Consultation Statement)
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North Somerset Council Local Development Framework Sites and Policies Part 2: Site Allocations Plan 2006 -2026 Summary of comments made on the March 2016 Consultation Draft of the Site Allocations Plan and the Council’s Response (Consultation Statement) This publication is available in large print, Braille or audio formats on request. Help is also available for people who require council information in languages other than English. Please contact 01934 426 816 2 Contents 1. Introduction 5 Duty to Co-operate and joint working 6 What happens next 7 2. Summary of responses to the Site Allocations Plan 8 (i) Introduction 9 (ii) Policy Context 12 (iii) Evidence Base 14 3. Detailed Policies 17 (iv) Housing Context /Settlement Boundaries/ Green Belt 17 (v) Housing Allocations (including Schedule 1) 22 (vi) Employment Allocations (including Schedule 2) 51 (vii) Safeguarded Employment Sites (including Schedule 3) 62 (viii) Retention of Economic Uses 66 (viii) Local Green Space (including Schedule 4) 67 (ix) Undesignated Green Space 86 (x) Strategic Gaps 89 3 (xi) Community Use Allocations (including Schedule 5) 99 (xii) Weston Regeneration Area 107 (xiii) A370 Corridor into Weston-super-Mare 109 (xiv) Safeguarded Park and Ride Site Weston-super-Mare 111 (xv) Sustainability Appraisal 113 (xvi) General Comments on a town or village 123 (xvii) Sites put forward for development 131 Appendix 1: Site Allocations Plan Poster 170 4 1. Introduction This document explains how North Somerset Council has undertaken consultation to date in preparing its Site Allocations Plan. It sets out how North Somerset Council has sought participation from communities and stakeholders during the production of its Site Allocations Plan. It covers: • Which bodies and persons were invited to make comments; • How those bodies and persons were invited to make comment; • A summary of the issues raised; and • The Council’s response to the issues raised This consultation statement complies with the North Somerset’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). The SCI outlines that the Council is committed to effective community engagement, and seeks to use a wide range of methods for involving the community in the plan making process. North Somerset Council’s Statement of Community Involvement was adopted in March 2015. This replaces the former SCI which was adopted in February 2007 and needed updating because of changes in planning legislation and increased use of electronic communication in the planning process. This revised Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out how the Council will involve the community and stakeholders in the preparation, alteration and review of local planning policy and the consideration of planning applications. The SCI proposed that the consultation methods and those engaged would vary according to the purpose of the consultation and the bodies or persons who the council were keen to involve The Consultation Draft of the Site Allocations Plan was published for consultation in March 2016. The following people were invited to take part in the consultation: • North Somerset residents through a Press Release and Advert (see http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/news/have-your-say-on- meeting-housing-shortfall/ • Town and Parish Councils through a workshop held on 10 th March 2016 • Agents , landowners and developers who had previously expressed an interest • Statutory Undertakers • Adjoining Local Authorities 5 People were informed about the consultation via: • E-mail or letters to a Database of participants in previous Local Development Framework documents • Distribution of Posters to local councils and Libraries and used as an advert in the Local Press ( see Appendix 1) • Local Press • Twitter • Exhibitions Staffed exhibitions were held at: • Weston Library, Monday 21 March, 4pm-7pm • Nailsea Library, Tuesday 22 March, 4pm-7pm • Churchill Primary School, Wednesday 23 March, 4.30pm-7pm • Portishead Library, Thursday 24 March, 4pm-7pm • Clevedon Library, Tuesday 29 March, 4pm-7pm • Congresbury School Rooms, Wednesday 30 March, 4pm-7pm • Yatton Library, Thursday 31 March, 4pm-7pm • Winscombe Community Centre, Monday 4 April, 4pm-7pm. The consultation ran from Thursday March 10 th 2016 until Thursday 28th April 2016. There were 264 respondents to the consultation who made 785 individual comments Duty to co-operate and joint working Planning issues are not constrained to local authority boundaries. The National Planning Policy Framework states that public bodies have a duty to co-operate on planning issues that cross administrative boundaries, particularly those that relate to strategic priorities. Councils are required to work collaboratively to ensure that strategic priorities across local boundaries are properly coordinated and clearly reflected in individual local plans. North Somerset Council has a long history of joint working with other local authorities in the West of England. North Somerset is part of the West of England; a functional economic area consisting of the four unitary authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset. Following the abolition of Avon County Council in 1996 the authorities have continued to work together voluntarily on a range of economic, spatial, transport and infrastructure planning issues. These voluntary arrangements were formalised in 2005 when the West of England Partnership (WEP) was established. 6 Throughout the preparation of each of the authorities’ Core Strategies, the WEP has acted as the focus for cross-boundary working on spatial planning, transport, housing, waste and economic development. It has now been replaced by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). The LEP brings the authorities together with local businesses and education to create a new body that will provide the focus for continued joint working to support sustainable economic growth locally. The policies contained within the Sites and Policies Plan Part 1 are predominantly locally specific to North Somerset and on the whole don’t involve any cross-boundary issues or joint working. All adjoining authorities were consulted at each consultation stage in the production of the document and no issues were raised. What Happens Next? All representations received (both supporting and objecting to the Site Allocations Plan), have been summarised in this Consultation Report and an assessment taken on representations received and consideration of any amendments required. A revised plan will be prepared. This is the Publication Version and will be the plan that the Council intends to submit to the Secretary of State for examination. This will be consulted upon and all comments received forwarded for consideration at the independent examination. It is anticipated that this consultation will take place in Autumn 2016 The plan then moves into the examination phase. An inspector will undertake the examination and hold hearings as appropriate before submitting recommendations to the Council. The Council will then proceed to adoption. 7 2. Summary of responses to the North Somerset Council Site Allocations Plan (Consultation Draft) March 2016 See here for the full text of all the 759 responses received on the SAP from 264 respondents. The Site Allocation Plan was subject to public consultation between 10 March 2016 and 28 April 2016. NB To see individual response it may be necessary to register on the North Somerset Council EConsult web page See here for a plan showing the various sites put forward for development by landowners/ developers Abbreviations used: SAP = Site Allocations Plan JSP = Joint Spatial Plan NPPF = National Planning Policy Framework SPD = Supplementary Planning Document Where it is intended to change the plan, the text is shown in bold 8 Chapter Summary of R esponses Council ’s Response INTRODUCTION In total there were 25 comments on this chapter which are summarised below. See c omments made Site Allocation Plan (SAP) should take into account The Site Allocation Plan is to deliver the Core on Introduction the Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) and how the planned Strategy requirement to 2026 whilst the Joint 85,000 dwellings between 2016 and 2036 will be Spatial Plan looks ahead to 2036. The Joint accommodated. Spatial Plan is insufficiently advanced for it to be taken into account at this stage. The SHMA has not been tested and there is no district requirement for North Somerset. The proposed new NSC Local Plan is the vehicle for delivering the new housing requirement once it is established through the JSP. Support for retention of the Green Belt. Noted and welcomed SAP is premature pending the outcome of the Work has progressed in parallel with the Core Inspectors report on the remitted Core Strategy Strategy examination and reflects the steer of the policies. These have been the subject of objection Core Strategy Inspector. The Secretary of by the development industry and will provide the state’s letter of September 2015 emphasised the context for the SAP. Therefore Sept 2016 for the importance of progressing the local plan. approval of a submitted version is far too early. Many of the proposed sites will require special Agreed consideration of drainage related matters at an early stage. 9 Chapter Summary of R esponses Council ’s Response INTRODUCTION In total there were 25 comments on this chapter which are summarised below. See c omments made Should not “bow” to pressure from Whitehall and The revised target of 20,985 dwellings (Policy on Introduction developers and stick