THIS REPORT RELATES STIRLING COUNCIL TO ITEM 11 ON THE AGENDA ENVIRONMENT & HOUSING COMMITTEE CORPORATE OPERATIONS 4 JUNE 2015 NOT EXEMPT PLANNING POLICY: CONSERVATION AREA CHARACTER APPRAISALS 1 SUMMARY 1.1 There are currently eight conservation areas within the Stirling Council area supported by individual Character Statements that exist as supplementary guidance to the adopted Local Development Plan. The eight Character Statements apply to the conservation areas of Ashfield, Blairlogie, Bridge of Allan, Buchlyvie, Doune, Deanston, Fintry, and Gargunnock. 1.2 These Statements have now been expanded and re-written as Character Appraisals to make them more comprehensive and robust and give them equal status to the full Character Appraisal documents that apply to all of the other Stirling Council conservation areas. The draft Appraisals have been subject to a recent consultation process which is dealt with in this report and copies are available to view in the members lounge and online at: www.stirling.gov.uk/localdevplan . 2 OFFICER RECOMMENDATION(S) The Committee agrees to: - 2.1 to approve the proposed Council response to the comments received to the eight draft Character Appraisals (contained within Appendix 2); 2.2 to submit the eight conservation area Character Appraisals (Appendix 3) to Scottish Ministers and afford them a minimum period of 28 days to recommend any amendments in line with statutory requirements; and 2.3 adopt the eight conservation area Character Appraisals as Supplementary Guidance to the Stirling Local Development Plan after the period of 28 days has elapsed, unless Scottish Ministers indicate otherwise. 3 CONSIDERATIONS Background 3.1 The cancellation and re-designation (changes to boundaries) of a number of conservation areas was agreed by Stirling Council at a meeting on 18 August 2014. This included the conservation areas for Buchlyvie, Doune, Fintry and Gargunnock. 3.2 The supplementary guidance adopted alongside the Stirling Local Development Plan in October 2014 included full Character Appraisals for eighteen of the conservation areas and shorter Character Statements for the other eight conservation areas. These eight Character Statements apply to the conservation areas of Ashfield, Blairlogie, Bridge of Allan, Buchlyvie, Doune, Deanston, Fintry, and Gargunnock. 3.3 The Character Statements are shorter, less detailed versions of the full Character Appraisals. Statements were produced due to the time constraints in the run-up to preparing the Local Development Plan which did not allow full appraisals to be undertaken for every conservation area. 3.4 The Character Appraisals are important documents in the management of conservation areas, providing residents, developers and the planning authority with information on the historic and architectural character, to help guide decision making and ensure appropriate development. 3.5 The re-drafting and expansion of the eight Statements to full Character Appraisals now gives them the same status as the documents covering all other Stirling Council conservation areas. 3.6 The Character Appraisals support Stirling Local Development Plan Primary Policy 7: Historic Environment and Policy 7.2 – Development within and outwith conservation areas. Comments Received Through the Consultation Process 3.7 The consultation period ran for 4 weeks between 30 March and 24 April 2015. The relevant community councils were consulted and copies of the draft Character Appraisals were placed in local libraries and the mobile library as appropriate. A number of Key Agencies were also consulted. A summary of the comments received, and the proposed Council response to these comments are contained within Appendix 2. 3.8 Comments were received from Logie Community Council and Historic Scotland. Logie Community Council was generally supportive of the Blairlogie Character Appraisal document, suggesting a number of amendments to improve the accuracy of place and building names and their history, and highlighting further items for possible inclusion. Historic Scotland indicated that they were pleased to see thorough Appraisals for these eight settlements as this helped to identify their special interest. They also made a number of detailed comments in relation to the individual Character Appraisals, advising of drafting and spelling errors, and made a general recommendation that the findings of the Appraisals themselves be referred to as forming a framework that will inform any development briefs and/or design statements. 3.9 In addition to the responses received through the consultation process, a number of additional comments were received via the consultant who drafted the Appraisals on behalf of the Council. These comments were from residents in Ashfield and Blairlogie and provide clarification on factual aspects of the documents relating to place names and useful background on the historic development of the settlement. Response to Representations 3.10 As outlined within Appendix 2, the final Character Appraisals at Appendix 3 have been amended to take account of the comments received from the Community Council, Historic Scotland and residents. 3.11 In accordance with section 22(9) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 2006, the Council is required to submit the eight Character Appraisals to the Scottish Ministers and a period of at least 28 days must then elapse before they can be adopted as supplementary guidance, unless Stirling Council hears otherwise from Scottish Ministers. 4 POLICY/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS AND CONSULTATIONS Policy Implications Equality Impact Assessment No Strategic Environmental Assessment No Serving Stirling No Single Outcome Agreement No Diversity (age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation) No Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) No Effect on Council’s green house gas emissions No Effect Strategic/Service Plan No Existing Policy or Strategy No Risk No Resource Implications Financial No People No Land and Property or IT Systems No Consultations Internal or External Consultations Yes Equality Impact Assessment 4.1 The contents of this report were assessed using the EqIA Relevance Assessment Form. It was determined that an Equality Impact Assessment was not required as this proposal is unlikely to impact on people with protected characteristics or communities, household groups or individuals with a higher risk of experiencing poverty. Strategic Environmental Assessment 4.2 The Character Appraisals form part of a hierarchy of Plans which includes Supplementary Guidance to the Stirling Local Development Plan. A full Strategic Environmental Assessment was carried out on the Local Development Plan and the Environmental Report concluded that the Plan is not likely to result in significant environmental effects. A Strategic Environmental Assessment does not therefore apply for this proposal. Serving Stirling 4.3 The proposals set out in this report are consistent with the following key priorities:- L - Adopt a pragmatic approach to sustainability that protects and enhances the local environment Single Outcome Agreement 4.4 The proposals set out in this report support the following outcomes in the Single Outcome Agreement: Communities are well served, better connected and safe Other Policy Implications 4.5 None. Resource Implications 4.6 None. Consultations 4.7 Consultation was carried out between 30 March and 24 April 2015. This was publicised via the Planning Schedule and the Council’s planning webpage. Copies of the proposals were also sent directly to all Key Agencies, relevant Community Councils, and relevant libraries. Tick ( ) to Council and Decision Making Committees only confirm and add relevant initials The appropriate Convener(s), Vice Convener(s), Portfolio Holder and DG Depute Portfolio Holder have been consulted on this report NB The Chief Executive or Director has been consulted on this report as GO’S appropriate 5 BACKGROUND PAPERS 5.1 Report and Decision of Stirling Council 18 August 2014 – Planning Policy: Conservation Area Designations. 6 APPENDICES 6.1 Appendix 1: EqIA Relevance Assessment Form. 6.2 Appendix 2: Draft Conservation Area Character Appraisals - Comments Received and Council Response, June 2015. 6.3 Appendix 3: Conservation Area Character Appraisals for Ashfield, Blairlogie, Bridge of Allan, Buchlyvie, Doune, Deanston, Fintry, and Gargunnock (copies will be made available in the Members Lounge and available to view online at www.stirling.gov.uk/localdevplan ). Author(s) Name Designation Telephone Number/E-mail Catherine Malley Planning Officer 01786 233668 (Conservation) [email protected] Peter Morgan Chief Planning Officer 01786 233682 [email protected] Approved by Name Designation Signature Gerard O’Sullivan Director Corporate Operations Date 11 May 2015 Service Reference Appendix 1 Stirling Council: EqIA Relevance Check Completing this form will help you determine whether or not an equality impact assessment is required and provide a record of your decision. This is a screening process to help you decide if the proposal under consideration requires an EqIA - it is not an EqIA and the impact of the proposal will be determined by the EqIA itself. The Guidance: Equality Impact Assessment Toolkit June 2014 may help when completing this form this can be accessed via the following link - http://web.stirling.gov.uk/eqia_toolkit.doc The term proposal used below is intended to include “policy, strategy, service, function, procedure or project.” When is an EqIA required? While each