WORK IN PROGRESS Transformation and Sustainability SHEFFIELD DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK PREFERRED OPTIONS FOR CITY SITES For consideration by Cabinet – 11 April 2007 Development Services Sheffield City Council Howden House 1 Union Street Sheffield S1 2SH April 2007 WORK IN PROGRESS Availability of this document See Chapter 2 ‘How to Comment’ This document is available on the Council’s website at www.sheffield.gov.uk/sdfconsult If you would like a copy of this document in large print, audio format, Braille, on computer disk, or in a language other than English, please contact us for this to be arranged: telephone (0114) 273 4212, or e-mail [email protected], or write to: SDF Team Development Services Howden House 1 Union Street Sheffield S1 2SH WORK IN PROGRESS CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction to the Preferred Options 1 2. How to Comment on the Options 5 3. The Spatial Context 7 4. Allocations – Process and Justification 9 5. Site Allocations 13 6. Citywide Distribution of Preferred Option Allocated Sites 27 7. Infrastructure Constraints 33 Appendices A Preferred Options for Allocated Sites 37 B Rejected Options: Unallocated Development Sites 153 C Rejected Options: Non-Development Sites 165 D Sites developed or in use or under construction 175 WORK IN PROGRESS 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE PREFERRED OPTIONS What is the Sheffield Development Framework? 1.1 The Sheffield Development Framework is the City Council’s Local Development Framework, prepared in accordance with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. It consists of a series of planning documents, including several statutory Development Plan Documents to replace the existing Unitary Development Plan. 1.2 The Development Plan Documents take a long-term (10-15 year) view of: how the city develops spatially its physical form and the location of different land uses the protection and enhancement of the environment the design of areas and buildings the connecting up of the city through the location of development and transport systems. What is the City Sites document about? 1.3 The City Sites document identifies those sites in the city that are allocated for specific uses and indicates the uses and the specific requirements for the development of sites where these are known. Sites are allocated to ensure that we have enough land for particular needs, especially for housing and employment. 1.4 The document does not propose the allocation of all development sites. In some cases, for example, in Flexible Use Areas, it may not be appropriate to identify a single use. And a large number of sites come forward as ‘windfalls’, which, by definition, cannot be identified, let alone allocated, in advance. Details of the latest development sites are reported in the annual Housing Land Survey and the Business and Industry Land Survey. 1.5 The City Sites document is closely related to two other documents: The Core Strategy, which includes the overall vision, aims and objectives of the Sheffield Development Framework, which set the overall context for the Framework’s spatial policies and allocations The City Polices document, which identifies broad Policy Areas across the city and appropriate land uses in each and sets out criteria to be satisfied to achieve the objectives of the Core Strategy. 1.6 The City Sites document also needs to be read alongside the Proposals Map of the Sheffield Development Framework. The map shows the allocated sites and how they relate to the broader pattern of Policy Areas that are defined in the City Policies document. 1 WORK IN PROGRESS 1.7 The site allocations have to be consistent not only with the Core Strategy and City Policies but also have to: generally conform with relevant policies in the Regional Spatial Strategy be consistent with national planning policy. How do the Preferred Options fit in to the process? 1.8 National planning policy requires the Council to involve communities in the development of options for its Local Development Framework. We are using four defined stages for this involvement: Emerging Options – an informal floating of possible options that the Council is considering and identifying alternative choices where appropriate – Emerging Options for the City Sites were consulted on in February to April 2006 Preferred Options – the Emerging Options are narrowed down and consultation is on the broad directions that the Council is minded to take having weighed up the alternatives – this is the current stage Submission version – the Preferred Options will be revised and developed to form the version that is submitted to the Government and there is an immediate period for comment Public examination – following submission, the document is considered by a planning inspector and subjected to public examination, after which the inspector makes binding recommendations and the Council adopts the final revised version. Options and Allocations 1.9 The Emerging Options City Sites document included a list of sites city-wide for consideration for allocation for a range of uses. Additional sites have since emerged which have been considered for allocation and are also included in this document. 1.10 On each site for consideration, two related questions have been asked: a) Should a site be allocated? b) What use should the site be allocated for? 1.11 Some of the sites are no longer considered for allocation because they are under construction or were developed as at 31 December 2006 or have other constraints that mean they cannot be brought forward as an allocation. 2 WORK IN PROGRESS 1.12 The majority of sites from the Emerging Options that merit allocation have been retained. Some uses that were considered on a particular site have now been rejected and where this has happened the reasons are given. However, the scope for choice within the city is limited because of the many constraints on development and the large requirements that need to be provided for over the period covered by the Development Plan documents. 1.13 There is expected to be a further consultation shortly before the document is submitted, in order to include newly identified sites and to update the status and information about sites, as a result of the Preferred Options consultation and changes in circumstances. The Status of Preferred Options 1.14 Unlike the Emerging Options, the Preferred Options have been approved by the Council, as a basis for consultation. They provide an indication of the allocations that the Council is thinking of submitting to the Government. 1.15 The options will begin to influence other plan preparation and if there is significant clear support in the consultation, they might inform some planning decisions. This might apply, for example, where they are required to meet the requirements of recent national policy. Although the Unitary Development Plan, along with the current Regional Spatial Strategy, remains the statutory development plan for the city, its site allocations are largely out-of-date and the options in this consultation document are the most recent indication of what the existing development policies mean in terms of specific allocations over the next 10 to 15 years. In such cases they could be seen as having a role akin to the Supplementary Planning Documents. They do not carry any statutory weight themselves because they have not yet been through the independent public scrutiny required for that. In the meantime, any use of the allocation options to inform future planning decisions must take into account the representations made in the forthcoming consultation. 3 WORK IN PROGRESS 2. HOW TO COMMENT ON THE OPTIONS What to comment on 2.1 The present consultation on Preferred Options for the SDF City Sites is being carried out at the same time as the equivalent consultation on the City Policies and the Proposals Map. By making these documents available at the same time it will be possible for consultees to see how the various documents could fit together. 2.2 The Core Strategy will not be open for formal comment at this stage and it will be submitted to the Government in September, when there will be a final opportunity to make comments. The present document anticipates the submission version of the Core Strategy in some respects and readers will be able to refer to the latest draft, which will be placed on the Council’s website, before being considered by the Council’s Cabinet. 2.3 We would welcome your views on any or all of the above documents but recognise that there is a lot of material and you will want to give us your considered view. Therefore, please concentrate your comments on the aspects that concern you most. Do you support the overall approach of the option or options? Do you support the specific criteria that are being proposed? If not, how would you prefer to see them changed? In each case, what are your reasons for what you recommend? Where to view material 2.4 This document can be viewed or downloaded on the Council’s website: www.sheffield.gov.uk/sdf Reference copies are available at First Point at: Howden House (1 Union Street in the City Centre) Chapeltown (Station Road) Crystal Peaks (1-3 Peaks Square, Waterthorpe) Hillsborough (in the Barracks) and also at all Sheffield Library Branches, including the local studies section of the Central Library. 5 WORK IN PROGRESS 2.5 If you are unable to visit one of these facilities and do not have access to the internet then please contact the SDF Team (see contact details below) and copies will be made available to you. 2.6 If you wish to buy a hard copy of a document (or an extract) please contact the SDF Team (see contact details below). 2.7 If you would like a copy of this document in large print, audio format, Braille, on computer disk, or in a language other than English, please contact us for this to be arranged (see contact details below).