London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan Adopted March 2000 Planning Services Environment London Borough of Camden Town Hall Argyle Street London WC1H 8ND London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan 1 Photography by Dean Hollowood Tel:07970 867 583 2 London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan Click here to go to Proposals Map Click here to go to Help Page Contents CONTENTS Foreword 5 1 Introduction to the Plan 7 l 2 Part 1: Strategic statement 13 2 3 Resources, implementation and monitoring 43 4 Environment 63 5 Transport 157 6 Housing 217 7 Economic activities 247 8 Shopping and local services 265 London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan 3 CONTENTS 9 Social and community uses 295 10 Leisure and culture 311 11 Tourism 325 12 Public utilities and services 335 13 King’s Cross Opportunity Area 347 14 Central London Area 359 15 Special Policy Areas 405 16 Development standards 423 17 Proposals schedules 449 Glossary 471 References 469 Index of Part 2 policies 489 General index 496 4 London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan Foreword FOREWORD The London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan (UDP) sets out the Council’s policies and proposals for the use and development of land and buildings in the Borough. The UDP was adopted after extensive consultation and a public inquiry which gave those with an interest in the future of Camden an opportunity to have their say on the Plan’s policies. Many residents, businesses and other interested parties participated in this process to create a Plan that will have a central role in shaping the Borough’s built and natural environment over the coming years. Planning is a way of trying to balance competing needs and demands for land. Camden faces many environmental and social pressures which are intensified by its central location in London. It is also a borough of residential communities whose aspirations for a decent quality of life increasingly need to be protected. The attractiveness of the Borough for visitors and residents alike creates demand for new development. Without careful control, this can lead to congestion, high land prices and the displacement of uses valued by local communities. The Council seeks to reduce these effects through the implementation of the planning policies, standards and proposals contained in this UDP,which set out how the Council intends to deal with planning, transport and environmental issues. In this way, we can manage change while protecting what is best about the Borough’s environment. John Thane Chair of Environment Committee London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan 5 1 Introduction to the Plan THE PLAN TO 1 INTRODUCTION London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan 7 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAN TO 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction to the Plan 1 Requirement to prepare a Unitary Development Plan 1.1 Each London borough is required by the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) to prepare a single or unitary development plan (UDP) containing both strategic and detailed policies and proposals for the development and use of land and premises throughout its area. The London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan was adopted on 2 March 2000 and applies to the whole of the area of the Borough. It forms the sole development plan for the area and supersedes the Greater London Development Plan (1979) and the following statutory local plans: 1 London Borough of Camden Local Plan 1987 (Borough Plan); 2 GLC (Covent Garden) Action Area Plan 1978; 3 Camden Town Action Area Plan 1979. 2 Purpose of the Unitary Development Plan 1.2 Development plans set out planning polices to provide the basis for decisions on planning applications and contain proposals for the development and use of land. Section 54A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requires that decisions on proposals to build on land or change its use should be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. 1.3 The key legislation influencing the preparation of the UDP comprises the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991) and the Town and Country Planning (Development Plans) (England) Regulations 1999. Explanatory government guidance on development plans is given in Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) 1: General Policy and Principles (1997) and PPG 12: Development Plans (1999). 1.4 PPG1 and PPG12 emphasise the government’s commitment to the development plan-led system. PPG1 summarises the objectives of the system as: 8 London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAN TO 1 INTRODUCTION 1 • ensuring rational and consistent decisions; • achieving greater certainty; • securing public involvement in shaping local plan polices; • facilitating quicker planning decisions; and • reducing the number of misconceived planning applications and appeals (para 41). 3 Form and content 1.5 The Unitary Development Plan comprises a Written Statement and a Proposals Map. The Written Statement is in two parts: Part 1: This contains general strategic policies for the use and development of land and buildings in the Borough, formulated within the context of relevant government guidance including RPG3: Strategic Guidance for London Planning Authorities (1996). It also contains sections on the Camden context (living and working in Camden, issues and problems), the structure of the Borough and the Council’s overall strategic policy approach.The planning policies set out at the end of Part 1 provide the framework for local planning policies and proposals in each of the topic chapters contained in Part 2. Part 2: This contains more detailed local development control policies and proposals for the use and development of land and buildings in the Borough. Part 2 is divided into topic chapters, each of which is prefaced by the relevant Part 1 policies related to that topic area and a justification for these Part 1 policies. Part 2 also contains the Resources, Implementation and Monitoring chapter (explaining the resources available for implementing the Plan), the Development Standards chapter (containing standards which apply to the implementation of development proposals) and the Proposals Schedules chapter (highlighting key sites and their development potential and major transport proposals). 1.6 Parts 1 and 2 of the Written Statement contain: a Policies – these set out the criteria against which proposals for development will be assessed. They may control the nature or location of development as well as its physical form. b Justifications – these set out the Council’s reasoning for each policy. They may provide an amplification to the policy and in some cases spell out exceptions to policy. They may also refer to Supplementary Planning Guidance and to non-planning policies (where these are relevant and complement the Plan’s policies). They should be read together with the policies. c Standards – these will normally apply to the implementation of planning proposals. Examples include residential density and parking standards. London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan 9 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAN TO 1 INTRODUCTION d Proposals – these are developed for land use and transport. Land use proposals are statements of intent relating to the development of key sites within the Borough. They may be in Council, public or private ownership.Transport proposals relate to the improvement or provision of infrastructure and designation of the road hierarchy.The Plan also contains a schedule of open spaces, which provides information on the designation of open land. 1.7 The Proposals Map shows the sites and areas of the Borough to which proposals and policies relate. It includes transport-related proposals. Where there is any conflict of interpretation between the Proposals Map and the Written Statement, the Written Statement prevails. 4 Supplementary Planning Guidance 1.8 The UDP cannot contain information on all matters that are relevant to planning in Camden without becoming excessively long and detailed. The Council has prepared further guidance on relevant matters to supplement the content of the Plan and assist those preparing planning applications. Although only the policies in the Plan have the full status in deciding planning applications which is conferred by section 54A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, information contained in Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) may be regarded as a ‘material’ consideration in decisions. 1.9 The SPG document lies outside the UDP process and does not form part of the Plan. It is intended to provide additional detailed guidance on good practice and amplification of how policies in the Plan should be implemented. As such, it helps to explain the Council’s overall approach to environmental issues, encourage good practice and provide a framework for taking environmental considerations comprehensively and consistently into account when proposals are implemented. 5 Timescale and review 1.10 PPG12 suggests that Part 1 of UDPs should look to provide a strategic framework for development for at least 15 years from the base date of the Plan, whilst Part 2 should have an duration of 10 years from the Plan’s forecast adoption date. The base date of the Plan is 1991, the date of the last Census of Population, while the Plan’s forecast adoption date was 1995/6. The Plan therefore has an end date of 2006. 10 London Borough of Camden Unitary Development Plan 1.11 PPG1 states that plans should be as up-to-date as possible and therefore THE PLAN TO 1 INTRODUCTION should be reviewed regularly. The timing and frequency of review will depend on local circumstances and changes in the Plan’s context such as new strategic guidance. It is expected that plans should be reviewed in full at least once every five years, with partial reviews as appropriate.