3J Kite Wing Direct Line: 0303 444 5781 Temple Quay House Customer Services: 0303 444 5000 2 The Square Bristol e-mail: [email protected] BS1 6PN Karen Shaw Our Ref: PINS/Q3060/429/7 Planning Policy and Research Team Date: 13 December 2019 Nottingham City Council Dear Karen, NOTTINGHAM CITY COUNCIL LAND AND PLANNING POLICIES (LOCAL PLAN PART 2): FINAL REPORT Thank you for your letter. The Inspector has considered your comments in response to the fact check of the report on the local plan and has amended where appropriate. Clearly it is now for the Council to adopt the Document at its discretion. The Inspectorate maintains a national database of Local Plans and therefore please advise the Plans Team when you adopt in order that your plan status can be updated. We will contact you shortly to provide us with a Purchase Order Number so that we can include it on your invoice. Both the fees and expenses will be payable for all duties carried out in examining your Local Plan. The Council should consider whether adoption could have any effect on appeals currently being considered by the Planning Inspectorate. As you know, appeals must be determined on the basis of the development plan as it exists at the time of the Inspector’s (or the Secretary of State’s) decision, not as it was at the time of the Council’s decision. If adoption changes the policy position, the relevant Inspector(s) will need to take that into account. In addition, please ensure that your new policy position is clearly explained when submitting your Questionnaire in relation to future appeals received after adoption. If the above circumstances apply, it would be very helpful if the Council could contact the relevant Case Officer(s) in the Planning Inspectorate dealing with any outstanding case(s) at the time of adoption. Yours sincerely Matthew Giles Plans Team Report to Nottingham City Council by Beverley Doward BSc BTP MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Date: 13 December 2019 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) Section 20 Report on the Examination of the Nottingham City Land and Planning Policies Development Plan Document (Local Plan Part 2) The Plan was submitted for examination on 23 April 2018 The examination hearings were held on the following dates: 20 to 22 November 2018 27 to 28 November 2018 4 December 2018 File Ref: PINS/Q3060/429/7 Abbreviations used in this report AA Appropriate Assessment ACS Aligned Core Strategy CONI Centre of Neighbourhood Importance EqIA Equalities Impact Assessment GTAA Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment HLAR Housing Land Availability Report HMA Housing Market Area HRA Habitats Regulations Assessment JPAB Greater Nottingham Joint Planning Advisory Board LAPP Nottingham City Land and Planning Policies Development Plan Document (Local Plan Part 2) LDS Local Development Scheme LPA Local Planning Authority MHCLG Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government MM Main Modification NDSS Nationally Described Space Standards NPPF National Planning Policy Framework PCPA Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) PPG Planning Practice Guidance PPTS Planning Policy for Traveller Sites PSA Primary Shopping Area SA Sustainability Appraisal SoCG Statement of Common Ground SCI Statement of Community Involvement SHLAA Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment SHMA Strategic Housing Market Assessment WMS Written Ministerial Statement 2 Nottingham City Land and Planning Policies Development Plan Document (Local Plan Part 2) Inspector’s Report 13 December 2019 Non-Technical Summary This report concludes that the Nottingham City Land and Planning Policies Development Plan Document (Local Plan Part 2) (LAPP) provides an appropriate basis for the planning of the City, provided that a number of main modifications (MMs) are made to it. Nottingham City Council (the Council) has specifically requested me to recommend any MMs necessary to enable the Plan to be adopted. The MMs all concern matters that were discussed at the Examination Hearings. Following the Hearings, the Council prepared schedules of the proposed modifications and carried out Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of them. The MMs were subject to public consultation over a six-week period. In some cases, I have amended their detailed wording and/or added consequential modifications where necessary. I have recommended their inclusion in the Plan after considering all the representations made in response to consultation on them. The purposes of the recommended MMs are summarised below. However, the list is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of all the modifications. MMs to up-date the position in relation to individual site allocations and to take account of that position; MM to include a new criteria-based policy against which to consider any proposals that may come forward to meet the accommodation needs of Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople; MMs to ensure that the development principles identified for various site allocations are clear, justified, effective, sufficiently comprehensive and reflective of the up-to-date position; MM to delete the site allocation PA22 (Western Boulevard) which is not deliverable within the Plan period; MMs to ensure that various development management policies of the Plan are sufficiently clear, effective, justified and consistent with national planning policy; MMs to ensure that the policies relating to development within Primary Frontages, Secondary Frontages and Centres of Neighbourhood Importance are clear, justified and capable of effective implementation; MM to ensure that the policy relating to the development of main town centre uses in edge of centre and out of centre locations is clear and consistent with national planning policy; MM to safeguard against the affordable housing policy being deemed to be out of date on adoption having regard to the provisions of the revised NPPF; MM to ensure that the requirements of the policy relating to advertisements has regard to the advertisement control regime; MM to ensure that the policy relating to food and drink uses and licensed entertainment venues outside the city centre is justified and effective; MM to up-date the position in relation to those transport network schemes identified for protection; MM to ensure the monitoring framework of the Plan provides the means to monitor its overall effectiveness; MM to clarify the position in relation to the HRA; and MMs to ensure appropriate reference to documents that have not been through examination. 3 Nottingham City Land and Planning Policies Development Plan Document (Local Plan Part 2) Inspector’s Report 13 December 2019 Introduction 1. This report contains my assessment of the Nottingham City Land and Planning Policies Development Plan Document (Local Plan Part 2) (LAPP) in terms of Section 20(5) of the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) (PCPA). It considers first whether the Plan’s preparation has complied with the duty to co-operate. It then considers whether the Plan is sound and whether it is compliant with the legal requirements. 2. The National Planning Policy Framework 2012 (the NPPF) makes it clear that in order to be sound, a Local Plan should be positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy. The revised NPPF was published in July 2018 and then further revised in February 2019. It includes a transitional arrangement in paragraph 214 whereby, for the purpose of examining this Plan, the policies in the 2012 NPPF will apply. Similarly, where the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) has been updated to reflect the revised NPPF, the previous versions of the PPG apply for the purposes of this examination under the transitional arrangement. Therefore, unless stated otherwise, references in this report are to the 2012 NPPF and the versions of the PPG which were extant prior to the publication of the 2018 NPPF. 3. The starting point for the examination is the assumption that the Local Planning Authority (LPA) has submitted what it considers to be a sound plan. The Revised Publication Version of the LAPP, submitted in April 2018 is the basis for my Examination. It is the same version that was published for consultation in September 2017. References to the LAPP in this report, unless stated otherwise, refer to the revised publication version of the Plan. 4. The Submission Version of the LAPP includes a number of proposed changes which the Council wishes to propose to address issues raised by representations received on the Revised Publication version of the Plan or to update the Plan. These were not subject to further consultation before submission. Therefore, I have considered them as part of the examination process. Main Modifications 5. In accordance with section 20(7C) of the 2004 Act the Council requested that I should recommend any main modifications (MMs) necessary to rectify matters that make the Plan unsound and /or not legally compliant and thus incapable of being adopted. My report explains why the recommended MMs, all of which relate to matters that were discussed at the examination hearings, are necessary. The MMs are referenced in bold in the report in the form MM1, MM2, MM3 etc, and are set out in full in the Appendix. 6. Following the examination hearings, the Council prepared a schedule of proposed MMs and carried out SA of them. The MM schedule was subject to public consultation for six weeks. I have taken account of the consultation responses in coming to my conclusions in this report and in this light, I have made some amendments to the detailed wording of the main modifications and added consequential modifications where these are necessary for consistency or clarity. None of the amendments significantly alter the content of the modifications as published for consultation or undermine the 4 Nottingham City Land and Planning Policies Development Plan Document (Local Plan Part 2) Inspector’s Report 13 December 2019 participatory processes and SA that has been undertaken.