PERRANUTHNOE PARISH NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2020-30 1. Introduction 1.1. Neighbourhood Development Planning is an inclusive approach to development; it gives local communities the opportunity to have a say in the future development of their neighbourhood, helping to ensure that planning is fine-tuned to meet the needs of the area and the communities that live there. Neighbourhood Development Plans enable a parish to establish a decision-making framework that applies county and national level planning policies to the actual development context, on the ground, at the local level. 1.2. Under the Localism Act, Parish and Town Councils are responsible for leading the neighbourhood development planning process, through a consultative approach, supported by factual research and assessment. The NDP process for Perranuthnoe Parish was led by a Steering Committee comprising members of the Parish Council and communities. A Consultation and Engagement Strategy was developed by the NDP Steering Committee to guide the public consultation process1. The Parish Council oversaw the NDP Steering Committee and approved all key documents and decisions. 1.3. Over the five-year period between 2015 and 2020, the Steering Committee has undertaken factual research and has led a process of ongoing public consultation, in order to identify the key issues affecting sustainable development in the Parish. This process has supported the design of a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) which is evidence based, and which addresses the key issues and challenges our communities face; the NDP reflects what is valued by people and what is unique about this area, enabling the application of county and national policies to the specific local context across this Parish. This NDP document outlines the Vision, Objectives and Policies, which will guide sustainable development in this Parish over the next ten years. The NDP will run concurrently with the Cornwall Local Plan and will form a key part of the statutory development-planning framework2 for the Parish until 2030. The Perranuthnoe Parish Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) applies to the area that is covered by the Perranuthnoe Parish Council, as shown in Figure 1. 1.4. Perranuthnoe Parish is situated in the south west of Cornwall and is part of the West Penwith Community Network Area (CNA). The Parish lies within both the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site (WHS). 1.5. The Perranuthnoe Parish NDP has been designed within the framework of relevant county and national planning policies and legislation. It aligns with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the Cornwall Local Plan (CLP), and has been guided by key sustainable development planning frameworks for this area including the Cornwall AONB Management Plan, the Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) Plan and the WHS Management Plan. 1.6. The Cornwall Local Plan (CLP) sets out the planning approach and policies for Cornwall County. It supports delivery of the vision of Cornwall’s sustainable community strategy: ‘Future Cornwall’ which is to ‘achieve a leading position in sustainable living.’ The overall 1 Refer Annex 3 2 In April 2012, the Localism Act amended the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (the Act) and introduced powers to enable local communities to shape development in their area, through a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP). 1 aim of the CLP is to support sustainable development, recognising this as ‘a balance of decisions around economic, social and environmental issues to meet our present day needs while not compromising the needs of future generations.’ The CLP stresses that ‘Cornwall’s natural and historic environment is at the heart of our culture and past; it must also be at the heart of our future distinctiveness. It is the quality and character of the environment as a whole which is a key contributor to the economy and quality of life.’ The CLP stresses that in planning for development across the county it is important ‘to protect what we know is special while taking responsibility to shape future development positively, for all our residents and visitors.’ The Perranuthnoe Parish Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) actively supports the overall vision and principles of the CLP: the Parish recognises the significant national and international value of its assets, as reflected in the AONB and WHS designations, and the NDP aims to support sustainable development here which respects and protects this valuable natural and historic resource for both current and future generations. 1.7. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out government planning policy for England. The NPPF provides the overall national planning policy framework within which locally prepared neighbourhood development plans (NDPs) can be produced. It specifies the purpose of development planning as being to help achieve Sustainable Development and defines three mutually dependent dimensions to sustainable development: Economic, Social and Environmental. NDPs provide the vehicle through which sustainable development can be achieved in a way which responds directly to the local social, environmental and economic context. Through NDPs parishes can apply national and county planning policies to the local area, to produce their own distinctive local sustainable development objectives and policies, which reflect the needs, priorities and special characteristics of their area, and of the communities that live there. NDPs help to support effective implementation of the NPPF, which requires consideration of the character and attributes of an area in decision-making. 1.8. Landscape is a national strategic planning issue on which there is a duty for local planning authorities to co-operate. The NPPF and Cornwall Local Plan have specific policies outlining the requirement for strong consideration of the landscape character of an area, especially where this has been recognised through national or international classification such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), National Parks, World Heritage Sites (WHS), Conservation Areas, and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). 1.9. Perranuthnoe Parish recognises the national and international value of its natural and heritage landscapes, as reflected in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and World Heritage Site (WHS) designations which cover the majority of the Parish land area. It also recognises the key role of planning decision makers and communities as stewards of these areas for future generations. The Cornwall AONB and WHS Management Plans include policies to guide development planning within these valued landscapes, and our Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) has been directly informed by these policies and by an understanding of the special character of the natural and heritage landscapes across our Parish. 1.10. The AONB Management Plan specifically highlights the negative impact that poorly planned development has had on valued landscapes in this Parish. It points to Perranuthnoe as one of the places in Cornwall where there has been inappropriate 2 development that has not respected the character of the AONB, stating that ‘recent housing developments and the replacement of individual dwellings at…Perranuthnoe have had negative visual and character impacts3’. The policies within the AONB Management Plan provide important guidance for achieving sustainable development in this nationally valued area and our NDP has drawn directly on this guidance with the aim of ensuring that the AONB Management Plan is effectively used within decision making on planning in the AONB area of this Parish 1.11. The Parish commissioned a Local Landscape Character Assessment (LLCA) covering the whole Parish, with public consultation informing the development of this assessment. The LLCA examines landscape characteristics across the Parish and identifies patterns of land-use, natural and heritage features, areas of environmental significance, and the elements of landscape character and assets valued by local communities. It focuses on the rural landscapes outside the main settlement areas, including the hamlets and farmsteads within those rural landscapes, and an assessment of the impact of the edges of settlements on landscape character across the Parish. The LLCA provides recommendations on ways to manage development, so as to protect valued assets, features, habitats and landscape character. It is a key document guiding sustainable development planning for the Parish and has directly informed design of our NDP policies. 1.12. The vision, objectives and policies established in this Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) have been formulated through extensive assessment of the key issues and challenges our Parish faces in achieving ‘sustainable development’. Community consultation highlighted significant concern over the impact of inappropriate development across the Parish. Key issues raised include: the impact that poorly planned and designed development is having on natural and heritage landscapes, and the importance of protecting these landscapes and assets as resources of great value to both residents and visitors; the importance of ensuring that development planning sustains vibrant communities; the socio- economic impact of increasing levels of ownership of houses as ‘investment properties’, taking homes away from local communities; the importance of maintaining the distinct identity and character of villages