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Cullompton Neighbourhood Plan

Contents:

Introduction
Natural Environment / Ecology, habitats and landscape
Access and Circulation
Ground conditions
Environmental potential
Important Features
Ownership
Built Environment & Heritage / Character
Important features
Ownership
Development potential
Housing / Population
Incomes and housing
Local Economy / Employment
Retail and commerce
Highways, Transport & Travel / Roads and footpaths
Travel
Transport modes
Leisure & Lifestyle / Leisure
Young people
Education
Young families
Elderly care
Our Community / Waste and recycling
Everyday services
Public safety
Community facilities
Arts, Culture & Tourism / Local culture and the arts
Tourism

Introduction

Purpose

Planning policy and proposals need to be based on a proper understanding of the place they relate to, if they are to be relevant, realistic and address local issues effectively. It is important that the

Neighbourhood Plan is based on robust information and analysis of the local area; this is called the ‘evidence base’. Unless policy is based on firm evidence and proper community engagement, then it is more likely to reflect the assumptions and prejudices of those writing it than to reflect the needs of the wider area and community.

We are advised that “the evidence base needs to be proportionate to the size of the neighbourhood area and scope and detail of the Neighbourhood Plan. Other factors such as the status of the current and emerging Local Plan policies will influence the depth and breadth of evidence needed. It is important to remember that the evidence base needs to reflect the fact that the plan being produced here will have statutory status and be used to decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area. It is necessary to develop a clear understanding of the neighbourhood area and policy issues covered; but not to review every piece of research and data in existence – careful selection is needed.”[1]

This report presents the evidence gathered that we believe may be relevant to the preparation of a Neighbourhood plan for Cullompton.

Method

To produce a thorough and balanced report of the evidence we decided to apply a standard method of research and to present our findings in a similar format in a single report. We have identified and extracted from a variety of published sources of information, data and analysis (printed and internet) and sought the opinions of those who we believe should be heard at the earliest opportunity in neighbourhood plan making.

Presentation of Findings

To make our findings as accessible as possible we have used a ‘tabular’form of presentation. Each section of the evidence report focuses on a particular topic area. Each section is prefaced by the ‘questions’ we sought to answer through our researches. We then set out the strategic context (of current plans and policies) for that particular topic area; followed by a presentation of the evidence we have uncovered.

Strategic Planning Context

The key planning documents from which we have extracted policy statements and intentions are those described in the table overleaf. We have tried to capture all he planning policies that we need to acknowledge and work with.

Our neighbourhood plan must “be in general conformity with existing strategic local planning policy”[2]. The strategic policies of the Local Plan provide the strategic framework within whichthe neighbourhood plan should be prepared. It should be noted however that not all of the policies in the Local Plan or those that we have extracted ‘are ‘strategic’. The non-strategic planning policies will prevail unless and until we decide to replace them with more relevant and locally sensitive neighbourhood planning policies.

Policy Area –
National Planning Policy Framework
Extracts of relevant policy statements from the new NPPF. Most place obligations on the local planning authority in preparing a Local Plan or dealing with planning applications; but many also have implications at a neighbourhood planning level.
Mid Devon Scoping Study July 2013
The Core Strategy is 6 years old and needs bringing up to date. The district council has embarked on a review of targets, allocations and policies contained in the current plan to reflect the current needs and aspirations of mid Devon and its residents. The Scoping Study, published July 2013, provides up-to-date information about Mid Devon and the local planning authority’s thinking about present circumstances and needs; and the options it is prepared to consider for how existing local plan policies might be revised.
The timetable for the new Local Plan aims to have a revised set of policies ready for consultation in the early spring of 2014; a draft plan published by November 2014 and a new Local plan adopted in May 2015.
Mid Devon Local Plan part 3 - adopted October 2013
This document forms Part 3 of the Local Plan and provides detailed policies to manage individual development proposals in a way that meets local needs, both economic and social, while also protecting the environment. Whilst not all of the policies are ‘strategic’ they remain in force until and unless they are revised or replaced by the local planning authority or superseded by neighbourhood plan policies.
Mid Devon Local Plan part 2 - adopted 2010
The Allocations and Infrastructure Development Plan Document (the AIDPD) is part 2 of the district’s Local Plan. It allocates sites for housing, retail and employment development, whilst setting necessary infrastructure requirements, with policies on the Community Infrastructure Levy, public open space, affordable housing, education provision, green infrastructure and carbon footprint reduction.
Mid Devon Local Plan 2006 – adopted in 2007
Core Strategy 2006-2026. It set out a spatial strategy and strategic policies for Mid Devon and its settlements. They remain in force until the Local Plan review. It does not include site specific proposals (such as housing sites), but identifies the general locations of development.

Topic Strategies of MDDC and Others

We are cognisant of the fact that there are other policy documents and plans in existence that must be acknowledged. Not all of them are physical planning-based or local authority sponsored. We have endeavoured to extract from

Other Current Strategy
Strategy Body:
Name of body to whom the strategy applies
Document and Date:
Title, author (s) and date of strategy document
Relevant Policies:
relevant policies and supporting statement(s) extracted from document

Local Context

Cullompton Town Council has a set of well thought out planning policies for the town. Many of them have been developed as a result of consultation over Local Plan draft documents and in response to potential and real planning applications. We have endeavoured to encapsulate these local planning policies for Cullompton and present them in a highlighted ‘box’ in the relevant section of the evidence report. We would stress that like the non-strategic policies of Mid-Devon Council these policies are up for review as part of the neighbourhood planning process.


We have sought to identify all relevant neighbourhood-level evidence of the current situation. Our sources comprise a range of studies, surveys and research documents that we believe help to paint a picture of what Cullompton is like today and how it may develop in future. Most important amongst our sources are those that provide us with an expression of what the people of the area are saying and feeling about their present situation and circumstance and their hopes for the future. We have presented our findings under the headings:

  • Current Situation and Circumstances
  • Future Needs

Having set out to answer a series of questions for each topic, we have not surprisingly found that on occasions we have not been able to find sufficient information to enable us to answer the question properly or as thoroughly as we would like. Where this has occurred we have identified the Gaps in our Knowledge. We have done so in the expectation that further effort will be made through the neighbourhood planning process to remedy the gaps and our lack of understanding particularly at a neighbourhood level.

Each section of the evidence report is completed by a set of Conclusions that we believe can be drawnfrom, or are confirmed by, the evidence we have gathered.

Evidence Gathering for the Cullompton Neighbourhood Plan took place between November 2013 and January 2014. The Evidence Gathering Team comprised:

With the assistance of Paul Weston, Community Consultant

Natural Environment

What are we seeking to find out?

Ecology, habitats
and landscape / What’s special?
What needs protecting?
What needs enhancing?
Access and Circulation / What are the existing pedestrian & vehicular routes and usage?
Are they safe?
Are they adequate?
Are new routes needed?
Ground
conditions / Where are their drainage issues and flood risks?
What other development constraints are there?
Environmental
Potential / Is their potential to produce and/or reduce energy?
Is there scope to reduce C02 emissions?
Important Features / Are there important historical features, archaeology or social elements?
Are there opportunities for interpretation/education?
Ownership / Who are the main land-owners?
Who owns the main tracts of land and what are their intentions, if any?

1.Strategic Context

Policy Area – Ecology and the Natural Landscape
National Planning Policy Framework
To minimise impacts on biodiversity and geodiversity, planning policies should:
  • plan for biodiversity at a landscape-scale across local authority boundaries
  • identify and map components of the local ecological networks, including the hierarchy of international, national and locally designated sites of importance for biodiversity, wildlife corridors and stepping stones that connect them and areas identified by local partnerships for habitat restoration or creation
  • promote the preservation, restoration and re-creation of priority habitats, ecological networks and the protection and recovery of priority species populations, linked to national and local targets, and identify suitable indicators for monitoring biodiversity in the plan;
  • aim to prevent harm to geological conservation interests
  • Where Nature Improvement Areas are identified in Local Plans, consider specifying the types of development that may be appropriate in these Areas
The planning system should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by:
protecting and enhancing valued landscapes, geological conservation interests and soils
recognising the wider benefits of ecosystem services
minimising impacts on biodiversity and providing net gains in biodiversity where possible, contributing to the Government’s commitment to halt the overall decline in biodiversity, including by establishing coherent ecological networks that are more resilient to current and future pressures
preventing both new and existing development from contributing to or being put at unacceptable risk from, or being adversely affected by unacceptable levels of soil, air, water or noise pollution or land instability
remediating and mitigating despoiled, degraded, derelict, contaminated and unstable land, where appropriate
Planning policies should protect and enhance public rights of way and access. Local authorities should seek opportunities to provide better facilities for users, for example by adding links to existing rights of way networks including National Trails.
Local communities through local and neighbourhood plans should be able to identify for special protection green areas of particular importance to them. By designating land as Local Green Space local communities will be able to rule out new development other than in very special circumstances i.e.
  • where the green space is in reasonably close proximity to the community it serves
  • where the green area is demonstrably special to a local community and holds a particular local significance, for example because of its beauty, historic significance, recreational value (including as a playing field), tranquillity or richness of its wildlife
  • where the green area concerned is local in character and is not an extensive tract of land

Mid Devon Scoping Study July 2013
The Council is considering the options of either retaining a strategic policy similar to the existing Core strategy policy (COR2) adapted as necessary to take account of any change in national policy; or replace the policy with a broader environmental strategy that sets out principles underpinning more detailed policies on subjects such as landscape protection, flood prevention and heritage assets.
Mid Devon Local Plan part 3
DM31 - Other protected sites
Where development proposals would lead to an individual or cumulative adverse impact on Special Areas of Conservation, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, ancient woodland, Regionally Important Geological Sites, County Wildlife Sites and Local Nature Reserves, the Council will balance the overall benefits of the proposal against the impact…….. Planning permission will be granted only where:
a) The benefits of and need for the development clearly outweigh the direct and indirect impact to the protected site and the ecosystem services it provides;
b) The development could not be located in an alternative, less harmful location; and
c) Appropriate mitigation measures have been put in place.
Mid Devon Local plan part 2
AL/CU/3North West Cullompton Environmental Protection and Green Infrastructure
As part of the development of North West Cullompton, thefollowing environmental protection and enhancement measures will be implemented at the expense of all new development within the site:
a) Measures to protect and strengthen trees, hedgerows and other environmental features which contribute to the character and biodiversity, maintaining a wildlife network within the site and
linking to the surrounding countryside;
b) An area of 28 hectares for strategic Green Infrastructure, laid out and managed with an appropriate mix of public parkland, open space, landscaping and potential local nature reserve and
including an extension to the cemetery;
d) Protection and enhancement where possible of all existing Public Rights of Way;
e) Provision of a Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme to deal withall surface water from the development and arrangements for future maintenance;
f) A strategic landscaping and tree planting scheme to mitigatelandscape impact, enhance biodiversity and the character ofdevelopment and capture carbon;
Mid Devon Local Plan 2006
COR2
…..Development will support opportunities for protecting andenhancing species populations and the restoration, recreation, enhancement and linking of habitats to contribute toward the delivery of Biodiversity Action Plan targets
Policy Area – Agriculture and Rural Land Use
National Planning Policy Framework
  • support the sustainable growth and expansion of all types of business and enterprise in rural areas, both through conversion of existing buildings and well designed new buildings
  • promote the development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based rural businesses
  • support sustainable rural tourism and leisure developments that benefit businesses in rural areas, communities and visitors, and which respect the character of the countryside
  • promote the retention and development of local services and community facilities in villages, such as local shops, meeting places, sports venues, cultural buildings, public houses and places of worship

Mid Devon Scoping Study July 2013
no specific policy references
Mid Devon Local Plan part 3
DM/12 - Conversion of rural buildings
The conversion of redundant or disused rural buildings of substantial and permanent construction which positively contribute to an area’s rural character for residential or employment uses will be permitted where: a) A suitable access to the building is in place or can be created without damaging the surrounding area’s rural character and the road network can support the proposed
use;
b) The building can be converted without significantalteration, extension or rebuilding;
c) The design will retain the original character of the building and its surroundings;
d) The development will retain any nature conservationinterest associated with the site or building.
DM23 - Agricultural development
Agricultural development will be permitted where:
a) The development supports farming activity on that farm enterprise or in the immediate agricultural community;
b) The development is sensitively located to limit any adverse effects on the amenity of local residents and is well designed, respecting the character and appearance of thearea; and
c) The development will not have an unacceptable adverse impact on the environment.
Mid Devon Local Plan part 2
AL/DE/7 Gypsy and Traveller Pitches
Planning applications for private gypsy and traveller pitches in the open countryside will be permitted provided that:
a) The need cannot reasonably be met on another site within Mid Devon which has consent or is allocated for gypsy and traveller pitches;
b) The proposed site is within 30 minutes travel by means ofpublic transport, walking and/or cycling of a hospital and secondary school;
c) Occupation is limited to those meeting the definition of Gypsiesand Travellers in the relevant national policy.
Mid Devon Local Plan 2006
Other Current Strategy
Strategy Body:
Mid Devon District Council
Document and Date:
Mid Devon Strategic Flood Risk Assessment , Hyder Consulting UK Ltd , 2009
Relevant Policies:
River flooding is of particular concern inNewton St Cyres, Bampton, Tiverton, Cullompton and Hemyock, where there are more than 50 existing properties at risk of flooding from this source. If development has to go ahead in flood risk areas, due to a lack of alternative sites, mitigation
measures must be incorporated in development design, to manage the risk of flooding both to and from the development.
The proposed routes of the Crediton Bypass and the Cullompton Eastern DistributorRoad (EDR), as shown in the DPD documents, both cross Flood Zone 3 (a and b). Since roads are classified as Essential Infrastructure, the Exception Test must be passed for these developments to be permitted (refer to sections 7.1.3 and 7.1.4 for further guidance). The Issues and Options Report for the Culm DPD does note that the routes shown for the Cullompton Distributor Road (Eastern and Western) are purely indicative at this stage. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that, in view of the flooding problems in the town, consideration is given to removing the EDR as a potential optionMid Devon District Council should encourage the use of SUDS wherever practicable. This will be particularly important for the construction of the proposed new roads in Crediton and Cullompton