Lydney Area Action Plan - Draft Baseline Report Forest of Dean District Council Draft Document, 31St January 2011 | Lydney Area Action Plan - Draft Baseline Report
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Forest of Dean District Council Draft Document, 31st January 2011 Lydney Area Action Plan - Draft Baseline Report Forest of Dean District Council Draft Document, 31st January 2011 | Lydney Area Action Plan - Draft Baseline Report Contents 1 Introduction 4 2 Policy Context 5 National 5 County 6 3 The Forest of Dean District 9 Introduction 9 Historical Background 10 Socio-economic Context 12 Economic Context 13 Landscape and Heritage 14 Planning Policy Context 15 Transport and Movement 16 4 Lydney 17 Introduction 17 Historical Background 17 Socio-economic Context 19 Planning Policy 20 Audit of Planning Permissions 22 National Land Use Database 25 Natural Heritage 25 Built Heritage 30 Townscape and Green Spaces 44 Transport and Movement 55 Sport, Leisure and Recreational Facilities 57 Health, Education and Community Facilities 58 Commercial, Retail and Business Context 59 5 Lydney Area Action Plan 62 Introduction 62 Land Use Survey 62 Flood Risk 63 Contamination 64 6 Constraints and Opportunities 66 Weakness and Constraints 66 Forest of Dean District Council Draft Document, 31st January 2011 | Lydney Area Action Plan - Draft Baseline Report Contents Strengths and Opportunities 66 7 Conclusions 67 8 References and Resources 68 Forest of Dean District Council Draft Document, 31st January 2011 | Lydney Area Action Plan - Draft Baseline Report 1 . Introduction 1 Introduction 1.6 The next stage in the process will be to carry out a consultation and to develop an issues and options paper. This paper will be the subject of a consultation. Taking the responses of the 1.1 This baseline report has been prepared by the Forest of Dean District Council to review consultation and other evidence into account, the council will develop a preferred options paper. the issues that affect the Lydney area. The purpose of this report is to highlight and identify the This paper will be the subject of a second consultation. Following this, the council will prepare a strengths and weakness of Lydney and to provide a sound basis for the preparation of the Lydney draft Area Action Plan. This will again be the subject of a further consultation, before being Area Action Plan. submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for an independent examination. If the Area Action Plan is found to be satisfactory, the council will adopt the Area Action Plan. 1.2 Lydney Area Action Plan is one of a portfolio of planning policy documents called the Local Development Framework. The main document in the Local Development Framework will be the 1.7 This report will review the national and local context of the Forest of Dean District and Forest of Dean District Core Strategy. The Core Strategy is an overarching planning policy Lydney. This report will focus in particular on: document that sets out the broad principles for the sustainable development of the Forest of Dean District. The Core Strategy has already gone through three public consultations and following a The national and county policy context fourth consultation, an independent examination will be carried out by an inspector appointed by The Forest of Dean context the government. The Council will then adopt the Core Strategy. The Lydney Area Action Plan must be in accordance with the Core Strategy. The Lydney context 1.3 An Area Action Plan (AAP) is a planning policy document which is focused on a specific The AAP area - in particular, the boundary of the AAP, flood risk and contamination issues. location or area, which is the subject of conservation or significant change. This can include a major regeneration project or a growth area. An Area Action Plan should provide the mechanism for ensuring development of a type, scale and mix that is appropriate to the opportunities or level 1.8 Every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this document is accurate. of change or conservation required in that area. An Area Action Plan should protect areas that If you notice any omissions or errors or would like to discuss the Area Action Plan process, please are sensitive to change and resolve conflicting objectives in areas that are the subject of contact the Forward Plan team at Forest of Dean District Council. development and change. 1.4 The purpose of the Lydney Area Action Plan is set out in the draft Forest of Dean District Contact Details Core Strategy. The draft Core Strategy states Address: Policy CSP13 Forward Plan Forest of Dean District Council Within the area of the proposed Area Action Plan, a new mixed form of development will be High Street promoted, using mainly under utilised land and redeveloping or adapting redundant buildings Coleford to form an area between the Harbour and the town centre containing recreation, employment Gloucestershire and housing together with links to an improved town centre and the existing and new public GL16 8HG recreation spaces. The plan will include proposals for improvements to the mainline station. Land within this area will be allocated for up to 200 dwellings, mixed employment, recreation Webpage: http://www.fdean.gov.uk/go/lydneyaap and tourism/leisure uses together with retailing (at the town centre). Telephone: 01594 810000 1.5 The baseline report is the first step in preparing the Lydney Area Action Plan. It identifies Email: [email protected] the issues affecting Lydney and highlights the local context. It focuses on factual information and at this point, no detailed decisions have been made about the future of Lydney. Broad policies in relation to Lydney are set out in the draft Core Strategy. This report will provide a basis for further debate and for the development of policies. As new issues and information emerge during the process, the baseline report can be expanded and revised. 4 Forest of Dean District Council Draft Document, 31st January 2011 | Lydney Area Action Plan - Draft Baseline Report 2 . Policy Context 2 Policy Context Green Belts 2.1 The Area Action Plan is one document in an integrated hierarchy of planning documents Telecommunications that relate to and cross reference each other. The upper level of this hierarchy comprises of Planning Policy Statements, which are formulated by the government and create a context for Transport planning and development across the country. This is followed by county and district level policies. Development on Unstable Land The county level plans relate to waste and minerals development and an overall policy for the county. The district level plan, the Core Strategy, sets out the overarching principles for other Planning for Open Space, Play and Recreation forms of development within the district. An Area Action Plan provides specific policies for a relatively limited area and ought to be consistent with the higher levels of policy in the hierarchy. Enforcing Planning Control 2.2 The planning policy hierarchy is currently being reviewed by the national government. Coastal Planning National Planning and Noise. 2.3 National planning policy is set out in Planning Policy Statements, which are gradually replacing Planning Policy Guidance. These documents outline the government's general policy 2.5 As these documents are very broad and relate to general principles, which are reiterated and indicate which issues should be considered and addressed by planning policies further down and are inherent in planning policy at all levels of the hierarchy, there is no need to repeat the the hierarchy. Some of the documents relate to broad issues such as sustainability, while others contents of these documents in this report. These documents are available online at relate to specific issues such as flooding. www.communities.gov.uk 2.4 In total there are 12 Planning Policy Statements and 8 remaining Planning Policy Guidance 2.6 It is useful, however, to refer to one of the key principles of planning policy: notes relating to: Sustainable Development and Climate Change Sustainable development is the core principle underpinning planning. At the heart of sustainable development is the simple idea of ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, Housing now and for future generations. A widely used definition was drawn up by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987: "development that meets the present Sustainable Economic Growth without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Heritage The Government set out four aims for sustainable development in its 1999 strategy. These are: Planning for Town Centres Social progress which recognises the needs of everyone; Rural Areas Effective protection of the environment; Biodiversity and Geology The prudent use of natural resources; and, Sustainable Waste Management The maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment. Local Spatial Planning Renewable Energy PPS1: Delivering Sustainable Development, pg 2 Pollution Control Flooding and Coastal Change 5 Forest of Dean District Council Draft Document, 31st January 2011 | Lydney Area Action Plan - Draft Baseline Report 2 . Policy Context 2.7 As the Area Action Plan will be one in a hierarchy of plans, the abolition of the Regional Considering the need for local infrastructure and community services Spatial Strategy is pertinent to this report. The government have announced that the Regional Spatial Strategy will be abolished and that this is a material consideration for planning authorities. High standards of design Although the Regional Spatial Strategy will not be part of the planning policy hierarchy, the evidence on which the strategy was formulated still remains. The draft Core Strategy extensively uses this evidence, without relying on the Regional Spatial Strategy. It should also be noted that the policies contained in the Regional Spatial Strategy were a regional expression of the national policies set The strategy for the Forest of Dean is one of continuing restraint in the northern part of the out in the Planning Policy Statements and Planning Policy Guidance.