Regulation 18 Draft A bold vision for 2040 List of Draft Local Plan Policies List of Draft Local Plan Policies 3 Consultation Draft Dover District Local Plan 1 Introduction 7 2 How do I get involved? 9 3 Dover District Spatial Portrait 11 4 Vision and Objectives 21 5 Climate Change 26 6 New Homes 43 7 Employment and the Local Economy 102 8 Retail and Town Centres 119 9 Transport and Infrastructure 140 10 Design 155 11 The Natural Environment 164 12 The Historic Environment 186 Appendices Appendix 1 Settlement Hierarchy 196 Appendix 2 Housing Trajectory 198 Appendix 3 Evidence Base 199 List of Draft Local Plan Policies Strategic Policies Strategic Policy 1: Planning for Climate Change Strategic Policy 2: Housing Growth Strategic Policy 3: Residential Windfall Development Strategic Policy 4: Whitfield Urban Expansion Strategic Policy 5: North Aylesham Strategic Policy 6: South Aylesham Strategic Policy 7: Eythorne and Elvington Local Centre Strategic Policy 8: Economic Growth Strategic Policy 9: Employment Allocations Strategic Policy 10: Quantity and Location of Retail Development Strategic Policy 11: Dover Town Centre Strategic Policy 12: Deal and Sandwich Town Centres Strategic Policy 13: Infrastructure and Developer Contributions Strategic Policy 14: Strategic Highway Infrastructure Strategic Policy 15: Place Making Strategic Policy 16: Protecting the District's Hierarchy of Designated Environment Sites Strategic Policy 17: Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Strategic Policy 18: Protecting the District's Historic Environment Site Allocations Policies Site Allocation Policy 1: Non-Strategic Housing Allocations Site Allocation Policy 2: Land to the south of Alkham Valley Road / Land to the rear of The Meadows, Alkham Strategic Policy 4: Whitfield Urban Expansion Strategic Policy 5: North Aylesham Strategic Policy 6: South Aylesham Strategic Policy 7: Eythorne and Elvington Local Centre Strategic Policy 9: Employment Allocations Development Management Policy 10: Gypsy and Traveller Site Intensification Development Management (DM) Policies DM Policy 1: Reducing Carbon Emissions DM Policy 2: Sustainable Design and Construction DM Policy 3: Renewable and Low Carbon Energy DM Policy 4: Sustainable Travel 3 DM Policy 5: Water Efficiency DM Policy 6: Flood Risk DM Policy 7: Surface Water Management DM Policy 8: Coastal Change Management Areas DM Policy 9: TreePlanting and Protection DM Policy 10: Gypsy and Traveller Site Intensification DM Policy 11: Typeand Mix of Housing DM Policy 12: Affordable Housing DM Policy 13: Rural Local Needs Housing DM Policy 14: Gypsy and Traveller Windfall Accommodation DM Policy 15: Self Build and Custom House Building DM Policy 16: Residential Extensions and Annexes DM Policy 17: Houses in Multiple Occupation DM Policy 18: New Employment Development DM Policy 19: Retention of Existing Employment Sites DM Policy 20: Loss or Re-development of Employment Sites and Premises DM Policy 21: Home Working DM Policy 22: Conversion or Re-build of Rural Buildings for Economic Development Purposes DM Policy 23: New Employment Premises in the Countryside DM Policy 24: Tourismand Tourist/Visitor Accommodation DM Policy 25: Primary Shopping Areas DM Policy 26: Sequential Test and Impact Assessment DM Policy 27: Local Centres DM Policy 28: Shop Fronts DM Policy 29: The Highway Network and Highway Safety DM Policy 30: Parking Provision on new Development DM Policy 31: Providing Open Space DM Policy 32: Playing Pitch Strategy DM Policy 33: Protection of Open Space DM Policy 34: Community Facilities DM Policy 35: Digital Technology DM Policy 36: Achieving High Quality Design DM Policy 37: Quality of Residential Accommodation 4 DM Policy 38: Biodiversity Net Gain DM Policy 39: Landscape Character and the AONB DM Policy 40: Thanet Coast and Sandwich Bay SPA Mitigation Strategy DM Policy 41: Air Quality DM Policy 42: Water Supply and Quality DM Policy 43: The River Dour DM Policy 44: Designated and Non-designated Heritage Assets DM Policy 45: Conservation Areas DM Policy 46: Archaeology DM Policy 47: Dover Western Heights Fortifications Scheduled Monument and Conservation Area DM Policy 48: Historic Parks and Gardens 5 1.1 The District Council has started the process of developing a new Local Plan for the District which will replace the existing Core Strategy and Land Allocations Local Plan. 1.2 This document sets out the Council’s emerging draft Local Plan for consultation. We want people to engage fully in this process so that responses can be fed into the next draft of the Plan. This is your opportunity to identify the key issues that need to be addressed and to shape the future development of Dover District. What is a Local Plan? 1.3 A Local Plan sets out a vision and a framework for the future development of the area, addressing needs and opportunities for housing, the economy, community facilities and infrastructure, as well as the basis for conserving and enhancing the natural and historic environment, mitigating and adapting to climate change, and achieving well designed places. 1.4 The Local Plan is at the heart of the planning system and provides the framework for all planning decisions to be judged against. Why are we producing a new Local Plan? 1.5 The District’s existing Local Plan consists of the Core Strategy 2010 and the Land Allocations Plan 2015, as well as saved policies from the 2002 Local Plan. The Government has made changes to legislation, policyandguidancesincetheseplansweredeveloped,whichmeanstheyneedtobereviewedandupdated. 1.6 The Government requires all local authorities to have an up to date local plan in place by December 2023. New Plans can take several years to finalise and so it is important we make progress now. What have we done so far? 1.7 So far we have: carried out stakeholder workshops which have helped to inform the key issues that the Plan needs to address, developed the evidence which is needed to support the Plan, identified and assessed the different options for delivering the required growth and development, carriedouttargetedstakeholderconsultationonspecificissuestoinformthedraftplanforconsultation, liaised with our neighbouring authorities under the duty to co-operate to agree statements of common ground in relation to cross border issues, and prepared draft policies and proposals which form the basis of this consultation document. What happens after this consultation? 1.8 Following the end of the consultation we will: review and consider all responses received to the consultation and; complete the evidence supporting the plan 1.9 Based upon the above we will produce a final draft of the Plan (called a Regulation 19 Submission Plan) which will be subject to further consultation prior to submission for examination. 7 2.1 The purpose of this consultation is to ask for your views on: the key issues that the new Plan should address, a draft vision for Dover District in 2040 and the objectives needed to meet that vision, the options that have been considered to address the key issues and growth and development needs, the draft strategy for meeting growth and development needs over the next 20 years, the land identified which is expected to be needed to meet this strategy and draft policies for guiding that development, and draft policies to address climate change, and for protecting and enhancing the natural, built and historic environment of the District. Who should get involved in this consultation? 2.2 We are seeking views from the whole community, including residents and community groups, businesses, landowners, developers, as well as statutory consultees, delivery partners and infrastructure providers. 2.3 If you have an interest in the future of Dover District this is your opportunity to help shape the future plan for the District. How can I get involved? 2.4 The consultation on the draft Local Plan is open from the 20th January to the 17th March 2021. To comment on the document, find out more about the consultation, and sign up to an online event go to: www.doverdistrictlocalplan.co.uk 2.5 If you are having problems accessing or commenting on the document please telephone 01304 872 244 Monday to Thursday 10am - 12pm. 9 3.1 This chapter provides a spatial portrait of the District. Geography 3.2 Dover District is located on Kent’s east coast, at the narrowest point along the English Channel, between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. Calais is only 34 kilometres across the Strait of Dover, meaning Dover is an important gateway to the continent and beyond. The District covers an area of 320 square kilometres, and has around 32 kilometres of coastline. The District is bounded by Thanet to the north, Canterbury to the west and Folkestone and Hythe to the south. 3.3 There are two main urban areas within the District: Dover with its ports to the south and Deal with its Pier and beaches to the east. There are also the rural service centres of medieval Sandwich and Aylesham, a garden community designed by Sir Patrick Abercrombie during the 1920s. Figure 3.1 Dover District In Context Population 3.4 The most recent (2018) population estimates published by the Office for National Statistics show the population of Dover District to be 116,969 people, consisting of 57,761 males and 59,208 females. The charts below compare the population’s gender and age distribution between the 2011 Census and 2018 population estimates, showing that the population of Dover is ageing, with the 70 to 74 age range having 11 grown the most as a percentage of the total population, while the 40 to 44 and 45 to 49 age ranges have shrunk. The charts also show that a portion of the 15 to 19 age cohort in 2011 has not been retained into the 2018 age 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 cohorts. Figure 3.2 Dover 2011 Gender By Age Pyramid Source: Office for National Statistics Figure 3.3 Dover 2018 Gender By Age Pyramid Source: Office for National Statistics 3.5 In the years from 2010-2018 the average total net migration inflow per year was 783 people, and the total cumulative migration was 6,265 people.