A dopted Staffordshire and Stoke- on-Trent Str ucture Plan 1996-2011 - Explanator y Memorandum STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE-ON-TRENT STRUCTURE PLAN 1996-2011 EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM AS ADOPTED ON 10th. MAY 2001 AND AMENDED IN ACCORD WITH THE RULING OF THE HIGH COURT ON 5th. FEBRUARY 2002 1 Adopted Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan 1996-2011 - Explanatory Memorandum 2 Adopted Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan 1996-2011 - Explanatory Memorandum CONTENTS Page No. PART ONE : BACKGROUND 1. INTRODUCTION 7 2. ISSUES, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 11 PART TWO : A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK 3. REGIONAL CONTEXT 19 4. THE STRATEGY 21 PART THREE : POLICIES 5. GENERAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES 35 6. THE ECONOMY 47 7. HOUSING 59 8. TRANSPORT AND ACCESSIBILITY 77 9. NATURAL AND CULTURAL ASSETS 99 10. TOWN CENTRES AND RETAILING 113 11. RECREATION, LEISURE AND CULTURE 121 12. MINERALS AND WASTE 127 13. IMPLEMENTATION – PACKAGES, PARTNERSHIPS & RESOURCES 133 APPENDICES: 1. KEY BIOLOGICAL & GEOLOGICAL SITES IN STAFFORDSHIRE 2. GLOSSARY OF TERMS 3 Adopted Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan 1996-2011 - Explanatory Memorandum 4 Adopted Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan 1996-2011 - Explanatory Memorandum PART ONE: BACKGROUND 5 Adopted Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan 1996-2011 - Explanatory Memorandum 6 Adopted Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan 1996-2011 - Explanatory Memorandum 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This Structure Plan for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent has been prepared jointly by Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council and proposes a broad planning framework for the period 1996-2011. It provides a comprehensive, sustainable strategy relating to land use, transportation and the environment. Its policies must be rational, realistic, flexible, yet easily understood and in accord with European, national and regional guidance. It provides the strategic context for local plans dealing with detailed land use policies and site specific developments. It also looks beyond the Plan period, as policies agreed now will inevitably have an effect on long term land use patterns and the environment. The Development Plan System 1.2 The development plan system, which in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent comprises a structure plan, district-wide local plans and subject local plans (Minerals and Waste), is designed to regulate the development and use of land in the public interest. Its main role is to guide appropriate development to the right place and to prevent unacceptable development elsewhere. In order to avoid decisions being taken on an arbitrary basis, both private and public development proposals need to be considered against objective criteria providing the requisite guidance, incentive and control. Since publication of the 1991 Planning Act, precedence has been given to the Development Plan; Section 54A states that “... determination shall be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise”. 1.3 Structure plans, which are prepared under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended by the 1991 Planning and Compensation Act, have three main functions: i To ensure that provision for development is realistic and consistent with national and regional policy. The Government provides national and regional guidance in the form of Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs) and Minerals Planning Guidance Notes (MPGs) which are periodically updated, as well as Regional Planning Guidance (RPGs). i To provide a strategic policy framework for development control by setting out the policies and general proposals for land use within the area. i To provide a framework for local plans which, in Staffordshire, are those prepared for their areas by the eight District Councils and by Stoke-on-Trent City Council for the unitary authority. A local plan for minerals has been prepared jointly by the County Council and the City Council and similar arrangements are in hand for a waste local plan. The Current Structure Plan Review 1.4 The first Staffordshire Structure Plan was approved by the Secretary of State in 1978, along with separate plans for Stoke-on-Trent and Burton upon Trent. There have been subsequent reviews prepared by Staffordshire County Council with replacement plans for the administrative County of Staffordshire approved in 1984 and 1991 respectively. The new joint Structure Plan covers the County of Staffordshire and the City of Stoke-on-Trent, except for that part of north-east Staffordshire within the Peak District National Park. 7 Adopted Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan 1996-2011 - Explanatory Memorandum 1.5 This replacement plan completely supersedes the 1991 approved plan. Its production has been different in that it has been prepared jointly by Staffordshire County Council and Stoke- on-Trent City Council, the latter as a consequence of Local Government Reorganisation having become an all-purpose unitary local authority on 1 April 1997 and a structure plan authority in its own right. 1.6 There are a number of reasons why the approved Staffordshire Structure Plan has been reviewed and rolled forward. Foremost is that the Structure Plan approved in 1991 covered the period 1986-2001 and the Secretary of State requires structure plans to be reviewed at least once every five years. The other issues which have dictated that the strategic planning framework for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent should be updated include: i The need to deal with issues identified in Regional Planning Guidance for the West Midlands Region (RPG11), such as the revised level of housing provision and the examination of the potential of transport corridors to accommodate new development. i The need to have regard to recent Government Planning Policy Guidance, which requires that structure plan policies have regard to changing attitudes towards the issue of transport and sustainability. i The need to consider how the performance of employment related development can be improved to match that achieved for housing, including the issue of Premium Employment Sites and Major Investment Sites. i The need to ensure continuity in the development planning process beyond 2001. i The need to provide an up-to-date strategic context for reviews of County, City and District-prepared local plans. 1.7 In preparing the Plan, the policies and proposals have been designed to be compatible with the plans of adjoining local authorities. Preparation of the Plan 1.8 The Consultation Draft Structure Plan was the subject of public participation from November 1997 to end of January 1998. 1.9 Revised Regional Planning Guidance, other changes in national planning policy guidance, representations received and the outcome of further work, including that undertaken by consultants, led to amendments to the Plan which was placed on deposit in January-February 1999, along with a Statement of Public Participation and an Environmental Appraisal of the Plan. 1.10 An Examination in Public into selected matters was held in October 1999 and the Examination Panel presented its Report to the promoting authorities in December 1999. The Panel Report was published in January 2000. 1.11 The Plan was adopted in May 2001 and includes changes considered appropriate by the County and City Councils in response to the Panel’s recommendations, representations on other matters not discussed by the Examination in Public Panel and any other relevant changes in the general planning context. 8 Adopted Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan 1996-2011 - Explanatory Memorandum 1.12 The plan as adopted was subject to a challenge in the High Court which was heard in February 2002. As a result of the High Court ruling, reference to Essington within Policy H1 and related supporting text has been deleted (as shown by *). The Form of the Plan 1.13 The Structure Plan consists of a Written Statement containing the policies and proposals, illustrated by a key diagram. The Structure Plan must be accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum which justifies the policies and proposals, gives the information on which they are based, and explains their relationship to national and regional planning guidance. The Explanatory Memorandum is not part of the Plan but can be bound into the same document. In this document, the policies are shown in bold typeface. Other text is part of the Explanatory Memorandum. 1.14 The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan is designed to be read as a whole. Policies and proposals are not listed in any priority order. The General Development policies are those which relate to all development; topic sections contain policies for particular subjects. Many proposals will need to be considered in relation to policies under more than one heading. A development being put forward in a local plan comprising a mix of recreation facilities and housing would, for example, be considered having regard to the appropriate policies for each separate element of it. The Enabling Role of the Structure Plan 1.15 The Structure Plan is part of the overall process of securing development where it is most appropriate. As well as providing the broad strategy to which the subsequent elements of the planning process (local plans and development control) should adhere, it is also influential in the increasingly important area of attracting funding to implement development proposals. 1.16 The implementation of the policies and proposals outlined in the Structure Plan rely either upon public resources, or upon investment from various private sources. Often it is a combination of both. For the Structure Plan to be effective in its over-arching role as a catalyst for change, regard must be given to mechanisms which are available to allow their delivery within a realistic timescale. 1.17 Of particular relevance to implementation are bids made against various programmes, including the European Structural Funds (ERDF, ESF, RECHAR, etc.), the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and Lottery Funds, together with other methods of obtaining funding such as the Local Transport Plans.