eVisit

Eastleigh Borough CouncilEastleigh Borough Council

Planning & Building Control

Page last updated at 09:11 GMT, Thursday, April 12 2012

Local Development Framework

botleyfront gardenhouseeastleigh railway stationensign way

The decision to prepare a local plan has come about because of changes in government guidance.  The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 required local authorities to prepare local development frameworks (LDFs) instead of local plans.  These were to comprise a portfolio of documents including a core strategy, other development plan documents, a local development scheme (the programme for preparing the LDF) and a statement of community involvement (how the community were to be consulted).  They were to be prepared in the context of regional plans – for this area this was the former South East Plan.

Since 2004 there have been numerous changes to this system.  The change of government in 2010 resulted in further changes including the Localism Act which has revoked regional plans.  The government has published the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) March 2012, which replaces all previous government planning policy guidance notes (PPGs) and planning policy statements (PPSs).  The NPPF identifies that all planning policies and proposals should be included in one development plan document called a local plan.  Eastleigh Borough Council has therefore combined work that was in progress on a core strategy and a sites and policies development plan document into a single draft local plan.

 

Local Development Framework

Eastleigh Borough Council’s emerging Local Development Framework therefore now comprises:

 

Development Plan

Pending adoption of the new local plan, the Development Plan for Eastleigh Borough comprises:

The saved policies of the Eastleigh Borough Local Plan Review 2001-2011. Under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, existing local plan policies were ‘saved’ for 3 years pending the adoption of new Local Development Framework.  The policies of local plans adopted after that date (up to July 2006) were saved for 3 years from the date of adoption.  The Eastleigh Borough Local Plan Review was adopted in May 2006.  Eastleigh Borough Council had not adopted any part of its Local Development Framework by May 2009.  The policies of its Local Plan Review would therefore have expired in May 2009 unless they had been ‘saved’. 

In its advice entitled ‘Protocol for handling proposals to save adopted Local Plan, Unitary Development Plan and Structure Plan policies beyond the 3 year saved period’ the Government sets out a number of generic criteria for determining which policies should be saved.  These were interpreted to refer to Eastleigh Borough Council’s circumstances, as follows:

Government criteria for saving local plan policies

Eastleigh Borough Council criteria for saving local plan policies

(i) where appropriate, there is a clear central strategy;

(i) Does the policy contribute to achieving the strategies of the adopted Eastleigh Borough Local Plan?

(ii) policies have regard to the Community Strategy for the area;

 

(ii) Does the policy have regard to the Eastleigh Borough Community Plan?

(iii) policies are in general conformity with the regional spatial strategy or spatial development strategy;

(iii) Is the policy in general conformity with the South East Plan?

(iv) policies are in conformity with the core strategy development plan document (where the core strategy has been adopted);

The Eastleigh Borough Core Strategy has not yet been adopted, so this criterion has not been applied.

(v) there are effective policies for any parts of the authority’s area where significant change in the use or development of land or conservation of the area is envisaged;

(iv) Is the policy effective in promoting significant change in the use or development of land or conservation of the area?

(vi) policies are necessary and do not merely repeat national or regional policy.

(v) Is the policy necessary (i.e. it does not repeat national or regional policy)?

 

In November 2008 Eastleigh Borough Council requested the Secretary of State to save most of the policies of the adopted Eastleigh Borough Local Plan Review.  In May 2009, the Secretary of State issued a Direction accepting that most (but not all) of the policies requested should be saved.

 

Stages in preparation of the Local Development Framework/Local Plan

  • On 6th March 2008 the Council’s Cabinet authorised the formal commencement of work on the Core Strategy.  In the initial stages, this was carried out in parallel with a review of the Council’s Community Plan.  There was a joint consultation on issues to be addressed in both documents in October-November 2008, in a document entitled Eastleigh Borough - Our Community, Our Future. The Community Plan was completed in the summer of 2009, and it provides an input to work on options for the Core Strategy.  
  • Amendments to the Local Development Scheme were agreed in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.  Changes included incorporation within the core strategy of the area action plans formerly proposed for Eastleigh town centre and the south Hampshire Strategic Employment Zone (now called Eastleigh River Side).  The amendment in December 2010 proposed the preparation of a core strategy and a sites and policies document.  In October 2011 the LDS was amended to refer to the preparation of a local plan.
  • On 11th July 2011 the Council's Cabinet considered a report on the strategic direction for both the core strategy and sites and policies DPD; to cover the period 2011-2029.
  • Between July and September 2011 the Council conducted an opinion survey about two possible development sites in the borough at Allington Lane and Boorley Green.
  • On 10 October 2011 the Council’s Cabinet considered a revised Local Development Scheme proposing the preparation of a single development plan document, the Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2011-2029.  The Cabinet also considered a draft of the local plan for public consultation, and recommended to full Council on 13 October that the plan be published for public consultation (the Cabinet agenda and minutes can be viewed here).
  • On 13 October 2011 Council accepted this recommendation (the Council agenda and minutes can be viewed here). 
  • On 28 October 2011 the draft Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2011-2029 was published for a consultation period extending to 3 January 2012.

 

Evidence

Work on the Local Plan / Local Development Framework is supported by a wide variety of evidence, including the Council's own research, and data produced by other authorities.  This evidence includes the Council’s Strategic Land Availability Assessment . 

The evidence is being updated as work progresses.  You may comment on it if you wish.  Please send any comments to the Planning Policy Team, Eastleigh Borough Council, Civic Offices, Leigh Road, Eastleigh, SO50 9YN, e-mail localplan@eastleigh.gov.uk or tel. 02380 688242.

 

Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment

Sustainability appraisal (SA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) promote sustainable development by testing the proposals of the local plan against an agreed set of social, economic and environmental criteria.  The Council has prepared and consulted on its SA Scoping Report which explains how SA and SEA are to be carried out, sets out baseline data relevant to the borough and sustainability issues to be addressed, and establishes the framework of criteria for carrying out this work.  The SA scoping report is updated regularly and can be viewed here.

The Habitats Directive protects habitats and species of European importance and applies to:

  • Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) which support rare, endangered or vulnerable natural habitats and species of plants or animals (other than birds) of European importance.
  • Special Protection Areas (SPAs) SPAs are areas which have been identified as being of international importance for the breeding, feeding, wintering or the migration of rare and vulnerable species of birds found within European Union countries.
  • Ramsar sites which are wetlands defined as areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres. Ramsar sites may also incorporate riparian (banks of a stream, river, pond or watercourse) and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six metres at low tide lying within the wetlands.

These are known as the network of Natura 2000 Sites or "European Sites". A Habitats Regulations Assessment is the assessment of the impacts of implementing a plan or policy on a Natura 2000 Site. Its purpose is to consider the impacts of a plan against conservation objectives of the site and to ascertain whether it would adversely affect the integrity of the site. Where significant negative effects are identified, alternative options should be examined to avoid any potential damaging effects.

Initial sustainability appraisal work has been carried out on the broad locations and sites identified through the Strategic Land Availability Assessment.. 

 

Supplementary Planning Documents/ Supplementary Planning Guidance

It is not always possible to include in a local plan all the information and guidance relevant to a particular topic or area, or to the development of a site.  In these cases, the Council can prepare documents that supplement the local plan.  Under the previous local plan system these were called supplementary planning guidance (SPGs).  Under the LDF system they are called supplementary planning documents (SPDs). 

SPDs/ SPGs only provide additional detail and guidance.  They cannot include new policies or designations, or allocate land. 

The Council has produced a variety of such documents to supplement the Eastleigh Borough Local Plan Review 2001-2011.  Many will be updated and carried forward to supplement the new local plan. 

A full list of the Council’s supplementary planning guidance/ documents are avaliable on the published documents page.

Contacts

For more information please contact Julia Norman, LDF Manager, Planning Policy & Design Unit, Eastleigh Borough Council, Civic Offices, Leigh Road, Eastleigh, Hants, SO50 9YN

email: julia.norman@eastleigh.gov.uk

Back to top