G1

Environmental implications will always be taken into account in assessing proposals for development or change in the Borough.

G1. Protection and enhancement of the environment is not an issue which can be treated purely in isolation. Although certain elements are the subject of more specific policies in the Conservation and Environment chapters, and policies in other topics often have an environmental dimension, this issue is a thread which must run through and to a large extent drive the Plan as a whole. Concern for the environment of the Borough does not have to involve resistance to development and change, which will be required in some areas for a number of important reasons. But if Tameside is to benefit in the long term from such development, it must ensure that positive aspects of the existing environment are maintained and that opportunities are grasped at the same time to secure lasting improvements. There is an undoubted need to aim for high standards of design and conservation in developments, to be sensitive to the qualities and needs of the local area and to give a strong profile to the consideration of environmental implications.

G2

Safer, more environmentally friendly designs relating to movement will be promoted in all new developments, particularly those in residential and shopping areas.

G2. There is increasing public concern about the impact of traffic on the local environment and on pedestrian safety, arising from growth in vehicle usage and higher vehicle speeds as a result of improvements to road handling capability. Traffic calming is the term which describes highway measures applied to reduce vehicle intrusion in sensitive areas, and can include road alignment, surfacing and highway geometry which discourage speed. 

However, as the techniques evolve it makes sense to apply them from the start to schemes of new construction where traffic could otherwise have an adverse impact. The Council as highway authority will therefore examine submitted layouts in new development proposals and enter into negotiations with prospective developers with a view to reaching agreement on incorporation of the traffic calming measures appropriate to the development in question. 

Safety for all road users will be a prime consideration everywhere, but in those areas where movement on foot is likely to be most dominant the needs of pedestrians should receive priority over the speed or convenience of vehicle movement.

G3

The specific needs of relatively disadvantaged people ,including the elderly, the disabled, parents with young children, and others with sensory impairment or restricted mobility, will be taken into account in development proposals of all kinds.

G3. In the past, the built environment has mostly been developed without taking into consideration the problems it may create in places for those people who are disadvantaged in some way. Many people can experience difficulties or anxiety as a result, either due to physical impairment of some form, or through limitations or vulnerability imposed by age, sex or family responsibility. It should be a fundamental role of the design process to try to avoid or reduce such problems wherever possible. 

G4

Conflicts between residential amenity and the industrial/ commercial functions of the Borough, and between the occupiers of dwellings within residential areas, will as far as possible be minimised.

G4. A large built up area such as Tameside must obviously accommodate both extensive residential areas and provide the industrial, commercial and leisure activities necessary to sustain the population. Whilst ensuring that adequate opportunities are available for local employment, shopping and other services is clearly a prime objective, most people also have a reasonable expectation that the areas in which they live will be relatively free from disturbance or nuisance. Many industrial and commercial uses can co-exist happily with housing. However, where the quiet enjoyment of a residential area is affected by existing operations (or indeed by other residential uses), or where it may appear to be threatened by proposed development, the planning system is frequently turned to for assistance. 

G5

The renewal, upgrading or extension of the infrastructure of utility services in the Borough, including those for water supply, waste water disposal, electricity, gas and telecommunications, will be encouraged and supported, especially where this contributes to objectives of economic regeneration or improvement of living conditions.

G5. Adequate and effective utility services are obviously essential in any area and their associated infrastructure of pipes, cables and other equipment must be maintained and where necessary improved to meet the demands placed upon them or to facilitate new development opportunities. In some cases, such as old established sewerage and water supply systems, extensive work may be required to increase capacity, renew worn out structures and meet higher environmental standards. 

In many cases the utility infrastructure, especially where it runs underground, can be installed and maintained without the need for planning permission. However, situations do occur where particular elements of the system require permission or involve other forms of co-operation on the part of the local authority. This policy is intended to indicate that the necessary support will normally be given provided that local considerations of siting and reinstatement are satisfactorily dealt with.

G5a

Developments for telecommunications purposes will normally be permitted where

(b) No serious damage will be caused to the appearance or enjoyment of existing buildings or to townscape or countryside, and

(c) The siting and external appearance of the apparatus has been designed to minimise its visual impact, and

(d) In the case of radio masts, there is no reasonable possibility of erecting antennae on an existing building or other structure.

In assessing the acceptability of telecommunications development proposals, the Council will take into account the technical and operational requirements within which the operator has at work.

G5a. Communications technology is expanding rapidly to meet the growing demand for better communications in business, the home and public services. For example, a franchise has recently been granted to establish a cable telecommunications system within Tameside. The introduction of new technology and the maintenance and improvement of the existing network, which is now necessary to the modern life of the local community and as a spur to economic regeneration, will from time to time require the development of land. The Council is keen to encourage developments in this field and yet remains steadfast in its commitment to protect and enhance the environment. 

G6

Where additional movements directly generated by a development proposal would place unacceptable demands on the existing transportation infrastructure, which would not be overcome by programmed improvement schemes intended to deal with general travel growth or established problems, but which are capable of resolution by specific improvement schemes associated with the proposal, the necessary investment will be expected to be provided by the developer.

Such improvement schemes will be related to the scale of the proposal, or where they can be designed to serve other needs at the same time, an appropriate contribution would be expected from the developer.

In considering the need for highway improvements associated with a development proposal, account will be taken of the desirability of making the development as accessible as reasonably possible to public transport, and of ensuring that existing public transport services are not unacceptably impeded.

G6. When considering sites for new development, it is preferable to favour those which can be most easily serviced by the existing system, both in terms of adequate highway capacity and ready access to public transport facilities. 

Where it is clear that a scheme, or series of schemes, must be accompanied by improvements to the existing transportation network, if it is to be granted planning permission, the developer(s) will be expected to fund such improvements, through Planning Obligations under S.106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or S.278 of the Highways Act 1980. 

Most such improvements are likely to be relatively small scale and limited to the immediate vicinity of the site (e.g. road widening to provide adequate visibility or a turning lane) but in certain instances and depending on the size of the scheme, could involve more substantial measures which might be some distance from the site. Ensuring adequate accessibility to public transport where feasible is important, both to avoid disadvantaging non car users and to enable public transport to offer a reasonable alternative to car use, in order to help limit traffic growth and conserve resources. 

This policy is not meant to operate so as to prevent development in areas which are currently not well served by public transport. However, where there is a likelihood that public transport (most often bus) services will pass close the site, it is reasonable that the highway arrangements should allow convenient access to these services and avoid imposing serious delays to existing users. In the case of smaller scale schemes, it is probable that this would typically be achieved through the highway works otherwise required, but with larger schemes it might be necessary to consider, for instance, the needs of buses in a junction design or to facilitate buses pulling up close to pedestrian access points. 

Where the additional movements directly generated by a development are likely to result in a material increase in the volume or character of traffic entering or leaving a trunk road, the requirements of policy G6a will apply in addition to policy G6. In such cases, a Traffic Impact Assessment must be carried out to determine the need for and extent of any highway works (G6a), which would be funded by the developer (G6).

G6a

Where a development is proposed on sites such that a material increase would be likely to occur in the volume or character of traffic entering or leaving a trunk road, planning permission will not be granted until an agreed Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) has been completed which shows whether or not associated highway works are necessary.

The scope of the TIA shall be specified by the relevant highway authority (ie the Department of Transport for trunk roads and Tameside MBC for local roads).

G6a. A Traffic Impact Assessment is required to identify whether or not a proposed development is acceptable in traffic terms.

What constitutes a "material increase" cannot be prescribed in advance for all circumstances. Annex B of PPG13 advises that as a broad guide the Department of Transport would regard an increase in turning movements in the order of 5%, on any link of a junction with a trunk road, as material in most cases. PPG13 goes on to advise that where the capacity of the junction is, or is near to being exceeded, a smaller percentage increase on a link would normally be material, as would any additional turning movements which in the case of, for example, heavily laden slow moving vehicles, might have serious safety implications for trunk road users. Reference to the Institution of Highways and Transportation publication "Guidelines for Traffic Impact Assessment" may be of assistance in preparing a T.I.A.

With particular reference to DEN2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 18, ATC12, 14, 15 and 16, AUD4, HTC4, 5 and 6, it will be necessary for a developer to determine whether or not a proposal has a material traffic impact on the trunk road. If the impact is considered by a relevant highway authority to be unacceptable or material, further analysis will be necessary to identify whether or not a proposal is feasible in traffic terms, and if so to ascertain the detail of any new highway improvement works associated with that proposal. 

Such works may be required to protect the safety and efficiency of the trunk road network. The consideration of a balance between development and transportation requirements is an important factor. 

Consideration of the impact on trunk road capacity of all the development proposals in the Plan is a complex subject, in which the effects of growth or decline in the national economy, vehicle ownership, motor and fuel taxation, alternative means of transport, and other such factors could have a greater influence on the amount and type of traffic using trunk roads than certain local development proposals. 

Congestion may be inevitable at some points on the trunk road network and may have to be managed in other ways, rather than simply restricting further development in the vicinity of these routes. The technical work required to predict the potential traffic generation and its impact on the trunk road network for all the development sites listed, would be hindered by the difficulty of determining the type and scale of development likely to come forward especially within Development Opportunity Areas, as well as by the variation in general traffic growth assumptions. For all these reasons, the only practical means of dealing with this issue at the present time is to require traffic impact assessments to be carried out on an individual site basis when the proposals can be assessed against specific national road traffic data and specific development proposals.

G7

Initiatives to improve or promote energy efficiency, as a means both of conserving resources and contributing to the reduction of emission of greenhouse gases, will normally be supported.

G7. One of the Plan's broad themes is to give a high profile and weight to resource conservation, and this is likely to be an issue of increasing awareness and importance nationally as public and government concerns about energy reserves and global warming continue to grow. Taking advantage of all available opportunities to reduce the amount of energy consumed and greenhouse gases released, such as through the design of buildings but also through the disposition of land uses and their effect on the need for and method of movement, is an important policy for achieving progress on this front. 

G8

The safeguarding, maintenance and improvement of healthcare provision will be encouraged and supported throughout the Borough.

G8. Although the Council is of course not responsible directly for health care provision, it is an issue of close concern to many of the Borough's residents and one which can have a considerable effect on quality of life. In addition to offering support for the appropriate actions and policies of the agencies in this field, the Council will on some occasions deal with the land use implications of health care, such as proposals for new or extended doctors' or dentists' surgeries or more specialised clinics. The maintenance or improvement of health care will be the prime objective in these cases, set against any other material considerations arising from this Plan or other local factors.

G9

The provision, improvement, extension or appropriate replacement of education facilities within the Borough at all levels will normally be encouraged, supported and facilitated.

G9. The Council is no longer the sole provider of education within the Borough, with post-16 colleges now under the ownership and control of independent corporations and certain schools having opted out so as to become grant maintained. The Council still retains ownership of the assets of the remaining majority of educational establishments but under "local management of schools" (LMS) more of the responsibility for operational decisions rests with the governors. 

Whilst such development would normally be regarded as acceptable in principle within the terms of policy GEN2, policy G9 is intended to go one step further in giving confidence to the operators of educational establishments both within and outside the local authority sphere of influence. As with any development, such support must be subject to meeting appropriate detail requirements on access, design, overlooking etc.

G10

Proposals for the development of renewable energy sources will generally be supported, because of their potential for increasing the diversity and security of energy supply and for reducing harmful emissions to the environment, particularly greenhouse gases, subject to the impact on the local environment being acceptable.

G10. Government policy on renewable energy is set out in PPG22 which was issued in February 1993 together with subsequent technical annexes in October 1994, and in Energy Paper 62 "New and Renewable Energy: Future Prospects in the UK", published in March 1994. There are a number of possible sources of renewable energy which either are or may be exploited in future in the UK including the sun, wind, oceans, fall of water, plants, and combustible or digestible waste materials. 

Despite their global benefits, renewable energy projects are likely to have environmental implications and possible disbenefits for their more immediate surroundings, which in some instances may be substantial and of serious concern to the local population. It is therefore vital that the whole range of possible environmental effects should be examined before any decision is made on a proposed renewable energy development. In certain cases there may be a requirement for an environmental assessment to be undertaken in association with a planning application. 

In Tameside it would seem that for the immediate future any possible renewable energy proposals are likely to be restricted to wind turbines or generation from waste materials. A Part 2 policy (M29), provides more detailed development control criteria in relation to wind turbines.

Development Opportunity Areas will be identified in the site specific chapters of this Plan and shown on the Proposals Map. These are areas which have potential for private sector led initiatives for a wide range of uses.

GEN1. The Development Opportunity Areas differ from other site specific proposals in that the land involved is partly or in certain cases mostly occupied by existing and active premises, although some of these may be in a run down, unsightly or under used condition. They also differ from the zoning shown on the Proposals Map (and explained in Policy GEN2) because of the greater potential for some change to occur during the plan period. A wide range of uses will in most cases be acceptable, so as to maximise the opportunity for viable schemes to be drawn up, but the combination of these will be expected to bring about local economic regeneration and environmental improvement. The range of uses considered acceptable will depend upon the particular circumstances of an area and these are explained in the site specific proposals dealing with each of the individual areas. These uses could include offices, housing, light or general industry, free standing retail stores, retail parks, specialist retail, car parking, warehousing, arts, culture or religion, or some combination thereof.

The Council will not in most circumstances instigate the refurbishment or redevelopment for which potential has been identified, although a more positive role may be adopted where the Council has a significant land ownership in the area. The initiative would normally have to be taken by the private sector. Therefore, if no such initiative is forthcoming it is likely that the existing uses will continue to operate in these areas in a similar way to now. Also, if a scheme is successfully put together it may not necessarily involve the whole area and some existing uses could be unaffected. Other uses may however need to be relocated and where requested the Council will make every effort to identify and secure appropriate alternative sites for such displaced uses.

Six broad land use zonings will be defined and shown on the Proposals Map.

The zoning will indicate in principle the broad type of use which should be predominantly maintained within any particular area. This does not preclude developments for other uses which conform with the general intentions of the zoning, or exceptions where the effect on the area would be similar to that of the main uses which are named.

Sites specifically allocated for development will also be given a zoning appropriate to the use proposed, to indicate the policy which will apply once the development has been completed.

GEN2. Together with the Green Belt, these zonings will cover the extensive, stable areas of the Borough where, in the main, it is not expected that major land use changes will occur during the plan period. The zoned areas will however contain a number of small sites which are likely to be developed, redeveloped or subjected to change of use during the plan period, but which cannot be shown individually on the Proposals Map without loss of overall clarity. 

The ultimate criteria for including land within one of the broad zones is to indicate the type of new use which would normally be regarded as appropriate, in the event of the existing use ceasing (which can of course occur for a variety of reasons which have nothing to do with the Plan itself). In addition to uses listed in each of the sub-sections of this policy, there are certain existing, extensive land uses which do not fall within the description of any of the six zonings (or Green Belt). These include hospitals, mineral extraction and waste disposal sites, and utility company operational land. 

The operational future of these uses is in no way threatened by this zoning policy. The effect of the policy however is that if the existing activity ceases then any new use of the land should in principle conform with the zoning in which it is included. In the meantime, the Council would normally support developments which are necessary or complementary to the proper operation of those specialized uses and which do not cause serious problems to surrounding uses.

The predominantly residential character of these areas is to be maintained.

In addition to dwellings of various kinds, this zoning will normally incorporate a range of mostly smaller scale uses which typically support the main residential function. These will include schools, churches or chapels, hospitals, clinics or surgeries, rest or nursing homes, community and local sports centres, libraries, pubs and social clubs, and local shops and services. Hotels and other overnight visitor accommodation, and Class B1 office, research and development and light industrial uses, should also in many situations be appropriate within "living areas".

These areas are expected to continue to be used to provide employment for people in Tameside and surrounding Districts, although the nature of the employment may in some instances be subject to change.

In the event of development, redevelopment or change of use being proposed for sites in these areas, any of the main employment types described in the explanation will in principle be acceptable.

Where employment sites are situated in close proximity to residential areas, consideration will need to be given to any adverse effects which development for particular types of employment use may have on the amenities of that area.

This zoning will include most of the Borough's established manufacturing, warehousing and wholesale distribution areas, and areas which also include repair, servicing, hire or storage depots, offices and built leisure uses.

It is expected that these areas will continue to provide for the retail, other commercial, administrative and leisure needs of the Tameside and adjoining population, and at the same time to contribute significantly to local employment.

Development, redevelopment or change of use proposals within these areas for any of the uses named in the explanation will normally be regarded as acceptable in principle.

This is subject to maintaining an acceptable balance of uses within the primary shopping areas of town centres and to maintaining pedestrian interest on shopping streets.

This zoning will include the parts of the established town centres which are used predominantly for retail, food and drink, financial and professional, other commercial, office, administrative, community, medical or leisure / entertainment purposes. The town centres to be covered are Ashton-under-Lyne, Hyde, Stalybridge, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield and Mossley, plus Hattersley district centre. Outside of the established town centres, the zoning will also apply to the sites of major free-standing retail stores and retail parks. 

These areas must normally be kept available for parking, which is vital to the functioning of the centres.

This zoning will cover the main established public car parks within the Borough's town centres.

For the purposes of this zoning, "urban green space" is defined to be those areas to which protection is afforded by either Policy L12 or OL24, along with land used as a cemetery or as allotments. It therefore comprises children's playgrounds, laid out informal play spaces, sports pitches, education establishments' playing fields, land used as a park or as a recognised and established informal public open space, land laid out as a recognised amenity area, cemeteries and allotments.

Sites which are included in this zoning will normally be regarded as unacceptable for built development subject, where appropriate, to the exceptions contained in Policy L12. In the case of education establishments' playing fields, exceptions may also be permitted where the establishment needs to extend its built form in order to improve education or related facilities and is unable to accommodate such expansion on areas of the site not covered by urban green space zoning.