Birmingham Eastside Extension Environmental Statement Volume 2 Technical Appendix G: Policies and Plans Technical Information MMD-300207-HS30-DOC-0000-1028 October 2016 West Midlands Combined Authority Birmingham Eastside Extension Policies and Plans Technical Information Issue and revision record Revision Date Originator Checker Coordinator Approver Description A July 2016 LC PE CS KL First draft B October 2016 LC PE CS KL Final for submission Information class: Standard This document is issued for the party which commissioned it We accept no responsibility for the consequences of this and for specific purposes connected with the above-captioned document being relied upon by any other party, or being used project only. It should not be relied upon by any other party or for any other purpose, or containing any error or omission used for any other purpose. which is due to an error or omission in data supplied to us by other parties. This document contains confidential information and proprietary intellectual property. It should not be shown to other parties without consent from us and from the party which commissioned it. MMD/300207/HS30/DOC/0000/1028/B October 2016 C:\Users\wor69917\Desktop\Plans and Policies TA.docx Birmingham Unitary Development Plan (2005) The Birmingham Plan BIRMINGHAM UNITARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2005 (incorporating Alterations approved by the City Council for adoption on 11 October 2005) will be made to meet the city’s needs in adjoining authorities.] The circumstances of this particular proposal are exceptional, and justify the alteration to the Green Belt boundary. In amending the Green Belt, the “Area of Development Restraint” has been identified to establish a new boundary, which will endure in the long-term. This approach is consistent with the policy in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2. 2.19 Similarly, [Strategic] Regional Planning Guidance indicates that the housing requirement for Birmingham [(22,300 dwellings, 1988-2001)] balances the need to maximise housebuilding in the [inner city] urban area as part of the urban regeneration strategy against satisfying the demand for new housing outside the existing built-up area. 2.20 [Strategic Guidance envisages land for up to 1400 dwellings being released on greenfield sites.] In Birmingham land for up to 1400 1100 dwellings has already been released from the Green Belt, as required by the former PPG10, Strategic Guidance for the West Midlands. No further Green Belt land releases are now proposed in order to meet the City’s revised housing requirement of 46,500 dwellings in the period 1991-2011. At the same time the City Council is mindful of the need to resist increasing pressures for housing development on open space and sports pitches, stadia and other sports facilities within the built-up area, and wherever possible, to improve levels of public open space and playing field provision. [The plan therefore proposes to release greenfield land for housing up to the full amount identified by Strategic Guidance. This will enable the environmental quality within the built up area to be maintained, while at the same time ensuring that the need for new homes is met.] 2.21 However, given that the precise boundaries have already been fixed for most of the City’s Green Belt (the exceptions being to accommodate the Bassetts Pole Premium Industrial Site, Peddimore, the proposed Area of Development Restraint at Peddimore, land at Severn Trent, Minworth, land at Woodgate Valley, and those areas brought into the City through administrative boundary changes) , the UDP does not propose that the boundaries be altered still further to meet development needs that might arise post [2001] 2011. Birmingham City Centre 2.22 If the overall strategy is to be achieved it is essential that the full potential of the city’s assets should be realised: the greatest of these assets is undoubtedly the City Centre. To a large degree the prosperity of the whole City will depend on the vitality of the City Centre which is by far the most important concentration of economic, cultural and administrative activity within the West Midlands Region. It is also the cornerstone of the City Council’s commitment to the promotion of Birmingham as a major international City and the strengthening of its status as both the regional capital and the nation’s first provincial City. It is also too easily forgotten that the City Centre lies at the heart of the inner city. 2.23 The City Centre must, therefore, be encouraged to develop and prosper, building on its strengths and by urgently addressing its weaknesses. 2.24 There is a need to exploit the City Centre’s strengths by:- • Building upon the massive historical capital investment. Chapter 2 – Strategy Page 17 The Birmingham Plan BIRMINGHAM UNITARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2005 (incorporating Alterations approved by the City Council for adoption on 11 October 2005) improving safety for all road users. The need for adequate maintenance funds for both safety and environmental considerations is recognised. (d) Transport and sustainable development: The City Council is committed to developing a transport system that minimises adverse environmental impacts and ensures the most efficient use of energy. In addition, the Plan seeks to integrate transport and land use policies to support sustainable development. Both aspects form an important part of the Local Agenda 21 process. (e) Road space management: This means managing road space and parking facilities in such a way as to provide a balanced travel provision for all users of the City’s transport network. This approach will be pursued through future Local Transport Plans. Accordingly, the Plan seeks to encourage a greater proportion of public transport, cycling and walking trips, while maintaining the provision for essential car journeys. (f) Modal share targets: The City Council’s Transport Strategy establishes targets for changes in the modal share of transport over the next twenty years. To ensure that new developments meet these targets, the City Council will require all proposals which will generate significant transport implications to be accompanied by Transport Assessments, in accordance with the Government’s Planning Policy Guidance on Transport (PPG13). This should explain how the actions proposed by the developer will meet the modal share targets (including access and servicing by all forms of transport) set out in the Transport Strategy, including the proportion of public transport trips. It should also show how the highway network affected by the proposed development will be improved where necessary. Alternative transport modes to the car will also be promoted through “TravelWise,” and through the City Council’s Cycling and Walking Strategies. 6.19 The transport strategy comprises the following principal elements:- (a) A [balanced] package[, in terms of both policy and expenditure, of both road and rail] of infrastructure improvements including:- • Enhancement of heavy rail lines [together with construction of new light rail/light rapid transit lines in corridors not served by rail, thus improving both accessibility and regeneration in the inner city and City Centre] both to improve accessibility and to aid regeneration in the inner city and City Centre, including making use of existing infrastructure. • In addition to the extension of Midland Metro Line 1 from Snow Hill to Five Ways, investment in new light rail/rapid transit in corridors not well served by heavy rail is proposed to improve accessibility and regeneration, including the possibility of dual running of light and heavy rail services. • A full range of bus improvement measures along key road corridors to improve accessibility to the City Centre and across the City. Chapter 6 - Transport Page 106 The Birmingham Plan BIRMINGHAM UNITARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2005 (incorporating Alterations approved by the City Council for adoption on 11 October 2005) • Integration of transport modes where possible, through the provision of interchange facilities such as provision of Park and Ride facilities in and around Birmingham, and the investigation of a “Parkway” station in the vicinity of Longbridge. • Orbital highway [construction so far as is needed] improvement to relieve and enable the expansion of the City Centre [and improvement to its pedestrian environment] and regeneration of outer commercial areas. • Radial highway construction only sufficient to improve accessibility and permit environmental relief [within corridors.] • Selected highway investment to provide access to development/ redevelopment areas from the national highway network; improve access within rather than through congested and declining areas; and where it facilitates environmental relief. [• Car parking provision and control.] (b) A car parking policy that supports the provision of short stay parking facilities, and the control of long stay and private parking provision, the control of long stay parking provision and reduces the amount of parking in new development (and in the expansion and change of use in existing development). [(b)](c) Enhancement of the wider road, rail and air links to the City taking advantage of the development of Birmingham International Airport, the Channel Tunnel and improvements to the national motorway network. [(c)](d) Traffic management measures to:- • [Increase the capacity of the existing road systems where desirable and improve bus operations particularly in corridors not served by rail.] Reallocate road space to priority uses and more sustainable