Halebank Regeneration Action Area Draft Supplementary Planning Document Consultation Draft September 2005
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Halebank Regeneration Action Area Draft Supplementary Planning Document Consultation Draft September 2005 HALEBANK REGENERATION ACTION AREA PLAN DRAFT SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING DOCUMENT CONSULTATION DRAFT P.Watts Operational Director-Environmental Health and Planning Environmental Directorate Halton Borough Council Rutland House Halton lea Runcorn Cheshire WA7 2G September 2005 Halebank Action Area Plan Draft Supplementary Planning Document ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Contents Page No. 1.0 Purpose of the Supplementary Planning Document 3-4 2.0 Planning Policy Context 5-8 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Halton Unitary Development Plan 2.3 RG5 Halebank Action Area 2.4 BE3 Environmental Priority Areas and GE30 The Mersey Coastal Zone 2.5 E7 Ditton Strategic Rail Freight Park 2.6 TP3 Disused Public Transport Facilities 2.7 GE28 The Mersey Forest 2.8 In General 3.0 Site Location and Characteristics 9-12 3.1 Halebank 3.2 Halebank Regeneration Action Area 3.3 Accessibility 3.4 Ownership 4.0 Constraints to Development 13-16 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Contaminated Land 4.3 Control Of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Zones 4.4 Flooding 4.5 Pipelines 4.6 Water Courses 4.7 Air Quality 4.8 Noise Levels 4.9 Odour Nuisance 4.10 Highways and Transportation Matters 5.0 Services 17 5.1 All Services 5.2 Surface Water 6.0 Highways and Transport 18-21 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Transport Assessment 1 Halebank Action Area Plan Draft Supplementary Planning Document ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6.3 Highways 6.4 Rail 6.5 Bus 6.6 Walking and Cycling 6.7 Car Parking 7.0 Development Form and Structure 22-28 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Type of Development 7.3 Open Space Uses 7.4 Employment and Other Uses 7.5 Phasing of Residential Development 7.6 New District Centre 7.7 Environmental Improvements 7.8 Building Layout and Materials 7.9 Scaling and Orientation 7.10 Landscaping 7.11 Lighting 7.12 Advertisements 7.13 Constraints on Development 7.14 Planning Obligations 8.0 Development Control Matters 29-31 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The Vision 8.3 General Requirements for All Proposals 8.4 Employment Proposals 8.5 Residential Development Proposals 8.6 The Council’s Responsibility Appendix Policy RG5 Action Area 5 Halebank 32-33 Plans One Land Uses Within the SPD Area Two UDP Proposals Map Extract Three Land Ownership in Halebank Action Area Four Development Constraints Five Potential Highway Scheme and Traffic Management Six Phasing of Residential Development Seven Potential New Land Uses Eight Environmental Improvements Nine Safeguarded Land 2 Halebank Action Area Plan Draft Supplementary Planning Document ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1.0 Purpose of the Supplementary Planning Document 1.1 This document is a draft version of the Supplementary Planning Document for the Halebank Regeneration Action Area, as identified in the Halton Unitary Development Plan. It has been prepared for the purposes of public consultation and approved by the Halton Borough Council’s Executive Board. 1.2 The document acts as a ‘supplementary planning document’ (SPD) to the existing policies of the Halton Unitary Development Plan (UDP). The UDP identifies the Halebank area as one of six Action Areas in Halton that require comprehensive development or redevelopment in order to achieve their regeneration. The action area policies list appropriate land uses for them and principles of development that should apply, but do not allocate particular sites within them for particular purposes. The proposals of this SPD are therefore supplementary to the UDP policies and give greater detail and certainty to guide new development in the area. 1.3 The SPD is being prepared under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and in accordance with Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Development Frameworks. Before the SPD can be used with any weight for development control purposes, it must first be prepared in consultation with the general public, businesses and other interested parties and their views should be taken into account before it is finalised. It should then be the subject of a Council resolution to adopt it as a supplementary planning document. 1.4 A substantial part of Halebank has been designated as a Regeneration Action Area in the Halton Unitary Development Plan. The Regeneration Action Area includes a variety of different land uses in the northern and eastern parts of Halebank, where land is currently underused, vacant or in need of improvement and would benefit from significant land use change to enable economic, environmental or social improvements to the well-being of the area. Specifically, the Regeneration Action Area status provides an opportunity to ensure that new development can be integrated with other proposals in the area, that additional new housing can be provided in Halebank and the general area can be enhanced through improvements to the physical environment. 1.5 The purpose of this Supplementary Planning Document is to establish what development or improvement opportunities there are within Halebank to help sustain the existing community and improve the economy of this local area. The Supplementary Planning Document is also concerned with ensuring a suitable standard of development is achieved that will improve the visual and environmental quality of the area. This Supplementary Planning Document will specifically address the following opportunities: a) The reinforcement of the new neighbourhood shopping area and local community facilities. b) Additional housing development including redevelopment of land currently or previously used for business, where ground conditions and location are favourable. c) Improved road and public transport access using the railway and possible new road links to the wider strategic road network. d) Provide mechanisms and guidance to achieve improvements in the quality of existing business operations. 3 Halebank Action Area Plan Draft Supplementary Planning Document ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ e) New woodland planting on the urban fringe and improved public open space provision. 1.6 This Supplementary Planning Document will be used together with the Halton Unitary Development Plan and other relevant Supplementary Planning Documents to determine development proposals submitted to the Council for approval within the designated Regeneration Action Area. It also forms the justification for the use of compulsory purchase powers to acquire land under section 226 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 to enable the regeneration of Halebank to take place. Overall Strategy for the Regeneration Action Area. 1.7 The main issues that this plan aims to resolve areas follows. 1.8 The need to resolve the problems arising from the close proximity of heavy industry and residential areas. 1.9 The need to stabilise and increase the population of Halebank to sustain local community facilities such as school, shops and public transport services. 1.10 The need to sustain and improve the existing industrial and commercial areas to continue to provide employment for local residents and Widnes as a whole, but with a lower environmental impact than currently exists. 1.11 The need to provide and improve for efficient heavy goods vehicles access to businesses in the area without causing loss of amenity to residential areas. Objectives • To help sustain critical mass of population through new housing development and investment in local community facilities. • To improve residential amenity. • To safeguard operational efficiency of existing businesses. • To resolve conflict between industrial operational needs and residential amenity. • To improve access for heavy goods vehicles into and through the area without conflict with the amenity of existing and proposed residential uses. • To improve the environmental quality of existing primarily employment areas in order to increase investment confidence, retain existing businesses and encourage new businesses with low environmental impact. 4 Halebank Action Area Plan Draft Supplementary Planning Document ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.0 Planning Policy Context 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 This section briefly outlines the Planning Policy context for all development proposals in the Halebank Action Area. The Unitary Development Plan (UDP) should be read as a whole, as other policies not addressed in this section will also be relevant in determining any development proposal. This Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) should be read in conjunction with other Council documents. 2.2 Halton Unitary Development Plan 2.2.1 The Halton UDP aims to support the Community Strategy and the Council’s Corporate Priorities by providing a framework for social, economic and environmental improvements for the well-being of an area through land use changes. Regeneration Action Areas are considered to provide an important tool in support of the Council’s priority of promoting urban renewal to encourage regeneration in a number of areas in the Borough. The principles of this are set out under the ‘Spatial Strategy’ in Part One of the UDP. 2.2.2 The Introduction to the Regeneration Chapter of the UDP sets out the aims of designating Action Areas. It describes how the UDP, in identifying Regeneration