Local Development Plan - Position Paper Settlement and Placemaking 1 Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. 3 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 4 Regional Planning Policy Context .................................................................................... 4 Regional Development Strategy 2035 (RDS) .......................................................... 4 Strategic Planning Policy Statement for Northern Ireland (SPPS) ..................... 10 Extant Local Development Plan Context ....................................................................... 11 Ards and Down Area Plan 2015 .............................................................................. 11 Draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 (BMAP) ............................................. 12 Settlement Hierarchy and Development ........................................................................ 14 Borough Profile .................................................................................................................... 16 Bangor ......................................................................................................................... 16 Newtownards .............................................................................................................. 18 Comber ........................................................................................................................ 21 Holywood ..................................................................................................................... 22 Donaghadee ............................................................................................................... 25 Placemaking .......................................................................................................................... 26 Regional Planning Policy Context in relation to ‘placemaking.’ ................. 28 Regional Development Strategy (RDS) .................................................................. 28 Strategic Planning Policy Statement (SPPS) ........................................................ 29 Living Places: An Urban Stewardship and Design Guide for Northern Ireland 30 Key Findings ......................................................................................................................... 31 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 31 Appendix 1 ............................................................................................................................. 32 Table 4 - Settlement Hierarchy for North Down and Ards Districts (Within Draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 and Ards and Down Area Plan 2015) .... 32 Appendix 2 ............................................................................................................................. 33 Population Ards and North Down Borough Council Settlements ....................... 33 Appendix 3 ............................................................................................................................. 35 Borough Profile - Villages ......................................................................................... 35 Borough Profile – Small Settlements ...................................................................... 55 2 Executive Summary This Position Paper aims to provide an overview of the role and function of extant settlements in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area, a consideration of the hierarchy of settlements and also to assist in identifying the key future direction for the Local Development Plan (LDP) up to 2030. It is important to stress that in compiling the Position Paper, the best information available has been used. Information shall be updated, as required, further in the plan making process. The paper will provide a foundation of evidence to bring forward proposals in the Preferred Options Paper (POP) and also form a starting point with the views of members generated as part of the engagement event. The POP is the earliest stage of plan preparation and will form the basis for consulting with the public and stakeholders on a range of options for dealing with key issues in the Borough. It shall also allow members to commence consideration of how policy for settlements can be formulated within the context of the Regional Development Strategy 2035 (RDS) and the Strategic Planning Policy Statement (SPPS). The evidence base on this topic will need to be further informed by a Sustainability Appraisal (SA). Any future decision making shall be made in the context of the SA under the provisions of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Act 2011. This paper is, therefore, intended to generate member’s ideas on how planning can best protect, enhance, and encourage settlement appropriate growth in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area. 3 Introduction 1.1 The aim of this paper is to provide baseline evidence which will inform members and enable meaningful participation in the forthcoming Local Development Plan (LDP) workshop on Settlement. 1.2 Key findings, as a result of the evidence collated, are outlined as main areas of consideration in the ongoing preparation of the Borough’s new LDP. The paper concludes with a brief overview of the envisaged next steps in the process, with regard to this topic area, particularly with regard to the Preferred Options Paper and Plan Strategy stages. 1.3 A spatial growth strategy will be an essential component of the Local Development Plan. It is required to define a detailed spatial framework to accommodate the range of different settlement types found across the Borough and the various commercial centres located within these settlements. The spatial strategy will provide the core framework for growth of the Borough over the plan period and provide the basis for the allocation of land for future development in the Local Policies Plan part of the LDP. In developing a spatial strategy the Council will be required to both reflect and implement the broad Spatial Framework defined in the RDS. Regional Planning Policy Context 2.1 The regional policy context is provided by the Regional Development Strategy 2035 (RDS), the Strategic Planning Policy Statement (SPPS) for Northern Ireland, and extant regional planning policy. Regional Development Strategy 2035 (RDS) 2.2 The RDS provides an overarching strategic planning framework to facilitate and guide the public and private sectors. Preparation of Local Development Plans by Councils must ‘take account’ of the RDS. 4 2.3 The aim of the RDS is to ensure that all places benefit from economic growth, it maintains an approach of balanced sub-regional growth and recognises the importance of key settlements as centres for growth and investment. 2.4 The RDS recognises the need to understand the role and function of settlements and their role in serving rural communities and the importance of promoting co-operation between places. It encourages clustering of towns and cities so that services can be shared rather than duplicated and it also identifies those settlements within close proximity to each other which have the potential to cluster. 2.5 The Hierarchy of Settlements and Related Infrastructure Wheel (Diagram 1) illustrate the range of public and private services needed to ensure citizens have access to the necessary economic, social, and cultural opportunities, as well as the infrastructure required by businesses to build a competitive dynamic and innovative economy. These services include transport and communication networks, education, health, social, environment, commercial, and justice. The wheel outlines the patterns of service provision that are likely to be appropriate at different spatial levels including neighbourhoods, smaller towns, regional towns (or groups of towns) and cities or at the regional level. 5 Diagram 1 – RDS Infrastructure Wheel Source: RDS, Page 24 6 2.6 The model recognises the strong relationship between settlement size and the levels of service that can be supported. The wheel provides a forward perspective, providing some understanding of the level of facilities and services anticipated at different spatial levels rather than necessarily reflecting the stock of services that are currently available in villages, towns, cities or regionally. 2.7 This approach recognises that settlements often provide either a greater or lesser range of services than the core population may dictate. It is not appropriate therefore to consider ‘urban’ population alone in classifying service settlements within any district as the population of rural hinterlands can also support services in urban centres. 2.8 The model also indicates that service centres tend to be hierarchical, with a large number of centres providing a smaller range of services, and a smaller number of centres providing a wider range. Each class of settlement provides services lower down in the hierarchy. 2.9 Finally, it shows that access to services and facilities is important. Creating a critical mass to support a level of services raises challenges for service providers in meeting the needs of spatially dispersed populations. 2.10 In addition to the wheel, the RDS presents a Housing Evaluation Framework which sets out six tests, and is reproduced in Table 1 below. 2.11 The wheel provides