meeting Cabinet date 16th September 2009 agenda item number Report of the Portfolio Holders for Environment and Sustainability and Transport and Highways Nottingham Gateway (south of Clifton) planning application: Strategic planning observations Purpose of the Report 1. To seek approval for comments set out in this report to be sent to Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) in response to the request for strategic planning observations on the above planning application. Introduction 2. On 8th June 2009 an outline planning application was submitted to RBC for residential development of up to 5500 dwellings; employment uses of mixed B1, B2 and B8 on up to 30 hectares: retail development (classes A1–A5); leisure use; community buildings; extension to Nottingham Express Transit with tram stops; park and ride site; primary schools; new roads, footpaths and cycleways; green and ancillary infrastructure and ground modelling on land south of Clifton. 3. Nottinghamshire County Council has been consulted for strategic planning and highway observations on the application and this report compiles responses from Departments involved in providing observations on such matters. On the basis of Cabinet’s decision, comments will be sent to RBC in response to this consultation. 4. This report is based on the information submitted by the applicant in the context of national, regional and local policy. Description of the proposed development 5. The application site (site plan attached), which is approximately 570 hectares in area, is located immediately to the south and south- west of Clifton, to the east of Barton-in-Fabis and to the north of Gotham. The site’s northern boundary, adjoining Clifton, is also the administrative boundary between Rushcliffe Borough and Nottingham City Councils. The A453 runs north-east to south-west across the site in close proximity to its western boundaries, Barton Lane runs west to east across part of the site and Nottingham Road runs north to south through the site. 6. The site lies within the Nottingham-Derby Green Belt on a sloping site and comprises agricultural land, which is predominantly arable, together with small pockets of woodland, grassland and wetland. 7. The submission is an outline planning application so it is the principle of the proposed development which is to be assessed, with all matters reserved for determination at a later date should outline permission be granted. The detailed design of the scheme would be subject to a further design stage and subsequent planning applications, however the parameters of the proposed development have been fixed to enable the assessment of the proposal which is contained in the Environmental Statement (ES) which accompanies the application. Any future reserved matters applications would be in accordance with these parameters which are set out in the development specification as follows: • up to 5500 residential units, with a mix of size, tenures and types; • up to 30 ha of employment land (B1a, B1c/B2 and B8 uses); • a Park and Ride facility; • two community hubs, providing retail (A1, A2, A3 and A4), community facilities, health centre, crèche, start up/work units and gym; • two primary schools; • comprehensive green infrastructure including open space, community sports provision, local areas of open space, play space and green networks; • two new junctions off the A453 to the west of the site; • extension of the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) into the site and connecting to the park and ride facility with stops in the northern larger and smaller southern community hubs; • a network of pedestrian and cycle paths which connect to the surrounding area; • retention of Glebe Barn Scheduled Ancient Monument; and • foul and surface water drainage infrastructure. 8. The parameters plan shows the proposed layout, land uses, site access, maximum building heights and green infrastructure. A Planning Statement and a Design and Access Statement have been submitted as supporting documents, setting out the applicant’s justification, and design principles, for the proposed development. An Urban Regeneration Statement and a draft Section 106 agreement also accompany the application. Planning Policy Context National Policy 9. The proposal must be considered in the context of national planning policy statements and guidance notes (PPSs and PPGs), which set out the Government’s national objectives and policies on aspects of planning in England. The documents that are of particular relevance in assessing this application are listed, with a short description of their contents, in Appendix A. East Midlands Regional Plan (RSS) 10. On 12th March 2009 the East Midlands Regional Plan (RSS) was published and the Nottinghamshire and Nottingham Joint Structure Plan ceased to be part of the statutory development plan for Nottinghamshire. 11. For the purposes of determining planning applications within the borough of Rushcliffe, the RSS is therefore part of the statutory development plan for the area and decisions must be made in accordance with it, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. 12. The RSS has a number of policies which are of particular relevance to this application. These are listed in Appendix B. Local Plan 13. Within Rushcliffe, a Non-Statutory Replacement Local Plan (NSLP) has been formally adopted by the Borough Council, which RBC considers carries significant weight and will be used as the basis for determining planning applications. This is following the abandonment of the Local Plan process. There are no housing or employment allocations in the NSLP. 14. The NSLP contains a policy which allows for residential development in certain locations, but not those that extend the built-up area, and a policy to protect the open countryside. 15. RBC has also approved an Interim Planning Statement to assist determination of planning applications submitted in advance of the Local Development Framework. One of its aims is to ensure that development takes place in the most sustainable locations. RBC therefore expects applicants to fully demonstrate the suitability of their sites and the scale of development proposed above that of reasonable alternatives, by undertaking comparative analysis of alternative locations. Local Development Framework (LDF) 16. The councils of Ashfield, Broxtowe, Erewash, Gedling, Nottingham City and Rushcliffe are working with Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire County Councils to prepare new Aligned Core Strategies for Greater Nottingham. Each of the Core Strategies is one of the Development Plan Documents (DPDs) which makes up the LDF. Under the plan- led system, the LDF, together with the RSS, forms the statutory development plan for the area. The councils have agreed to cooperate and align the preparation and content of their Core Strategies to ensure planning for the future of the area will be more consistent and the administrative boundaries of the local authorities (LAs) will not get in the way of coherent planning. 17. The first stage in the preparation of the Aligned Core Strategies, the Issues and Options document, was published for formal consultation in June 2009. The consultation period ended on 31st July 2009. The County Council’s response was sent following approval by an all party Members Working Group. Responses to the consultation will be considered and the next stage, the Preferred Options consultation, is scheduled to commence in January 2010. It is expected that the Aligned Core Strategies will be adopted in December 2011. The Aligned Core Strategies will be the key documents setting out strategic policies to guide and control the overall scale, type and location of new development (including identifying any particularly large or important sites) and infrastructure investment. 18. There are a number of issues which need to be considered in the context of the planning policy framework outlined in paragraphs 9 to 17 above. These issues are dealt with in detail below. Strategic Planning Issues Prematurity 19. PPS1 emphasises that sustainable development is the core principle underpinning planning. Decisions on whether the principle of development of a site of such a significant scale is acceptable should be taken through the LDF process. The Greater Nottingham Aligned Core Strategies provide the opportunity to determine which are the most sustainable sites to accommodate growth, particularly for housing, across the entirety of the Nottingham Core Housing Market Area (HMA). This accords with RSS policy 17 which seeks to ensure that the release of land for housing should be managed to achieve a sustainable pattern of development across both local planning authority areas and the wider HMA. 20. ‘The Planning System: General Principles’ states that ‘In some circumstances, it may be justifiable to refuse planning permission on grounds of prematurity where a DPD is being prepared or is under review, but has not yet been adopted. This may be appropriate where a proposed development is so substantial, or where the cumulative effect would be so significant, that granting planning permission could prejudice the DPD by predetermining decisions about the scale, location or phasing of new development which are being addressed in the policy in the DPD.’ The scale of the proposed development is such that it would have implications for the future pattern of development across the whole HMA, which is a major issue being addressed by the Aligned Core Strategies Issues and Options document. If planning permission were to be granted for the proposal it would undermine the plan-led system and pre-empt the decisions which must be taken through the LDF process in order to ensure that the most sustainable pattern of development possible across the HMA can be achieved. Location 21. RSS policy 3 prioritises urban concentration as the basis for the distribution of new development and states that new development ‘will be concentrated primarily in and adjoining the Region’s five Principal Urban Areas (PUAs)’. RSS policy Three Cities SRS1 defines the Nottingham PUA as including Clifton. The location of the application site is therefore in accordance with the RSS in so far as it adjoins the PUA.