CDN126 Local Development Framework Core Strategy for Chiltern District Submission Document Incorporating Proposed Post‐Hearing Changes DOCUMENT IN SUPPORT OF CONSULTATION ON PROPOSED CHANGES www.chiltern.gov.uk/corestrategy June 2011 Proposed Changes to the Core Strategy Submission Document (June 2010) Purpose of this document This document sets out a series of proposed changes to the Core Strategy for Chiltern District Submission Document. These changes are being proposed by the Council following a series of public hearing sessions, after which the independent Inspector issued a note to the Council outlining areas in which he believed the Core Strategy to be ‘unsound’ along with a series of possible changes to remedy this unsoundness. These proposed changes are shown as ‘tracked changes’, which means that text which has been struck-through represents a proposed deletion, while text which has been underlined is proposed new text. The document contains two types of changes. Changes in red are significant (non-minor) i.e. they fundamentally alter the Core Strategy as submitted and are issues relating affecting the soundness of the document. Changes in blue are considered to be minor and largely update factual, grammatical or spelling inaccuracies. The Council is formally required by the Inspector to publish all of the proposed changes to the Core Strategy in two separate schedules. The Council has produced a Schedule of Significant Changes (CDN125) and a Schedule of Minor Changes (CDN124) which can both be found on the Council’s website at www.chiltern.gov.uk/corestrategy . This document, which is intended to assist readers by showing how the changes fit together, should therefore be read in conjunction with both of those schedules. This document does not constitute the final version of the Core Strategy nor does it alter in any way the Core Strategy for Chiltern District Submission Document (January 2011). It has been produced for information and consultation purposes only. Key to proposed changes: Proposed minor addition Proposed minor deletion Proposed significant (non-minor) addition Proposed significant (non-minor) deletion Please Note: As a result of the insertion or deletion of text, some of the page, paragraph and footnote numbers may no longer correctly correspond with those in the original Core Strategy Submission Document (January 2011). Comments The Council is not seeking comments on this document, as it has been produced to show both significant and minor changes being proposed to the Core Strategy within schedules CDN124 and CDN125. The Council is specifically inviting comments on the Schedule of Significant Changes (CDN125) which accompanies this document. A copy of this Schedule and accompanying Representation Form, can be obtained on the Council’s Core Strategy website at www.chiltern.gov.uk/corestrategy. Hard copies can also be made available from the Council Offices at the following address: Planning Policy Team Chiltern District Council King George V House King George V Road Amersham Buckinghamshire HP6 5AW If you have any queries relating to these documents, please contact the Planning Policy team at [email protected] or on 01494732258. Core Strategy for Chiltern District | Submission Document Foreword Chiltern District is renowned for its high quality towns and villages set in attractive countryside. This is largely because the District is an area of development restraint. Our intention is that the District will remain this way for generations to come. I believe that the Core Strategy provides us with a sound basis on which we can achieve this. The Core Strategy for Chiltern District provides the framework for between 2,650 and 2,900 new homes to be built in the District over the period from 2006 to 2026. Of this target 636 homes have already been built and approval has been given for 799 more. This means that somewhere between 760 and 1,020 homes still need to come forward by 2026. Although our population is unlikely to increase significantly, these homes are needed because housing requirements are changing; more couples are choosing to set up home in the District, more people are looking for single occupancy accommodation and people are generally living longer. In Chiltern we have some of the highest house prices in the whole of the UK, which means that our teachers, nurses, police officers and other essential workers often find it difficult to set up home here. The Council is committed to providing more affordable housing and the Core Strategy will help to achieve this by requiring a fair proportion of new homes to be affordable for our residents and workers. Building new housing obviously brings with it challenges. The Council is not seeking to ‘roll back’ the Green Belt to accommodate new housing, rather it has agreed that this new housing will mainly be built on previously developed sites within the four main settlements of the District. However within these settlements there are a number of established residential areas of special character where the Council would not expect to see much change. Our aim is that all new development is built to the highest design standards and respects the character of the area in which it is located. The Core Strategy also places a great emphasis on the need to provide infrastructure alongside new development and policies have been put in place to achieve this. The last few years have proved challenging for many of the District’s businesses and retailers and the Council will encourage appropriate economic development in our towns, villages and rural areas. The Core Strategy therefore contains policies that provide flexibility for employment opportunities to respond to changes in the local economy over time. Last, but not least, the Core Strategy includes policies that will ensure that all new development in the District contributes to achieving the aims of sustainable development. Councillor Nick Rose Leader Core Strategy for Chiltern District | Submission Document Core Strategy for Chiltern District Approved for Publication 28th September 2010 Contents Section Title Page 1 Introduction 4 2 What Has Happened So Far? How to use the Core Strategy 5 3 Portrait of Chiltern and Its Communities 5 4 Issues and Challenges 10 5 Place-Shaping: A Vision for Chiltern and Its Communities 14 6 Strategic Objectives 20 7 The Spatial Strategy for Chiltern and Key Diagram 22 8 Developing and Living Sustainably 27 9 Providing New Homes 31 10 Providing Affordable Homes 3538 11 Providing Homes for Special Needs 3943 12 Retaining Maintaining Economic Prosperity 4347 13 Shaping the Character of Chiltern District 4955 14 Looking After the Natural Environment 5359 15 Accessibility and Transport 5865 16 Healthy Active and Inclusive Communities 6168 17 Delivering Chiltern’s Infrastructure 6673 18 Delivery 6875 19 Monitoring 6976 Appendix 1 Correlation between Issues, Vision, Objectives and Policies 7077 Appendix 2 Main Evidence Base Documents 7279 Appendix 3 National Main Planning Policy Statements and Guidance Notes as at 7481 September 2010 Appendix 4 Saved Local Plan Policies which are hereby cancelled or cancelled in 7582 part. Appendix 5 Housing Trajectory 7683 Appendix 6 Glossary 7785 Appendix 7 Draft Infrastructure Delivery Schedule 8593 Core Strategy for Chiltern District | Submission Document List of Policies Policy Name Page CS1 The Spatial Strategy 23 CS2 Amount and Distribution of Residential Development 2006-2026 24 CS3 Amount and Distribution of Non-Residential Development 2006-2026 25 CS4 Ensuring That Development Is Sustainable 29 CS5 Encouraging Renewable Energy Schemes 31 CS6 Strategic Housing Allocations 33 CS7 Major Developed Sites Within The Green Belt Allocated For Housing 34 CS8 Affordable Housing Policy 39 CS9 Rural Exceptions Policy 41 CS10 Affordable Housing Type 41 CS11 Affordable Housing Size 42 CS12 Specialist Housing 44 CS13 Major Developed Site Within The Green Belt At The National Society for 45 Epilepsy, Chalfont St Peter CS14 Sites For Gypsies And Travellers And Sites For Travelling Showpeople 47 CS15 Smart Growth 48 CS16 No Loss of Employment Land 5051 CS17 Major Developed Site Within The Green Belt At Chalfont Grove, 5152 Chalfont St Peter CS18 Development Within District Shopping Centres 5253 CS19 Supporting The Rural Economy 5455 CS20 Design And Environmental Quality 5556 CS21 Areas Of Little Change 5859 CS22 Chilterns Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty 5960 CS23 Review Of Green Belt Village the Boundaries of Identified Settlements and 6061 Rows of Dwellings Within the Green Belt CS24 Biodiversity 6264 CS25 Dealing With The Impact Of New Development On The Transport Network 6466 CS26 Requirements Of New Development 6567 CS27 Working For A Healthier Community 6870 CS28 Retaining And Improving Leisure And Recreational Facilities 6870 CS29 Community 6971 CS30 Reducing Crime And The Fear Of Crime 7072 CS31 Infrastructure 7173 CS32 Green Infrastructure 7375 1 Introduction 1.1 The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires the preparation of a portfolio of documents which together will form the Chiltern Local Development Framework (LDF). These documents will collectively set out the policies and guidance for the spatial planning of Chiltern over the next 20 years. The Core Strategy is the overarching key plan in the Local Development Framework. It sets out a vision for the District and its main settlements, states the ambitions and principles to guide the future of the area, shows which parts of the District are regarded as the best locations for new homes and other development up to 2026 and sets out policies to protect and enhance the environment of the area. The Core Strategy sets out mechanisms needed to make sure it is delivered and provides a context for future decisions on planning applications. Essentially the Strategy answers the following questions about the District’s future: Why is change needed? What should be done? Where should it happen? When should it happen? How is it going to happen? All subsequent documents produced as part of the LDF will build on the principles set out in the Core Strategy.