High Lane Village Neighbourhood Development Plan 1 High Lane Village Neighbourhood Development Plan Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 3 List of Policies .......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.0 What is a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP)? ................................................................ 5 2.0 High Lane Village Neighbourhood Development Plan ................................................................ 7 3.0 HLVNDP Vision and Objectives ................................................................................................. 12 High Lane Village NDP Planning Policies ............................................................................................... 15 4.0 Transport ................................................................................................................................... 15 5.0 Housing ..................................................................................................................................... 32 6.0 Green Open Spaces, Recreational Activities and Natural Heritage .......................................... 42 7.0 Heritage and Design .................................................................................................................. 69 8.0 Next Steps ................................................................................................................................. 79 9.0 Review ....................................................................................................................................... 79 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 80 Appendix 1 Public Consultation 2017 - Comments from Questionnaire .......................................... 81 Appendix 2 Extracts from the A6 Corridor Study Final Report, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, August 2014 ........................................................................................................................ 84 Appendix 3 Middlewood Station Users Survey, January 2019 ......................................................... 92 Appendix 4 Affordable Housing (NPPF Annex 2: Glossary) .............................................................. 96 Appendix 5 Informal Public Consultation on Housing Issues using Facebook, Summer 2018 ......... 97 Appendix 6 Informal Consultations on Recreational Activity in High Lane ...................................... 99 Appendix 7 Biodiversity .................................................................................................................. 102 Appendix 8 Built Heritage ............................................................................................................... 111 Appendix 9 Air Quality Monitoring Results High Lane, Stockport Client: Residents Against Mass Development Reference: 2635-1r1 Date: 22nd May 2019 ............................................................. 113 Appendix 10 High Lane Manual Traffic count 15/10/19) ............................................................... 136 Glossary ............................................................................................................................................... 138 All maps reproduced by kind permission of Stockport MBC 2 High Lane Village Neighbourhood Development Plan Executive Summary This is the final, Referendum version of the High Lane Village Neighbourhood Development Plan (HLVNDP) for High Lane. This Plan has been prepared by the High Lane Village Neighbourhood Forum of local residents with the support and advice of officers from Stockport MBC and other stakeholder groups such as Sustrans and the Greater Manchester Ecological Unit. The HLVNDP sets out local planning policies which will be used to help SMBC determine planning applications in the area up to 2037 (the same plan period as the new emerging Stockport Local Plan). These policies have been prepared taking into account the concerns and ideas of local residents, which have been put forward during numerous informal public consultation processes since 2017, and formal consultation in Autumn 2019. The HLVNDP was examined by an independent Examiner in Spring 2021. The Examiner recommended that modifications as set out in his report should be made to the High Lane Village Neighbourhood Development Plan 2020 - 2037, and that the draft plan as modified should be submitted to a referendum. The HLVNDP provides planning policies and proposals to help address local transport issues including congestion and poor air quality and promotes more liveable neighbourhoods which provide an appealing and safe environment to encourage more walking and cycling. A policy for new housing within the existing built up area and for future proposals which may come forward through the new emerging Stockport Local Plan should guide new development to provide the type of housing most needed in the area. Open spaces, recreation areas and walking and cycling routes are identified for protection, and policies support their enhancement. Natural heritage including local landscape character, important views and wildlife are protected as significant local assets for future generations to enjoy. Going Forward The HLVNDP will be a statutory planning document and therefore it is required to go through a number of stages before it can be made (adopted) by Stockport MBC and used to help determine planning applications. The HLVNDP will be subjected to a local referendum and residents in High Lane will be asked whether they think the Plan should be used to guide decisions on planning applications in their area. If there is a majority Yes vote at the referendum the HLVNDP will be made. 3 High Lane Village Neighbourhood Development Plan List of Policies Policy Page Number Policy T1 Mitigating Local Traffic Impacts of Development 22 and Improving Air Quality Policy T2 Liveable Neighbourhoods and Sustainable Travel 25 Policy H1 Housing Scale and Mix 40 Policy R1 Protecting and Enhancing Parks and Recreational Areas 47 Policy R2 Walking, Cycling and Horse Riding 53 Policy NH1 Protecting Local Landscape Character in the High Lane Area 57 Policy NH2 Protecting Important Views and Vistas 63 Policy NH3 Protecting and Enhancing Local Wildlife 66 Policy HD1 Protecting Built Heritage Assets and their Settings 75 Policy HD2 High Quality Design and Design Codes 76 4 High Lane Village Neighbourhood Development Plan 1.0 What is a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP)? 1.1 Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) are a relatively new type of planning policy document, prepared by Neighbourhood Fora or Parish Councils to guide new development within a defined local area. They are used alongside local authority (here, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council) and national planning policy documents, to help determine planning applications. NDPs are powerful tools and present significant opportunities for local people to have a real say in how, and where, development should happen within their local area. 1.2 An NDP can cover a range of planning related issues, or just have one, single policy. It is also worth noting that NDPs cannot address some strategic planning matters such as Minerals and Waste, Highways and Strategic Infrastructure Projects as these are dealt with by the local planning authority (Stockport MBC), and GMCA and Central Government. 1.3 NDPs cannot be prepared in isolation and all NDP planning policies and proposals have to be underpinned by a clear and robust evidence base of technical resources, and should be informed by local consultation responses. 1.4 Overall the Plan has to meet a set of “basic conditions” set out in national guidance and these will be tested through an examination at the end of the process. The basic conditions include the requirement that NDPs have to be in general conformity with local strategic planning policies. The local strategic planning policies are set out in the Stockport Adopted Core Strategy 20111. Saved policies from the Stockport Unitary Development Plan Review 20062 may also apply but these are generally not strategic in nature. The NDP should also take into account the reasoning and evidence informing the emerging Local Plan process (see Planning Practice Guidance)3 - in relation to HLVNDP this includes the emerging new Stockport Local Plan4. 1.5 NDPs also are required to have regard to national planning policy (National Planning Policy Framework NPPF, 20195, Planning Practice Guidance and other Ministerial statements and guidance) and to comply with European (including Environmental) Regulations. 1.6 Preparing an NDP is therefore a complex and lengthy process. The main steps are set out in Figure 1. 1 http://old.stockport.gov.uk/ldf/corestrategy/ 2 http://old.stockport.gov.uk/ldf/udp/ 3 Planning Practice Guidance Para 009 Reference ID: 41-009-20160211 https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/planning-practice-guidance 4 https://www.stockport.gov.uk/what-is-the-stockport-local-plan 5 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework 5 High Lane Village Neighbourhood Development Plan Figure 1 NDP Process Formal Preparing the Designation Consultation Plan (6 weeks) SMBC Consult for Submit Plan to Revise Plan 6 weeks SMBC High Lane Examination Referendum NDP Made 1.7 Following