Northampton Borough Council Northampton Central Area Action Plan Submission Consultation Statement Consistent with Regulation 22 (Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012) May 2012 1 Contents Page No 1. Introduction 3 2. Formal Stages of Consultation 5 3. Other Consultation 22 4. Meetings with Partners and Members 26 2 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This consultation statement has been prepared in accordance with regulation 22 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. It is a statement that sets out: which bodies and persons the local planning authority invited to make representations under regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 , how those bodies and persons were invited to make representations under regulation 18, a summary of the main issues raised by the representations made pursuant to regulation 18, how any representations made pursuant to regulation 18 have been taken into account; if representations were made pursuant to regulation 20 of the 2012 Regulations, the number of representations made and a summary of the main issues raised in those representations 1.2 Since the commencement of the preparation of the Action Plan there have been two significant changes in regulations that cover the production of Area Action Plans. This has impacted on the amount and formal stages of consultation necessary before adoption can occur. However, all stages of consultation that have been undertaken are consistent with the current requirements set out in the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 that came in force on 6th April 2012. 1.3 In 2004, the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act came into force. This replaced the previous system of Local Plans with the Local Development Framework, which contained a suite of Local Development Documents. One of the key objectives of the revised planning system is that there will be meaningful engagement with the community. 1.4 The Council adopted its Statement of Community Involvement in 2006, which sets out the Council’s policy, as a planning authority, for involving the community, both in the preparation and revision of Local Development Documents. 1.5 The Council undertook significant pre Publication consultation, which, over the life of developing the Central Area Action Plan, goes beyond the requirements of planning regulations and that of the Statement of Community Involvement. The Council now proposes to submit the Central Area Action Plan Development Plan Document (CAAP) following comprehensive consultation at various stages in the development of the Plan. 1.6 In line with the Council's Statement of Community Involvement 2006, the following actions contained within Consultation Requirements of Statement of Community Involvement, 2006, have been completed. The stages of consultation that have been completed are highlighted. 3 Consultation Requirements of Statement of Community Involvement, 2006 Area Requirements Issues Focused Emerging Pre and Changes Strategy Submission Options Continuous Tailored to reflect the dialogue community being consulted and the type of subject or issue Area Consultative role Partnerships Forums Key mechanism to engage hard to reach groups Citizens Citizens Panel and focus Panel groups recruited via the panel used where appropriate Access to Paper and electronic and information include Council’s website Copies in libraries, local authority offices and other buildings accessible to the public, as appropriate All information available in ‘other formats’ upon request Single point of contact Newsletters / leaflets / email raising awareness Using existing networks Anyone who makes comment will be included on a database Target General Public Groups Councillors Businesses Parish Councils Developers / agents / landowners / registered social landlords Providers of community infrastructure Central / local government 4 Area Requirements Issues Focused Emerging Pre and Changes Strategy Submission Options WNDC Statutory bodies and groups Interest groups Residents associations / community groups Voluntary sector 1.7 The Central Area Action has undergone four stages of public consultation; Issues and Options, Emerging Strategy, Pre-Submission and Focused Changes. A summary of the main issues raised at Pre-Submission and Focused Changes stages can be found in this report Issues raised at Issues and Option, Emerging Strategy, Pre Submission / Focused Change can be found in Appendices 6, 2 and 12 respectively. Further detail on the content of representations made at each stage and how they have been taken into account in policy formulation can be found in the Technical Paper which support the Central Area Action Plan. 1.8 Summaries of other issues raised through different ‘frontloading’ consultation exercises during policy preparation can also be found in the appendices of this report. 5 2. FORMAL STAGES OF CONSULTATION Regulation 27: Publication of Pre-Submission: Focused Changes (10 November – 22 December 2011) (Regulation 27 of the Town & Country Planning (Local Development) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 regulations has been replaced by Regulation 19 in the 2012 Regulations) Process 2.1 Since March 2011, progress has been made on both the Grosvenor Centre and Bus Interchange projects, which are key projects within the Central Area. These changes were deemed to have an impact on some of the policies in the pre-submission CAAP, which required further changes to be made to the affected policies. In addition, responses to the pre-submission consultation required further changes to other policies in the CAAP. 2.2 The Council sought legal advice on the impact that the changes proposed to the pre-submission draft policies 1, 8, 12, 15 and 19 would have on the policy direction of the CAAP. It was advised that the proposed changes did not fundamentally change the direction of the Plan in terms of its overall strategy, that the Council should publish the alterations as Focused Changes to the Plan. The Focused Changes were released for formal representation in November and December 2011, for a period of 6 weeks, in accordance with Regulation 27 of the Town Country Planning (Local Development) (England) (Amendments) Regulations 2008. 2.3 As part of the focused change consultation procedure the Council; Prepared an addendum to the pre-submission plan, setting out the proposed changes; and Reviewed the Sustainability Appraisal and implications of proposed changes. 2.4 In addition, to following the requirements of the Council’s SCI regarding consultation procedures and contacting specific consultees / groups / bodies and organisations, a public notice was placed in the local ‘pay’ newspaper, the Chronicle and Echo and the local free paper, the Herald and Post. Feedback 2.5 In accordance with regulation 28 (regulation 20 of the 2012 regulations) a total of 22 representations were received, raising a total of 36 policy issues, including those from statutory consultees (English Heritage and Natural England) in accordance with Regulation 28. A summary of the representations received and they were taken into account is set out in the table below: Policy 1: Strategic Objectives – A total of two representations received, one in support of the deletion of the policy. Outcome: No policy changes. Approve the Focused Change to delete the Strategic Objectives from Policy 1 and insert them as new supporting text to the CAAP Vision. 6 Policy 8: Bus Interchange – A total of six representations received. One representation expressed support for the proposal. Other representations mentioned the requirement for the bus interchange to be located adjacent to the new shopping centre, and that it should have strong connections with the town centre, Drapery, Market square and the former Royal Mail site in Barrack Road. Objections, in the form of a petition, were expressed about the demolition of the Fishmarket. Concerns were also expressed about the reduction in the number of bays proposed and further that the Fishmarket site selection process was inadequate. Outcome: No policy changes. Approve the Focused Change to amend Policy 8 from a criterion-based policy to a site-specific policy to reflect the allocation of the former Fishmarket site as the preferred location for a new bus interchange. Policy 12: Town Centre Boundary – A total of three representations received. 1 respondent supported the revision. A further response challenged the conformity of the policy with national guidance. The third response sought clarification on the boundaries for sequential testing. Outcome: No policy changes. Approve the Focused Change to ensure conformity with national planning policy guidance. Policy 15: Meeting Retail Capacity – A total of six representations received. Responses proposed challenging the robustness of the overall amount of retail floorspace proposed and its consistency with the Core Strategy, the lack of alternative options proposed to the Fishmarket at pre-submission and the “town centre only” approach. Another sought clarity on delivering convenience floorspace. Outcome: No policy changes. Approve the Focused Change to reflect the change in retail site allocation from Fishmarket to Abington Street East and provide clarity on gross and net amounts of floorspace. Policy 19: Abington Street East – A total of five representations received. Responses include a statement that the town centre already