Shepway Core Strategy Local Plan 2013 The Adoption of the Shepway Core Strategy: Minor Editing (September 2013) Introduction This note has been produced to maximise transparency in the preparation and formal adoption of the final Shepway Core Strategy. It is not a statutory or formal council document, and has been produced optionally to provide additional public information. The Shepway Core Strategy was found ’sound’ by the independent Planning Inspector, Michael Hetherington in June, following Examination of the document (which was published in July 2011). This means that it could proceed to formal ‘adoption’ and come into force as the new development plan for the district. 1 The Inspector’s Report was considered by Shepway’s Cabinet on 23 rd July 2013. This flagged up the intention to consider including minor alterations, additional to the Inspector’s modifications, to ensure the adopted plan was factually correct and up-to-date. The Core Strategy is adopted including the ‘Main Modifications’ that make up the appendix and annexe to the Inspector’s Report. These changes substitute most of the modifications put forward by the council following the five Examination hearing days in 2012, in place of parts of the 2011 Core Strategy document. Main modifications were necessary for the plan’s policies to meet the national tests of soundness. Therefore in order to update other content e.g. factual illustration, descriptive text etc, some additional changes are required. This note sets out the nature of this editing. The legal basis stems from the Localism Act 2011. This amended the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act (2004) to read: “The authority may adopt the document- ...(b)with the main modifications and additional modifications if the additional modifications (taken together) do not materially affect the policies that would be set out in the document with the main modifications but not other modifications.” [emphasis added] Section 23(3) Therefore these changes are, legally speaking “additional modifications” but the term “minor editing” is used here for clarity and simplicity. Minor editing – what it is and is not In a practical sense, minor editing picks up some parts of the plan identified as requiring changing, but not needing to be changed for reasons of soundness. In large part, these are due to the changes in terminology and procedures arising from major revisions to national planning policy and legislation in recent years i.e. since the Core Strategy was drafted. 1 With certain ‘saved’ local policies from 2006 confirmed as continuing to apply. These are listed in Core Strategy Appendix 5. 1 Shepway Core Strategy Local Plan 2013 There were a number of documents that previously identified areas for potential editing, including minor matters - which may provide the context for a range of changes - but are now superseded/ rationalised. These were, in chronological order: i) The version of the Core Strategy published with extensive changes in response to public input, following the period of representations on the 2011 plan. This plan is dated January 2012. ii) Possible changes noted by council officers arising from the debate at the Examination hearing days. This schedule was completed in June 2012. 2 Key matters were addressed in later publications e.g. modifications –see (iii) immediately below. iii) The influential council publication ‘Shepway Core Strategy Local Plan – Proposed Modifications Autumn 2012 Consultation’, produced in response to the Inspector’s Interim conclusions in summer 2012 and covered in the final Examination hearing day in March 2013. A small number of minor changes were produced for the Inspector subsequent to these documents, and whilst not directly tackled in his final report, have been factored in to the adopted Core Strategy. They were published on the website previously are not listed separately here.3 All these changes are secondary to main modifications. For instance, if the council had put forward changes to a paragraph then these are irrelevant if the paragraph is modified in the Inspector’s Report. Main modification wording is the adopted wording. In general terms, the minor editing listed here includes non material wording changes of the following nature: • Factual corrections and updates not dealt with elsewhere • Additional cross referencing • Rationalisation of unnecessary non-material supplementary text • Incidental additional non-material explanation as required/ suggested by the public for clarity, or improved syntax in limited places • Other updating changes directly consequential from the main modifications, some of which are positively mentioned by the Inspector but are not actually included within main modifications as matters of soundness. 2 Available on http://www.shepway.gov.uk/UserFiles/File/pdf/local-plan/cs- submission/CoreStrategyExamination/Schedule%20of%20proposed%20changes%20to%20Shepway%20Core%20Strategy%20%28Hearings%29%20v2%2 0070612.pdf . 3 January 2013 “Errata”, mostly concerned with correcting the cross-referencing in the 2011 Core Strategy and 2012 council Modifications: http://www.shepway.gov.uk/UserFiles/File/pdf/local- plan/cs_mods_examination/Errata%20for%20Proposed%20Modifications%20for%20Shepway%20Core%20Strategy%20v2.pdf . The demonstration of updating titles and references etc in this updated scheduled of modifications: http://www.shepway.gov.uk/UserFiles/File/pdf/local- plan/cs_mods_examination/Proposed%20Shepway%20Core%20Strategy%20Modifications%20rev%2010%20for%20INSPECTOR%20with%20SEP%20etc. pdf 2 Shepway Core Strategy Local Plan 2013 Purely presentational changes (not necessarily an exhaustive list) e.g. layout of existing content/ position of diagrams etc are outlined. The draft minor editing changes listed here do not cover: • Main modifications • The wording of any policy • Additional modifications that collectively materially affect policy • Changes to detailed points of grammar (positioning of commas etc) Final changes to formatting are indicated in general terms or greater detail, but the purpose of this document is to note changes to content wording. The document has now been externally reviewed by a professional proof-reader and therefore a number of changes result for grammatical purposes and for internal presentational consistency (many of the changes shown red below). They are documented subject to these exceptions. Minor grammatical e.g. (adjusting semi-colons, commas etc) changes to paragraphs have been included where found within a paragraph that is otherwise relevant – but not otherwise. Summary The minor editing can be seen as non-material ‘changes to words’ in limited places that have not been subject to main modifications, and with no impact on policy. The various types of changes put forward since 2011 mean council officers consider it a beneficial extra for its minor editing to be in the public domain and to accompany Core Strategy adoption. For the avoidance of doubt, and in the case of error here, it is confirmed that the applicable Core Strategy wording is that contained in the document attached to the Council report and adopted 18 th September 2013. Minor editing to the July 2011 Core Strategy is illustrated as follows: • DELETED words are shown crossed through . • ADDITIONAL words are shown in bold. • Sentences that are unchanged in paragraphs with some minor editing are shown as dots in relation to edited sentences [“...”] A public draft of this document was disseminated in June 2013. Changes since then (included in the adopted Core Strategy) are shown in red. 3 Shepway Core Strategy Local Plan 2013 Selected whole document / generic presentational changes July 2011 Core Strategy Proposed Modification Reference/Location Contents Appendices listed separately All Footnote references reformatted. All Bullet points: have been labelled further, notably Aims A/B/C 1-9, and policy points labelled alphabetically. All Colour panels; CSD1-5 intro changed colour & CSD6-9 now also with an introductory panel of information. Section 2.2 and 5.3 Sub heading formatting changes for consistency Sections 5.1 and 5.2 Colour boxes of supplementary contextual information: colour scheme amended, national policy refs deleted, evidence documents edited (Deletions). Section 5.2 Boxes of supplementary contextual information included throughout including area sub-sections, referencing 1 st primary aims, then main local evidence (rationalised). Section 5.2 Presentation of smaller settlements – name in capitals so easier to find. Chapter 1 Introduction July 2011 Core Strategy Proposed Modification Reference/Location • Section 1.1 About the Core Strategy 1.1 The following section introduces the Core Strategy in the context of its evolution, role and approach. the Local Development Framework and its evolution .... 1.2 Development in the UK is led by guided by national and local policy. a system of plan for the future, and At the local level plans are contained in the Local Development Framework (LDF). The LDF will the District’s statutory Local Plan documents direct how Shepway changes by forming the basis for deciding planning applications for development, and also through guiding public and private sector investment. 1.3 The Core Strategy is a long-term plan forming the most important element of the LDF. It is about ‘spatial planning’; bring ing together the aims and actions of the government, local councils, residents, businesses and voluntary groups, by managing land-use and developments. The Shepway Core Strategy Local Plan was adopted as part