CONSULTATION REPORT Overview of Comments Received and Officer Responses
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Transformation and Sustainability SHEFFIELD LOCAL PLAN (formerly Sheffield Development Framework) CONSULTATION REPORT Overview of comments received and officer responses ‘City Policies and Sites and Proposals Map Consultation Draft 2010’ (June – August 2010) ‘Additional Site Allocation Options’ (January – February 2012) Development Services Sheffield City Council Howden House 1 Union Street SHEFFIELD S1 2SH March 2013 CONTENTS Chapter Page 1. Introduction 1 2. The Consultations 2 3. Overall Results 5 4. Policy Comments 9 Economic Prosperity and Sustainable Employment 9 Serving the City Region 10 Attractive and Sustainable Neighbourhoods 10 Opportunities and Well-Being for All 13 Transport and Movement 14 Global Environment and Natural Resources 15 Green Environment 16 Character and Heritage 17 Areas that Look Good and Work Well 18 Land Uses in Policy Areas 19 5. Area Designations and Site Allocations Comments 21 Central Community Assembly Area 21 East Community Assembly Area 25 North East Community Assembly Area 30 South West Community Assembly Area 33 South Community Assembly Area 37 South East Community Assembly Area 41 Northern Community Assembly Area 46 Appendix 1a – City Policies and Sites Consultation Draft 2010, Policies 59 Appendix 1b – City Policies and Sites Consultation Draft 2010, Sites 67 Appendix 1c – City Policies and Sites Consultation Draft 2010, Proposals 71 Map Appendix 2 – Additional Site Allocation Options Consultation 2012 75 List of Tables Page Table 1 Total Number of Comments, Consultation Draft 2010 5 Table 2 Number of Comments by Chapter 6 Table 3 Number of Comments on Site Allocation by Community 6 Assembly Area Table 4 Number of Comments on Area Designations by Community 6 Assembly Area Table 5 Total Number of Comments, Additional Site Allocation Options 7 2012 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This report comprises the full consultation report, incorporating and superseding Part 1 published in Autumn 2010. It summarises the key messages arising from the consultation on the City Policies and Sites Consultation Draft 2010 in 2010 and on the Additional Site Allocation Options in January-February 2012, and summarises officers’ responses. 1.2 Appendices 1 and 2 show a full breakdown of the number of comments and range of responses for policies, sites and area designations including the additional sites consulted on in 2012. 1.3 A full schedule of every comment made and officers’ responses accompanies this report and can be viewed at www.sheffield.gov.uk/sdfconsult - 1 - 2. THE CONSULTATIONS Draft City Policies and Sites and Proposals Map, Consultation Draft 2010 June – August 2010 2.1 The consultation on the draft City Policies and Sites document and Proposals Map (referred to hereafter as Consultation Draft 2010) aimed to secure a full range of inputs from the community and stakeholders. This included representatives from public, private, and voluntary organisations, including local residents and from groups we don’t usually hear from. 2.2 The consultation objectives were: • To raise awareness of, and measure the level of support and objection for the overall approach and options being considered. • To measure the level of support and objection for the specific policy criteria that were being proposed. • To obtain feedback from stakeholder bodies, the general public and other consultees on the draft document and map approved for public consultation. 2.3 We invited comments on the draft City Policies and Sites document and Proposals Map, and accompanying Sustainability Appraisal during a 6-week period from 21 June but extended to 31 August 2010 to allow for difficulties for groups responding in the holiday season. 2.4 All the documents and map sheets were available for inspection: • in the following locations during normal opening hours: o First Point receptions at Howden House, Chapeltown, Hillsborough, Crystal Peaks and Manor Top o All Sheffield Library Branches (29 in total) including the Local Studies Section of the Central Library • on our website – www.sheffield.gov.uk/sdfconsult 2.5 In addition to printed and electronic copies of the document and map, an online consultation portal was provided. The online map allowed consultees to quickly select the policies relevant to a particular area. Consultees were also able to manage their own registration, make comments online, and view comments made by other consultees. 2.6 To raise awareness of the consultation, we wrote to over 1,500 contacts on the SDF database, provided adverts in local publications and linked up with the Council’s Twitter page to share SDF news. We also produced a consultation leaflet which specified the headline issues and details on how to comment. The leaflet was available at the First Points, library branches and on our website, and handed out at public meetings and festivals. - 2 - City Conference 2.7 The fourth SDF City Conference was held on 25 June 2010 at Ponds Forge in the City Centre. Details of the conference were posted and emailed to all SDF contacts and published in the SDF consultation leaflet and on our website. Representatives, stakeholders and major landowners were invited. 2.8 The following workshops were held at the City Conference: • Economy, City Region and Transport • Neighbourhoods and Quality of Life • Design and Environment 2.9 Area Surgeries at the City Conference also provided attendees the opportunity to talk with an Area Planner about a specific site, area or policy and look at the draft Proposals Map in detail. Planning Aid 2.10 Planning Aid provides free, independent and professional planning advice to communities and individuals who cannot afford to pay professional fees. They enhanced the breadth of the consultation by organising four workshop sessions with the following groups. These groups were agreed with officers as those that we don’t usually hear from in consultation on the SDF. • Longley Park College (06//07/2010) • Sheffield TARAs (16/07/2010) • Youth Council (11/08/2010) • BME Network (29/09/2010) 2.11 We also worked closely with the Community Assembly teams and local community groups to meet with local residents. Across the seven Community Assembly areas, we presented at 19 local community group meetings, attended 14 summer festivals and organised 5 exhibitions and drop-in events. All of the events were advertised on our website and many were well attended. Further details about the events and the range of comments are summarised under each Community Assembly Area in Chapter 5. Additional Site Allocation Options January – February 2012 2.12 The consultation was not on Member approved proposals as previously, but part of a technical assessment of site options that will be put before Members to consider. It ran for six weeks from 16th January to 27th February 2.13 The public could view the document and share their views in the same variety of ways as in 2010. However, the smaller and more localised scope of the consultation meant that a different approach to previous consultations was appropriate. A series of drop-in sessions provided the cornerstone of the consultation and allowed officers to initiate conversations about issues and ideas for the site options. - 3 - 2.14 In total eleven drop-in sessions were targeted at areas near the site options. The drop-in sessions required a lot of officer time but this approach, the level of interest in some of the sites and not covering strategic and city-wide policies allowed us to reach people previously unaware of the Local Plan. 2.15 The methods to advertise drop-in sessions locally varied and included posters, leaflet drops, letters to neighbours and utilising community newsletters and websites via Planning and Community Assembly contacts. Officers also attended Community Assembly and local forum meetings to raise awareness of the consultation and invite people to the drop-in events being held in their area. 2.16 The drop-in sessions were advertised online and the consultation was on the homepage of the Council’s website. The Council’s twitter account and email alert system were used to publicise the consultation which was the subject of several prominent articles in the local press and was discussed on local radio. Approximately two thousand contacts that had previously expressed an interest in planning policy consultation were written to notifying them of the consultation. 2.17 Details of each drop-in event are included under each Community Assembly Area in Chapter 5. - 4 - 3. OVERALL RESULTS 3.1 Appendix 1 shows the number of comments and our responses for the policy representations, site allocations and area designations for the Consultation Draft 2010. Appendix 2 shows the number of comment and our responses for the Additional Site Allocation Options consultation. 3.2 The level of respondents’ support was classified as: • Support in full • Support with conditions • Observation • Object • Other 3.3 The figures are influenced by the way each respondent made their own judgement about which part of the document to comment on, and about how to categorise their comment. For example, some of the comments classified as ‘object’ were about just one aspect of the policy or proposal. The category did not necessarily indicate dissatisfaction with the option overall, only the need to change some aspect of it. 3.4 Council officers’ responses were classified as: • Accepted in full • Accepted in part • Agreed but not included in document • No change needed • Not accepted • Other 3.5 ‘Accepted in part’ means we did not always agree in full with the consultees.