Taunton Deane Site Allocations DPD Planning Inspector's Report
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Report to Taunton Deane Borough Council by Paul Griffiths BSc(Hons) BArch IHBC an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Date 17 November 2016 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) Section 20 Report on the Examination of the Taunton Deane Borough Council Site Allocations and Development Management Plan The Plan was submitted for examination on 13 July 2015 The examination hearings were held on 1 & 2 December 2015 and between 30 March and 5 April 2016 File Ref: PINS/D3315/429/6 Abbreviations used in this report AA Appropriate Assessment DCLG Department for Communities and Local Government DtC Duty to Co-operate GTAA Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment HE Historic England HRA Habitats Regulations Assessment LDS Local Development Scheme MM Main Modification NE Natural England NPPF National Planning Policy Framework NP Neighbourhood Plan OAN Objectively Assessed Need PPG Planning Practice Guidance SA Sustainability Appraisal SCI Statement of Community Involvement The Plan The Taunton Deane Site Allocations and Development Management Plan WMS Written Ministerial Statement 2 Taunton Deane Borough Council Draft Site Allocations and Development Management Plan Inspector’s Report November 2016 Non-Technical Summary This report concludes that the Site Allocations and Development Management Plan (the Plan) provides an appropriate basis for the planning of the Borough provided that a number of main modifications [MMs] are made to it. All the MMs were proposed by the Council, and were subject to public consultation over a six-week period. I have recommended their inclusion in the Plan after considering all the representations made in response to consultation on them. The Main Modifications can be summarised as follows: • MMs to ensure that the Plan deals properly with the historic environment; • An MM to ensure that impacts on the Hestercombe House SAC are properly mitigated; and • A variety of others to ensure the Plan’s policies are justified and effective. 3 Taunton Deane Borough Council Draft Site Allocations and Development Management Plan Inspector’s Report November 2016 Introduction 1. This report contains my assessment of the Taunton Deane Borough Council Draft Site Allocations and Development Management Plan in terms of Section 20(5) of the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended). It considers first whether the Plan’s preparation has complied with the duty to co-operate. It then considers whether the Plan is sound and whether it is compliant with the legal requirements. The NPPF (paragraph 182) makes it clear that in order to be sound, a Local Plan should be positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy. 2. The starting point for the examination is the assumption that the local planning authority has submitted what it considers to be a sound plan. The Draft Site Allocations and Development Management Plan, submitted in July 2015, is the basis for my examination. It is the same document that was published for consultation in October 2013. Main Modifications 3. In accordance with section 20(7C) of the 2004 Act the Council requested that I should recommend any main modifications [MMs] necessary to rectify matters that make the Plan unsound and thus incapable of being adopted. My report explains why the recommended MMs, many of which relate to matters that were discussed at the examination hearings, are necessary. The MMs are referenced in bold in the report in the form MM1, MM2, MM3 etc, and those I recommend are set out in full in the Appendix. 4. Following the conclusion of the examination hearings, the Council prepared a schedule of proposed MMs and considered whether the MMs would affect the scoring of policies as set out in the SA. The MM schedule and the Sustainability Appraisal Update Statement were subject to public consultation for six weeks. I have taken full account of the consultation responses in coming to my conclusions in this report. Policies Map 5. The Council must maintain an adopted policies map which illustrates geographically the application of the policies in the adopted development plan. A number of the MMs to the Plan’s policies require further corresponding changes to be made to the policies map. There are other changes rendered necessary by changes in circumstances too. 6. These further changes to the policies map were published for consultation as MMs [Proposed MM12, MM18, MM20, MM30 (in part), MM31 and MM33]. However, the policies map is not defined in statute as a development plan document and so I do not have the power to recommend main modifications to it. On that basis, I have removed these proposed MMs and part MM from the schedule in the Appendix. 7. That said, when the Plan is adopted, in order to comply with the legislation and give effect to the Plan’s policies, the Council will need to update the adopted policies map to include all the changes proposed in the Plan, including those referred to above that were published as MMs. 4 Taunton Deane Borough Council Draft Site Allocations and Development Management Plan Inspector’s Report November 2016 Assessment of Duty to Co-operate 8. Section 20(5)(c) of the 2004 Act requires that I consider whether the Council complied with any duty imposed on it by section 33A in respect of the Plan’s preparation. On the basis of what is set out in the Council’s Duty to Co- operate Statement, I am satisfied that the Council has engaged constructively, actively and on an on-going basis in the preparation of the Plan, and that the duty to co-operate has therefore been met. Assessment of Soundness Background 9. The hearings into the Plan were carried out in two stages. The first stage in December 2015 concentrated upon the largest housing allocations in Policy TAU1: Comeytrowe/Trull and Policy TAU2: Staplegrove. 10. Following on from the hearings, in January 2016, I published Preliminary Findings that concluded that with the MMs proposed by the Council, the policies accorded with the tests for soundness in the NPPF and, as a consequence, the rest of the Plan could be examined. 11. The second group of hearings into the Plan took place in March and April 2016 and dealt with the various groups of allocations separately, before going on to consider general matters, and the necessity for and wording of various development management policies. Main Issues 12. The Council proposed a total of 32 MMs to the Plan (there is no MM28). I have referred above to five MMs that need to be removed [Proposed MM12, MM18, MM20, MM30 (in part), MM31 and MM33]. On top of that, while I can understand why the Council has approached the question of whether a change to the Plan is an MM with caution, two of the proposed MMs set out, and consulted upon, do not materially affect the Plan’s policies and so do not need to be recommended as MMs [Proposed MM19 and MM32]. These the Council can deal with under Section 23 of the Act. 13. Taking account of all the representations, the written evidence, and the discussions that took place at the examination hearings, I have identified eight main issues upon which the soundness of the Plan depends, and addressed the remaining MMs put forward as part of that. There are a number of general matters that I feel it necessary to address too. Under these headings my report deals with the main matters of soundness rather than responding to every point raised by representors. Issue 1 – Does the Plan have proper regard to the historic environment? 14. Consideration of this issue, in the context of the workings of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, the NPPF, and the implications of recent developments in the Courts, bears on several allocations in the Plan, as well as the specific wording of a number of development management policies. 5 Taunton Deane Borough Council Draft Site Allocations and Development Management Plan Inspector’s Report November 2016 15. As I found in my Preliminary Findings, the Policy TAU1 allocation at Comeytrowe/Trull has the potential to have significant impacts on the historic environment, notably on the Trull Conservation Area, and its setting, and the settings of seven listed buildings in close proximity to the site. 16. The greatest potential for harm, it seems to me, lies within the proposed access to the allocated site which would necessitate a removal of a significant length of boundary wall, and some mature trees. However, if designed carefully, it ought to be possible to arrive at a solution that balances the requirements of traffic management with aesthetics to the point that any harmful impact on the character or appearance of the conservation area could be minimised, and thereby outweighed by the public benefits of bringing forward housing. 17. Similarly, an appropriate, design-led approach to the layout of the housing on the site ought to ensure that any harmful impact on the settings of the listed buildings affected is controlled to the point that it pales against the obvious advantages in providing new housing. 18. In the context of the need for such a careful approach to design, the omission of any reference to the historic environment in Policy TAU1 renders the policy ineffective, and inconsistent with national policy. However, the Council suggested a modification to the policy to remedy this shortfall [MM26] which in simple terms requires the submission for approval of a Heritage Conservation Strategy. This gives the Council the control I believe to be necessary and the modification is sufficient to make the policy sound. HE supports that conclusion. 19. My Preliminary Findings found that the housing allocation in Policy TAU2: Staplegrove had the potential to have significant impacts on the settings of Pyrland Hall and Yarde Farmhouse, both Grade II* listed buildings, Okehills, a Grade II listed building, and the Staplegrove Conservation Area.