Waverley Borough Council is producing its Local Development Framework (LDF), which will set out the planning policies that will be used to guide and manage new development in the coming years. The LDF will contain a number of documents which, over time, will replace the existing planning policies that are in the Waverley Borough Local Plan.
The most important document in the LDF is the Core Strategy and that is what the Council is preparing at the moment. As the name suggests, the Core Strategy will set out the overall planning framework for Waverley and the key policies needed to deliver this strategy.
In a consultation which ran between 16th February to the 14th April 2009, we asked for views on some of the issues that the Core Strategy will deal with and, where there are choices to be made, gave some possible options available for dealing with these issues. All comments made are available for you to view below. In some instances, organisation provided additional information in support of their comments, and these have been attached to the consultees as a pdf file which you can view or download.
The Draft Spatial Portrait, Draft Vision and Draft Core Strategy Objectives
As part of the Core Strategy preparation we have produced what is called a Spatial Portrait. This sets out the social, environmental and economic characteristics that make Waverley the place that it is. The Spatial Portrait has contributed to the identification of a list of Core Strategy Issues.
The Core Strategy will cover the period up to 2026. In order to guide the strategy and its policies we have prepared a draft Vision and a draft set of Objectives.
The draft Spatial Portrait, list of Core Strategy Issues, the Draft Vision and the Draft Core Strategy Objectives are all contained in one of documents produced for consultation.
Core Strategy Topic Papers
We have also looked in more detail at the key issues for the Core Strategy and produced a series of Topic Papers, which were a key part of the consultation. The following Topic Papers have been produced:-
- Town & Country ( including the draft Settlement Hierarchy)
This provides information on the Settlement Hierarchy document that has been produced, which was available for comment as a separate document. It also deals with the broad strategy about where new housing should go and how much new housing the Council should plan for, as well as the issues relating to infrastructure and access to services.
The draft Settlement Hierarchy is currently at its first stage, where community and retail facilities and employment opportunities have been assessed. The next stage of work is to consider and investigate, and if appropriate, incorporate the comments that have been made in response to the consultation. We will also be adding in the environmental and access considerations, and if necessary revising the Hierarchy. The Hierarchy will be out for further consultation in the Autumn.
- Living and Working
This deals with housing needs and demands; and in particular, the options for delivering more affordable housing. It also considers special needs for housing and accommodation by certain groups including older people and Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople. This paper also deals with employment issues, including issues relating to the Council’s approach to new and existing employment sites. It deals with issues relating to town centres and shopping. Finally it covers issues relating to leisure, recreation and tourism.
- Environment, Biodiversity and Climate Change
This deals with both the urban and rural environment and the measures needed to safeguard the environmental and ecological assets of Waverley. This includes the role of different environmental designations and matters concerning the design and density of new housing development. The section on Climate Change considers the various issues relating both to combating the causes of climate change and adapting to the likely impacts of climate change. It considers the ways in which planning can support the delivery of more sustainable and energy efficient developments, including measures to promote sustainable construction and the use of low carbon and renewable technologies.
In each of these Topic Papers we have looked at the key issues and where there are choices to be made, we have put forward possible options for dealing with these.
The consultation ran from 16th February to the 14th April 2009 and is now closed for further comments. You can still download each of the Topic Papers, and view the comments that have been made. Please be aware that some respondents have not answered the questions directly, but have chosen to send in comments by letter. We have attached these as downloadable .pdf files and they appear at the bottom of the relevant consultee, together with the file size.
The Spatial Portrait, Spatial Vision, Core Objectives and Strategy Issues document, and the Draft Settlement Hierarchy can also be downloaded, but you can also go through these particular documents on this portal, and see the comments in response to particular questions. We needed to ask more specific, different questions in the other topic papers, which is why they are structured differently. There is only one question at the end of the Spatial Portrait, and all the questions relating to the differenet settlements in the Hierarchy are within Section 5.
An Overview, Introduction and Glossary document has also been produced, which explains in more detail about the consultation and how it will fit into the LDF process. This has been attached to each of the Topic Papers as a 'supporting document', for your information and can be downloaded. There are no questions within this document.
For the current Local Development Scheme (LDS) which sets out the timetable for the production of the Core Strategy and associated documents, please go to http://www.waverley.gov.uk/preview/documents_info.php?documentID=189&pageNumber=1&adminID=100&c=a42ad4bb869791971be264cde56d4b51