ldp clarification note: neath road / fairyland road, … matter 4 (ap2... · 1.8.3...

11 Clarification Note: Neath Road / Fairyland Road, Tonna [H1/11]

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Candidate Sites

21.3 Site Assessment

31.4 Pre-Deposit Participation - Regulation 14

41.5 Pre-Deposit Public Consultation - Regulation 15

51.6 Deposit Participation (Emerging Proposals)

71.7 Deposit Public Consultation - Regulation 17

71.8 Conclusion

Contents

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1 Clarification Note: Neath Road / Fairyland Road, Tonna [H1/11]1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 At the Local Development Plan (LDP) Examination Hearing Session held onTuesday 17th March(1), the Inspectors sought to examine, in respect of the allocatedhousing sites, whether relevant alternatives had been considered and whether theidentification of the housing sites had been based on a robust and rational site selectionprocess.

1.1.2 Following a request by the Inspectors, this note has been prepared to providefurther clarification in respect of the emergence, through the LDP Plan preparation process,of the housing allocation at Neath Road / Fairyland Road, Tonna [H1/11] and the extentof consultation undertaken.

1.1.3 Accordingly, this note addresses the period of Plan preparation up to Depositstage (Regulation 17) and should be read in conjunction with the LDP Consultation Report.Where appropriate, reference to the relevant section / appendices is provided.

1.2 Candidate Sites

1.2.1 As part of the early stages of Plan preparation, the Council invited landowners,developers and the public to submit details of their land for consideration regarding itssuitability for inclusion in the LDP(2). The sites submitted as part of this process werereferred to as 'Candidate Sites'. All candidate sites submitted were recorded on a 'Register'which was first published in August 2010.

1.2.2 On 16th July 2009 the Council received a submission relating to land betweenNeath Road / Fairyland Road, Tonna for residential purposes. The site was subsequentlyattributed the Candidate Site reference number N35.

1.2.3 All candidate sites were extensively publicised utilising a Public Notice, site notices(refer below), press releases, community newspaper articles and the Council's website.At the Candidate Site stage, the wider public were invited to comment either directly online,by email or in writing.

1.2.4 This informal consultation stage proved very successful both in terms of engagingwith the community and raising awareness of the preparation of the LDP.

1 Matter 4: Housing Provision - Allocated Housing Sites (1).2 Refer to Section 3.1 'LDP Consultation Report – Volume 1: Stages of Engagement, Consultation &

Participation' – Document Ref: SD10.

1 . Clarification Note: Neath Road / Fairyland Road, Tonna [H1/11]


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Candidate Site Notice - N35

1.3 Site Assessment

1.3.1 In order to ensure that land allocated in the LDP is capable of development andcan contribute to the delivery of the Strategy, sites have undergone stringent assessmentsto determine their 'suitability' and 'deliverability' over the Plan period. The methodologyapplied to the assessment of Candidate Sites had the following stages(3):

Stage 1(a): European Designated Sites - filtered out any site that was located withina European Designation (e.g. Special Area of Conservation (SAC); Ramsar Site);

Stage 1(b): Small Sites - filtered out sites that were considered too small to beconsidered as a 'potential' allocation in the LDP;

3 Full details are set out in Chapter 3 'LDP Candidate Site Assessment Report - Document Ref: EB07.


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Stage 2: Initial Planning Assessment - filtered out sites that were not consideredsuitable in planning terms for the proposed use;

Stage 3: Consultee Assessment / Compatibility with Strategy - on the basis ofconsultee assessment, consideration was given to whether the site was suitable fordevelopment in full or in part and whether it was compatible with the overall Strategy.Those sites that were no longer considered to be suitable or deliverable were filteredout; and

Stage 4: Detailed Assessment - further detailed assessment was undertaken onthose sites that were deemed suitable for further consideration in order to determinewhether they were appropriate to include as allocations in the LDP.

1.3.2 The assessment of those sites that reached Stage 4 of the methodology includeda range of questions under the categories of strategy, landscape, environmental impacts,highways, infrastructure and deliverability / viability(4). Furthermore, as part of the overallassessment of the sites, a summary of, and responses to, the various site specificcomments that the Council received during the various stages of consultation were alsoincluded. The sites were also assessed against the Sustainability Appraisal (SA)objectives(5).

1.4 Pre-Deposit Participation - Regulation 14

1.4.1 In May 2011, the Council carried out a series of stakeholder engagement eventsto identify what each community considered to be the best way forward for dealing withsome major land use issues across the County Borough. The meetings considered theLDP Vision, the overall level of growth, the overall spatial strategy and the strategy for theindividual spatial areas.

1.4.2 The stakeholder engagement event covering the area of Neath was held onTuesday 10th May 2011, with a wide range of groups / organisations invited to attendincluding all relevant Town & Community Councils(6). A copy of the presentation givenwas submitted as part of the evidence base supporting the Deposit Plan(7).

1.4.3 For the purposes of consultation, the following options for the distribution of growthin the Neath area were put forward for consideration:

1. A major new community at Aberdulais; or

2. A major northern extension to Bryncoch; or

3. The release of a number of sites to disperse the growth around the urban area.

4 Table 3.1 (Page 8) 'Strategic Housing Site Assessment' - Document Ref: EB06.5 Section 3.3 (Page 12) 'Strategic Housing Site Assessment' - Document Ref: EB06.6 In specific respect of engaging with Town & Community Councils, at key stages of Plan preparation,

updates were also provided to the County Borough Council / Community Council Liaison Forum.7 Document Ref: LDP26.



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1.4.4 The image below taken from the presentation, provided an indicative illustrationof the options considered. In respect of the dispersal option and informed by the CandidateSite submissions the settlements of Tonna, Bryncoch, Neath Abbey, Skewen, Cimla andthe Town Centre were all highlighted through annotation.

1.4.5 Rather than concentrating growth in particular locations, the overwhelming responsefrom stakeholders supported the release of a number of sites to disperse the growth aroundthe urban area of Neath, thereby spreading the benefits and dis-benefits of developmentover the widest possible area. All comments raised at the engagement events wererecorded and subsequently made available for public inspection and placed on the Council'swebsite.

Distribution of Growth - Indicative Options for Neath

1.5 Pre-Deposit Public Consultation - Regulation 15

1.5.1 The LDP Pre-Deposit Plan (or 'Preferred Strategy') was the first key formal stageof the Plan preparation process and outlined the Council's vision, objectives, preferredstrategy for growth and preferred options for the distribution of growth.


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1.5.2 The six-week formal consultation period ran fromMonday 5th September toMonday17th October 2011. Full details in respect of the package of consultation documents, thepublicity carried out by the Council and the list of stakeholders and organisations directlyconsulted is set out in the Consultation Report(8).

1.5.3 Informed by the previous phase of stakeholder engagement, the Pre-Deposit Planpresented all three options for the distribution of growth in Neath (including the indicativeillustration of the options), and presented the release of a number of sites around the urbanarea as the preferred option.

1.5.4 Comments were either submitted directly online, by email or in writing and allcomments received were made available for public inspection and placed on the Council'swebsite. Full details of representations received, the Council's response and how theissues raised influenced the preparation of the LDP is set out in the Consultation Report(9).

1.6 Deposit Participation (Emerging Proposals)

1.6.1 In September / October 2012, the Council carried out a final series of stakeholderengagement events. At this important stage in the development of the LDP, the aim wasto discuss with stakeholders, the emerging Deposit Plan proposals.

1.6.2 The stakeholder engagement event covering the area of Neath was held onWednesday 3rd October 2012, with a wide range of groups / organisations invited to attend(again including all relevant Town & Community Councils). A copy of the presentationgiven is reproduced in the Consultation Report(10).

1.6.3 In parallel to the stakeholder events, all of the information presented was madeavailable on the Council's website in order for the public to have an opportunity to havean early look at what was emerging in their area. The steps taken to publicise and engagewith the community at this time are set out in detail in the Consultation Report(11).

1.6.4 The package of consultation documents comprised (1) the Deposit Plan ProposalsReport; and (2) the emerging Proposals Map. In specific regard to housing, the report setout the emerging proposals for the level of growth and where this growth was to be located(i.e. through the identification of settlement limits and major allocations of land). In thisregard, the report included a table which listed all the proposed new housing allocations,including the site at Neath Road / Fairyland Road, Tonna.

1.6.5 The emerging Proposals Map for the Tonna / Aberdulais wards of Neath presentedas part of the consultation, is copied for information below.

8 Section 3.4 'LDP Consultation Report: Volume 1' - Document Ref: SD10.9 Consultation Report Volume 2: Pre-Deposit Consultation (Regulation 14&15) - Document Ref: SD11.10 Appendix J 'LDP Consultation Report: Volume 1' - Document Ref: SD10.11 Section 3.5 'LDP Consultation Report: Volume 1' - Document Ref: SD10.



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Neath Emerging Proposals Map - Tonna / Aberdulais


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1.6.6 Comments were either submitted directly online, by email or in writing and allcomments received were made available for public inspection and placed on the Council'swebsite. The overwhelming number of representations received during this consultationperiod related to this site specific 'new' housing allocations table.

1.7 Deposit Public Consultation - Regulation 17

1.7.1 The LDP Deposit Plan was the second key formal stage of the Plan preparationprocess. Based on all the evidence and information gathered and responses to the previousstages of consultation, the Deposit Plan set out a Development Strategy and the majorallocations of land.

1.7.2 The formal consultation period ran fromWednesday 28th August to Tuesday 15thOctober 2013 for a total of 7 weeks. Full details in respect of the package of consultationdocuments, the publicity carried out by the Council and the list of stakeholders andorganisations directly consulted is set out in the Consultation Report(12).

1.7.3 Comments were either submitted directly online, by email or in writing and allcomments received were made available for public inspection and placed on the Council'swebsite. Full details of representations received, the Council's response and how theissues raised influenced the preparation of the LDP is set out in the Consultation Report(13).

1.8 Conclusion

1.8.1 Throughout the Plan preparation process, the Council has embarked on anextensive programme of community engagement involving both the public and a widevariety of stakeholder organisations. All elements of engagement have been documentedin the LDP Consultation Report (Volumes 1-4) and forms an integral part of the evidencebase which supports the Plan.

1.8.2 The Council is confident that all reasonable and relevant consultation / participationprocedures as set out in the Community Involvement Scheme have been carried out andthat the comprehensive approach has gone beyond the statutory requirements of the 2004Act and associated LDP Regulations.

1.8.3 This note has tracked the emergence of the allocated site at Neath Road / FairylandRoad, Tonna from the initial Candidate Site stage, with the Council's assessment showingthat the site is in a sustainable location. Adjacent to an established residential area, closeto a wide range of facilities, services and amenities within Tonna and Neath Town Centreand with good public transport links, the site fits well with the LDP Spatial Strategy andnational / local policy.

12 Section 3.6 'LDP Consultation Report: Volume 1' - Document Ref: SD10.13 Consultation Report Volume 3: Deposit Consultation (Regulation 17) - Document Ref: SD12.



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