UDP - Chapter 1
Unitary Development Plan
Chapter 1
Intorduction
| The Purpose of the Unitary Development Plan | |
| 1.1 | The function of the Unitary Development Plan (U.D.P.) is to provide the framework for development, development control and conservation over the whole of the Tameside area. It is intended to give a clear statement of the Council's policies and proposals for the development and other use of land, including measures for the conservation of the natural beauty and amenity of the land, the improvement of the physical environment and the management of traffic. The U.D.P. is now the sole development plan for Tameside and since becoming operative has superseded all other development plans previously in force in the area. |
| 1.2 | The U.D.P., like any other statutory development plan, is meant to set out the main considerations on which planning applications will be decided in the overall public interest, and to guide land use decisions by the Council itself and various other agencies. In addition, the Plan can act as an incentive by stimulating particular types of development in an area |
| 1.3 | In its preparation, the U.D.P. has taken account of national and regional guidance issued by the Government to ensure a consistency of approach which reflects their priorities, the social, economic and environmental considerations of the area, and the resources likely to be available. Recent legislative changes have increased the importance of the U.D.P., by requiring decisions on planning applications to accord with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise, thereby reinforcing the concept of a plan-led planning system. |
| Evolution of the Development Plan System | |
| 1.4 | The duty of local planning authorities to prepare land use development plans and to keep them under review has existed since the passing of the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act. Originally, these took the form of County Development Plans with more detailed Town Map insets. In the early 1970's, this system was replaced by the obligation on County Councils to prepare Structure Plans (containing broad policies) and the provision for District (and County) Councils to prepare Local Plans (containing more detailed and site specific proposals in conformity with the Structure Plan). |
| 1.5 | However, with the abolition of the metropolitan County Councils in 1986, this two tier system would have become unworkable in the metropolitan areas. Therefore, the Local Government Act of 1985 introduced the new concept of Unitary Development Plans, required to be prepared by each metropolitan District Council once the Government made a Commencement Order, which for the Greater Manchester area became operative in December 1989. These single tier plans are required to contain both general policies similar to a Structure Plan and site specific proposals similar to a Local Plan, taking into account the Strategic Planning Guidance which the Secretary of State issued on matters whose importance extends beyond District boundaries. |
| Development Plans previously in force in Tameside | |
| 1.6 | The situation in Tameside prior to adoption of the U.D.P. was that strategic planning policies on land use and transportation were provided by the Greater Manchester Structure Plan approved in 1986. Within the framework of the Structure Plan there were seven approved or adopted Local Plans in force, whilst approved, old style Town Maps still remained in two areas.
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| 1.7 | Together, these comprised the development plan for the Tameside area but were all superseded when the U.D.P. became operative on 26th September 1996. |
| Topic Papers | |
| 1.8 | In November 1990, the Council released a series of eight Topic Papers, which contained a review of recent trends and established policies and a detailed examination of the current situation, problems and potential within the Borough. The purpose of these Topic Papers was to bring together information necessary for the formulation of U.D.P. policies (similar to an old style survey and issues stage) and to form a basis for consultation with organisations and individuals likely to have a close interest. The comments made as a result were all considered during the preparation of the Consultation Draft Plan and valuable points were incorporated into the policies as a result. |
| The Consultation Draft Plan | |
| 1.9 | The statutory preparation and adoption procedure for the U.D.P. is very similar to that for previous Local Plans but different to the original Structure Plan system in that the Council is ultimately responsible for adoption. There are a minimum of two essential stages to go through, the first being the requirement for publicity and consultation on the proposed contents of the Plan. Tameside's Consultation Draft U.D.P. was released in November 1991 and an extensive public consultation exercise was undertaken over an eight week period running through to January 1992, with comments continuing to be received for up to three months after that. |
| The Deposit Draft Plan | |
| 1.10 | All the representations made about the Consultation Draft Plan were considered by the Council before preparing the U.D.P. for deposit. A considerable number of changes were made compared with the Consultation Draft, many of these affecting the detailed wording of the policies or their reasoned justifications. These changes took account both of comments received and of further consideration of the issues involved. Also, a number of site specific proposals were deleted, amended or newly introduced to keep up to date with developments and decisions which had taken place since the Consultation Draft was prepared. At the same time, the format of the written statement was revised to more closely follow legislative requirements and different numbers used for most of the policies and proposals. Although dated January 1993, the Deposit Draft Plan was actually published in April of that year. |
| The Legal Requirements after Deposit | |
| 1.11 | The Deposit Draft Plan forms the basis for the vital second stage in the statutory procedure, whereby written objections can be made to any matter in the Plan, whether a policy or proposal or a reasoned justification, or indeed to the omission of a policy or proposal. Representations may also be made in support of the Plan, and all submissions properly made within the prescribed period must be considered by the Council. |
| 1.12 | Any objector whose objections are made in accordance with the Regulations has the right to appear at a Public Local Inquiry before an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State. An Inquiry is held unless all objectors indicate that they do not wish to be heard. However, if one is held all objections are considered by the Inspector whether or not particular objectors wish to appear at the Inquiry to present their case. The Inspector reports back to the Council which then decides whether to modify the Plan in the light of his or her recommendations. Only following notice and explanation of this decision and a possible further round of deposit and objection may the U.D.P. finally be adopted as the statutory development plan for the area. |
| Objections and Pre-Inquiry Changes | |
| 1.13 | A total of 3,530 separate objections to the Deposit Draft Plan were "duly made" during the six week period which was set, along with 185 representations, mostly of support. These encompassed just over two thirds of the policies and proposals in the Plan, although 87% of the objections related to the proposals for two particular sites. The objections and representations were submitted by 1,271 different people or organisations, about half of whom indicated that they wished to appear at the public inquiry. |
| 1.14 | Local authorities are encouraged by Government Guidance to try to accommodate objections by suggesting changes before the public inquiry takes place. The Council therefore examined all of the objections to see what scope existed to overcome them and published two booklets of Proposed Changes to the Deposit Draft, dated September and November 1993. As a result, a number of the objections were conditionally withdrawn prior to the inquiry and in other cases objectors decided to continue with written submissions but not to appear at the inquiry. These Proposed Changes were also forwarded to the Inspector. |
| The Public Local Inquiry | |
| 1.15 | The public inquiry into objections to the Deposit Draft U.D.P. began in January 1994 and ran until April, during which it sat for 32 days plus 3 more for site visits. A total of 214 separate objections were heard at the inquiry, relating to 60 of the policies or proposals and 16 more "omissions" from the Plan. 100 witnesses gave evidence. Between April and June 1994, the inquiry remained formally open for the Inspector to receive written submissions on 237 objections, covering 141 policies or proposals and 19 omissions. The Inspector then needed a further 7 months to consider all the evidence and prepare his report to the Council. |
| The Inspector's Report | |
| 1.16 | The Inspector's Report was received in January 1995, running to 230 pages and containing recommendations on the action that the Council should take (or not take) in respect of each of the many objections. The report was made available to the public very shortly after being received, although several months were required for the Council to fully consider all its recommendations and decide how to respond. In most respects the Inspector supported the policies and proposals set out in the Deposit Draft, but often subject to the changes previously put forward by the Council or other detailed points of wording. He concluded however that more land should be allocated for housing development, although he rejected nearly all the revisions to the Green Belt boundary which had been advocated. |
| 1.17 | The Council is required to consider each of the Inspector's recommendations, although it is not obliged to accept them all provided it publishes reasons for such decisions. The Council in fact went along with the great majority of the Inspector's recommendations, declining to fully accept just 16 out of 263 and in most of these cases still accepting part of the recommendation. The Statement of the Council's Decisions on the Inspector's Recommendations was published in November 1995, at the same time as the Proposed Modifications were placed on deposit. |
| Modifications to the Deposit Draft | |
| 1.18 | This stage is necessary before the modifications approved by the Council can take effect and, as with the original deposit, a 6 week period was set during which objections could be made to any of the modifications, or to the lack of a modification recommended by the Inspector. 219 objections were "duly made", plus 16 representations of support. These were all considered by the Council, as a result of which a limited number of Further Proposed Modifications were placed on deposit in May 1996 alongside a Statement of the Council's Decisions. The Council also decided to make a small number of other modifications in the light of the objections, which were not placed on deposit because they did not materially affect the content of the Plan. |
| Adoption of the Plan | |
| 1.19 | There were just two "duly made" objections to the Further Proposed Modifications of May 1996 and after consideration of these the Council resolved to adopt the Plan without any more modification. A Statement of the Council's Decisions on these objections was published along with the Notice of Intention to Adopt, and the U.D.P. was adopted with effect from 26th September 1996. |
| Incorporation of Previous Local Plans | |
| 1.20 | Legislation current at the time of preparing the Deposit Draft Plan allowed local authorities discretion on whether or not to incorporate the provisions of existing operative Local Plans into their U.D.P. With the range of Local Plans in force in Tameside it would have been almost impossible to absorb these as they stood into one manageable document, with the need still remaining to provide appropriate policies and proposals for the parts of the Borough not covered. The intention is to have a coherent, one-piece U.D.P. which takes up the spirit, if not necessarily the precise wording, of those previous Local Plan policies and proposals still considered valid for the period up to 2001. |
| 1.21 | A separate Statement is appended to this Plan (Appendix 9) indicating which previous Local Plan policies and proposals have been carried forward into the U.D.P., and these are also referred to in the reasoned justifications. These policies were open to objection along with the rest of the U.D.P. and any objections had to be considered, but in order to save time and expense the Inspector had the discretion in certain circumstances not to allow such objectors to appear at the Inquiry. In the event, this did not prove to be an issue of any consequence. |
| River Valley Local Plans | |
| 1.22 | The previous Local Plans for the Tame, Medlock and Etherow-Goyt river valleys extend into adjoining Districts and have been instrumental in concentrating attention on improvements to the valleys as a whole. Although these Local Plans have not been incorporated in their entirety into Tameside's U.D.P., certain key policies which relate to all three valleys have been carried through into the "Open Land and River Valleys" section. Various other policies from the Local Plans are now considered to be equally appropriate to wider areas of the Borough and these have been included, in similar or modified form, in sections such as "Recreation and Leisure" and "Conservation and Environment". Those site specific proposals not yet implemented but still considered appropriate have also been included, excluding some which are very small scale or more in the nature of management measures. It is hoped that the original River Valley Local Plans will continue to be valuable as the basis for management and joint working between the Councils and other agencies involved. |
| The Format of the Plan | |
| 1.23 | The legislation requires that a Unitary Development Plan should be in two parts. Part 1 must comprise a written statement of the Council's general policies for the development and use of land in their area as a whole, and provide a framework for Part 2. This must contain a written statement of the Council's more detailed proposals for the development and use of land, including policies which will form the basis for deciding planning applications. Part 2 must also contain reasoned justifications for the Part 1 policies as well as the Part 2 proposals, which themselves must be shown on a Proposals Map drawn on an Ordnance Survey base. |
| 1.24 | Following this introduction, Part 1 of Tameside's U.D.P. begins with a strategic overview describing the main characteristics of the Borough and the key problems and potential of the area, to provide a context for the policies and proposals to come. The other major influences involved, i.e. existing Council strategies and Government guidance, are then referred to, before setting out the basic themes and objectives which underlie the Plan as a whole. The Part 1 general policies themselves are then presented, arranged according to particular topics. The gaps in the reference numbers are for the associated Part 2 policies (see below). Throughout the document policies and proposals are printed in a sloping type style. |
| 1.25 | Part 2 of Tameside's U.D.P. is divided into a number of sections, which deal first with the more detailed policies affecting development control and implementation for each of the topics covered in Part 1. These are printed on the left of the page, in a heavy sloping type, with their reasoned justifications in normal upright type to the right. The justifications for the Part 1 policies are also included here, as required, but to avoid readers having to constantly refer back and forth within the document their associated policies are repeated to the left in a light sloping type. After this there are sections containing the site specific proposals for each of the constituent towns of the Borough, with separate coverage of the town centres of Ashton-under-Lyne, Hyde and Stalybridge, set out in similar style with their justifications or explanations to the right. |
| 1.26 | Even with all the policies and proposals listed together in Part 2, the adopted Plan contains a few gaps in the sequence of reference numbers. This has occurred because some policies and proposals were deleted as part of the Proposed Modifications, either following such a recommendation from the Inspector or due to the scheme having started by that time. So as to maintain continuity with the Deposit Draft which many people may be familiar with, the original reference numbers have been retained, hence the gaps. Policies or proposals which have been added as Modifications are normally given new reference numbers at the end of the appropriate chapter. However, where these more logically fit alongside other policies covering a particular issue suffix letters are used for new reference numbers (e.g. policy OL10a). |
| 1.27 | Finally, the document contains appendices listing certain types of site specific proposals arranged by topic, and sites or features affected by various area-wide policies, plus the Statement of Previous Local Plan Policies and Proposals. The Proposals Map is in three parts. It comprises an East and a West sheet at 1:10,000 scale, with the West sheet including 1:2500 scale Insets for the town centres of Denton, Droylsden and Dukinfield and the East sheet a similar scale Inset for Mossley Town Centre. The third sheet contains Insets for Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge town centres at 1:2500 scale and Hyde town centre at 1:3750. |
| Scope of Coverage | |
| 1.28 | The Government has indicated that U.D.P.'s, like other types of development plans, should not include non land use matters. This Plan is therefore by no means a complete statement of the Council's intentions or opinions on all issues which affect the Borough and the strategic overview refers briefly to other agreed strategies and bidding documents which may overlap aspects of the U.D.P. It should also be appreciated that there are land use and particularly transportation issues which have a significant effect on the area but which at the present time cannot be readily influenced by the Council, either through the statutory planning process or by other means. |
| 1.29 | However, there is frequently an overlap between land use and other reasonable economic, social and environmental concerns. Several policies have therefore been included in the U.D.P. to indicate support for measures which, whilst perhaps not entirely land use matters themselves, could form a valuable element of a development proposal or assist in extending the benefits of developments or enhanced facilities to a wider section of the community. |
| Implementation and Resources | |
| 1.30 | Implementation of the proposals contained in the U.D.P. would be spread over the plan period as a whole. Whilst the explanations may in some cases give an indication of timing or priority, it is frequently impossible to put dates against these, or even to be certain that some will be achieved at all. |
| 1.31 | Whilst the U.D.P. is meant to act as a guide to some areas of Council spending, it is very difficult to predict the extent of public resources and private investment which will be made available in the Borough over any particular period. The general state of the national economy is likely to have one of the greatest influences on implementation and there are clearly problems in trying to anticipate the rate of recovery from recession. To limit the scope of the Plan to those schemes which currently have assured funding would deny the opportunity to identify reasonable measures considered important for the improvement and future well-being of the area. |
| 1.32 | Many of the policies and proposals in the Plan could only be implemented by others than the Council, such as private landowners, farmers, industrialists, house builders, commercial developers, other public bodies etc. In some cases, the Council would be reliant upon grant aid from various sources to enable projects of its own to go ahead. In further instances, partnership arrangements between the Council and other interests may be necessary. The role of the U.D.P. in all this is to act as a planning framework for investment decisions by various parties where a land use dimension is involved, seeking where appropriate to direct that investment to locations where the greatest benefit will be created. |
| Monitoring and Review | |
| 1.33 | Unitary Development Plans are required to be kept under review. The importance given to U.D.P. policies in planning decisions is likely to be greatest if they are kept up to date, and with a single development plan for the Borough, the opportunity for regular and continuous monitoring and review is increased. It is likely therefore that the Council would wish to have a First Alteration of the U.D.P. on deposit well before the turn of the century. |
Page last updated: 13 October 2006