Torfaen County Borough Council Replacement Local Development Plan (2018-2033) Candidate Sites Register December 2018 Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Details of the Candidate Sites Process and Anticipated Timescales 4 3. Schedule of Candidate Sites (in proposed land use order) 8 4. List of Sites for consideration in Green Infrastructure Assessment 14 5. Candidate Site Location Plans (in numeric order) 15 2 TCBC - Candidate Sites Register - December 2018 1 Introduction 1.1 Overview of the Candidate Sites Process - As required by the LDP Regulations, between 6th August and 1st October 2018, the Council invited submissions from organisations, developers, landowners and the public for sites that could be included for new development, re-development or protection in the Replacement Torfaen LDP. A total of 94 ‘Candidate Sites’ were submitted, which have been published (for information only) in this ‘Candidates Sites Register’ (December 2018). The sites will now be considered by the Council against a ‘Three Stage Site Assessment Methodology’ for potential inclusion within the Replacement LDP. The assessment results will be published in the two ‘Candidate Sites Assessment’ reports, one with the ‘Replacement Torfaen LDP: Preferred Strategy’ (October 2019) and the other with the ‘Deposit Replacement Torfaen LDP’ (August 2020); see details below. 1.2 This Candidate Sites Register, has been published on the Council’s website and made available for public inspection at the Council’s offices and libraries listed below:- . https://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/PlanningAndDevelopment/Planningpolicy/Local- Development-Plan-Review/Replacement-Torfaen-Local-Development-Plan.aspx . Offices - Civic Centre, Pontypool and Ty Blaen Torfaen, New Inn; and . Libraries - Blaenavon, Pontypool and Cwmbran. 1.3 The Council may, in exceptional circumstances, update this Register if it accepts any further candidate sites and if there is time for the site to be assessed. IMPORTANT: Sites included in this Register are only part of the Replacement LDP information gathering process; and their inclusion should NOT be interpreted as a commitment from the Council that they are developable OR that they will be taken forward into the Replacement LDP. 1.4 Strategic / Non-Strategic Sites - The Council intends to only identify ‘Strategic Sites’ (i.e. 100 or more dwellings for residential sites (noting that the thresholds for all other land uses have not yet been set)) which are key to delivering the overall plan strategy contained in the Replacement LDP Preferred Strategy; with the remaining ‘Non-Strategic Sites’, which are in accordance with the plan strategy, being considered for allocation in the Deposit Replacement LDP at a later date. 1.5 This process will assist the Council / Stakeholders in understanding what land is potentially available for inclusion in the ‘Replacement Torfaen LDP’. It also assists site promoters, in that they were not required to incur excessive costs on preparing supporting studies, etc. at the 1st Stage when they submitted their candidate site. They can wait until the ‘Further Call’ for detailed supporting candidate site information, when the ‘Initial Candidate Sites Assessment’ is published alongside the ‘Replacement Torfaen LDP: Preferred Strategy’ (October 2019); which will contain the Council’s list of unsuitable candidate sites rejected in the ‘Initial High Level Assessment’, the detailed assessment of ‘Strategic Sites’; and give an indication for the remaining ‘Non-Strategic Sites’ if they accord with the LDP Strategy or not. 1.6 Finally, this Register also contains a list (with no maps) of 15+ sites which have been submitted during the call for candidate sites, to be considered for protection in the Council’s Green Infrastructure Assessment currently being undertaken. 3 TCBC - Candidate Sites Register - December 2018 2. Details of the Candidate Sites Process and Anticipated Timescales Stage 1: Call for Candidate Sites - Proposer’s Initial Assessment (8 weeks: 6th Aug - 1st Oct 2018) Publish Candidate Sites Register (before end 2018) Initial High Level Assesment: of all Candidate Sites to reject unsustainable sites with insurmoutable constraints (October 2018 - Jan 2019) Stage 2 (Deliverability / SA & LDP Objectives / Viability): Non-Strategic TCBC Initial Assessments of Strategic Candidate Sites and Candidate Sites potential request for further information (Oct 18 - Feb 19) Stage 3 (LDP Strategy) TCBC Initial Unsuitable (LDP Strategy) Assessment of Strategic Candidate Sites Strategic Candidate Sites (May/June 2019) Consultation on the ‘Replacement LDP Preferred Strategy’ & Publication of the ‘Initial Candidate Sites Assessment of All Strategic Candidate Sites’ (including the list of all Candidate Sites rejected after the ’Initial High Level Assessment’ and an indication for the remaining ‘Non-Strategic Sites’ if they accord with the LDP Strategy or not)’ (Oct/Nov 2019) ‘Further Call’ for detailed supporting information (deliverability & viability) for candidate sites (Oct-Nov 2019) Stage 2 (Deliverability / SA & LDP Objectives / Viability) TCBC Assessments of Non-Strategic Candidate Sites & Re-Assessment of Strategic Candidate Sites (if new information provided during the ‘further call’) and potential request for further information for both Strategic and Non- Strategic Candidate Sites (Nov 19 - Apr 20) Stage 3 (LDP Strategy) TCBC All Unsuitable (LDP Stage 3 (LDP Strategy) TCBC Assessment of Strategic Strategy) Candidate Assessment of Non-Strategic Candidate Sites (Mar/Apr 2020) Sites - Rejected Candidate Sites (Mar/Apr 2020) Consultation on the ‘Deposit Replacement Torfaen LDP’ & Publication of the ‘Candidate Sites Assessment of All Candidate Sites’ (Aug/Sep 2020) 4 TCBC - Candidate Sites Register - December 2018 Stage 1: Call for Candidate Sites 2.1 Proposer’s Initial Assessment - during the ‘Call for Candidate Sites’ exercise detailed above (August / October 2018), site proposers were requested to fill in the following details on an official ‘Candidates Sites Form’:- . contact details; . site details; . ownership information; . legal, physical, environmental, historical, bad neighbour and other constraints; . how the site can connect to utility services; . how vehicular access can be achieved; . opportunities for walking, cycling and the use of public transport; . deliverability and viability issues; . development timescales; . any additional information; and . an OS site location and ownership plan. 2.2 Publication of ‘Candidate Sites Register’ - Following the call for sites exercise, the Council is required to compile and publish this ‘Candidate Sites Register’ (December 2018); which is a simple record of all candidate sites submitted, and includes the following information (if known):- . Candidate Site Number; . Site Name / Location; . Total size (ha - gross); . Greenfield / Brownfield . Current / Former site use(s); . Proposed use(s); and . Ordnance Survey (OS) based Location Plan of the site. 2.3 The Council’s Initial High Level Assessment (October 2018 - January 2019) - All sites submitted at this 1st Stage will be subject to an ‘Initial High Level Assessment’ (i.e. initial sift) to reject any unsuitable sites which:- . are below the site size threshold; . do not reflect sustainability principles set out by the Welsh Government in national planning policy; . have fundamental constraints to development that cannot be mitigated, such as sites: in the open countryside unrelated to a ‘sustainable settlement’, or away from infrastructure, services and amenities, both existing and proposed; or within International / European / National historic and environmental designations; or residential sites in a zone C2 flood-plain; . raise deliverability issues, or will not be brought forward during the plan period, or where it is considered, based upon appropriate evidence or the lack thereof, that the site is not financially viable. 2.4 Any sites that fail this initial assessment will not be considered any further by the Council. However, those sites that satisfy this initial assessment can be taken forward to the 2nd and 3rd Stage candidate site assessments, see details below. 5 TCBC - Candidate Sites Register - December 2018 Stage 2: The Council’s Detailed Candidate Sites Assessment 2.5 The Stage 2 Candidate Sites Assessments are split into four sub-stages (further details of these assessments will be published in due course):- . Stage 2A will involve a more detailed assessment of candidate sites by internal Council officers (planning, highways, ecology, landscape, environmental health, conservation, drainage, economic development / regeneration, education, etc.) using a ‘traffic light’ coding system and with an overall conclusion on deliverability; . Stage 2B will involves each candidate site being assessed against the Council’s Sustainability Appraisal (incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment) (SA/SEA) Objectives and the Council’s draft LDP Objectives; which are developed at an early stage of the LDP preparation process. Candidate sites will be assessed against these objectives in terms of whether they will contribute positively or negatively. Stage 2C will then involve the more deliverable / positive sites from Stages 2A and 2B going out to external consultation with relevant statutory agencies such as Dwr Cymru / Welsh Water, other utility companies, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru / National Resources Wales, Cadw / Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd, The Coal Authority, Welsh Government Roads, Health & Safety Executive, etc. This