes delivered in the period to 2016; 507 homes in 2016-21; 780 homes delivered in the period 2021-26 and 885 during the 5 year period 2026-31); • Within the 2015 Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan, the council has clearly made a link between the planning permission and the development plan; In conclusion; The Planning Authority has vigorously defended the inclusion of this new town as part of its 30 to 40 year planning strategy and emphasised its worth to the creation of prosperity, not just for the A96 Corridor, but for Inverness and the wider Highland economy; • There is a clearly established link between the grant of permission for large scale developments, facilitating growth in the A96 Corridor, in particular, Tornagrain, and the timing of the provision of infrastructure; • It is critical that the approved timing of phasing, for development and infrastructure, is clearly set out; • It is critical that detailed information is provided by the developer so that the economic consequences for the growth strategy can be considered. Planning Circular 3/2012 specifies that planning conditions, (with guidance pertaining to the use of conditions set out in Circular 4/98), are generally preferable to a planning or legal obligation. It states that, Planning authorities should be clear that a planning obligation is only necessary where successors in title need to be bound by the required obligation, for example where phased contributions to infrastructure are required. Highland Council has, presumably, imposed the conditions, with respect to 09/00038/OUTIN, which are set out in the Decision Notice, dated 06 11 2013, following the guidance set out in Circular 4/98. The conditions, given the complex planning history of the New Town, would appear, as per Circular 4/98, to be, necessary, relevant to planning, relevant to the development to be permitted and reasonable. The Decision Notice also advises that the planning permission had been granted subject to a section 75 Obligation and that, 'The terms of this obligation must be read in conjunction with the planning permission hereby approved'. It is reasonable to assert, therefore, that the same commitment should be applied to the upholding of the conditions as to the upholding of the Section 75 planning obligations. The Scottish Government proposes restricting, the ability to modify and discharge terms of planning obligations introduced by the 2006 Planning Act so that commitments made when planning permission is granted are respected by those who entered into the obligation. (My bold). Hence, it is vital that MEDCo respects their obligations, in the broadest sense, and continues to operate within an approved time stipulated phasing plan, which, in their own words, they assumed to be, broadly consistent with the Highland Council's A96 Growth Corridor Framework Strategy. C Stafford Tornagrain and the Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative The submission made by Tornagrain to the Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/212607/0083319.pdf Extracts ..It is Moray Estates’ aspiration that Tornagrain will set the standard for residential led development in Scotland in the 21st century. It is intended that Tornagrain will create a new and sustainable community for the Highlands... ...In addition, the Estate recognises that the town will not exist in isolation; the success of the town is clearly dependent upon the future success of the Highland region. Equally, the Estate believes that the town will play an important role in the future success of the Highlands. Tornagrain